Project URL:  http://teachersnetwork.org/teachnet-lab/ps101/akaufman/friendship1.htm

How it works:

In this project the students will become familiar with the term friend. They will learn what they need to do and how they have to act in order to be a good friend and have good friends. The teacher will read various books to the children and have them describe ways in which the characters displayed examples of the qualities of a good friend. These will be compared and contrasted with other books dealing with the same theme. The children will acquire the vocabulary needed to read some of these books on their own as well as to use in their writing and speaking.

Students will use computer technology to create their own pictures of good friends doing things together, to write stories, to make charts comparing and contrasting characters in books, and perhaps use the Internet to make friends in other schools around the city or country and show what they have learned about friendship. One particular lesson would be to read the book Corduroy by Don Freeman and to discuss how the characters Corduroy and Lisa were good friends. Children would draw pictures of these two main characters using KidPix, and list their qualities in a chart.

Standards:

• Progress toward the goal that students read at least twenty-five books throughout the school year. 
• Use graphic organizers to compare/contrast elements of stories
• Read and write for information and understanding
• Self-expression using various art media
• Gain basic computer proficiency 

Materials:

Several books on the theme of friendship (such as Corduroy by Don Freeman), KidPix, Writing Center, Superprint, teacher-created worksheets and semantic webs

The students:

This unit is for students with average ability in grade 1.  It can be adapted for kindergarten by doing more class projects as opposed to individual ones. It can be adapted for second grade by having the students do more writing on their own.

Overall value:

This program will help children build self-confidence by increasing their vocabulary, giving them an appreciation of fine children's literature, fostering their writing skills, and helping them teach themselves how to be a good friend by setting many examples for them to follow.

Tips:

Teachers should research web sites in advance for grade appropriate materials. Always have all materials necessary close at hand. Motivate young children with something fun and appropriate like a book or a poem before each lesson.

Andrea Kaufman is a first grade teacher in an elementary school in Brooklyn, New York. She has been teaching for ten years. Three of these were in a nursery school, and the past seven have been at P.S. 101.

E-mail: anrob68@optonline.net

Subject Area:  Social Studies, English

Grade: 1

Estimated class periods to complete:  5