Kindergarten - 2nd Grade Arthur: Feelings

Summary

Being able to name different feelings can help children recognize,express and cope with their emotions when someone they know is diagnosed with cancer. In this lesson, students listen to and discuss a read-aloud concept book about emotions before watching the ARTHUR episode about cancer, “The Great MacGrady.” Students discuss and respond to the episode and explore the various feelings the show portrays.

National Academic Standards (Developed by the Mid-Continent Regional Standards - McRel)

Health:

• knows how to maintain mental and emotional health (identifies and shares feelings in appropriate ways)

Life Skills:

• demonstrates appropriate behaviors for relating well with others (e.g., empathy, caring, respect, helping, friendliness, politeness)

Language Arts:

• demonstrates competence in speaking and listening as tools for learning
• demonstrates viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media
• demonstrates the general skills and strategies of the reading process
• demonstrates the general skills and strategies of the writing process

STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will demonstrate the ability to

• name, discuss, and express a wide range of emotions

Resources

On the Site:

• Family Booklet, When Someone You Know Has Cancer
• Teacher Sheet, "How We Feel Around Sick People"
• Extension Activity, Connor Is Sick

ON YOUR OWN

• Picture book: Walter Was Worried by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Roaring Brook Press, 2006).
• ARTHUR video/DVD: "The Great MacGrady"
• Computer or TV
• Feelings poster or labeled photographs of kids and adults expressing different emotions
• Chart paper and markers

PREPARATION

1. You may want to do this lesson in several sessions. Plan out what you will cover in each session.
2. Read the book, Walter Was Worried.
3. Download and watch “The Great MacGrady” from the video player at pbskids.org/go/video or from iTunes. As you watch, take notes on the different ways the characters react to Mrs. MacGrady’s cancer diagnosis.
4. Display a Feelings poster if you already have one, or create a Feelings display with labeled photographs of children and adults expressing different emotions. 
5. Download and print pictures of Arthur characters from the Arthur Web site at pbskids.org/arthur/print/tradingcards/index.html (optional).
6. Print the Teacher Sheet: “How We Feel Around Sick People, ” the Extension Activity, “Connor is Sick.”

THE LESSON

Introduce the Theme

1. Display a Feelings poster, or labeled photographs of children and adults expressing different emotions. Encourage students to look at and talk about the photographs.
2. For younger students, you may want to introduce the lesson with a game of charades. Say, I’m going to act out a feeling. See if you can guess what I’m feeling by the expression on my face and how I move my body. Model an emotion with facial gestures and body language. Invite students to guess the feeling. Students can refer to the Feelings poster or display. Ask what clues they used to make their guesses. Let students take turns acting out a feeling for their classmates to guess.

Read and Discuss

3. Show the cover of Walter Was Worried. Ask, How do you think the boy feels? How can you tell he feels that way? Then show the back cover and read aloud the title and the name of the author/illustrator. Ask students to predict what Walter might be worried about.
4. As you read aloud, pause before each feeling word and ask students to fill it in based on the inferences they can make from the child’s facial expression. You may want to give students a hint: The emotion begins with the same letter as the child’s name.
5. After reading, talk about the book and check students’ pre-reading predictions. Ask, What was Walter worried about? How do you feel in a storm? What are some other times that you feel worried? Show the frightened page and ask, Why was Frederick frightened? What are some times that you feel scared or frightened? Repeat the process for other feelings, including upset, hopeful, and delighted. 
   
   Fun Feature: Challenge students to find the letters hidden in Walter’s face that spell out the word worried. Feature the book in your classroom library and encourage students to look for the hidden letters that spell out the feelings on all the children’s faces.

View and Respond

6. Tell students they are going to watch an Arthur episode called “The Great MacGrady.” Before watching, talk about the Arthur television series. Do students watch the show? Who are some of their favorite characters? Tell students that in this episode, Arthur and his friends learn that Mrs. MacGrady, their favorite lunch lady at Lakewood Elementary School, has cancer. Set a viewing focus: Ask students to notice how the different characters react to and feel about Mrs. MacGrady’s illness.
7. As you watch, pause the video occasionally to talk about the characters' feelings. For example, pause when Muffy asks Francine to visit Mrs. MacGrady and ask, Why do you think Francine doesn’t want to visit Mrs. MacGrady? Or pause when D.W. arrives at Mrs. MacGrady’s house wearing a mask. Ask, Why do you think D.W. is wearing a mask? Do you think she needs one? Why or why not? At the end of the story (before the life-action segment), pause the video and talk about how students feel when Mrs. MacGrady comes back to school.
8. Tell students they are about to see how a real classroom reacts when students find out their principal has cancer. Resume the video and view the live-action segment that features students at the Mason-Rice Elementary School and their principal, Mr. Springer, a cancer survivor.
9. After viewing, encourage students to ask any questions they may have about the episode or about cancer. Ask open-ended questions that invite students to express their thoughts and feelings about the episode, and to make connections to their own feelings and experiences. You might ask:

