Scholastic Reading Series, Vol. 2

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Bark, George by Jules Feiffer Themes: Humor, Animals Grade Level: preschool-2 Running Time: 7 minutes SUMMARY Something is wrong with George. His mother tells him to bark, and George says, cMeow, d which is puzzling, since George is a puppy. On his second try, George says, cQuack , quack. d After running through a repertoire of animals, George 9s frustrated mother takes him to the vet.

The vet soon finds the problem and George finally lets out a good bark...until his mother tries to show him off to everyone on the street... OBJECTIVES " Students will identify different animals and the sounds they make. " Students will learn how different animals, including humans, learn speech from their parents.

BEFORE - VIEWING ACTIVITIES Talk with students about the sounds that different animals make and how they learn them. Guiding questions: " How do animals learn what sounds to make? " How do humans learn how to speak?

" How can animals/humans who don 9t speak the same language communicate? AFTER - VIEWING ACTIVITIES Read the book Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino.

Discuss how animals recognize and communicate with their parents and other ani- mals. Collect magazine clippings of animal babies and their ... more. less.

parents. Have students match the babies with the parents. Make a tape of different animal sounds and create Bingo cards depicting the different animals. Set up a listening station where two or more children can listen to the animal sounds and put chips on their Bingo cards when they hear a matching sound. Discuss ways in which animals use lan- guage (i.e. , through the sounds they make like a mother penguin 9s call, wolves howling, dolphin and whale sounds.) Put on a play of a variation of Bark, George . Encourage students to think of different animals that can be represented and perhaps a different solution to the problem. Students can make cos- tumes of the different animals and write a script. Review the different parts of script writing. This can be a shared writing activity with the students generating ideas and the teacher guiding them through a group writing process. The students should discuss the aspects of humor and try to incorporate some of them into their script. This play could be performed for other grades/classes, parents, and the community. Students can write a funny story about an animal that swallows something and acts strangely because of it. Some suggested focus questions are: What did the animal swallow? How did s/he swallow it? What did the animal do after swal- lowing it? How was the problem resolved? Alternatively, students can write letters to local veterinarians asking what is the strangest thing that they ever found in an animal. Students can share their responses with the class or write stories based on the responses. Other videos about animals available from Weston Woods: Antarctic Antics , by Judy Sierra, ill. by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey Click, Clack, Moo : Cows That Type , by Doreen Cronin, ill. by Betsy Lewin Giggle, Giggle, Quack , by Doreen Cronin, ill. by Betsy Lewin Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino, ill. by Steven Kellogg Leo the Late Bloomer , by Robert Kraus, ill. by Jose Aruego Make Way for Ducklings , by Robert McCloskey The Ugly Duckling , by Hans Christian Andersen, ill. by Jerry Pinkney Uncle Elephant , by Arnold Lobel BARK, GEORGE CALL1-800-243-5020 TO ORDER THESE AND OTHER WESTON WOODS VIDEOS! This guide may be photocopied for free distribution without restriction Dot the Fire Dog by Lisa Desimini Themes: Fire safety, animals, careers Grade Level: Preschool - 2 Running Time: 8 minutes SUMMARY Dot is a Dalmatian who lives in a fire station. Sometimes she plays catch with one of her fire- fighter friends, while others play games, read a book, or cook spaghetti. But when the fire bell rings, Dot and her friends drop everything and get ready to fight a fire. The firefighters get dressed in their black pants, jackets, and boots. Everyone, including Dot, puts on their helmets. They jump into the big red engine and speed off to the fire. Dot and the firefighters rescue people and animals in trouble and work hard to put out the fire. This video opens the worlds of firefighters and their helpful animal companions to students with vibrant animation. OBJECTIVES " Students will learn about life-on-the-job for a firefighter. " Students will learn fire safety tips. BEFORE - VIEWING ACTIVITIES Discuss fire fighting with the students to activate and assess their background knowledge. Guiding questions: " What are the main jobs of a firefighter? " What do firefighters do when they 9re not putting out fires? " What kind of animal often works with fire - fighters? " Does anyone know a firefighter? Discuss fire safety with the students. List their responses on a KWL chart (what I Know, what I Want to learn, what I Learned) to return to after viewing the