Lesson Overview:
In this lesson, students use what they know about grown-ups to make connections to their Unit of Inquiry. Using the library stock of print materials on Moms and Dads (or Grandmas and Grandpas – your choice!), get the kids thinking, writing, and playing with each other and with the collection. Introduce them to Todd Parr’s colorful, happy, and healthy books, then send them back to class with their very own class story in Todd Parr’s style. They will be proud of what they can write and create!
Lesson Plan:
Suggested Grades:
K–1
Objective:
Each class will write two original stories, one for Moms and another for Dads, which show their understanding of some of the things that adults do once they are grown up and have children of their own. (AASL 4.1.8, “Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning.”)
Suggested Time:
40-45 minutes
Success Criteria:
Given a story template, each class will work together to create two original stories patterned after Todd Parr’s The Mommy Book and The Daddy Book.
Lesson Outline:
1. Introduction:
Remind the students that they are learning about life cycles. They have looked at the human life cycle including infants and growing children. They have also considered how living things grow (Little Bear’s Little Boat) and some of the things that plants need to grow (Fran’s Flower). Explain that today they will think about grown-ups, and what grown-ups do after they become Moms and Dads and start families of their own.
2. Main:
Before the lesson, prepare two flipchart story outlines that parallel Mr. Parr’s books. These should look something like:
Our Mommy Book, by Grade 1NM
Some Mommies
- drive drive
- wear wear
- make with you make with you
All Mommies like to
Some Mommies
- like to like to
- work at/in work at/in
- teach you to teach you to
All Mommies like to
Some Mommies
- have hair have hair
- like to like to
- go go (activity ending with “ing”)
All Mommies love to
Some Mommies
- fly fly
- sing read
All Mommies want you to be
(The End)
Our Daddy Book, by Grade 1NM
Some Daddies
- take draw
- wear wear
- sing in sing to
All Daddies like to
Some Daddies
- work work
- like to build like to cover
- teach you how to cover you with
All Daddies like to watch you
Some Daddies
- have hair have hair
- play in your have with you
- make make (kitchen/food words)
All Daddies love to
Some Daddies
- walk/drive you to walk/drive you to
- like to like to
All Daddies want you to be
(The End)
Ask the children to gather ideas from the library’s collections about mothers and fathers. Guide them to use any picture books or non-fiction texts on the subjects of mothers, fathers, or parents. You could give them a few minutes to gather ideas before you start the story writing part of the activity.
Work with the children, either as a class or in groups, to complete the story outlines. Encourage them to use what they know about Moms and Dads to fill in the blanks. Once the story outlines are complete, let the class read their stories out loud. If you have worked as a class, this is a good chance for choral reading in which everyone reads together.
Next, share Todd Parr’s books. The read-alouds go quickly! This will give the children a chance to consider their own work/words with those Mr. Parr has used.
If there is time, encourage the children to illustrate their stories in Todd Parr’s style. If you extend the lesson with illustrations, this could be a two-period lesson.
3. Conclusion:
Ask the children how their story about Moms was the same as Todd Parr’s. How was their book different from Todd Parr’s? Ask the same questions for the Dad story. Is there a right or wrong way to write a Mom or Dad story?
Thank them for their attention and work. Be sure to document the stories by taking a photo or making a copy of some of the work before it goes to class to be added to the Language or Unit of Inquiry notebooks.
Resources:
- Books in the “Recommended Books” section below. All four are Todd Parr titles.
- Flipchart paper, prepared as described.
- Flipchart markers in at least two colors.
- Student handout if you choose to use the story outlines for individual or small groups of children.
Notes:
I have written this lesson for The Mommy Book and The Daddy Book. But, you could easily switch and use the same lesson format for The Grandma Book and The Grandpa Book. It’s completely up to you. Simply use the topics that have not received as much attention by the homeroom teacher.
If needed, differentiate the lesson as follows:
- Split the class into boys and girls. Have the girls fill out the story for one of the parents and the boys for the other. Then, the groups can share their stories with the class.
- If you think that your kids are strong enough readers and can work independently, make the story templates into a handout. Then, ask pairs or small groups of children to write their own stories using Todd Parr’s outline.
Recommended books for this lesson:
- The Mommy Book by Todd Parr
- The Daddy Book by Todd Parr
- The Grandma Book by Todd Parr
- The Grandpa Book by Todd Parr
Key Terms:
Life Cycles, Moms, Dads, Mothers, Fathers, Grandmothers, Grandfathers, Families, Adults