Hey, Little Ant – Phillip and Hannah Hoose
CHARACTER TRAITS AND THEMES LOWER ELEMENTARY
Primary character trait: Respect - Acting in a way that shows that I am valuable, you are valuable and we as a group are valuable Basic Need: Power - The need for power is to achieve, to be competent, to be skilled, to be recognized for our achievements and skills, to be listened to and to have a sense of self-worth
OBJECTIVES
The learner will: Develop a further understanding of the Character Trait: Respect Begin to develop an understanding of the 5 Basic Needs: specifically, Power Respect differences Foster respect for all living things Explore the concepts of big and small, powerful and powerless Learn and practice the comprehension strategy of perspective taking Enhance his or her listening and speaking skills Create an ending to the story
GRADE LEVEL CONTENT EXPECTATIONS
Kindergarten R.NT.00.05 Respond to individual and multiple texts by finding evidence, discussing, illustrating, and/or writing to reflect, make meaning, and make connections. R.CM.00.01 Begin to make text-to-self and text-to-text connections and comparisons by activating prior knowledge and connecting personal knowledge and experience to ideas in text through oral and written responses. R.CM.00.03 Begin to make connections across texts by making meaningful predictions. W.PR.00.01 With teacher assistance, consider the audience’s reaction as they plan narrative or informational writing. W.PR.00.02 Brainstorm to generate and structure ideas for narrative or informational writing based on illustrations or portions of texts. First Grade R.NT.01.05 Respond to individual and multiple texts by finding evidence, discussing, illustrating, and/or writing to reflect, make connections, take a position, and/or show understanding. R.CM.01.01 Make text-to-self and text-to-text connections and comparisons by activating prior knowledge and connecting personal knowledge and experience to ideas in text through oral and written responses.
Developing Character Through American Literature Hey, Little Ant
1 R.CM.01.03 Compare and contrast relationships among characters, events, and key ideas within and across texts to create a deeper understanding by mapping story elements, graphically representing key ideas and details, and asking questions as they read. Second Grade R.NT.02.03 Identify and describe characters’ actions and motivations, setting (time and place), problem/solution, and sequence of events. R.NT.02.05 Respond to individual and multiple texts by finding evidence, discussing, illustrating, and/or writing to reflect, make connections, take a position, and/or show understanding. R.CM.02.01 Make text-to-self and text-to-text connections and comparisons by activating prior knowledge, connecting personal knowledge, experience, and understanding of others to ideas in text through oral and written responses. R.CM.02.03 Compare and contrast relationships among characters, events, and key ideas within and across texts to create a deeper understanding by mapping story elements, graphically representing key ideas and details, and asking questions as they read.
RESOURCES
Trade Book: Hey, Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose Other Trade Books: Allen, J. (2004). Are You an Ant? Kingfisher Orloff, K. (2004). I Wanna Iguana Putnam Seuss, (1954). Horton Hears a Who! Random House Books for Young Readers Viorst, J. (2010). Earrings! Atheneum Other Resources: Readers Theatre Script Following is a website dedicated to the book; there is an adorable video of students partaking in a reader’s theatre activity with the book: http://heylittleant.wordpress.com/2010/03/18/hey-little-ant- drama/
ESTIMATED TIME PARAMETERS
One day More than one day Mini-unit
INTRODUCTION
Build Background: This book was originally written as a song by Phillip Hoose and his daughter, Hannah, when she was nine. (The song is available to download from iTunes or heylittleant.com). The musical notation is in the back of the book. Start the discussion with, “How are we different from each other?” Have students press their thumbs into an inkpad and make thumbprints on pieces of paper. Compare them. They’re almost alike, but each is unique and special in its design. Have students draw ants from their thumbprint.
American Literature 2 Discuss what manners are, why they are important, and how they apply to everyday life. Share some examples of what manners look like (e.g., saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, shaking hands when introduced to someone new, etc.) Ask students to share about a time when they showed manners towards someone else. Invite them to expand their answers to include how it made them feel. Have the students copy and complete the following sentence frames and then illustrate them, accordingly.
Manners are important because______.
I show respect for others when I ______.
I feel respected when someone ______.
INSTRUCTION
Read aloud the book, Hey, Little Ant to the class. Share the essential question with the students: How can we respect each other? Ask them to think how that question relates to the story while they are listening. Discuss In Pairs Invite students to talk with a partner about connections they made between the story and experiences they’ve had in their own lives.
When they hear or read Hey, Little Ant, children often want to know if it’s ever okay to kill something. “What if it’s a bee?” they ask. “What if it’s a mosquito on your arm? Can you slap it?” “What if there are a hundred ants crawling after something you spilled in your kitchen?” Here are ideal questions not to give direct answers to, because they lead to good discussions. At the heart of the book is the idea that all living things have a great deal in common, even though sometimes this may be difficult to recognize. Perspective Taking Define: What is perspective taking? (Being able to imagine the points of view of more than one character in a story, putting yourself in someone else’s shoes etc.)
MAKE CONNECTIONS
Critical Thinking Questions: Compare and Contrast: Name some things that are alike and different about the boy and the ant. Perspective taking: What argument do you think is most likely to persuade the boy not to step on the ant? Social awareness: What does this story have to do with showing respect?
ACTIVITY IDEAS
Developing Character Through American Literature Hey, Little Ant
3 Class Meeting – Respect (See class meetings – The Classroom of Choice) Introduce the character trait of respect using the following prompt:
Define: What does it mean to give respect to someone? Every single one of us has experienced the giving and receiving of respect. Oftentimes, the respect we witness is given to people we see each and every day; however, sometimes respect is given to nameless strangers because we all share an equal place in the world. Personalize: Can you think of a time when you have shown respect to someone even though you didn’t know him or her? How did it make you feel? Can you think of a time when you have seen someone else give respect to someone he or she did not know? What did it look like? Challenge: Is it sometimes hard to be respectful?
