Stories i read by wasan

R o c h e s t e r , N e w Y o r k .
2014
Stories I Read.
By: Wasan Abu Baker.
St. John Fisher College, Ralph Wilson , The School Of
Education ,

1) SYLVESTER AND THE MAGIC PEBBLE
Introduction:
William Steig was the author and illustrator of this book. He was a prolific American
cartoonist, sculptor, and later in life, an author of popular children’s literature. Most noted
for the books Sylvester and the magic pebbles, Ables Island, and Doctor D’Soto, he was also
the writer and illustrator of Shrek, who inspired the popular movie series of the same
name. Steig received acclaim for the quality of his illustrations and for the gracefulness of
his prose style.
Elements of the story:
The story was set in fictional Oatsdale. It is about Sylvester Duncan who is a young donkey
whose hobby is collecting pebbles. One day he discovers that one of the pebbles is magical.
Each time he holds the pebble and makes a wish, the wish comes true. Frightened by an
approaching lion, Sylvester wishes on the magic pebble that he be turned into a rock. And
that is precisely what happens! Since Sylvester could no longer hold the pebble in his hand
and wish to be a donkey again, his wishing days are over. Sylvester's parents worry about
their son throughout the year. They decide to make the best of their unhappy existence
without their son, and, the following spring, plan to have a picnic. As fate would have it,
their picnic takes place on a rock that just happens to be the rock that is Sylvester. At the
picnic his father picks up the pebble and places it on the rock. When Sylvester wishes to be
himself again, he magically turns into his old self! Sylvester and his parents have nothing
left to wish for, they have all they ever wanted, each other
Language, Literacy, and Content:
Literacy Grade Level K-2, reading level: Ages 6 and up
There are many themes of this story, the first is family relationships. Children will learn
about family relationships and will understand the importance of appreciating their
relationships with family and friends. Another theme is social studies and geography
with a Map of Oatsdale being included in the story line. The teacher could talk about maps
and how they help people know how to get around. Begin by asking the class where
Sylvester lived (Acorn Dr. in Oatsdale). Then re-read to the class the part in the story that
tells about Sylvester being less than a mile away from his home during the time that he was
a rock. You could then have the class brainstorm parts of Oatsdale. Model Draw the places

on the board. Then have the kids make their own map or work with partners or small
groups. Another focus of the class could be cause and effect. There are many examples of
cause and effect in the story to discuss with the students:
 Sylvester collects rocks – he finds a red, shiny pebble.
 Sylvester wished the rain would stop – it ceases.
 Sylvester sees a lion – he is frightened
 He is frightened – he wishes he is a rock – parents were worried they looked for him
 Sylvester was lost – parents went to police – parents found pebble
The next theme of this story is neighborhood and community helpers. Sylvester and his
family live in a neighborhood on Acorn Road in the town of Oatsdale (you may want to
create a town named Oatsdale on a map and place a story disk there). Familiarize your
children with your neighborhood. Do they know their street and town names? Take a walk
or a drive around your neighborhood, with children noting street signs, pointing out
familiar sights, and soaking in the surroundings. Show them where the police station and
firehouse are, explaining to them how they are community helpers. Maybe they would like
to try their hand at making a map of the neighborhood. Sometimes your neighbors can be
community helpers too. Does you’re the student remember who tried to help Sylvester’s
parents find Sylvester? All of the neighborhood dogs went looking for him. Reminisce about
a time that you or your child may have been community helpers. Maybe you helped to find
a runaway dog, or picked up trash along the street. Maybe you helped the people of your
neighborhood in a time of natural disaster. Share these adventures with your children. The
theme of Feelings is also where the story teaches that sometimes we act out in anger or
frustration because we don’t know how to express our feelings. This is especially true with
children. The Donkey, and other characters, went through many, many different feelings
throughout this story. Have your child act out these various feelings: excited,
surprised, startled, frightened, confused, perplexed, puzzled, bewildered, scared, worried,
helpless, hopeless, miserable, and unhappy. Discuss with children how a problem can be
helped more quickly if they are able to express their feelings. A science theme also exists
where animal babies are discussed. Sylvester’s parents asked all the animal children if they
knew where their son was. Does your student know the adult and baby names of the

