KINDERGARTEN LESSON #6~Be Polite and Kind
May I Please Have a Cookie?
by Jennifer E. Morris
MESSAGE TO ABC READERS
Be Polite and Kind focuses on manners such as courtesy, respect and kindness. The book reminds children to use their manners.
Asset Information:
To build developmental assets, we must create “thousands of moments in the life of a child when they feel valued, respected and known”.
· #26: Caring
· #30: Family Values Responsibility
· #32: Planning and Decision Making
· #33: Interpersonal Skills
· #37: Personal Power
LESSON
Conversation Starter:
Continue to hand out name tags so you can use EVERYONE’S names not just the student’s names you now know.
Review the ABC rules with the students.
1. Raise your hand.
2. Listen to each other.
3. It is OK to say “I don’t know.”
4. When telling stories, use words like he, she, a friend, a boy, a girl etc.
Continue to use the bucket language.
Try using the “thumb up” technique of answering questions. This allows you to check if most of the students understand what you are asking and provides a way for students to silently respond without yelling answers. Tell the students you are going to ask a question and they can answer with their thumbs. Show them thumbs up for yes and thumbs down for no and thumbs sideways. Have everyone make thumb movements with you. Test out their understanding by asking a few questions and looking for thumb answers.
• Make a sad face and ask if this a sad face.
• Make a happy face and ask if this is a happy face.
Last month we talked about understanding feelings. Show me with your body language, not your words how you are feeling today.
Read the Book:
Now you are ready to read a new book. This month’s book is called May I Please Have a Cookie? By Jennifer E. Morris
Tell the students before you start; you are going to give them a job to do. They need to use their listening ears to listen if Alfie (the main character in the story) is using nice manners. Ask them some nice manners words.
Discussions:
1. Who do you talk with every day? What do you say?
2. What does it mean to be polite or kind? How does it feel when someone uses polite and kind words?
3. Why is it important to be polite and kind?
4. When people do nice things for each other, we call them acts of kindness. What acts of kindness have you done for other people?
5. What is something’s that you can do to be polite and kind.
GROUP ACTIVITIES for Feelings
Choose one to two activities that you feel will work best with the students in your class.
Manners Songs
Choose one of the songs on the Manners Song Handout. Teach the students the words, act out some of the actions and sing the song together. If there are sign language words, incorporate the correct sign into your singing. *Make a simple poster or write on the white board, the words in the song for the children to follow.
Manners Signing
Teach children how to use American Sign Language (ASL) to sign the respectful words listed on page 33 of Be Polite and Kind.
Class Tea Party
Materials: paper cups, food, napkins, tablecloth, utensils, pitchers
Set up a table or desks for students to role-play using their manners to ask for drink and food. Work with students on saying, “Please pass the _____. Would you like ____ to drink? Yes, thank you. No, thank you.” Model chewing food and not talking, using a napkin to wipe fingers and mouth.
Or Imaginary Dinner Party.
Sit in a circle and talk about what color is the table cloth, what color are the flowers, what foods are at the table. “Ohhhh I can smell the food.” Have someone pretend to set the table, pour the drinks. Serve the foods. And use the manners the whole time. *Have a bad manners puppet that the kids need to help.
CLOSING
Three Minute Huddle
This is to help the students remember what they learned and should only take about 3 minutes. It is done at the end of the lesson. If you run out of time to do an activity, you can come directly to the Three Minute Huddle.
Ideas to use in your lesson
· Bring in Bucket Book Language
· If a child is being naughty say – Let’s try this again and choose a better choice this time!
· Bring in Kindness