Kindergarten Social Studies: Myself and Others SS000105

Unit 1: Who Am I? Lesson 5

Lesson 5: I Can Get Along With Others

Big Ideas of the Lesson

In school, everyone has to get along and be good citizens.

Some ways to get along are being a friend, following rules, sharing, taking turns, and being
respectful.
People cannot do anything they want to do.

Lesson Abstract:
In this lesson the students learn how getting along with others is beneficial. It begins with students
listening to a short scenario which describes a kindergartner who does not get along with others.
Following the story, students are guided to identifying the childs shortcomings which include failing to
take turns, failing to share, being unkind to others, and believing he can do whatever he wants to do.
The teacher poses the following question: Is it okay for him to behave this way? Why or Why not?
Students begin to understand that people cannot do anything they want to do and rules benefit us all
by keeping us safe and making things fair. Next, students examine ways to get along with others and
how to be a good citizen. They discuss ways the child in the story could improve how he gets along
with others. Students then listen to the story Im Like You, Youre Like Me, or a similar book, and
discuss the importance of understanding and caring about other people. The lessons concludes with
students adding a picture of how they get along with others and ways they are good citizens to their I
am a Person project.

Content Expectations
K - C2.0.2: Explain why people do not have the right to do whatever they want (e.g., to promote
fairness, ensure the common good, maintain safety).

Key Concepts
citizenship
common good
cooperation

Instructional Resources
Equipment/Manipulative
Blank paper, 8 x 11
Chart paper (or chalkboard/dry erase board)
Crayons, colored pencils, markers, etc. (classroom set)
I Am a Person pictures from previous lessons
Markers for teacher use

*Pimp It Up* To upgrade these instructional materials, they must include: prepared
materials for the story in a bag (based on the book: David Goes to School By David
Shannon, images from the book David Goes To School, the book: The Berenstain Bears

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Kindergarten Social Studies: Myself and Others SS000105
Unit 1: Who Am I? Lesson 5

and The Golden Rule, written by Stan Berenstain & Jan Berenstain, the music video:
Sesame Street: Try a Little Kindness, and sing along- link to video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enaRNnEzwi4 ,

Student Resource
The Friendship Song. Kinderplans.com. 13 August 2009
<http://www.kinderplans.com/admin/images/sharing.pdf>.

Gainer, Cindy. I'm Like You, You're Like Me: A Child's Book About Understanding and Celebrating
Each Other. Minneapolis: Free Spirit Publishing, 1998.

Teacher Resource
Clark, Jennifer. Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson 5). Teacher-made material. Michigan
Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum, 2009.

Gainer, Cindy. A Leaders Guide to I'm Like You, You're Like Me: A Child's Book About Understanding
and Celebrating Each Other. Minneapolis: Free Spirit Publishing, 1998.

Lesson Sequence
1. To begin this lesson, the teacher shares with the class a scenario Max the Kindergartener,
located in the Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson 5). The scenario describes a kindergartener
who does not get along well with others and acts as if he can do anything he wants to do.

*Pimp It Up* To upgrade the beginning of this lesson, the teacher will complete a Story in
a bag based on the book: David Goes To School By David Shannon. This story in a bag
will be done with the use of prompts and a story-telling approach. Watch video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t4g_N6ZM8k&feature=youtu.be

In doing this story in a bag, it makes the lesson highly more engaging for students,
however, the theme of this book remains consistent with that of the original book- Being
kind and following rules in the classroom helps to keep everyone happy and safe.

2. Guide the students to identifying the shortcomings of the student. Examples of possible
shortcomings that students might describe include:
Max doesnt know how to take turns
Max doesnt share
Max is unkind to others
Max believes he can do whatever he wants

*Pimp It Up* To upgrade this portion of the lesson, change this section to accommodate the
story in a bag done previously. From here, show different pictures of scenarios from the
book David Goes to School, and ask the students to find the pictures that are examples of

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Kindergarten Social Studies: Myself and Others SS000105
Unit 1: Who Am I? Lesson 5

Davids shortcomings in the book. From there, ask students to describe ways that David could
make better decisions by writing drawing pictures in their journals and then discussing them
with the class.