various animals? The story mentions puppies, kittens, colts, and piglets. Have student name
the parent animal (dog, cat, horse, pig). Does he know any more? You could mention
cow/calf, bear/cub, sheep/lamb, lion/cub, kangaroo/joey. Another element of animal
science in the book is animals in the winter. As the weather was growing colder Sylvester
went into a deep sleep. This deep sleep during the wintertime is called hibernation. While
donkeys (or rocks!) don’t usually hibernate, there are many animals that do. Can your child
think of any animals that hibernate? Bears, groundhogs, and bats are among those animals
that will sleep all winter. Other animals, such as birds and butterflies, will migrate to
warmer areas during winter, where food and shelter is more plentiful. And others will store
up food and stay inside their cozy homes when the weather turns cold. This also gives way
within the story to discuss weather and seasons. This picture book gives very good
examples of the changing of seasons. Discuss with your child the different seasons, and the
months they fall under. Does your child know what causes the seasons? The earth takes 24
hours to spin on its axis, to create day and night. And it takes 365 days for the earth to
rotate around the sun, to create a year. The seasons tell us how far the earth has traveled
around the sun since the year began. What happens to the plants and animals in spring?
How about fall and winter? What is your child’s favorite season? Why? Go outside and
observe your surroundings, noting the changes specific to the seasons. The next scientific
theme that is covered is about rocks. This story lends itself perfectly to the study of
rocks. There are so many good resources available. You may want to have your child
collect rocks and pebbles and have him identify them using a good resource book or a
website. Anther theme in the story is math. Sylvester thought that the chance of someone
wishing that a rock were a donkey was one in a billion at best. How much is a billion? Have
child write out the number and identify the place value of each digit. Ask him if he thinks
that 1 in 1,000,000,000 is a good chance or bad? Look with your child at the picture of the
dogs searching for Sylvester. Have child count all the dogs. How many brown? How many
gray? How many spotted? How many different kinds can your child find? Using the pebbles
and stones your child collected in the science lesson, have child make a bar graph of rocks
by color, texture (smooth, rough), size, etc. Have him group the rocks in different ways, and
look for his input as to how he would graph each one. The final theme in this story is art.
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble is the winner of the 1970 Caldecott Award. Have child find

the medal on cover of story. Explain that in 1937 the secretary of the American Booksellers
Association, Fredric Melcher, proposed that a special award should be given to the artist of
“the most distinguished American picture book for children published in the United States
during the preceding year”. The award was named in honor of Randolph Caldecott, a 19th
century picture book illustrator. As you examine the pictures of the story with your child,
discuss reasons it may have been selected as a “distinguished American picture book”.
Have child design his own medal, using foil, to award to his favorite picture book. A good
critical thinking activity for the child could be to encourage children to think if they were
Sylvester and had seen a lion approaching, how would they have used the magic pebble to
help them?

2) THE GIVING TREE
Introduction:
The author of this story is Shel Silverstien who is an American poet, musician, cartoonist
and author of children’s books. He styled himself as Uncle Shelby in his children's books.
Translated into more than 30 languages. Shel also illustrated this book.
Elements of the story:
The story is set on a playground, where the boy used to play. It is a tale about a
relationship between a young boy and a tree. The tree always provides the boy with what
he wants: branches on which to swing, shade in which to sit and apples to eat. The young
boy sees the tree as more than just a tree house, a special treat, or even a stump. He sees
the tree as a true friend, one who is always there and ready to give him everything she
has. The boy, when really young, plays with the tree every day. He comes and spends
hours just laughing, playing, and resting. The tree finds comfort in the boy's visits, and the
two are very happy. But, as all people do, the boy gets older, and he does not come around
as often as he once did. The tree seems to no longer be such a big priority in the boy's life,
and she becomes sad. As time goes on, the boy stays away longer and longer, and only
comes back when he needs something. The boy needs money, so she lets the boy sell her
apples; He needs a house, so she lets him take her branches, and he wants a boat, so she lets
him cut down her trunk and make a boat. Eventually, the tree has nothing left to give the
boy when he comes to her for the last time. But, that is only what the tree thinks. However,
she is wrong. All the boy wants now, is a place to sit and rest. And so, she lets him do so
upon her stump. And both the boy, and the tree are happy again.
This story can be adapted for use in language arts class with students of varying ability
levels in grades 2 – 8. This story is also well-suited to a multi-age activity. School
counselors and emotional support teachers may find this activity helpful for small groups
working on social skills, as well. The different themes of this story are Science (life cycle of
the organism), the advantage of trees to humans, feelings, seasons, and math. The author
does a very good job linking the story to the human condition by asserting that readers
ought to identify with both the boy and the tree. The book has generated controversy and
opposing opinions for its interpreted messages, on whether the tree is self-sacrificing or

