Teaching the Discovering the Real Me Series Student Textbook and Teacher’s Manual 2

Discovering the Real Me: Student Textbook and Teacher’s Manual 2: Wise and Wonderful For children age 7-8 years old, but appealing to all ages Most stories are based on Aesop’s Fables In Books 1 and 2, the Teachers’ Manuals are inside the student books

The Discovering the Real Me Series—Book 2 17 stories Two lesson plans per story Story is read to the children Activities and discussion bring out story’s theme

Universal Stories Aesop told these stories over 2000 years ago! Timeless themes of human nature and morality Animal characters, appealing to children

Character Education’s Goals: To know the good — head To care about the good — heart To do the good — hands

Each Story has Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Goals Educating the Head, Heart, and Hands

Sample Story Chapter 2: “The Boys and the Frogs ”

The Story This story tells a familiar tale about boys, frogs, and a pond After swimming and frolicking about in a pond, two boys enjoy competing against each other to see who can hit a frog with a rock first The frogs protest, “What’s fun for you could be the end of one of us!”

“The Boys and the Frogs”: Cognitive Objectives Students will understand that what may be fun for them may hurt others They will understand respect

“The Boys and the Frogs”: Affective Objectives Students will feel sorry for the frogs and will want to respect those who are smaller, weaker, or different

“The Boys and the Frogs”: Behavioral Objectives Students will respect others and nature Teasers and bullies will demonstrate more self-control

Lesson Plan—Activity Do animals have feelings? What does a dog do when it is happy? What does a cat do when it is afraid? Children can act these things out!

Lesson Plan—Discussion Do people have feelings? Teacher tells stories, like that of a student who gets an answer wrong. Everyone laughs. How does he feel?

Lesson Plan—Coping with Bullying Tell the bully how you feel, like the frogs did Tell a parent or teacher If someone says you are a bully, listen You may be like the boys to the frogs!

Sample Story Chapter 8: “The Flies and the Honey Pot”

The Story A bee farmer leaves a pot of honey outside Flies are attracted to the honey The bees warn the flies that they will get stuck, but the flies don’t pay attention The flies get stuck in the honey and die

“The Flies and the Honey Pot”: Cognitive Objectives Students will understand it is important to pay attention to warnings and rules They will understand we should help others to obey also

“The Flies and the Honey Pot”: Affective Objectives Students will feel sorry for the flies They will want to listen to warnings and rules They will want to be like the bees and help others to obey

“The Flies and the Honey Pot”: Behavioral Objectives Students will remember the story when tempted to break a rule or warning They will remind others to follow rules and warnings

Lesson Plan—Discussion Did students ever disobey a warning or rule? One common rule is “Don’t play with matches!” What can happen when this rule is disobeyed?

Lesson Plan—Activity Students identify common signs Students consider what could happen if a sign is not obeyed

Sample Story Chapter 10: “The Country Mouse and the Town Mouse”

The Story The story is about a country mouse that envies his city cousin, ignores his parents’ advice, and goes to visit his cousin Unused to city ways, the country mouse narrowly escapes being eaten by a cat, then a dog He gladly returns home, saying these golden words: “I really should have listened to my parents!”

“The Country Mouse and the Town Mouse”: Cognitive Objectives Students will understand the importance of listening to parents Students will understand what envy is and why it is something we have to control

“The Country Mouse and the Town Mouse”: Affective Objectives Students will feel the need and desire to obey their parents and to trust their good advice They will want to avoid being envious of others

“The Country Mouse and the Town Mouse”: Behavioral Objectives Students choose to obey authority, especially their parents They will be grateful and combat envy in themselves

Lesson Plan—Discussion Teacher asks students to imagine why parents say no in scenarios read aloud Sonia wants to go to the beach. She doesn’t know how to swim. Why do her parents say no? Alfredo is not feeling well, but he wants to eat. His parents till him not to. Why do his parents say no?

Lesson Plan—Activities “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence”—or is it? Students are asked to share about envy in their lives, and are given ideas about what to do when they experience it Students list things they are grateful for When you desire something, and it’s reasonable, there are steps you can take to acquire it

Teaching about Virtues Through Story When teachers share these short, entertaining stories, their students learn the vocabulary of virtues and the behavior that goes along with it The seventeen stories in Book 2 highlight the following virtues: respect, responsibility, loyalty, friendship, self- discipline, and conflict resolution

Better Behavior Leads to Better Grades There is a greater sense of community and a better atmosphere for learning Self-esteem AND grades go up ! AAA AAA BAA