video. Guiding questions: " What should you do if you hear a fire alarm (in your house/at school)? " What kinds of things can start fires? " number do you call on the telephone if there 9s a fire? " What do you do if your clothes are on fire? AFTER - VIEWING ACTIVITIES Set up a cfire center d during literacy block or choice time. Prepare cards with scenarios such as: cYou are sleeping in your bed and the smoke alarm goes off. What should you do? d Each card should have roles for 3-5 students to work togeth- er to act out the scenario (e. g., child in bed, broth- er/sister, mom, dad, pet, 911 operator, etc.). Provide props for students to use. After acting out the scenario, each group member should answer several questions about what happened. The answers can be written or multiple choice. Provide visual reinforcement for the text for beginning readers and English Language Learners. Take a trip to the local fire station. Arrange with the chief to tour the station and trucks, and allow time for students to ask questions. Suggested fol- low-up activities: thank-you notes to the firefight- ers, essays or illustrations on a favorite part of the trip, small groups to make make fire safety posters for the classroom, students to create a fire safety checklist for their homes. Return to the KWL chart from the Before - Viewing Activity. Have students write about or illustrate one new thing they learned about fire fighting or fire safety from the video. Add these to child 9s assessment portfolio or display with the chart. Talk about careers with students. Help them brainstorm a list of possible careers. Try to find resources on those careers such as books, maga- zines, movies, or websites. If possible, arrange for parents and community members with differ- ent careers to come in to talk to students about their jobs. Students can also find out about well- known figures in the careers that interest them and write them letters. Other videos about different types of jobs available from Weston Woods are: Burt Dow: Deep-Water Man , by Robert McCloskey Doctor De Soto , by William Steig Officer Buckle and Gloria , by Peggy Rathmann The Paperboy , by Dav Pilkey So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George, ill. by David Small Trashy Town , by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha, ill. by Dan Yaccarino DOT THE FIRE DOG CALL1-800-243-5020 TO ORDER THESE AND OTHER WESTON WOODS VIDEOS! This guide may be photocopied for free distribution without restriction Giggle, Giggle, Quack by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin Themes: Humor, Animals, Cooperation, Problem Solving Grade Level: Preschool-3 Running Time: 9 minutes SUMMARY: In this hilarious sequel to Click, Clack, Moo : Cows That Type , Farmer Brown 9s animals pull their old tricks on Farmer Brown 9s broth- er, Bob. This time, Duck instigates the move- ment, ordering pizza with anchovies for the hens and renting the c Sound of Moosic d for the c ows. The lively animation and witty ploys o f the animals will keep kids laughing. OBJECTIVES " Students will learn about character develop- ment and traits. " Students will make text-to-self connections about being left with a babysitter or caretaker. BEFORE - VIEWING ACTIVITIES Read Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type and Giggle, Giggle, Quack to the students. Talk with students about character develop- ment. Guiding questions: " What is a character trait? " Name some character traits of a person you know. " How does the author tell us/show us the traits of different characters? " What predictions can we make about a book/video with the same characters? How do you think they will act? What might they do? AFTER - VIEWING ACTIVITIES Ask students to think about a time when they were left with someone other than their par- ents or guardians. Let them swap stories with partners or small groups about what things were different when they were with a babysit- ter or caretaker. Each student can then share a funny anecdote from his or her partner 9s story with the whole class. Students can create a character, using what they have learned about character traits. After identifying some physical traits, the students can illustrate a picture of the character. Young children can dictate several likes and dislikes of the character and/or other personal- ity traits to the teacher; developmentally ready children can practice writing these on their own. As an extension, students can take turns acting like their own or their friends 9 characters. Students can write pretend notes to a caretak- er from the point of view of a pet or from their own point of view. What kinds of direc- tions would a pet or child leave that an adult probably wouldn 9t? Bring the students 9 attention to the illustra- tions. What information do the illustrations give us that can 9t be found in the text alone? Share different types of comics that have few words, but are funny and comprehensible through the pictures. Encourage children to draw their own comics