merely selfless, and whether the boy is selfish or reasonable in his demands of the tree. The
story clearly shows childhood as being a time of relative happiness in comparison to the
sacrifice and responsibility of adulthood. Readers describe the book as portraying a
vicious, one-sided relationship between the tree and the boy; the tree is a selfless giver, and
the boy as a greedy and insatiable entity that constantly receives, yet never gives anything
back to the tree. The boy has a selfish love that could be misrepresented and imitated by its
young readers. Indeed, some of these speakers single the tree out as an irresponsible
parent whose self-sacrifice has left the boy ill-equipped. Other readers argue that the tree
gives everything to the boy freely because it loves him, and its feelings are reciprocated by
the boy when he returns to the tree for a rest. In this way, the relationship between the tree
and the boy as he grows up could be viewed as similar to that between a parent and child;
despite getting nothing in return for a long time, the tree puts the boy's needs foremost,
because it wants him to be happy. Indeed, the only time the tree ever seems to be sad is
when it feels that it has nothing left to give the boy and that the boy might never return.
Some classroom activities to explore the themes of this story are; play dough production by
making examples of natural resources using play dough, creating a bulletin board using the
headings “Renewable Resources” and “Non-Renewable Resources.” Cut out and categorize
pictures from magazines.

3) CLICK, CLACK, MOO COWS THAT TYPE.
Introduction:
The author is Doreen Cronin, she is an American author of children’s books most notably
the Caldecott Medal-winning Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type. The book is illustrated by
Betsy Reilly Lewin, an American illustrator from Pennsylvania.
Elements of the Story:
Farmer Brown has a smooth-running farm where the cows make milk and the chickens lay
eggs. On the surface everything seems to be fine, but the truth is that the animals aren’t
very happy. Every night the barn gets very cold and in the morning the animals are very
cranky as a result. Farmer Brown’s granddaughter Jenny visits farm with her laptop
computer, so that she can keep in touch with her friends back home. Duck explains to the
animals that he stays warm because of the down in his feathers which the farmer uses to
make blankets. The cows decide that they want blankets too but don’t know how they can
communicate their wishes to Farmer Brown. When Jenny leaves her laptop and printer in
the barn, the animals figure out how to type a note to Farmer Brown requesting blankets.
When Farmer Brown refuses their request, the cows decide to go on strike. They send a
new note saying they will not give milk until they get blankets. The Farmer decides he
doesn’t need to sell milk. Instead he’ll just sell eggs. In turn, the cows convince the chickens
to join in the strike until the Farmer meets their demands. Jenny helps negotiate an
agreement between the animals and Farmer Brown while Duck runs back and forth with
demands from both sides. Finally, in exchange for the laptop, Farmer Brown gives the
animals blankets. Of course once Duck gets the laptop, he has some demands of his own.
This book will be considered a classic children's tale, suitable for kindergarten, first grades,
and second grades.
This story provides children an opportunity to watch and listen to real animals doing fun
and imaginary things. The children will identify different ways of telling a story and will
experience the importance of knowing how to read and write which the cows
demonstrated in communicating with Farmer Brown. There are some social studies
themes which included labor strikes and disobedience as a method of expressing our
opinion. An ideal activity for these themes could be creative writing; ask the students to

write letters from their pets to themselves. What would the pet ask for? What might they
want to change in the house? Then have the students draw a picture of the pet and display
the picture with the letters on a bulletin board. A good writing exercise could be to give
students writing prompts to complete the sentences or begin a paragraph or story. For
example:
 Living on a farm would be…
 I like to keep warm by…
 If my pet could talk, it would say…
 My favorite thing to do on a computer is…

