1. Literature to help students with Peer Relationships By Angela Wilder and Michele Anduze

2. Peer Relationships K-3 We chose this topic because we see many young students struggling with how to make new friends and be a good friend. They need help learning how to treat others and models of what positive friendships look like. The books and resources we selected were for young children so they could identify with the characters and learn from them.

3. Franklin’s Secret Club Franklin’s Secret Club is the story of how Franklin starts a club and invites only a few friends to be part of his club. When Beaver asked if he could join the club Franklin said no. Beaver was being really nice to Franklin because she had heard his club was fun. Franklin was surprised she wanted to join the club. When Franklin told Beaver she could not be part of the club she made her own adventure club with some of the other friends that felt left out. Soon the two clubs were in a competition for having the most fun. Franklin felt sad that Beaver was angry and had started her own club. Soon Franklin’s club longed to play the games that the Adventure Club was playing. Franklin met with Beaver and apologized for leaving her out. They decided to join the Secret Club with the Adventure Club. All the friends were happy and felt like together they could have the best club. As a teacher I would read this to my entire class and talk about made up clubs. We would discuss how they can be fun and exciting. I might share about my own experiences of the XYZ Club in elementary school and how much I enjoyed playing with my friends. We would discuss how Beaver felt being left out and how it would feel if they made a secret club but left some friends out. How would it feel if you were the friend that got left out of the club? Our school encourages students to treat each other the way they want to be treated. We would talk about if you create a fun club it should include everyone and treat everyone equally. Bourgeois, P. (1998) Franklin’s Secret Club. New York: Scholastic

4. Chrysanthemum This book is about girl named Chrysanthemum who was a beautiful little mouse. Her parents wanted to pick the perfect name for her. She grew to love her name except when she went to school for the first time all the students giggled at her name and made fun of it. The kids kept making fun of her name at school until she was miserable. This continued until Chrysanthemum met Mrs. Twinkle the fantastic music teacher who shared that she too was named after a flower. The teacher was thinking of naming her own baby Chrysanthemum because she thought it was a beautiful name. Suddenly all the students wanted to be named after flowers and Chrysanthemum knew her name was absolutely perfect. I would share this book with a new student who had a unique name and felt sad about it. I would also share this with my whole class and discuss how our parents picked names for us because they love us and think each of us is unique. We would talk about how names do not define who we are but they are just a part of us. This book is great for talking about respect for others who are different. Henkes, K. (1991). Chrysanthemum. New York: Greenwillow Books.

5. Do Unto Otters This story is about a rabbit who gets otters as new neighbors. He is worried about his new neighbors not being good neighbors. He is talking abut how he wants them to treat him. The author uses otters to talk about the Golden Rule, do unto others (otters). The otters are present throughout the book acting appropriately, the way the rabbit hoped. This is a great book about manners and how we should treat others by being polite, kind, friendly, considerate, etc. I would use this book with my whole class. It teaches manners and gives examples of ways to use them and when to use them. It covers several character traits which align with Social Studies units, giving students a view of how they can be used in everyday life. I have my students do “Word of the Week” on Tuesday mornings. We define the character word for that week, give examples of how we could show it, and illustrate it. I feel this is a great way to help grow students’ vocabulary and tie our everyday life into those of the historical figures we learn about in Social Studies. Keller, L. (2007). Do Unto Otters (A Book About Manners). New York: Scholastic.

6. Armadillo Tattletale Armadillo Tattletale is the story of an armadillo with large ears that could not move fast because his ears slowed him down. His ears were good for eavesdropping and he loved to listen to animals talking and go tell what he heard. Usually he took what the animals said and changed it so that it upset the animal he shared the information with. Armadillo kept tattling to all his friends until alligator found out and fixed his ears. He made his ears small so he could not snoop and tell tales on the other animals. Armadillo stopped telling tales because with his small ears he could not overhear the other animal’s conversations. He was able to get to the fresh water faster now. I would read this story with my class and talk about tattling and gossiping about friends. We would discuss what our ears are for and how to use them wisely. If only one child or a group seems to be struggling with this issue I would read and discuss this book with them in a small group. I would ask questions such as: How do you like someone telling tales about you? How do you feel when someone tells you something that someone else said about you? Is it ever alright to listen to other peoples’ conversations? Keteman, H. (2000) Armadillo Tattletale. New York: Scholastic

