Bibliotherapy Lesson Plan

Anna Ryder Derron Hilts Kaitlyn Scott Kate Johnston-Moschak Nicole Grice

Grade(s): K-3rd Grade

ASCA’s Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success:

Category 1: Mindset Standards
● Sense of belonging in the school environment
● Belief in development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional, and
physical well-being
● Positive attitude toward work and learning
Category 2: Behavior Standards
● Subcategory 1: Learning Strategies
o Demonstrate creativity
o Demonstrate critical-thinking skills to make informed decisions
● Subcategory 2: Self-Management Skills
o Demonstrate ability to assume responsibility
o Demonstrate ability to manage transitions and ability to adapt to changing situations and
responsibilities
● Subcategory 3: Social Skills
o Create positive and supportive relationships with other students
o Demonstrate empathy
o Use effective oral and written communication skills and listening skills
o Demonstrate advocacy skills and ability to assert self, when necessary

Pennsylvania’s Interpersonal Standards:

16.1.5.A Examine the impact of emotions and responses on view of self and interactions with
others.
16.2.K.A Interact with peers and adults in a socially acceptable manner.
16.2.5.A Establish relationships that are positive and supportive of others.
16.2.K.B Identify similarities and differences between self and others.
16.2.5. B Recognize and tolerate the uniqueness of all people in all situations.
16.3.5.C Actively engage in creating an environment that encourages healthy relationships.

Pennsylvania’s Career Education and Work Standards:

13.1.3 A. Recognize that individuals have unique interests
B. Identify current personal interests
13.3.3 C. Explain effective group interaction terms, such as, but not limited to:
a. Compliment
b. Cooperate
c. Encourage
d. Participate
 Learning Objectives:
1. Students will begin to recognize the value of being unique and be able to identify 1-2
positive qualities about themselves
2. Students will be able to reflect on how they impact those around them
3. Students will be able to identify 1-2 things that they do to make their friends and family
happy

Materials:
1. Pretest and Posttest
2. Elmer the Elephant Book
3. Whiteboard & Markers
4. Elephant printouts
5. Crayons

Procedure:
1. Welcome students to class and distribute pretest feelings chart for assessment. Collect responses
for further data analysis.
2. Show the cover of the book to students and ask what they notice about this particular elephant.
Create a list with students and write responses on the whiteboard.
3. Explain that this is Elmer and unlike other gray elephants, he is made up of a patchwork of
different colors. Discuss with students that like Elmer, our school is made up of a patchwork of
different students. Explain that, as individuals, we are also a patchwork of various qualities and
talents. We can use our unique qualities and talents to bring happiness to others and ourselves.
4. Encourage students to find ways throughout the book in which Elmer and his friends say or do
things that bring happiness to themselves and others. Briefly brainstorm with students about their
various talents. Explain that we will talk more about their talents in an activity following the
reading of the book.
5. Introduce and discuss key vocabulary terms and concepts with students.
6. Read book aloud to students. Orally conduct checks for understanding.
a. How does Elmer feel about being different?
b. Is it okay to be different?
c. Why does he want to be like everyone else?
7. At the completion of the book, ask students the following questions, write responses on the
whiteboard, and discuss:
a. How did Elmer make his friends happy?
b. How did his friends make Elmer happy?
c. Why did Elmer feel like he needed to cover up his patchwork?
d. What did Elmer learn when he went back to his friends and they didn’t recognize him?
e. What kinds of things can we do at home and school to bring happiness to those around us?
f. What should we do when we are feeling sad?
g. How can we celebrate our differences like the elephants do on Elmer Day?

8. Show students the last page of the book where the elephants each design themselves to look
unique and colorful. Explain that there are unique qualities about each one of us that we can use
to make others happy, such as friendliness, being funny, and even having a big smile.
9. Give each student an outline of an elephant. Ask the students to color in their own unique
elephant design. Then have each one of them write a quality about themselves below their
elephant that makes them and others happy. Time permitting, have each student share their
elephant and quality with the class.
10. Display the elephants around the classroom to remind students of their unique qualities that they
can use to help spread happiness.
11. Distribute and collect posttest feelings chart for lesson assessment and data collection.
Additional Activities:
1. As shown in the book, many of our happy memories include being with our friends or family.
Encourage students to think of a happy memory they can share with the class. For younger
students, ask them to draw a picture of that memory. For older students, have them write the
memory as a brief story. When the students are finished, encourage a few of the students to share
with the class or pair and share. In closing, explain that we can think of these memories when we
are feeling sad. These memories will help us to feel better and find hope.
2. Play Pharrell’s song “Happy” for the class, and as they are listening, encourage them to write
down things that make them happy. Then have the students get into groups of 4-5 and ask them
to write a verse for the song including the things they wrote down that make them happy. Have
each of the groups perform their verse for the class. This song activity will help everyone share
the things that make them happy.

Methods of Evaluation:
Process Data:
The number of students receiving the lesson will be recorded.

Perception Data:
The use of the pretest and posttest gauges the feelings of students at the beginning and end of the
lesson as it relates to the impact of the lesson. The results can be anonymous for the generalized
effectiveness of the lesson for the teacher to examine or individual student responses can be
identified for correlation to track for data analysis.

Outcome Data:
The feeling charts collected before and after the lesson will be assessed for changes evidencing
that the lesson has had an impact on the students’ moods. Furthermore, students will be asked to
identify at least one way in which they are unique and at least one way that they make others
around them happy. Finally, student behavior will be assessed through discipline, principal
referrals, and recorded behavioral issues in subsequent weeks for a comparative analysis.