4) CORDUROY
Introduction:
The author of this story, Don Freeman, was born in China. He is an American children’s
book author and illustrator. He is also a cartoonist, attended high school in Kentucky and
later attended Harvard College and later moved to Rome. In Rome he studied etching at the
Art Students League with Rick Sanchez and Barry Hickey. Throughout his career, Don
Freeman was the author and illustrator of over 20 children’s books. He is best known for
his publication of Corduroy. Freeman also drew cartoons for magazines and newspapers.
The book tells the story of a teddy bear named Corduroy, displayed on a toy shelf in a
department store. One day, a girl named Lisa arrives in the store with her mother and spots
the bear. She is willing to buy him, however, her mother declines to spend more money
and notes that a button is missing from his overalls. After they leave, Corduroy decides to
find the missing button by himself and embarks on a trip around the department store after
it closes in the evening. He goes upstairs and finds furniture he had never seen before,
including beds and mattresses. Thinking that one of the mattress buttons is the one he is
missing, he pulls it hard and eventually falls down from the bed, making noise. The store
guard arrives, finds the bear and puts him back in place. The next day, Lisa comes back
with the money she had found in her piggy bank and buys Corduroy. At home, she sews a
button on his shoulder strap.
Feelings are a very important theme in this story. For an activity the children could be
asked to create a “feelings chart”. They should be asked to think about different emotions
they felt while listening to the story of Corduroy. A chart will be previously set up in three
columns. The first column will include 6 events that occurred within the book. The second
column will be of how the children thought Corduroy felt during these different events. The
third column will be about how the children felt when they heard about these events in the
story. The ultimate goal with this activity is to ensure that the students will be able to
name different types of emotions,, and friendship. The behavioral objective is that after
reading Corduroy, the students will be able to relate Corduroy’s emotions to their own
emotions in a ‘feelings chart’. They will be able to relate feelings of friendship, acceptance

and belonging. I will ask the students if they know what emotions are by asking them to
name some types of feelings. I will then have students act out, as a class, different typed of
emotions. I will then display pictures of different types of emotions and have the children
read them out loud. I will give the children situations and ask them what their emotion
would be if they were in that situation

5) JOHNY APPLE SEED
Introduction:
The story’s author and illustrator is Aliki Aliki Liacouras Brandenberg who is an American
author and illustrator of books for children. Brandenberg was born in New Jersey. Her
parents, who lived in Philadelphia were originally from Greece, and they taught her to
speak Greek as a first language. She started to draw at an early age, and her parents
enrolled her in art classes. She has written and illustrated many books and she has also
illustrated books for other authors, including her husband Franz Brandenberg. The
illustrations throughout the book switch from black and white to color every other two
page spread. The illustrations are simple and use a variety of colors. Brandenberg's career
as an author and illustrator led her to explore many subjects of historic and scientific
interest. Aliki's fictional works explore such themes as family and friendship.
Brandenberg’s Greek heritage is also a recurring theme in her works, both fiction and
nonfiction
This book is on a level that most children will be able to read in kindergarten and first
grade. The illustrations allow them to use their imaginations. The story is a great
introduction to the genre of Tall Tales. I believe that the appropriate level for this story is
3rd to 5th grade.
In this story by Aliki, John Chapman becomes known as Johnny Appleseed. Johnny loves the
outdoors. He usually walks through the forest and one day after he eats an apple, he only
has the seeds left and decides to plant them. From then on, Johnny walks with the pioneers
to make new homes. Along the way, he meets many people and helps them to clear their
land, make homes, and plant apple seeds. He gives bags of apple seeds to the people he
meets. He is friends with the animals, like bears, and people of all kinds. He even befriends
the Indians. Johnny tries to make peace between the Indians and settlers because he does
not like people to fight. Johnny continued to plant apple trees for many years and we can
see all of his trees today.
Reading Level Grade level – 1st grade.
Some of the themes in this story are science, agriculture, life cycle of the apple tree,

