We Are All Different in Many Ways!

Summary

This activity focuses on being an individual and reminds students that it is okay to be different.

Materials

• The Black Crayon flannel board story (pdf)
• The Crayon Box That Talked, written by Shane Derolf and Michael Letzig
• Crayons (separate blacks from the rest of the colors)
• Paper (two sheets per student)

Additional Resources

Books

• It's Okay to Be Different, by Todd Parr; ISBN 0316666033
• The Feelings Book, by Todd Parr; ISBN 0316691313
• My Many Colored Days, by Dr. Seuss; ISBN 067989344X
• Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Days, by Jamie Lee Curtis; ISBN 0694013439
• Harold and the Purple Crayon, by Crockett Johnson; ISBN 0064430227

Background for Teachers

This activity focuses on being an individual and reminds students that it is okay to be different. Differences such as skin color, eye color, hair color, emotions, families, etc., will be discussed.

Intended Learning Outcomes

3. Demonstrate responsible emotional and cognitive behaviors.

Instructional Procedures

Invitation to Learn
Place empty crayon boxes on the tables with only the black crayons left for students to draw with.

Instructional Procedures

1. Have students draw a colorful picture with only the black crayon.
2. Talk about how our world would be if we only had a black crayon.
3. How would our world be if we all looked alike?
4. Invite students to the reading area and read The Black Crayon flannel board story (pdf) .
5. Talk about how even the black crayon is important and so are we in different ways.
6. Read The Crayon Box That Talked.
7. Talk about how each crayon is important even though they look different. Apply the concept to the class.
8. Invite students back to their seats and have them draw another picture with all the crayons.

Extensions

Graph favorite colors.

Match colors to emotions and various faces.

Probability—Put crayons in a bag, pull one out at a time, graph.

Family Connections

• Invite the family to sit down and draw pictures together using a variety of colors.
• Talk about the different emotions that we have.

Assessment Plan

Ask questions about how we can learn from these stories.