Caring+Community

Clare Morrison, Grade 2 & 3 Lesson: Caring Community Standard(s): 3b Materials: Books: __Being Helpful__ __Caring__ __The Mitten Tree__ by Candace Christiansen and Elaine Greenstein __Something Beautiful__ by Sharon Dennis Wyeth Outline of a mitten with lines for writing. Time: 2 x 30/45 minute lessons Goals: Students will recognize how people demonstrate compassion and a consideration for others. Students will identify ways people positively contribute to their community. Describe Lesson Steps: The books, __Being Helpful__, and __Caring__ are a great way to build background knowledge and establish a foundation for ways we can show we care about others. Lesson 1 and 2 do not have to be taught in numerical order. Look at both books to decide which you would prefer to do first. Lesson 1: __The Mitten Tree__ Discuss the title of the book. //Have you ever seen a mitten tree? Do mittens// //grow on trees?// Have students make predictions. Read aloud the story. Stop to discuss how the old lady feels as she watches the children. Continue to read and stop appropriately to ask questions such as: //How does the boy// //without mittens feel? How does the boy feel now that he has mittens? How does// //it make the old lady feel to be knitting mittens for children she doesn’t know or// //talk to?// Discuss the character traits of the old lady – compassionate and considerate. Brainstorm / discuss examples of students, teachers, family, etc. show compassion and consideration for others. Activity/Assessment(s): After reading the story, discuss ways we can show consideration and compassion within our classroom community and at home. Have students share with a shoulder partner and then popcorn or pull from sticks with student names on. Hand out the writing paper with the outline of the mitten on it. Have students write about at least 3 things they will do to show consideration for their classmates. Lesson 2: __Something Beautiful__ Before reading, ask the students to name something beautiful. Discuss similarities and differences. Read aloud __Something Beautiful__. There are so many things to discuss during this read aloud. I recommend reading the book ahead of time to determine your focus points. One of the most salient points is when the girl says that she feels powerful as she scrubs the graffiti from the door to her apartment building. Discuss why. Brainstorm other feelings one might experience while positively contributing to the community, e.g. proud, determined, encouraged, etc. Brainstorm positive ways to contribute to the community. Point out examples from the book, e.g. the shopkeeper in the story has beautiful fruits and vegetables. He takes pride in his shop and cares about his customer. //How can we contribute to our school community?// Brainstorm and record ways. Activity/Assessment(s): Make a pledge to positively contribute to our school community. This can be a whole group or independent activity. Writing prompt: To make our school community more beautiful, I plan to … Or: I will contribute to my school community by … After completing both lessons 1 and 2, use a Venn Diagram to compare the stories either as a whole group or an independent activity.