and add short cap- tions. Students may alternatively make a comic or comic strip in which the humor is expressed through the drawings only. Model this process and talk about what makes things funny as a precursor to the activity. Other humorous animal videos available from Weston Woods are: Bark, George , by Jules Feiffer The Circus Baby , by Maud & Miska Petersham Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type , by Doreen Cronin, ill. by Betsy Lewin Curious George Rides a Bike , by H.A. Rey Harry the Dirty Dog , by Gene Zion, ill. by Margaret Bloy Graham The Mysterious Tadpole , by Steven Kellogg GIGGLE, GIGGLE, QUACK CALL1-800-243-5020 TO ORDER THESE AND OTHER WESTON WOODS VIDEOS! This guide may be photocopied for free distribution without restriction T he Dot by Peter Reynolds Themes: School, self-esteem, art Grade Level: 1-3 Running Time: 5 minutes SUMMARY Vashti may not be able to draw, but she can at least make a dot. Her art teacher encourages her to sign her picture, which Vashti does scornfully. When she sees the dot framed above her art teacher 9s desk she decides that she can make a better dot. Soon Vashti is making big dots and small dots, red dots, blue dots, and purple dots. At the school art show everyone admires Vashti 9s dots and she realizes that art is about more than being able to draw. OBJECTIVES " Students will learn about different types of art. " Students will discuss self-confidence and encour- agement. BEFORE - VIEWING ACTIVITIES Discuss students 9 ideas of art and what constitutes a piece of art. Guiding questions: " What do you think of when someone asks you what art is? " Who are some artists that you can think of? What do they make? Record students 9 answers to be reviewed after view- ing the video. Talk with students about whether there is something in their lives that they really don 9t like or don 9t think that they 9re good at. Have students share how they feel during those times. Brainstorm ways that students can work through these challenges. Tell students that the video will show one girl 9s chal- lenge and how she worked through it. Ask students to look for similarities and differences between themselves and Vashti. AFTER - VIEWING ACTIVITIES Review students 9 ideas of art from the Before - Viewing Activities. Have they changed, if so, how? Make a chart or other graphic organizer that catego- rizes the changes in the students 9 opinions and understanding of what a piece of art is. Show students slides or pictures of Jackson Pollock 9s artwork. Share with them the picture book Action Jackson . Ask students to discuss in small groups their opinions of his work. Give stu- dents the opportunity to attempt to create artwork modeling Pollock 9s style. How do they find this style compared to other types of art that they have done? Ask students to reflect upon someone who has given them encouragement in their lives. Younger students and second language learners may need a definition of the word encouragement. After reflecting, students can write a thank-you note to this person. Alternatively, or in addition, students can reflect upon times when they have helped to encourage someone else. Students can write about how this made them feel. Take a trip to a local art museum. If possible, arrange to meet one of the featured artists through the museum curator (this is often possible through a university art exhibit or a museum that features local artists). Encourage students to ask questions about the artist 9s inspirations and people who have supported and encouraged him/her. If it is not pos- sible to meet an artist, give students guiding ques- tions or create a cscavenger hunt d to guide them through the museum. Some ideas are: " Find the piece of art that you like the most. Why do you like it? How do you think that the artist cre- ated this piece of art? " Find the piece of art that looks the most difficult to make. What challenges do you think that the artist came up against? How did he/she solve his/her problem? " Find the piece of art that is made of the most unusual material. What is the material(s)? What is it usually used for? How did the artist use it? Other videos about school and self-esteem available from Weston Woods are: Amazing Grac e , b y Mary Hoffman, ill. by Caroline Binch Chrysanthemum , by Kevin Henkes Leo the Late Bloome r , b y Robert Kraus, ill. by Jose Aruego Shrinking Violet , b y Cari Best, ill. by Giselle Potter Other videos about art available from Weston Woods are: Harold and the Purple Crayon , b y Crockett Johnson APicture for Harold 9s Room , b y Crockett Johnson The Pot That Juan Built , b y Nancy Andrews- Goebel, ill. by David Diaz THE DOT CALL1-800-243-5020 TO ORDER THESE AND OTHER WESTON WOODS VIDEOS! This guide may be photocopied for free distribution without restriction T his I s the H ouse T hat J ack B uilt by Simms Taback Themes: Art, poetry Grade Level: K-2 Running Time: 7 minutes SUMMARY This colorful and lively video brings to life the favorite children 9s rhyme. Jack 