American history, travel, and time/sequence. Preservation and even cooking can be
incorporated into the classroom with this story.
Johnny Appleseed is of course a classic American tale of the spreading of apple trees by one
very simple and peaceful man who got along with everybody he met. Whether the story is
true or not does not matter. It tells a nice story about the American frontier in Colonial
days. Johnny Appleseed is portrayed as a model of American Patriotism and good will. Aliki
has done a nice job of making him real while keeping the text simple enough so that mid-
year first graders should be able to start on this book. A nice class room activity for
elementary teachers can be to use an apple cooking activity to introduce the concept of
sequencing. The teacher gathers the ingredients for an easy apple snack recipe such as
applesauce and brings them to the class. The teacher writes the recipe for the apple snack
on the whiteboard for all of the students to see. The kids and teacher follow the recipe to
make and eat the applesauce or other treat. After the students have completed the cooking
activity, the teacher places sentence strips with the steps of the recipe written on them in a
pocket chart. The teacher then uses verbal prompts and questions to assist the class in
sequencing the recipe steps in the proper order.

6) ME ON THE MAP
Introduction:
Author Joan Sweeney grew up in Toledo, Ohio. She used to spend Saturday mornings
taking free art classes at the Toledo Museum of Art. Now she lives in Evanston, Illinois. She
has three "grown-up" children and five grandchildren. She has written many more books
since she first wrote Me on the Map. She wrote her first book when she was six years old! It
was called Penguin Island. Her father bought the only copy for a nickel. She has worked as
a reporter for a newspaper. When she was a little girl, she wanted to be just like Brenda
Starr. Brenda Starr was a reporter in a comic strip that Joan Sweeney loved to read. The
illustrator, Annette Cable, works with different authors to illustrate their books. She has
also drawn pictures for other books by Joan Sweeney. She has illustrated books about time,
space, and family trees!
In this playful introduction to maps and geography, step by simple step, a young girl living
in Kansas shows readers herself on a map of her room, her room on the map of her house,
her house on the map of her street, all the way to her country on a map of the world. Once
the reader is familiar with the maps, she demonstrates how readers can find their own
country, state, and town, all the way back to their room on each colorful map which could
make for a very informative and fun classroom activity. Easy-to-read text, bright artwork,
and nice details give children a lot to search for.
Language and literacy ages 4-7
The themes included in this story are social studies and geography. These elements help
the students draw maps, locate places on the map, learn map keys, and the four
dimensions. A child also could learn to be a cartographer. There is also an element of
diversity in this story. Each person has a special place in the world, so we are all different.

7) GALIMATO
Introduction:
The author, Karen Lynn Williams, was born in Connecticut, and received her Master’s
degree in deaf education. She has lived in Africa and in Haiti. Karen had an early dream to
be one of the youngest published authors, starting a writing club at ten. However, Karen's
published works came later in life, after extensive travels and family experience. Karen's
ability to draw from personal experience and adapt into writing forms for all ages and
interests expresses her true gift. The illustrator, Catherine Stock, was the daughter of a
diplomat so she grew up in many different countries, including Sweden (where she was
born), France, South Africa, and England. The excitement of this background must have
gotten into her blood. In her career as an illustrator and writer of children's books, she has
continued to travel all over the world.
Galimoto takes place in Malawi, a small country in the southern part of Africa. It is about a
boy, Kondi, who decides one day to make a galimoto. A galimoto is a toy vehicle usually
fashioned out of old wire; but it can also be fashioned out of sticks, cornstalks, and yams. A
galimoto has moving parts and is a push toy, a toy moved with a long stick of some kind
while the child is standing. In the story, Kondi opens a shoebox with all his possessions in
it. Inside are some old wires he had been saving for something special, making a galimoto.
He still does not have enough wires, so Kondi goes around his village and collects wire from
various places to build his galimoto. When he gets all his materials, Kondi sits under a tree
near his home and fashions the wires into a truck. A galimoto does not only have to be a car
or truck; it can be a bicycle, airplane, or any other vehicle.
Reading level: second- third grades.
The major themes in this story center around diversity and learning about new cultures.
For example new African words and concepts are discovered. For example, the word
galimoto came from the English word motor car. Chichewa interchange the sounds r and l
and the c possibly can change with a g. Every syllable in Chichewa end in a vowel sound
(Williams, 1990). Chichewa is the national language, along with English, in Malawi, Africa.
Resourcefulness is another good idea for the reader to take away from the story, the

