Teachers work so hard to create a positive classroom community. Honestly, they know the power of students working together. However, students must realize that a positive community goes beyond the classroom. As students get older, they become members of extracurricular activities. Likewise, they are members of their community outside of school. Luckily, building a community with Thank You, Omu will be a powerful way to show students the importance of working together.
The book and Read Aloud Activities are the perfect way to include Social Emotional Learning in the classroom!
Thank You, Omu!
Author Oge Mora wrote a heartwarming story about the strength behind any community coming together.
Everyone loves Omu’s delicious stew. Whenever she cooks it, community members show up one by one for a delicious bowl. People even dream of eating it! However, Omu is so busy handing out stew to everyone that she forgets to leave some for herself.
Readers love to see how the community comes together to make sure everyone, including Omu, gets to enjoy the stew! This book fills readers with so much love and positivity!
Read Aloud Activities
Everyone needs help and support throughout life. Whether learning how to ride a bike or move a heavy piece of furniture, everyone needs a community helper. Since it is hard to ask for help, students need time to practice. Additionally, they need to know how good it feels to help others. Luckily, students will understand the importance of building a community with Thank You, Omu!
Since teachers have so much to prepare as it is, 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 what it means to be a community helper, it is crucial for students to share their experiences. They need time to reflect on situations when they helped others and situations when they received help. Therefore, there are higher-level thinking questions and talking points to guide student discussion. Each question includes a page number, so teachers know exactly where to stop.
While discussion is essential to include in lessons, personal reflection is also critical. Thankfully, building a community with Thank You, Omu has both aspects! There is a written response about communities. Additionally, there is an activity sheet about community helpers to encourage students to form connections with this SEL skill. There are even differentiated options to meet the needs of every student.
Furthermore, there is hands-on craftivity where students build a cooking pot like Omu’s! 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. Each task card will help students understand the importance of building a community with Thank You, Omu.
There are different ways to use the task cards. 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.
Many times, students love to be classroom helpers. However, the goal is to get them to see the power of being community helpers. Luckily, they will see how good it feels to focus on building a community with Thank You, Omu! Best of all, the Read Aloud Activities allow students to focus on essential life skills while learning academics.
Free Read Aloud Lesson
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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.