9s house is like no other and its inhabitants are full of fun and surprises. Caldecott Award - winning author Simms Taback adds his own creative wit to the endless commotion. From different kinds of rats, to different varieties of cats, to different flavors of cheese, this video takes viewers deeper into Jack 9s house than they 9ve probably ever been. There is even a special guest star at the end of this humorous and unique interpretation of an age-old classic, whose appearance will teach children about its often forgotten origins. OBJECTIVES " Students will learn about the cadence and repetition of poetry through listening, speaking, and writing. " Students will learn about Randolph Caldecott and the Caldecott Medal for art in children 9s literature. BEFORE - VIEWING ACTIVITIES Read aloud the traditional poem cThe House That Jack Built. d Encourage children to join into the reading as they begin to remember the sequence and repetition. Suggested activities: " Shared reading: Copy the poem in big letters onto chart paper. Draw simple pictures beneath the key words such as: house, Jack, rat, cheese, etc. Use a pointer to track the words as you and the children read them aloud together. " Total Physical Response (TPR): This is an instructional method that works very well to build oral language for English language learners. Create simple movements to correspond to the key words in the poem. As you and the children chant the poem aloud together, perform these movements as you say the cor- responding words. After practicing several times, you begin to whisper the words, but the children continue to say them aloud. Continue to perform the move- ments. As the children become proficient, you say fewer and fewer of the key words until you are silently acting out the movements while the children chant the poem independently (also acting out the movements). " Ask students to look for differences between the tra- ditional poem and Taback 9s interpretation in the video. Guiding questions: " How does Simms Taback make the poem come alive? Does he change the words or does he do it through art and illustrations or both? What other dif- ferences do you notice? " Write down (or draw) one new thing that you learned from the video that was not included in the traditional poem. AFTER - VIEWING ACTIVITIES Discuss Randolph Caldecott and the Caldecott Medal. Share biographical information about Randolph Caldecott and historical information about the Caldecott Medal. Show students examples of books that have won the Caldecott Medal (or Honor Medal ), including Simms Taback 9s Joseph Had a Little Overcoat and There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly . Guiding questions: " Why did these books win awards for art? What makes the art in these books different from the art you have seen in other books? (You may want to provide examples of non-Caldecott Medal winning books) " How does the art in these books support the story? Read aloud another classic poem, such as cStopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening , d by Robert Frost , or cThe Red Wheelbarrow , d by William Carlos Williams. Ask students to visualize the action or setting o f the poem and t hen try to depict a part or all of it in a drawing. Remind students that details not described in t he poem can be added to the drawing to enhance the m eaning of the poem, as they see it. Invite children to write their own poetry about their own house, using the model and cadence of the traditional poem. They can title it cThis I s the House That (Child 9s Name) Built. d Encourage children to be creative by reminding them that they can have any animals and people in their houses that they want to. Alternatively, you can write a class poem where children brainstorm ideas, write, and illustrate the poem together. This also can be presented as a play or skit for other grades or classes. Other videos based on books by Simms Taback avail- able from Weston Woods are: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (Caldecott) There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly (Caldecott) Other videos on poetry available from Weston Woods are: Antarctic Antics , b y Judy Sierra, ill. by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen, ill. by Mark Teague Johnny Appleseed , b y Reeve Lindbergh, ill. by Kathy Jakobsen In the Small, Small Pond , b y Denise Fleming (Caldecott) THIS IS THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT CALL1-800-243-5020 TO ORDER THESE AND OTHER WESTON WOODS VIDEOS! This guide may be photocopied for free distribution without restriction T he W heels on the B us Adapted and Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky Grade Level: Pre-K to K Themes: Music, transportation, life in the city Running Time: 6 minutes SUMMARY With unique and colorful animation, this video brings to life one of the most well-known and classic children 9s songs. The Wheels on the Bus will make children and adults want to dance and sing along with the rollicking