Pictures To Show Students:

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Unit 1: Who Am I? Lesson 5

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Unit 1: Who Am I? Lesson 5

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Kindergarten Social Studies: Myself and Others SS000105
Unit 1: Who Am I? Lesson 5

Images retrieved from Google Images.

3. After the students identify the shortcomings Max displays in the scenario, the teacher asks the
students the following question: Is it okay for Max to behave this way? When the students
provide their answers, they must also provide a reason for their answer.

4. Lead a discussion about why we cannot do anything we want to do. Guide students to understand
behaving anyway we choose could be unsafe, unfair, and make others sad. Ask students why we
have rules. Guide them to identifying that
Rules keep us safe (e.g. no running in the hallways)
Rules keep things fair (e.g. taking turns on the playground)
Rules are made to benefit everyone (e.g. raising your hand to speak in class helps others
learn)

5. Distribute the Rules are Important sheet located in the Supplemental Material (Unit 1, Lesson 5).
Explain to students they are going to be completing the sentence stem: We cannot do anything
we want because and drawing a picture of their reason. This serves as an assessment for this
lesson.

*Pimp It Up* To upgrade this portion of the lesson, read the following book: The Berenstain
Bears and The Golden Rule, written by Stan Berenstain & Jan Berenstain. This book is one
that discusses the Golden Rule which discusses the idea of treating others the way that
you want to be treated. This book ties in the theme of this lesson in a way that makes more
sense to students as well. From here, pass out the sheet Rules are Important and
proceed with the lesson from there.

6. Post a large sheet of chart paper on a board that shows a graphic organizer. An example of the
How to Get Along with Others graphic organizer is located in the Supplemental Material (Unit 1,
Lesson 5). In the middle bubble write the phrase, How to Get Along with Others and Be a Good
Citizen. Ask the students to offer ways they can get along with others. Some ideas might be:
to share with others
be a good listener
take turns
follow rules
The student responses are written in the outer circles. Save the completed graphic organizer for
use in Unit 4.

7. Return to the scenario about Max from earlier in the lesson. Ask the students how they could help
Max get along with others. Possible suggestions might include: being a friend, showing the boy
how to take turns, sharing with the boy, reminding him of the rules, etc.

*Pimp It Up* Return to the scenario of David from earlier in the lesson.

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Kindergarten Social Studies: Myself and Others SS000105
Unit 1: Who Am I? Lesson 5

8. If time permits, teach the students the The Friendship Song or the We Are Friends Song found
in the Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson 5).

*Pimp It Up* To upgrade this portion of the lesson, have students watch the music video:
Sesame Street: Try a Little Kindness, and sing along.

Link to video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enaRNnEzwi4

In showing this video, it reinforces the idea of treating others with kindness and ways to do
this.

9. Continue the lesson by sharing the story Im Like You, Youre Like Me, or a sim ilar book, to the
students. Prompt students to identify examples of caring for others from the book.

10. If time permits, provide each student the page titled I Get Along with Others, located in the
Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson 5). Students will complete the sentence stem at the
bottom: I get along with others by ______________. With the teachers guidance, each student
completes the sentence and then illustrates it. One option is to collect the drawings and turn them
into a class book.

*Pimp It Up* To upgrade this portion of the lesson, invite special guest speaker in to discuss
the importance of getting along with others and why following rules is important for everyone.
Bring in Connor Newton. Connor is an individual who can relate to this concept because he
was a child who struggled to get along with others and hard a difficult time following rules and
in-turn, he discovered that treating others with little kindness and little respect can lead to
negative things.

Connor Newtons contact information: Email- newton.connor@att.net

11. Finally, the students return to their I Am a Person project. For this lesson, the students draw a
picture of something they do to be a good citizen. Possible examples are provided on the I Am a
Person page in the Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson 5). The picture they add represents
they know how to be a good friend, cooperate, follow rules, or get along, with other students.

Assessment
The Rules are Important sheet located in the Supplemental Material (Unit 1, Lesson 5) should be
used to assess students understanding of why we cannot do anything we want to do. Another
assessment could be the I Get Along with Others an Am a Good Citizen sheet found in the
Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson 5) students complete individually. Lastly, students could also
create word cards similar to those provided in the Supplemental Materials (Unit 1, Lesson 5).

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