Respect Read Alouds and Book List
Below are books I have engaged with students while teaching respect. These are by no means the only books on respect but they are books I have enjoyed and books that have brought about great conversations, learning, and continued growth with students of all ages. I hope you enjoy these books and enjoy reading there with your students.
Taste Your Words by Bonnie Clark
I AM! by Bela Barbosa
The Circles Around Us by Brad Montgue
Sticks and Stones by Beth Ferry
Only One You by Linda Krantz
Do Unto Others by Laurie Keller
The Bad Seed by Jory John
Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
Whoever You Are by Mem Fox
All of Us by Gokce Irten
Wishtree by Kathrine Applegate
Strictly No Elephants by Mantchev
One Green Apple by Eve Bunting
It's Okay to be Different by Todd Par
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
The Otherside by Jacqueline Woodson
Respect Science Experiments
Diversity Egg Experiment
Supplies: 1 brown egg, 1 white egg, plate
Lesson:
Place both eggs on the plate still intact. Have children look at them, even allow them to touch them. Ask students: What do you see? What do you see that is the same about these eggs? What is different?
Crack the eggs on the plate next to one another. Have children look at them again, this time do not allow students to touch due to the risks of raw egg. Place the shells next to each egg so students can see the shell and the inside of the egg next to one another. Ask students: What do you see? What is the same about the inside of these eggs? What is different about the inside of these eggs? What makes you be able to tell the difference between the two?
Discuss with children how we all look different on the outside and all have different likes and dislikes but inside we all look very similar. Discuss how it is important not to judge the outside of a person but it is important to get to know the 'inside' or the personality of a person. Discuss how being kind to people because of who they are is a form of respect to not judge them by what they look like or how they may be different.
Respect Snacks
Put Up Trail Mix
This is a great snack that can get students involved in the making of in any classroom setting. There is no set recipe for this as you can add whatever you'd want to make a trail mix. I always put individual ingredients in brown paper bags and labeled them with kind words or 'put ups' that students had shared in earlier lessons. Then each student would come up read the words on the bag (I would assist for students who may struggle with reading or if students are in a younger grade level) and pour their part of the mix in the bowl. We'd mix the whole thing together and students would share put ups with each other as we mixed. Then students would sit, eat, and enjoy conversation with friends in the classroom. The one thing I always enjoyed about this snack was on years I had students with food allergies it was very easy for me to adjust the ingredients to fit students needs. Listed below are the items I would use each year (not all are allergy friendly so adjust for your class needs). I also have used trashcan containers to hold the snack to enhance the snack and connection between trash talk belonging in the trash can and children using 'put ups' or their kind words to one another. Trash can containers can be purchased here.
Pretzels
Gold Fish
M&M's
Chocolate Chips
Marshmallows
Chex Cereal
Popcorn
Rasins
Cheez-Its
Respect Games
Throw Out Put Downs Dodge Ball
Write put downs students come up with on the dodge balls (if you want to reuse dodge balls use painters tape or masking tape). Divide students into 2 teams and play using regular dodgeball rules. The only difference is when students get hit with the dodgeball and go to 'jail' students get out by having a teammate come and say something kind to them to get out in place of tagging students to have them return to the game. After playing have students discuss further how it felt to be 'hit' by the put downs and how it felt when someone used kind words to return a student to the game.
Happy Teaching!
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