Friendship Chain--1st Grade Guidance Lesson

Creating an environment where children feel accepted and welcome is something we strive to do at my school. In 2nd grade I do a lesson with the book "Have You Filled A Bucket Today?", but was in search of a 1st grade lesson that would essentially teach the same lesson, but in a different way. I came up with a lesson I call "Friendship Chain." In the beginning of the lesson we read the book, "Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale" by Marcus Pfister. The book is about getting to know others rather than passing judgement on them. The "Big Blue Whale" keeps staring at all of the fish and the fish assume that he is going to eat them when really, after several events, the fish find out that he was just admiring their beautiful scales. After we discuss the book we move into talking about making friends and keeping friends. We talk about using kind words with others, which allow us to make and keep friends, while saying mean things may cause us to lose friends. Before the lesson I write each student in the classes name on a strip of construction paper, and then after we read the book I pass out a strip to each student, making sure they do not get their own. The students then return to their seats with the task of writing nice things about the student. I also encourage them to draw pictures if they wish. About 10 minutes before the end of the lesson we gather in a circle and the students tell us who they had and what they wrote. After each student shares, I staple the strips of paper into a chain. In the past I have give the chain to the classroom teacher to display as they wish. This year I decided to link all of the 1st grades strips together and hang them in the hallway for the whole school to see. I also included a poster explaining what the purpose of the lesson was. 

There are many ways to adapt and tweak this lesson. I am still in search of another book that may fit more appropriately with this lesson. Please let me know if you can think of any. Enjoy!

Link to the lesson plan:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4Nf7zOyksaZNS1YaWhfamc0cXM/edit?usp=sharing

 This was taken after two classes--we later added 4 more!

 We displayed this in the hallway, basically explaining the purpose of the lesson, along with the objectives. 

This book works especially well if you have already read "Rainbow Fish" with the students.

"Only One You" 2nd Grade Guidance Lesson

My colleague and partner in crime Janet Pennington recently developed (with the help of ideas she found on the web) a really great lesson that covers diversity and facilitates a discussion on the importance and value of being unique. Too often children feel that they have to look a certain way or dress a certain way to "fit in" or be valued. When I look at the students at my school I love the diversity that I see. Janet purchased a book over the summer entitled, "Only One You" by Linda Kranz. The illustrations in the book are actually pictures that the author and her husband took using painted rocks as the fish. 308 "Rock Fish" were painted for this book, each one as unique and different as the students at our school. After reading the book and facilitating a discussion on what it means to be unique, the students were asked to trace their hand (fingers together) and create their own fish. After the fish were decorated, the students cut them out and turned them back into us. We then created a bulletin board with the hand of every 2nd grader in our school. (In the center of the bulletin we typed up a description of the lesson with our county objectives listed.) Many of the students got creative making patriotic fish, sports fish and even an Abraham Lincoln fish. Other students simply made designs using bright colors. As the students walk down the hallway and see their fish, I hope they are reminded of how unique and special they truly are. Please click the link below to see the lesson plan. Please feel free to use the lesson as you wish. Janet and I know how difficult it can be at times to find fun, engaging guidance lessons. Enjoy!

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4Nf7zOyksaZT1BTNTlMQ19uNzg/edit?usp=sharing

 Our bulletin board is on a main hallway that students walk down in order to get to lunch, PE and exit the building. We hope a lot of students take a second to look at the beautiful fish!

 The bulletin board was not quite done at this point. I believe this was 3 classes worth--and we have a total of 6 2nd grade classes!