“ The Frozen Finger”

A Story about Anger for

Grades 3-6

From the text “Furious Fables”

By Terry Trower

1989Affective Enterprises

Permission is granted to reproduce “duplicating masters” only

Dealing with Anger 101

This mini unit on anger and self- control begins with a fable. The purpose of a fable is to enable children to reflect upon their own styles of dealing with anger through the exploration of how other characters manage aggression.

Lesson 1

Begin by explaining that anger is not a bad emotion. It is simply a normal emotion. How people express anger, however, can be harmful. Tell them that you will be reading a story that deals with how one little girl expressed her anger. You may elect to have them answer the questions for discussion on paper or orally. This can be followed by a class discussion of their answers and opinions.

Lesson 2

Duplicate the Anger Questionnaire and have each student fill it out. Follow with a class discussion.

The concepts that you are trying to present are:

1) Everyone gets angry

2) People have habitual ways of dealing with anger

3) These habits may have consequences

4) New ways of handling anger can be learned and practiced

Lesson 3

Duplicate the Self-Control Rap and teach it to the class. Let them take turns trying to rap small portions of the song. You could let them practice in small groups or allow confident students to rap in front of the class.

Children learn concepts faster when put to song or in a rhythmic fashion. They should find this enjoyable and fun!

The Frozen Finger

Once upon a time there was a pretty little girl named Laura with two long pigtails that hung halfway down her back. She always wore bright and colorful clothes in the latest style with shoes to match. To look at her, one would guess that she had many friends. In actuality, Laura had no friends. When she did attempt to make one, she would quickly alienate the person and find herself quite alone once again.

Laura gazed across the room at Suzy, the girl whose clothes were always second hand.

“She has a lot of friends, “ she thought to herself. “ I don’t understand.”
Laura remembered the words her mother had spoken that morning. “Laura Jane,” she had said, “I certainly hope your face doesn’t get frozen like that!”

“Mothers say the weirdest things!” thought Laura, “Faces don’t get frozen!”

When the teacher dismissed them for recess, one of her classmates accidentally bumped into Laura.

“Watch where you’re going!” shouted Laura, frowning and pointing an accusing finger. Then Laura lost her temper again during the hopscotch game.

“You skipped a square!” she cried, pointing the same accusing finger.

“I did not!” said the girl. Then, motioning to the others, she said, “Come on. Let’s go play with someone else!”

As the girls marched off, Laura felt even angrier. She was about to yell an ugly name when she suddenly noticed something very strange. She couldn’t drop her arm. Her arm and finger were stuck in the pointing position. In addition, she couldn’t get the frown off of her face. She was stuck…frozen in place.

She tested her legs, shaking out one leg at a time.

“Well,” she thought, “at least I can still walk. I guess I’ll find someone else to play with.”

With that, Laura rushed to the other end of the playground where most of the children had gathered. She couldn’t play softball, she discovered, because she couldn’t hold a bat with only one arm. She couldn’t climb on the monkey bars. She couldn’t play jacks with only one hand. She couldn’t even swing because her arm caused the swing to be out of balance.

“I see some people I can talk to,” she thought, as she approached a group of girls. But as she drew closer, the girls noticed her frown and her pointing finger.

“We haven’t done anything!” they cried. “Leave us alone!”

Laura tried to lower her arm, but it didn’t work. “I’ll try one more time,” she thought, not willing to give up after the first defeat. She approached a girl who was standing alone.

“May I play with you?” she asked shyly. But, unfortunately, her pointing finger had once again betrayed her.

“Get your finger out of my face!” yelled the girl.

Laura tried to explain that her arm and finger were stuck. But no one would listen.

As she sat, lonely and sad, in a corner by herself, an older girl approached her.

“If you want to be included,” she advised, “you’ll have to stop blaming people.”

“Blaming?” said Laura, “I’m not blaming anyone for anything!”

The older girl looked puzzled. “Then why are you pointing at people?”

Laura grabbed her pointing arm. “Can’t you see that I’m stuck?” she replied. “I can’t move out of this position.”

“I see,” replied the girl. “Sometimes we do something so many times that we do become stuck.” Then she walked away, as if Laura was certainly a lost cause.

“If I ever get unstuck,” cried Laura, “I’ll never blame anyone ever again. I’ll smile at people. I’ll be friendly. I’ll…I’ll…”

At that moment, her thoughts were interrupted by the touch of a gentle hand upon her shoulder. Looking up, she saw that it was Mrs. White, her teacher.

“You must have fallen asleep, Laura,” she said. “The rest of the class is at recess. Don’t you want to go out, too?”

Laura tested her arm. Both arms were in good working order. She stepped lightly as she walked outside to meet her class. A giant smile crossed her face. She was determined. She wasn’t going to blow it this time.

Questions for Discussion:

  1. Why didn’t Laura have many friends?
  1. Why do people judge others by appearances?
  1. Why did Suzy have a lot of friends in spite of her appearance?
  1. What type of behaviors would cause you to avoid a person?
  1. What qualities do you look for in a friend?

6. What could Laura have done instead of blaming?

Anger Questionnaire

  1. What situations usually make you angry?
  1. What do you usually do when you are angry?
  1. What is the first thing you do when you are angry?
  1. Does this behavior get you in trouble?
  1. What is the consequence for this behavior?

6. What are some different ways that you could try to control your anger?

SELF CONTROL RAP

I used to have a temper

and I used to be bad

and I always felt unhappy

and I always felt sad.

If you talked about my mother

or my sister or my brother,

then I’d really lose my temper

cause it made me so mad.

So I’d hit and I’d spit

and I’d punch you in the face.

Then along would come the principal

to put me in my place.

In- school suspensions turned out to be a bore

so I finally decided I would fight no more.

Yeah, I learned to walk away

and I learned to count to ten.

Instead of getting angry,

I’d discuss it with a friend.

I can draw a crazy picture,

I can talk to my dad,

I can write about my feelings

when I feel real sad.

I can hang around with people

who make me feel good,

who behave, do their work,

do the things they should.

I can run, I can race,

I can gather my supplies,

Like my ball, like my bat,

get some exercise.

See, I’m staying out of trouble

and I know I’m on a roll,

Cause I’m practicing and winning

With my self control!