music. The cheer- ful action lends visual reinforcement to this popular song. Students who live in the city will be able to relate to the hustle and bustle depicted in the video, while those who live in more rural areas will be introduced to some of the aspects of city life. OBJECTIVES " Students will make text-to-self connections with the video. " Students will learn the popular children 9s song cThe Wheels on the Bus. d BEFORE - VIEWING ACTIVITIES Teach the song, cThe Wheels on the Bus, d to students and practice singing it. Introduce the actions that correspond to the different lines of the song. Discuss the meaning of the song with the students. Guiding questions: " Has anyone ridden a bus before? If so, have you seen or heard any of the things that happen in this song? Which things? " If you live in a rural area where there are no or few buses: " Why do people ride buses? " Where do they go on buses? " What is an example of a time when you have had to take a bus? " If you haven 9t taken one, when might you have to? Give students simple instruments to play while singing the song. Some suggestions are: drums, kazoos, wood blocks, whistles, bells, and cymbals. Orchestrate the song so that students learn to keep a beat and play their instruments in time with the song. Practice together and arrange for a performance for parents or other classes. Have students draw pictures of how they think it would be to ride a bus like the one in the song. After viewing the video, ask students to com- pare their pictures to what the video showed. Use a Venn diagram to record similarities and differences. AFTER - VIEWING ACTIVITIES Work with the children to make up new lines to the traditional song. Some examples are: cDaddies on the bus go read, read, read... d or cThe radio on the bus goes rock-and-roll... d Encourage students to think of examples that they have seen while riding on a bus. If possible, take a bus ride around your town or city. Look out the windows and discuss the scenery with the children. How is their city the same or different from the city in the video? Some suggested destinations are: " a park " the bus station " an outdoor mall " children 9s neighborhoods Have students put on a dramatic production of the song cThe Wheels on the Bus. d Using ideas from the video, help students design props and assign them to be different characters, such as, the driver, the mommies, the riders, etc. All of the children can participate in the chorus. Other videos based on songs available from Weston Woods are: One Was Johnny , b y Maurice Sendak Alligators All Around , b y Maurice Sendak Chicken Soup with Rice , b y Maurice Sendak Pierre , b y Maurice Sendak There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly , b y Simms Taback This Land I s Your Land , b y Woody Guthrie, ill. Kathy Jakobsen The Foolish Frog , b y Pete and Charles Seeger, ill. by Miloslav Jagr Chicka Chicka Boom Boom , b y Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, ill. by Lois Ehlert THE WHEELS ON THE BUS CALL1-800-243-5020 TO ORDER THESE AND OTHER WESTON WOODS VIDEOS! This guide may be photocopied for free distribution without restriction D iary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin, pictures by Harry Bliss Themes: Humor, Animals, Ecology Grade Level: PreK-3 Running Time: 8 minutes SUMMARY Welcome to a few days in the life of a worm. His life is not very different from yours or mine, except that he takes classes like cDirt d and cTunnel, d eats his homework, and has a spider for a best friend. DIARY OF A WORM chronicles the ups and downs of being a young worm. Students will identify with the worm 9s trials and tribulations in school and with friends, and they will be amused by the worm 9s antics and adventures, such as dodging girls playing hopscotch on the sidewalk after a rainy night. DIARY OF A WORM is a delightful and clever video that both students and teachers will enjoy. OBJECTIVES " Students will learn about point-of-view. " Students will begin to keep a diary to record their experiences. " Students will learn facts about worms. BEFORE - VIEWING ACTIVITIES Discuss the reasons for keeping a diary. Guiding questions: " Do you keep a diary? " What kinds of things do people write in their diaries? " Why is keeping a diary important? Record students 9 answers on the board or chart paper. Point out that diaries are records of people 9s experiences and that they are often funny or interesting to look back upon when you have grown older. If possible, share some of your own childhood diaries, writing, or pictures with the children (They will get a kick out of thinking of you as a child!). Make diaries for each child. Use a piece of construction paper for the cover with a space for the child to write his/her name and draw a picture (a self-portrait works well here). Use lined paper for the inside. Let students know that diaries can have both pictures and words inside. If the children are young and cannot read or write yet, they can tell you about their drawings