Lesson 4
Title:  "Will you be my friend?"

Grade level:  3-5

Subjects: Language Arts, Health

Learner Outcomes:
    1.  The learners will identify characteristic traits of the characters in the story Charlotte's Web.
    2.  The learner will write characteristic traits for others in the classroom.
    3.  The learner will identify what makes a good friend.
    4.  The learner will write and display "A friend is ..." sentences.

Duration of lesson:   50 minutes

Materials: chart paper, envelopes and coloring supplies (optional), paper, large pig or spider outlines

Technology Tools/Courseware: multimedia computer

Teacher Notes: Additional friendship activities can be found on TeachNet.Com.  Be careful when searching for author information in E. B. White, as some of it is not appropriate for children.  Remind children to be careful when handling spiders.

Procedures:
    1.  Have the children examine the character traits of Charlotte, Wilbur, Templeton, and several others in the barnyard gang.  List the traits on the chalkboard or chart paper.  Have them discuss how the "personalities" of each contributed to the harmony (or disharmony) of living within the barnyard community.  How do our personalities and traits contribute to how our classroom coexists?  Our homes?  Our own hometowns?
    2.  Use the list of traits that were listed earlier, have the children to write down on a piece of paper five traits that they think talks about themselves.  Turn the papers over.  Have the 5  children in the class tell a student some of the traits that they recognize in that student.  (The teacher might want to write the traits on the student's paper.)
    3.  OR, give each student an envelope to decorate with his/her own name.  Give each child a piece of paper for each student in the class.  Pass the envelope to the person behind them.  Each child then uses one of the pieces of paper to write a characteristic for the person whose name appears on the envelope.  Continue to pass the envelopes around the room adding papers as the envelope comes to them.  Allow children time to read the comments made by their classmates.
    4.  Complete the sentence "A friend is..."  Place edited sentences/paragraphs on an outline of a pig or spider and display.

Modifications: The teacher may want to write the traits for younger or resource children.

Enrichment Activities:  Given a situation dealing with a character trait from the classroom discussion, the children can role play appropriate responses.

Evaluation/Assessment:  participation, completion of display sentences

WV State IGOs, Language Arts 3.11, 4.13, 4.14, 4.83, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.6, 5.14 Health 3.1, 3.19, 3.20, 4.1, 4.9, 4.16, 5.1, 5.15, 5.18, 5.19

National Standards

References: TeachNet.com

Authors:  Lula Speelman, Jackie McCrum, Cathy Robinson
 
 


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Introduction
 Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Lesson 5