Reader’s Theatre Activity Invite students to act out the book using the attached Reader’s Theatre script.
Decisions, Decisions Activity Using the whiteboard or large chart paper, make two columns for the group to see. Write the word “Squish” at the top of the left-hand column and the phrase “Don't Squish” at the top of the right-hand column. Using the book, ask the students to help review the arguments that the Child and the Ant used. For example, the Child was powerful or bigger, so you write big/powerful in the “Squish” column. The Ant contends that, while he might be small, for an ant, he's important to his community, so write important in the “Don't Squish” column. Continue this until you have listed all of the points students make. Then ask students to assign a smiley face to points that they see as important or good (pros) and a frowny face to points that they see as unimportant (cons). Encourage students to discuss and negotiate for each smile or frown. For example - some might think that being powerful is important while others might not share that opinion. Allow students to explain why they think powerful is or isn’t worth a smiley face. Is it fair to use your size to take advantage of someone who is smaller or weaker? Extension: Explain that sometimes with decisions there is not a simple answer or clear choice. This strategy can be a useful way to try to make decisions clearer and easier. Ask students to think of a time that they had a tough decision to make, and then have them write on their papers what the two sides were. Encourage students to consider what the smiley faces and frowny faces are about each of sides. Have them share with the class or a partner.
Whole Group Writing Activity
American Literature 4 Depending on the ability levels of your students, assign each child to write an ending. Then, have them read their endings aloud, describing their reasoning. If your children are unable to write the ending themselves, brainstorm and write one as a whole group. Kids, Ants, and Commonalities Activity As a whole group, create a Venn diagram of the characteristics of ants and children. Record and discuss the things the two species may have in common. The story mentions some, but are there others? Does an ant have a heart? A brain? Research for more and make a list. Getting Along Activity In the Ant's world, the Kid might be considered a bully. Bullies have been known to tease and threaten other people because of their differences like size, accent, skin color, nationality, religious beliefs, socioeconomic status, intelligence, or even their character and the values that believe to be most important. Encourage students to consider the following questions: a. Why do you think bullying happens? b. Have you ever witnessed someone being bullied? c. Is it possible that a bully could change? How? d. What can you do if you are being bullied? e. Would it be considered tattling if you reported bullying to an adult? Would this help? f. What is it about our differences that can be so scary? g. What can we do as a people to put an end to bullying? To Squish or Not to Squish Discussion Activity As noted, the authors left the story unresolved to open discussion. So, what to do? Should the Ant get squished? Should the Ant go free? The most common way of working with this question has been to have children vote. But the vote alone is of limited value. Some children vote “Squish it!” just to attract attention. Others show that they are “good” by sparing the ant. Then, without a follow-up processing activity, the lesson ends. Follow the vote with a group discussion, asking children to explain their views. Try to ask questions without passing judgment. Ask them how they think they would feel after having acted on their decision.
EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT
1. Appropriate responses and reactions during the class meetings and other discussion-based activities can serve as assessments of students’ understanding of the character trait of respect. 2. Successful completion and understanding of the activities will assess students’ abilities to compare and contrast characters, make personal connections, and reflect on the themes found in the text. 3. Successful completion of the Whole Group Writing activity will assess students’ abilities to structure ideas into a written piece using their prior knowledge and experiences.
Developing Character Through American Literature Hey, Little Ant
5 American Literature 6 Hey, Little Ant Reader’s Theatre Script
Divide your students into two groups; one group will take on the role of the Kid and the other group will take on the role of the Ant.
Suggested movements will be bolded and in all-caps: SQUISH = grind shoe into the floor PLEASE = put hands together in a pleading fashion ME = point thumbs back at themselves YOU = point at the opposite group STRONG = flex muscles
Kid: Hey, little ant down in the crack, Can you hear me? Can you talk back? See my shoe, can you see that? Well, now it’s gonna SQUISH you flat!
Ant: Please, oh please, do not squish me, Change your mind and let me be, I’m on my way with a crumb of pie, Please, oh PLEASE, don’t make me die!
Kid: Anyone knows that ants can’t feel. You’re so tiny you don’t look real. I’m so big and you’re so small, I don’t think it’ll hurt at all.
Ant: But you are a giant and giants can’t Know how it feels to be an ant. Come down close, I think you’ll see That YOU are very much like ME.
Kid: Are you crazy? ME like YOU? I have a home and family, too. You’re just a speck that runs around, No one would care if my foot came down.
Ant: Oh big friend, you are so wrong, My nest mates need me ‘cause I am STRONG. I dig our nest and feed baby ants, too, I must not die beneath your shoe.
Developing Character Through American Literature Hey, Little Ant
7 Kid: But my mom says that ants are rude, They carry off our picnic food! They steal our chips and bread crumbs, too, It’s good if I squish a crook like YOU.
Ant: Hey, I’m not a crook, kid, read my lips! Sometimes ants need crumbs and chips. One little chip can feed my town, So please don’t make your shoe come down.
Kid: But all my friends squish ants each day, Squishing ants is a game we play. They’re looking at me—they’re listening, too. They all say I should squish YOU.
Ant: I can see you’re big and STRONG, Decide for yourself what’s right and wrong. If you were ME and I were YOU, What would YOU want ME to do?
Both groups in unison: Should the ant get SQUISHED? Should the ant go free? It’s up to the Kid, not up to ME. We’ll leave the kid with the raised-up shoe. What do YOU think that kid should do?
American Literature 8