MY MANY COLORED DAYS

MY MANY COLORED DAYS

Indiana Standards met using this lesson:
Academic Development: Effective Learning
K-2.1.5: Explain how students have the ability to choose their behaviors.
K-2.1.11: Specify the skills needed to work in a group.
Citizenship Development: Respecting Self and Others
K-2.3.1: Identify ways in which people are similar and different
K-2.3.7: Demonstrate healthy ways to express needs, wants, and feelings using "I" messages.

Materials:
"Many Colored Days" by Dr. Seuss
Long strips of paper in the colors described in the book, enough for each child to have two different colors. The colors in the book include: yellow, blue, red, brown, gray, orange, green, purple, pink, and black.

Procedure:

Have the students call out Henrietta from behind your back (123 Henrietta). Have everyone close their eyes and imagine going into a room that is all one color. For example: Imagine that you and walking in a room that is all gray. The walls are gray, the ceiling is gray, the carpet is gray, the furniture is gray, the curtains are gray, even the people are gray. Think about how you would feel when everything is gray. Give the students a few moments to think about how they would feel to be in a world that is all gray and everything and everyone is the same. Nothing is different. Even their emotions are gray and the same. Ask the students how they feel. Give each student a slip of paper in one of the colors described in the book. As you distribute the papers, tell the children that fortunately we do not live in a world that is a gray and that we are made up of many colors and feelings. Have the students brainstorm what the colors they are holding remind them of in relation to people and feelings. Tell the children that today we will be working together in a group to celebrate the similarities and differences that make up each and every one of us in our colorful world. Have the students take note of what color they have and tell them they will need to listen carefully for their color. when they hear their color, they are to wave their strip proudly. Quickly, have them practice.

Read the book "Many Colored Days" to the class. As you read and come to a different color, ask the students to think of what emotion their color might represent. At the end wave all the colors together proudly and admire how beautiful they look together.

After the story, discuss the different colors and the feelings with which they are associated. Help the students identify their feelings in different situations using colors and encouraging "I" messages. " I felt…when….". Process how their feelings and situations were similar or different and how we need everyone to make a colorful world.