• How do Arthur and his friends react when they learn that Mrs. MacGrady has cancer?
• How does Francine feel when she first learns that Mrs. MacGrady has cancer? Why is she afraid? What helps her to feel hopeful?
• Mrs. MacGrady’s sister says that Arthur, D.W., and Muffy can be part of Mrs. MacGrady’s support team. What is a support team? What do you think you might do if you were part of Mrs. MacGrady’s support team?
• How do you think the principal, Mr. Springer, feels when he sees his students wearing hats in school? Why do you think he might feel that way?
• Do you know anyone who is sick like Mrs. MacGrady or Mr. Springer? When you found out, did you feel like any of the characters in the show did? Which characters?
• Were you able to talk with anyone about your feelings? Who did you talk with? How did you feel after you talked to that person?

10. Reassure students that it’s natural to feel worried, frightened, or upset when we learn someone we know has cancer or another serious illness. Emphasize that it’s important to talk about and express our feelings, and to ask questions about what puzzles us. Naming and talking about our feelings with others helps us feel hopeful.

Exploring Feelings

11. On the left side of a large sheet of chart paper, list the main characters in “The Great MacGrady.” For younger students, you can also print out pictures of the Arthur characters at pbskids.org/arthur/print/tradingcards/index.html and use the pictures instead of, or in addition to, the names. List the feelings words from Walter Was Worried on the right side. Review the characters and feeling words with students.

Connect Characters and Their Feelings

12. Have students match the characters and their feelings by completing the following sentence frame for each character.

     (Character) was (feeling word) when (event).

    Model by creating two of your own sentences, such as: Arthur was shocked when he found out Mrs. MacGrady had cancer. Francine was ecstatic when she finished the bike race.

13. Encourage children to create multiple sentences for each character to reflect their mixed and changing emotions. For example, Francine felt shocked, worried, and afraid when she learned about Mrs. MacGrady’s cancer diagnosis, but later felt hopeful and delighted when she hugged Mrs. MacGrady.
14. You can conduct this activity as a whole group (for kindergarteners) or in small groups or pairs (for first and second-graders). If students work in pairs or small groups, bring the class together and invite each pair or group to share one or more of their sentences.

Check for Understanding

15. Explain to students that there are many ways to cope with or express our feelings. Ask, What were some of the things that Arthur and his friends did to cope with or express their feelings about Mrs. MacGrady? (For instance, D.W. asked questions; Francine talked to Binky and then wrote a letter to Lance Armstrong.)
16. Using the list of feelings from the “Connect Characters and Their Feelings” chart, (see above), ask students for their ideas of what they can do to cope with or express their feelings when someone they know has cancer or another serious illness. Suggestions could include: talk with a grown-up when you’re worried, ask questions when you’re puzzled, smile or laugh when you’re delighted, and so on.
17. Ask for volunteers (or volunteer pairs) to choose a feeling and then act out a way of coping with or expressing that feeling.

Check for Understanding

15. Explain to students that there are many ways to cope with or express our feelings. Ask, What were some of the things that Arthur and his friends did to cope with or express their feelings about Mrs. MacGrady? (For instance, D.W. asked questions; Francine talked to Binky and then wrote a letter to Lance Armstrong.)
16. Using the list of feelings from the “Connect Characters and Their Feelings” chart, (see above), ask students for their ideas of what they can do to cope with or express their feelings when someone they know has cancer or another serious illness. Suggestions could include: talk with a grown-up when you’re worried, ask questions when you’re puzzled, smile or laugh when you’re delighted, and so on.
17. Ask for volunteers (or volunteer pairs) to choose a feeling and then act out a way of coping with or expressing that feeling.

Extension Activities: You may want to use the activity, "Connor is Sick," which encourages students to explore the myriad emotions that accompany a cancer diagnosis. The Teacher Sheet, "How We Feel Around Sick People," also explores the different ways we feel when someone is sick.

This lesson was developed by the WGBH Educational Foundation. Arthur is produced by WGBH Boston and Cookie Jar Entertainment, Inc. Funding for Arthur is provided by public television viewers. Corporate funding is provided by Chuck E. Cheese’s®. All characters and underlying materials (including artwork) copyright by Marc Brown. Arthur, D.W., and the other Marc Brown characters are trademarks of Marc Brown.