Sadly, students often feel they need acceptance from their peers in everything they do. So, instead of making decisions for themselves or being proud of something unique, they hide the truth. They want to make friends, so they feel this is what they need to do. Since teachers know it is essential to be who you are, they find ways to inspire students to be true to themselves. Thankfully, learning about peer influence with A Bad Case of Stripes will create a fun and inspirational unit!
Between the book and Read Aloud Activities, friendships will go deeper. Your class will love sharing who they are.
A Bad Case of Stripes
Author and illustrator David Shannon created the perfect story to remind students to be true to who they are.
Camilla Cream loves lima beans. However, she will never eat them. Sadly, this is because the students in her school do not like lima beans, so she thinks she cannot. She gets so worried that she is even about to break out in stripes!
Honestly, this story reminds students that friends should like you for simply being you.
Read Aloud Activities
In a world filled with so many unique elements, students need to know the power of being themselves. It is always sad to see students scared to share something they like because they don’t know how classmates will react. Thankfully, learning about peer influence with A Bad Case of Stripes creates a unit filled with positivity and passion.
Since teachers have so much to prepare, there is a teacher guide to outline the entire unit. Specifically, this contains all of the lesson plans needed. Additionally, it includes an introduction to help prepare students and sets the purpose for the story. Likewise, it has essential vocabulary words!
When learning about peer influence, it is crucial to have a discussion. This lets students know that everyone feels pressure to fit in. Therefore, there are higher-level thinking questions and talking points to guide students. Each question includes a page number so teachers know exactly where to stop. Honestly, students will love sharing who they truly are!
While discussion is essential to include in lessons, personal reflection is also critical. Thankfully, students have both aspects when learning about peer influence with A Bad Case of Stripes! There is a written response and activity sheet to help students understand what peer influence is. There are even differentiated options to ensure every student knows the importance of this social skill.
Furthermore, there is hands-on craftivity! Students will love how the craft connects the story to their lives.
Application
Teachers work hard to ensure students understand how the material taught in the classroom relates to life outside of school. Therefore, there are task cards that provide scenarios or thought-provoking questions. This helps students realize what peer influence is and how to be true to who they are.
There are multiple ways to use the task cards. Honestly, they work great for whole class or small group discussions. They even work perfectly for individual work time.
No Prep Resource
Teachers have to handle so much. Thankfully, the Read Aloud Activities are all no prep! Teachers just need to print the resources.
Peer influence can greatly determine who a person is. However, it is crucial for students to be true to who they are. Students need to be themselves, whether they have similar interests to those around them or totally different ones. So, learning about peer influence with A Bad Case of Stripes is essential! Students will be so thankful for this story.
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Grab this Free Read Aloud
If you do not want to miss any of the upcoming lessons, join my email list to be notified of all the interactive lessons coming up! By joining the email list, you will also receive a FREE Book List for Social Emotional Learning for blog exclusive subscribers!
Save this Read Aloud
Be sure to save this pin to your favorite read alouds board on Pinterest! You’ll be able to come back to this lesson plan when you are ready to read it aloud with your students.
