Maria will be going live every other week in her author page, sharing lesson plans that teachers have created around her books. You can watch the video here.
Today’s lesson was by Sarah of Mrs. B’s First Grade and is about one of Maria’s books, Pink Tiara Cookies for Three. This book is all about a friendship triangle – three friends where one is constantly feeling left out. The book has many teaching lessons and Sarah (a teacher in Chicago, Illinois) turned this book into a 5-day lesson!
Day #1 – Today is all about reading the book to the children
Day #2 – Go through the discussion guide with the children for reading comprehension
Day #3 – Work with the children on retelling the story from beginning to end
Day #4 – Start working on making connections from the book to their life. How is the story connected to your life? Is anyone feeling left out? Has someone included you recently? Is there a new person in the class?
Day #5 – Sarah created a chart (free download!) that says “Do, Say, What Not To Do”. You glue those words to your chart paper, read the book and talk about:
- DO – what do you want to DO in friendships? Ex: include everyone, include other’s opinions and ideas, treat others like you want to treated.
- SAY – what are things you can SAY in friendships? Ex: use kind words, use your words to express what you want and feel.
- WHAT NOT TO DO – what are some things that happened in the story that you DO NOT WANT TO DO? Ex: Sami gets very jealous and excludes others in Pink Tiara Cookies for Three.
Remember that Maria alternates these videos between her author page and the private Empowering Kids with Character page, which provides more ideas on the monthly theme and also support from fellow parents and educators!
Transcribed by Mandy Bush, Executive Assistant