Book Kit
The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Teasing!
By Shannon Keddington
Book Kit
Social studies concept being taught in this lesson: Respect for self and others
Book Kit Title: The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Teasing
Book Author and Publication Date: Stan and Jan Berenstain, 1995
ISBN#: 0679877061
This Book Kit was planned by: Shannon Keddington
Grade Level this kit is intended for: 2nd Grade
NCSS Standard this lesson teaches: Individual Development and Identity
Materials for the Lesson:
“The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Teasing” by Stan and Jan Berenstain
Lesson Objective: Given different scenarios about friendship and making good choices, students will role play and discuss the importance of being kind to everyone.
Background Knowledge: Ask questions such as the following: How do you feel when someone teases you? Why do you feel that way? What things can we do when someone is different from us?
Invitation to Learn: Tell the students that by the end of today’s lesson, they will know some ways that they can treat each other more kindly, and will know what things they can do to be kind to others, even when they are different from themselves.
Listening Focus: As the book is being read, the students should look for how teasing and making fun of others makes people feel. They should think about how they feel when they are being teased.
Method for sharing the book:
- Read the first 3 pages of the book. Then ask the students to turn to a partner and answer the following questions: What is your favorite food? What’s your favorite color? What is your favorite thing to do? Then have them decide if their answers to those questions are the same or different. Talk about how it’s okay when we have differences.
- Read pages 4-5. Ask the students why Mama and Sister were so upset. Ask them to think about a time when someone teased them. How did they feel?
- Read pages 6-7. Ask the students the following questions: How did Brother Bear feel when he was told he needed to go talk to the principal? Why was Brother so worried about going to the principal’s office? How do you think he felt after he talked to the principal? Why did he feel that way?
- Read pages 8-11. Ask the following questions: Why was Brother Bear being teased? How do you think that made Brother feel? What should the other bears have said to him instead of teasing him? Look at page 11. What does it look like is going to happen? Is it a good idea for Brother to fight the other bears? Why or why not? What should he do instead?
- Read pages 12-14. Why did Brother Bear pretend that he was sick?
- Read pages 15-the first paragraph of 18. What was the wonderful thing that happened? How do you think Milton felt when the other bears made fun of him? What should Brother do to help Milton?
- Read 2nd paragraph of page 18. How do you think Milton felt when Brother Bear stuck up for him?
- Read pages 19-23. What are some of the things Milton is good at? What do you think Brother’s plan to help Milton is?
- Read pages 24-25. Have the students make a prediction about who will win the wrestling match—Milton or Too-Tall. Discuss why they think the bear they picked to win will win.
- Read the last 3 pages. Have the children evaluate—were their predictions right?
- Discuss with the class the importance of recognizing that everyone has their own talents and that we must respect everyone, even if others are different from us.
Instructional Procedures:
- Explain to the students that they are going to be broken up into groups of 3 or 4. Each group will be given a scenario that deals with students not respecting each other or teasing each other (scenarios are attached to the lesson plan).
- Each group will discuss their scenario and will decide what they could do to solve the problem or how they could deal with the situation at hand.
- Each group will role play the scenario they are given.
- After each group has role played their scenario, the teacher will lead a discussion on other possible solutions to the situation just presented. She could ask questions like: What other things could the students have done in this situation? Why is that a good solution, as well? How would you feel if you were the students involved?
Closure: Have a class discussion about why it is so important that we respect one another, even if others are different from us.
Evidence of Student Learning: The student can evaluate the student learning through the role plays they present. Also, as they have a discussion following the lesson, the teacher can discern whether or not the students understand what was taught.
Role Plays
Mary is reading out loud in class and she says a word wrong. Some of the students in the class laughed at her. Show us what they should have done instead.
Sam falls down in the mud at recess and now he has mud all over his pants. Some of the other children are teasing him. Show us what they should have done instead.
Mark doesn’t like to play soccer with the other boys at recess. Instead, he likes to ride horses. Some of the other boys make fun of him for not liking soccer. Show us what they should do instead.
Heidi ripped her shirt when she was on the playground at recess. Some of the other girls made fun of her. Show us what they should have done instead.
