Roots and Wings

ROOTS AND WINGS

SECOND GRADE

LESSON SIXTEEN

(Rev. 9-02)

I. Review

Tell students that the last time you were here they learned something pretty special from George's Box. What was it?

II. Overview

A. Tell students that today is their last Roots and Wings lesson. The lesson will be on rumors.

III. Program

A. Tell students that rumors can hurt friendships.

B. Ask students to tell you what a rumor is. (Something someone tells you, usually about someone else, which may or may not be true.) Ask students:

1. Why do you think people tell rumors? (To get someone in trouble, revenge. To make themselves feel important - they know something you don't know).

2. Why would someone want to get someone else in trouble? (To make themself look better.)

3. Why would they want to look better? (They do not feel good about themself.)

C. Point out that a person is not as likely to be mean to others if they feel good about themself.

D. Tell students that you are going to show them how rumors happen. They are going to play a game that the might have played before. It is called the Rumor Game. This is the same game as the Telephone Game.

E. Divide the class into two or three groups. Tell students that you will tell one person in their group a sentence. That person will whisper to the person near them. That person will tell the next person and so on until everyone in the group has heard the sentence. You may only say the sentence once. If you do not hear, you must say what you think you heard. The rest of you must be very quiet.

Sentences for the Rumor Game:

1. Chocolate bunnies are my favorite thing to eat.

2. Starting rumors will always hurt someone.

3. Fish swim in schools, they learn while they travel.

4. People who start rumors do not feel good about themselves.

IV. Evaluate

A. Have the last person in each group tell what they heard. Ask how this is different from the original sentence? Why did the sentence change?

B. This is how rumors are started. One person tells something, then that person repeats it to someone else. It is then repeated again and so on. Each time a person repeats what they heard or thought they heard, the statement is changed. How can you find out what the truth is? (Go back to the person who said it originally.)

V. Summary

A. Be careful about the information you pass along, especially when you hear it from someone else. You cannot stop others from passing rumors, but you can refuse to pass one. Just as important, you can be the one who does not believe everything you hear about someone else.

B. Remind students that this is your last lesson with them this year. Tell students how much you enjoyed your time with them. Optional: Bring a small treat to help celebrate the end of the year.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1. Optional: small treat

Purpose: To learn about rumors.

Objectives:

1. The child will define a rumor.

2. The child will participate in a rumor passing game.

3. The child will verbalize how statements of fact can change through the passing of a rumor.