Lesson 7 I Am Special and You Are Special Too Lesson Series
I Am Special and You Are Special Too
Student Teachers: Colleen Mangan and Nora McGinley
Project Children L.E.A.D. Director: Dr. Vincenne Revilla Beltran
Subject Area: Diversity
Grade level: Kindergarten (Ages 5-6)
Length of Lesson: 60 minutes
Group Size: 6 students
Download a printable version of the Lesson: I'm Special and You're Special Too! in PDF format (requires Adobe Reader)
I. Objectives
A. The students will remember and review the classroom rules.
B. They also will learn more about their classmates and the college students and realize what makes each of us all unique.
C. The students will illustrate what makes them special in one of the activities that we will participate in.
D. And lastly, they will verbalize what they consider special about themselves to the class.
II. Pennsylvania Department of Education Indicators and Special Needs
A. Education Indicators: 1.6 Speaking and Listening
1.6.3A: Listen to others
1.6.3B: Listen to a selection of literature (fiction or non-fiction)
- Relate it to similar experiences
- Predict what will happen next
- Recognize character and tone
1.6.3C: Speak using skills appropriate in formal speech situations
- Use appropriate volume
- Demonstrate an awareness of audience
1.6.3D: Contribute to discussions
- Ask relevant questions.
- Listen to and acknowledge the contributions of others.
- Display appropriate turn-taking behaviors.
B. Special Needs
1. The teacher will give guided instructions transition times and activities
2. Show a personal example of what the lesson is focused on, such as making your own college of what you think make you special.
3. Be specific about what special means, such as, skin colors, background traditions, abilities, disabilities, and Most Importantly we all have a Heart!
III. Materials
A. For the classroom transformation:
- One large bulletin board
- Cutouts of M&M's (different colors and size: 2x4)
- Faces of culturally different children from around the world on posters hung on the bulletin board
- Cutouts of hearts (size: 2x4)
- Goal: Put the faces and M&M's on the bulletin board randomly and place hearts underneath (hearts should be easily accessible when doing introduction). When describing lesson introduction (under IV Procedures: 3) use the faces to show the hearts as the similarity between all people.
- Long strips of colored paper covering three walls. Leave the fourth wall with the bulletin board blank in order to place the M&M's and pictures on it.
B. Introduction to the theme materials:
- A bag of chocolate M&M's
- Brown bags to put treats in so that the children can eat them later
C. Book for the theme lesson materials:
- The Rainbow Fish written by Marcus Pfister and translated by J. Allison James. Publisher: North South Books. Copyright: 1992. Found at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh on September 29, 2003. Age range: 4-6 according to Barnes & Noble
- Rug for children to sit on during book reading and conclusion of the class lesson
D. Activity One (collage) materials:
- White 11x8 plain paper
- Crayons (multicultural and regular colors)
- Tape (adults only)
- Markers for the adults to label each picture on the child's collage
- A ratio of one college student to each child
E. Activity Two (puppet show) materials:
- Three large Multicultural Diverse Puppets
- A sample dialogue for the puppeteers to improvise at will (see attached page 2 for ideal dialogue)
- A ratio of one college student for each child
IV. Procedures
A. Review
1. Reintroduce the students to the college students and the classroom
2. Review the classroom rules (have the children tell the teacher the rules as if the teacher did not don't know them)
B. Introduction/Motivation to theme
1. Introduce the children to the M&M's and ask the class (make sure hands are raised) What makes the M&M's different from each other?
2. What makes them similar?
3. Main Idea: Even though each M&M is different on the outside they all have something similar on the inside. Connect this thought to the people on the bulletin board. All these people may look very different on the outside but if you look on the inside they all have the same thing. A heart that loves and can be loved is in all of us. Even though we are different on the outside, we are the same on the inside. We all love others and are all loved by others. So if you look around at your peers and the college students we all look different in small and big ways. But we all have a heart on the inside that makes us all friends and special people. Make sure that the children understand that what they have or don't have isn't what makes them special but rather that they are loved by others and they love other people and that is what makes each of them special.
C. Book Reading Time
1. Read the book to the children
2. Ask questions before, during and after the book
3. Make sure the children understood the story, then explain the different sections of the classroom to the children (split them up into two groups of three: possibly two boys and one girl each)
D. Activity One: "Special Puppets"
1. See the attached sheet page 1.
E. Activity Two: "Special Me"
1. See the attached sheet page 2.
V. Evaluation
A. Of the students: By the end of this lesson the children will be able to learn more about their classmates and the college students though discussions, learn how to adjust and tolerate the differences in their class, and realize what makes each of them special. This will be evident by the activities that they will complete and also through the discussion of the children displaying their collage and what they drew that they thought make them special during the conclusion of class.
B. Summary: As a conclusion to the lesson the children will show the collage they have created to their classmates and the college students and verbalize what they feel makes them special in their own unique way.
C. Of the lesson: To be done after the execution of the lesson by the teachers through a video taping of their reflections and also including the reflections of the college students who were involved with the activities that went along with the lesson of the day.