and you can write down the words for them. AFTER - VIEWING ACTIVITIES Discuss point-of-view with the students. Explain that point-of-view is how different people see and experience the same situation. Play a point-of-view game. Two children stand on opposite sides of the room. The teacher identifies an object to both of them, but does not tell the class what it is. The students take turns describ- ing the object from their different points-of-view, while the students in the class take turns guessing what the object is. Hint: This game is more fun if the object picked looks very different from different points-of-view, such as a sculpture or abstract painting. After the game, discuss how the two students 9 descriptions of the object differed due to their different points-of-view. Follow up the point-of-view game by comparing and contrasting life as a worm to life as a human. Guiding questions: " How is this fictional worm 9s life similar to yours? " How is it different? " What can a worm do that people can 9t? " What can people do that a worm can 9t? Record the students 9 responses in a Venn diagram. Take students outside to make point-of-view drawings of a tree, rock, garden, or other natural landscape. Display the pictures so that students can see the differences in the drawings. Show students photographs taken from different points-of-view to reinforce the concept. Visit the library and help children find science books and/or search for information on the internet about worms. Try to find explanations for why the young worm said, cThe earth never forgets we 9re here. d Examples of questions they may want to research might include: " What animals eat worms? " Why do they live in the dirt? " Where do worms lay eggs and why? " What do worms eat? " Why do we have worms? When you return to the classroom, ask children to compare the information they learned about worms to the description of worm life in this story. Record their observations on a large sheet of paper, and encourage children to make their own drawings of real worms in nature. Display their drawings next to the chart on a bulletin board in the classroom. Other videos about animals available from Weston Woods: Antarctic Antics , b y Judy Sierra, ill. by Jose Aruego & Ariane Dewey Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type , b y Doreen Cronin, ill. by Betsy Lewin Giggle, Giggle, Quack , b y Doreen Cronin, ill. by Betsy Lewin Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino, ill. by Steven Kellogg Leo t he Late Bloomer , b y Robert Kraus, ill. by Jose Aruego Make Way For Ducklings , b y Robert McCloskey The Ugly Duckling , b y Hans Christian Andersen, adapted and ill. by Jerry Pinkney Uncle Elephant , b y Arnold Lobel DIARY OFAWORM I L ost My B ear by Jules Feiffer Ages: 3-7 Themes: Responsibility, Family, Conflict Resolution and Problem Solving, Humor Running Time: 10 minutes SUMMARY Losing toys is never fun, especially when it 9s your favorite and no one will help you find it. One little girl spends a long day searching high and low for her bear and ends up discovering much, much more! Acting on suggestions from her family, this little detective 9s determi- nation and antics will appeal to both children and adults who have lost anything. The lively animation captures a child 9s-eye-view of the world, creating an even more vivid picture of the young girl 9s plight. OBJECTIVES " Students will make text-to-self and text-to- text connections. " Students will discuss responsibility. BEFORE - VIEWING ACTIVITIES Ask children about their favorite toys. Allow them to bring in this toy to school to share with their friends. Guiding questions: " What makes the toy special? " Where did you get the toy? " How long have you had it? " What would you do if you lost the toy? From the last question, have a discussion with the children about toys that they have lost. Let children share these stories. Children can draw pictures of themselves with their favorite toy. Then, they can draw another picture depicting how they would feel if they ever lost that toy. Finally, the children can draw pictures of what they would do to look for it and how they would feel when they found it. These can be saved for making a book as an After Viewing Activity. AFTER - VIEWING ACTIVITIES Introduce children to the comprehension strate- gies of making text-to-self and text-to-text con- nections. Explain that when there is something in a book or video that reminds them of some- thing in their lives, it is called text-to-self. Ask students to share text-to-self connections that they had with the video (These could be anything from, cI have a sister, d to, cI just lost my favorite bear yesterday and found it in my bed. d). Text-to-text connections are when a book or video has a similarity to another book or video. Help students think of examples of other books or videos that they have read or seen that can be connected to this video. Make lists on butcher or chart paper of the text-to-self and text-to-text connections