teacher could tell the class that "resourceful" means being able to find different ways to
solve problems which Kondi certainly does well. Ask your class, "How was Kondi able to
find wires throughout his village to make his toy?" Then, "How is this being resourceful?"
Other possible questions are: "What do you do to be resourceful?" "How are the ways you
are resourceful like Kondi?" "What can be done to be more resourceful?". Clearly, with only
the setting of the story me can introduce social studies and geography. Students should be
asked to find Malawi on a map. A fun class activity could also be for the students to make
their own galimotos out of recycled materials, which could be another lesson in caring for
the environment by recycling old things. In the process of making a galimoto students will
also be exposed to art and creativity. Explain that each child, or teams of two or three
people, will make a toy like Kondi did using the things they can find around the classroom.
Explain that the toys they are going to make need to be able to do something and they need
to explain how they would play with it.

8) THE KISSING HANDS
Introduction:
The author, Audrey Penn, is an American author of children's books. She is best known for
writing the book the kissing hands. She grew up in Maryland and did not start off her
career as a writer. Penn, in the 1970s, was a ballerina dancer dancing for the New York City
ballet Danny Diamond Dance. After developing juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, Penn was too
ill to continue with ballet. Due to many painful surgeries and not being able to walk for
weeks led her to write more books like Blue Out of Season and No Bones About Driftiss. Her
best known book, The Kissing Hand, was the New York times number one best seller and
won the Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Educational Journalism. The
illustrators were Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M. Leak.
In the story, Chester is a young raccoon who is nervous about going to school. His mother
kisses his palm and tells him that "whenever you feel lonely and need a little loving from
home, just press your hand to your cheek and think, 'Mommy loves you. Mommy loves you.
Chester is comforted and goes to school.
Language and literacy: Teaching Vocabulary
We can use "The Kissing Hand" to teach vocabulary words and parts of speech. To prepare
for this lesson, create word cards with words from the story. Some ideas are raccoon,
thoughts, thoughtful, nuzzled, scampered, promise, palm and warmth. Make a class set of
the words so each student can have all the words on her desk. As you read "The Kissing
Hand," stop when you come to one of the vocabulary words. Help your students determine
whether the word is a noun, verb or adjective. Each student will place the words in
categories on her desk. You can also use the word cards to teach alphabetical order
Other benefits of this story is that it has been used to reassure children upset by separation
anxiety by thinking about family support and each individual’s special place among those
that love him or her. The book clearly highlights the mother and child’s relationship. This
would be a great book to use to welcome young students to a new school year. Your
students can often relate to Chester the raccoon's nervous feelings about coming to school
for the first time. His mother eases his fears by kissing his hand. Another element in the

story that can be used in the classroom is math given the counting in the story. The teacher
could extend reading of The Kissing Hand with a math match-up game. Prepare 10
handprints and number cards with one through 10. On the handprints, glue on hearts from
one to 10. Using a pocket chart, your students can match up the handprints with the
number cards by counting the number of hearts on each handprint. After completing this
activity as a whole group, you can move this activity to a center. For older students, have
them add up two sets of handprints to determine the sum.

