If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff
Create picture Cards to represent each main event in the story
Small mouse cut-outs, one for each child
Paper and markers
Materials
Lesson Procedure
1. Read the story, If You Give A Moose A Muffin.
2. Use the picture cards to map out the sequence of the story.
3. Discuss with the students what happened each time the Moose started doing something new (It made him think of something else so he would start doing that and then that would make him think of something else...)
4. Ask students to share times when this has happened to them.
5. Start a discussion on attention. Ask students to share what they think it means to be attentive, why it is important to pay attention and what are some things that might happen if we don't pay attention. (Incorporate the moose into the discussion and discuss what it would be like if we lived everyday like the moose, running from one thing to the next whenever we wanted)
6. End the discussion by explaining that sometimes our minds like to be like the moose and we like to think of everything and do everything and it is our job to slow our mind down and make it focus on the task at hand.
7.End the lesson by having the whole group or in partners, depending on the age, write their own version of the story using a student as the character and the task at hand being a school task. (Example: If you ask a student to write a story..., If you tell a student to do their homework..., do a math problem... ect.) Have the students really think about where their minds could travel while trying to complete an assignment.
Debrief (checking for understanding)
Extension/Going Further
Comments/Instructor's Note
This is just a fun lesson to get kids to think about how easy it is for our minds to travel and not pay attention. If you had a class that had a hard time with attention you could take this lesson a step further and give each child a moose to display on their desk. Then each time you noticed them not paying attention you would come around and make a tally mark on their moose (or tap them on their shoulder and they would then make a mark) which would serve as their silent reminder to get focused again. Then also set a goal for how few tally marks they could have in a given time period and if they make the goal then they get a reward.
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