Rachel dropped her lunch tray at lunch and her food spilled everywhere. Some of the other children teased her when she did this. Show us what they should have done instead.
Ken was a lot shorter than all of the other boys in the class. Sometimes the other children called him mean names because he was shorter than the other boys. Show us what they should have done instead.
Todd shot on the wrong basket during a basketball game he played in at recess. Some of the other boys got really angry with him and started calling him names. Show us what they should have done instead.
Integrated Learning Activities
Activity 1: Instructional Conversation
Level of Bloom’s Comprehension: Remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create
Activity 2: Draw a Picture
Level of Bloom’s Comprehension: Create
Activity 3: Making Good Choices Game
Level of Bloom’s Comprehension: Remember
Activity 4: Talents and Strengths Exercise
Level of Bloom’s Comprehension: Analyze and Evaluate
Activity 5: Everyone is Unique
Level of Bloom’s Comprehension: Analyze and evaluate
Activity 6: Teasing Poem
Level of Bloom’s Comprehension: Create
Activity 1
Instructional Conversation
Instructions:
Have an instructional conversation with your students. This instructional conversation will be about what it means to be a good friend. Ask higher-level thinking questions such as the following:
- How do you feel when your friends tease you?
- Why should we make sure we are kind to our friends?
- What are some things your friends do that make you sad?
- What are some things they do that make you happy?
- What can you do to show your friends you care about them?
- What can you do to help your friends be happy?
Activity 2
Draw a Picture
Instructions:
Draw a picture of how you feel when someone teases you.
Activity 3
Making Good Choices Game
Instructions:
- Play “Memory” or “Concentration”:
*Take turns flipping over cards. Try to find the match to the first card you draw.
*When you find the match, take the cards and take another turn.
*You will know you have a match by the color of the border around the card.
*When all of the cards have been matched, the game is over. The student with the
most matches wins the game.
Sally is sitting alone at recess. What should you do?
Other children are telling John that his shirt is ugly. What should you do?
Sam is crying because he got an answer wrong on his math test. What should you do?
Jane is very sick. What should you do?
Jared falls and skins his knee at recess. What should you do?
Sara reads a word wrong during class. The other children are laughing at her. What should they do instead?
Mark kicks Jake when he gets mad. What should he do instead?
Mary drops her book as she walks to her desk. What should you do?
Kate’s soccer team beats Eric’s. What should she do?
Chad drops the football when Nick passes it to him. What should Nick do?
Invite her to play with you and your friends.
Ask them to stop teasing him, and tell him you like his shirt.
Tell him that everyone makes mistakes and that he’ll do better next time.
Tell the teacher and offer to walk her down to the office to call her mom.
Tell an adult and help him walk back to the classroom.
They should not laugh at her. They should remember that they sometimes read words wrong, too.
He should talk to Jake about what made him mad and try to work it out.
Pick it up and give it back to her.
She should tell Eric that he did a great job, and say thank you for playing against her.
Say, “That’s okay, Chad! You’ll catch it next time!”
Activity 4
Talents and Strengths Exercise
Instructions:
- Take the students outside and have them stand in one group.
- Yell out different talents and strengths the students have. Direct the students to run to a different area of the field when you yell out a talent or strength the have.
- For example:
- “If you’re good at singing, run to the playground.”
- “If you’re good at playing soccer, run to the backstop.”
- Emphasize to the children that all students have talents, and that they are all needed.
Activity 5
Everyone is Unique
Instructions:
- Go through the pictures of the different animals on the PowerPoint presentation.
- Identify the things that make these animals unique (e.g., they have wings, they talk, they have scales, etc.).
- Choose from a bank of words the different characteristics the animals have and cut them out. Glue the characteristics onto the paper provided.
- Identify ways that you are unique from the other people in your group. Draw pictures or write a story about the things that are unique about you.
tallloudpaws
fatflieshides
fastgracefultrees
spotslong neckfur
colorfulswims
big teethtusks
scaly skinbig ears
grayslimy
Activity 6
Teasing Poem
Instructions:
- Write an acrostic poem about teasing using the paper provided. This poem should tell how you feel when you are teased, or why we shouldn’t tease others.
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