9) A STORY A STORY
Introduction:
Author and illustrator, Gail E. Haley, is an American author who has won the annual awards
for children’s book illustration from both the American and British librarians, for two
different picture books. She won the 1971 Caldecott medal for A Story A Story which she
retold from an African folk tale. She has fourteen books to her credit, in addition to
illustrating her husband's syndicated newspaper column, "Parents and Children". The idea
for this book came to Miss Haley as a result of living in the Caribbean. She traced the origins
of these stories back to their sources in Africa. She studied African folklore and culture in
preparation for writing and illustrating this book, and to capture the flavor of the
languages, the people, their customs and life styles. The woodcuts that illustrate this book
were cut and printed by Miss Haley in her own print shop. She lives and works in New York
with her family, surrounded by a large collection of early children's books, toys and games,
cut outs and dolls, going back to the seventeenth century
The story is one that retells the African tale of how, when there were no stories in the
world for children to hear, the trickster Anansi obtained them from the Sky God. The book
was produced after Gail E. Haley spent a year in the Caribbean researching the African
roots of many Caribbean tales. customs and life styles.
Reading level: third grade-fifth grade.
Language and literacy: This book is meant to help the students to learn about African
words, and their meanings. And to help them learn about the elements of African folktales.
The themes present in the story included science. Where the child would read about some
of the animals, as an activity to help solidify some of this information the child could
explore animal surroundings by making models of them. The child in the meantime can
recognize that animals are found living in places where their needs are met. The teacher
can build on this knowledge by asking the child to describe and name ways animals can
stay safe. The child will learn to appreciate that living and non-living things have
identifiable characteristics which are the source of their diversity. From a social studies
perspective, the students can learn about the history of the world, especially history of

Africa. This will require some geography exposure where the student will have to locate
Africa on the map. A good classroom activity to explore this cultural diversity is to have an
African Culture Day. The teacher should prepare traditional African foods. Teach children
some simple African dances. Play some traditional African music on your tape recorder.
Assign each child in the class an African name. Print children's new names on name tags.
Encourage students to refer to their classmates by their African names throughout the day.
Have children imagine that the Sky God left one of the stories from his golden box on their
desks. Help children write their stories. Encourage children to accompany their stories
with illustrations and share them with their classmates. Display the stories on a classroom
wall or bulletin board.

10) THE UGLY DUCKLING.
Introduction:
Author, Hans Christian Andersen; often referred to by his initials H. C. Andersen; April 2,
1805 – August 4, 1875) was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his
children’s stories. These include The Snow Queen, The Little Mermaid, and finally The Ugly
Duckling. During his lifetime he was acclaimed for having delighted children worldwide,
and was feted by royalty. His poetry and stories have been translated into more than 150
languages. They have inspired motion pictures, plays, ballets, and animated films. The
illustrator, Thomas Vilhelm Pedersen, was a Danish artist best known for being the first
artist to illustrate the fairy tales of Hans Christian Anderson. Andersen's earliest tales were
published without illustrations.
When the tale begins, a mother duck's eggs hatch. One of the little birds is perceived by the
duck’s surroundings as a homely little creature and suffers much verbal and physical abuse
from the other birds and animals on the farm. He wanders sadly from the barnyard and
lives with wild ducks and geese until hunters slaughter the flocks. He then finds a home
with an old woman but her cat and hen tease him mercilessly and again he sets off on his
own. He sees a flock of migrating wild swans; he is delighted and excited but he cannot join
them for he is too young and cannot fly. Winter arrives. A farmer finds and carries the
freezing little bird home, but the foundling is frightened by the farmer’s noisy children and
flees the house. He spends a miserable winter alone in the outdoors mostly hiding in a cave
on the lake that partly freezes over. When spring arrives a flock of swans descends on the
now thawing lake. The ugly duckling, now having fully grown and matured cannot endure a
life of solitude and hardship anymore and decides to throw himself at the flock of swans
deciding that it is better to be killed by such beautiful birds than to live a life of ugliness and
misery. He is shocked when the swans welcome and accept him, only to realize by looking
at his reflection in the water that he has grown into one of them. The flock takes to the air
and the ugly duckling spreads his beautiful large wings and takes flight with the rest of his
new family.

Reading level: K to 3rd grade
The themes in this story relate to social studies (social relations) where the ugly duckling is
hurt because he was ostracized by the group he thought he belonged to the point of not
wanting to live any more. This provides a great lesson to the children about the impact of
being kind and bullying others. From a science perspective the child can be exposed to the
concept of migration which occurs in the story. This also requires some exposure to
geography and the child is learning about the journey to the south. The student can use
simple maps, globes, and other three-dimensional models to identify and locate places. A
good activity for this story could be to have the children write a journal and research to
learn about the geese that were preparing to fly south for the winter. Have the students
locate on a map where Canadian Geese may start their journey and imagine that the
destination is your classroom. How far away are the two points? How long would the
journey take?

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