A guide for using our resources

Children will discuss and act out different ways to be a good friend.

Simple, spectacular ideas to boost your lessons.

• Read Hooray for Hat! by Brian Won, a simple but wonderful book about friendship.
• When an elephant wakes up grumpy, he finds a present to cheer him up: a hat! All of his friends are grumpy too. But each friend is cheered up by the hat and passes it along to the next one!

• Start a shared writing chart with the sentence stem from the minibook: Show the monster how you ___________.
• Together, brainstorm additional ways to end the sentence, such as swing with a friend, kick a ball with a friend, eat a snack with a friend, or smile at a friend.

Skill: social and emotional learning

Materials: none

• This game builds friendship and community by showing kids what they have in common. Sit in a circle. One child stands up and says a fact about himself or herself (favorite color/food, has a brother/ sister, etc.).
• All children for whom the fact is also true say “Just like me!” and stand up.
• The child who began the game picks one of the kids who stood up to lead the next round. Play continues until each child has shared a fact.
  

TIPS:

• If kids need help coming up with facts, whisper a question (for example, “What’s your favorite game?”). Repeats are OK too!
• To make sure everyone gets a turn, you can help choose who leads each round.