7. Hooway for Wodney Wat This is a story about Rodney Rat. He is unable to pronounce his “r’s” correctly. His friends pick on him until one day, they get a new student, Camilla. This new student brags about being bigger, meaner, and smarter than all the other rodents. When it is time for Simon Says and Wodney Wat is selected as “Simon,” the students are amused when the new student does crazy acts during the game. Without knowing Wodney cannot say his “r’s” Camilla ends up walking west instead of taking a rest and never comes back. The rodents never make fun of Rodney again. I would share this with a small group of students or individual students who have speech impairments. I think it brings a lighter mood to the situation and may help them be able to laugh at themselves sometimes as well as learn ways to help combat the negativity others may throw their way. It would also help for them to see how confusing it may be when they are speaking and not using their sounds, encouraging them to use their sounds more often. If a teacher was having difficulty with students making fun of a student with speech impairments, she may share this to let others know how this could make someone feel sad and hurt. This could be done with that child in or out of the room. Lester, H. (1999). Howay for Wodney Wat. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

8. Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon This story is about a little girl who is short, has buck teeth, whose voice sounds like a bullfrog, and can be clumsy. At her new school, Molly Lou Melon is teased by Ronald Durkin for all of these things. Thanks to the great advice her grandma has given her, Molly Lou does not let this bother her, but instead shows Ronald and all the other students how each of these qualities makes her very unique and special. In the end, Ronald apologizes through a single gesture that was meaningful to Molly and they become friends. Molly Lou thanks her grandma in a letter for being “exactly right!” This is a great book to read to an entire class. It shows how our individual characteristics help us to have unique talents. It shows that even when a bully is picking on someone, other students do not have to follow suit. After reading this story to the class, having each student write something about themselves that they feel is different from others would be a great response to the text. They should tell this quality and how they feel it benefits them or makes them stand out (in a positive way) from their peers. Lovell, P. (2001). Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon. New York: Scholastic.

9. My Secret Bully This is the story of Monica whose best friend Katie is her “secret bully.” Katie talks about Monica to others and plays with her friends but won’t let Monica join in. Monica is very bothered by this but unsure what to do about it. It bothers her so much she cannot concentrate on her homework and begins having stomach aches. Her mother questions her about this and she tells her mom everything that has been happening. Her mother is supportive and helps her work through some ways to handle this. Monica goes to school and uses her words to tell Katie how she feels. The girls are no longer friends, but Monica feels better about herself and has learned a very hard, but important lesson. This book is fantastic to share with your whole class. Bullying is not acceptable and this shows students some ways people may bully others. Students also need to know that adults are there to help them and will listen when they need to talk about bullying. After reading this students could role play how they would stand up to a bully without sounding like a bully themselves. Teachers could reuse this book with small groups or individual students as needed to encourage them to stand up for themselves or others as well as to hinder them from continuing bully like behavior. There are also resources in the back for parents, teacher, and students to help with discussions of bullying, including organizations, websites, and literature. Ludwig, T. (2004). My Secret Bully. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press.

10. Yes We Can! This is the story of Little Roo, Country Mouse, and Quacker Duck who are playing together and then start making fun of each other for the things they cannot do. They laugh at each other’s attempts to do things they are not talented with. In the end they all feel frustrated and grumpy until Roo’s mom comes and tells them no one likes to be laughed at. They decided to show each other the things they can do. They cheered for each other’s talents. Roo’s mom asks them at the end could they all be friends and they said, “Yes we can!” This story is excellent to read to the whole class and discuss how we are all made different with unique gifts and talents. I would encourage the students to share what they felt like was their gift. We would talk about how we should encourage each other and try not to laugh at others and tear them down. Real friends cheer for each other; they do not try to make fun of them. We would discuss the characteristics of being a good friend. McBratney,S. (2008) Yes We Can! New York: Scholastic.

11. Stop Bullying.gov This government website offers information for kids, teens, parents, and educators about bullying. It offers information about what bullying is, why it is wrong, how to recognize it, and how to handle it. This would be a great website for us as teachers to use with our students. There are webisodes for students to watch where bullying is an issue and how to resolve this situation: http://www.stopbullying.gov/kids/webisodes/index.html http://www.stopbullying.gov/kids/webisodes/index.html These videos are short and offer visual insight to the lives of students. These cartoons will draw the young audiences in and provide a jumping off point for classroom meetings or discussions for the teacher. These are great for a whole class mini-lesson, but can be used again when individual students or groups of students may need reminding that their behavior needs improvement for the sake of their friendships. http://www.stopbullying.gov/kids/index.html

12. You Can Choose! Resolving Conflicts This video helps students learn how to solve disagreements among them and their friends. Tuggy and Rhonda learn how to do so without fighting. They must save their class art project from a disagreement. The students learn how to work things out in a peaceful and positive way. I would show this to my whole class. We would discuss the disagreements in the video and ways they were solved as well as disagreements we have experienced in the classroom and ways we solved them. I would have the students role play conflicts and use their “I feel” words with one another to work through them. Live Wire Media. You Can Choose! Resolving Conflicts. San Francisco, CA: Elkind & Sweet Communications, Inc.