that the students propose. These can be hung in the classroom as reminders of good strategies that help students to better understand books and videos. Use the illustrations that children drew in the Before - Viewing Activity to put together a book. Older children can write their own sentences to go with their illustrations, while younger children will need a teacher to help write down their words. Students can make covers and title pages for their books which can be added to the class library for others to read. Discuss responsibility with the students. Help them make a Responsibility Log, where they list all of their responsibilities and give themselves stickers for completing them. This can be used for both home and school to help students become more aware of their responsi- bilities and view them not as chores but as parts of growing up. Other videos from Weston Woods about growing up and responsibility: Joey Runs Away , b y Jack Kent Noisy Nora , b y Rosemary Wells Leo the Late Bloomer , b y Robert Kraus, ill. by Jose Aruego Other videos from Weston Woods based on books by Jules Feiffer : Bark, George Other videos from Weston Woods about conflict resolution and problem solving: Harold and the Purple Crayon , b y Crockett Johnson Henry Builds a Cabin , b y D.B. Johnson The Island of the Skog , b y Steven Kellogg I LOST MY BEAR W ill I H ave a F riend ? Story by Miriam Cohen, pictures by Lillian Hoban Grade Level: Pre-K to 1 Themes: School, friends Running Time: 7 minutes SUMMARY Jim is nervous about his first day of school. Pa reassures him that he will find a friend. Jim is not so sure, especially when he finds himself in a noisy classroom amidst busy strangers. Finally, at nap time, Jim meets someone who is also looking for a friend. Viewers will get an intimate glimpse of this exciting and somewhat scary time in all children 9s lives. This realistic and timeless story will resonate for all children who have just or will soon enter school. OBJECTIVES " Students will make text-to-self connections with the video. " Students will make pictures of their friends from school. BEFORE - VIEWING ACTIVITIES Ask students to share stories about their first day of school. Guiding questions: " How did you feel in the morning right before going to school for the first time? " Did your mom or dad (or guardian/caretaker) say or do anything to help you feel better? " What were you the most scared about? " What were you the most excited about? " What did you think about the other kids? " What did you think about the teacher? Have students draw pictures of their first days of school. Encourage them to remember and try to depict details by asking: W hat did you wear? How did you feel? How did you get to school? AFTER - VIEWING ACTIVITIES Have students draw pictures of their first friends at school. Ask them questions to help them write a short story or caption explaining their pictures. Guiding questions: " How did you meet your friend? " What did you do with your friend the first time? " What do you like to do with your friend now? After students have completed their pictures and you have written their words onto them, invite them to give the picture to the friend that they drew about. Alternatively, make a class book titled cOur Friends d to chronicle the friend- ships in the class. Remember to be sensitive to any students who may not yet have a cspecial friend d ; suggest that they can draw a picture and describe a relationship they have outside the class. Ask students what they would tell a younger brother, sister, or friend who was nervous to go to school. What advice would they give to him or her? Help the students write a letter to that child to help him or her feel better about attending school for the first time. Students who are beginning writers can try to write this letter on their own. Others may need the teacher to write for them. Make a poster titled cMy Favorite Thing About School. d Have each child write a sentence or draw a picture that shows his or her favorite thing about school. Take a picture of each child to put next to her or his favorite thing. Display the poster in the entrance of the school or classroom. Discuss with children how to help new students feel welcome at school. Guiding questions: " How can you be friendly to new students who may be nervous? " What is the first thing you would want to show a new student about your school? " What kinds of rules will the new student need to l earn? Other videos about going to school from Weston Woods are: Chrysanthemum , b y Kevin Henkes The Day Jimmy 9s Boa Ate the Wash , b y Trinka Hakes Noble, ill. by Steven Kellogg Miss Nelson Has a Field Day , b y Harry Allard and James Marshall Miss Nelson I s Back , b y Harry Allard and James Marshall Monty , b y James Stevenson Owen , b y Kevin Henkes Shrinking Violet , b y Cari Best, ill. by Giselle Potter The Teacher from the Black Lagoon , b y Mike Thaler, ill. by Jared Lee WILLI HAVE AFRIEND?

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