I’ll Lend a Hand

How can friends help each other? Explore opportunities to share while learning about human differences and similarities.

• 1.

  Imagine if all birthdays were on the same day? What if everyone was a good ball hitter and no one could catch? The more you get to know people, the more you learn about what makes them unique, yourself included. Here’s one way to share your different talents with each other.

• 2.

  Find an interesting texture to do a rubbing, such as bricks, wicker seats, or bumpy bathmats. Place paper on the surface and rub with Crayola Twistables®. The texture will pop on the paper. Attach the textured paper to a recycled file folder with a Crayola Glue Stick.

• 3.

  Lay your hand on the textured paper and trace around it. Cut it out with Crayola Scissors. Inside your hand, outline your name in block letters using a dark color. On the fingers, write some of your best talents, such as strong muscles (to lift heavy items) or a cheerful smile (to greet guests).

• 4.

  Share what you wrote with your classmates. Who could use computer help? Who is good at tying bows? Interlace the fingers of two hands. Glue them together. Punch holes in each pair to connect them with other pairs using brass paper fasteners. Hang completed chain around the room so you can look for a partner when you need one.

Benefits

• • Students realize the variety of community and classroom diversity. </P>
• • Students reflect on their special talents and abilities. </P>
• • Students depict their skills in a visual, symbolic way to lend a hand to others. </P>

Adaptations

• • Collect songs that celebrate the world’s diversity. Plan a program to share your music. </P>
• • Create ways to promote helping behaviors in your classroom. </P>
• • Design a welcome program for new children in your school. This might include a buddy system, questionnaire to find out about the new student, and some handouts explaining school culture. </P>
• • Assessment: Watch for students show increased sensitivity to each other in their daily interactions. Expect children to volunteer. Incidents of bullying and fighting decrease. </P>