The Tenth Good Thing about Barney Activity. Created by Sheryl Scrimsher.
Target Participants: Undergraduate college students in early childhood courses.
The Tenth Good Thing about Barney Activity Created by Sheryl Scrimsher
Target Participants: Time Required: Objectives
To discover that:
Undergraduate college students in early childhood courses
30 minutes
[5 minutes]
young children need support and understanding as they experience losses in their lives. as children explore the life cycle, they may also learn that certain experiences (like losing a beloved animal) are similar for children in all cultures. Experiences with science support language and literacy; they give second language learners ways to participate in group activities and learn new words (Conezio and French, 2002).
Materials Needed: • •
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4 copies of the book, The Tenth Good Thing About Barney (Viorst, 1971) (to be used in class and loaned to students for field placement activities) 1 copy per person of either of the articles referenced below: “Science in the preschool classroom: Capitalizing on children’s fascination with the everyday world to foster language and literacy development,” (Conezio & French, 2002) OR • “Children and grief: The role of the early childhood education,” (Hopkins, 2002)
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Paper and pens
Setting the Stage •
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[5 minutes] Invite discussion of, and consensus on, the ground rules for activities and discussion, e.g., work collaboratively with others, contribute to group discussions (or share reflections with professor by email). Create a safe climate for discussions or activities.
Introduce the topic: Investigating children’s literature for scientific concepts that may connect to concepts or lessons in other domains
Procedures
[20 minutes] Discussion Group: (Divide class into small groups of 4-6 persons) 1. Ask each group to identify a “reader” to read the book, The Tenth Good Thing about Barney, for the other group members. 2. Discussion Questions for Small Groups: • Prepare a handout with this quote from the book: “Annie said Barney was in heaven with lots of cats and angels, drinking cream and eating cans of tuna. I said Barney was in the ground.”
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How would you talk about this passage with young children? Organize the thoughts of your group by listing the main issues you see in the passage. List only the issues that children might wonder about. Specify the ages of the children you are thinking about. Under each issue, say how you might respond. Select a spokesperson to report back to the large group.
Follow-up Assignment
1. Writing Exercise: Write a 2-3 page essay on one of the topics below. • As a teacher in an elementary classroom, how would you help the children create a safe environment where difficult emotions (like grief) could be expressed and accepted (Hopkins, 2002)? Critique the ideas in the Hopkins (2002) article. Choose the ideas that would be most helpful in discussing the “Barney” story with young children – add your own ideas as well. How did he cope with the death of his cat? Which activities of the mother and father seemed especially helpful? Explain. •
Read the article (Neubert and Jones, 1998). Focus on the section entitled, “To whom was it important?” (pp. 16-17). What might we learn from Latino or Native American cultures concerning notions of spirituality and death for young children? Conezio and French (2002) assert that science is important to social relationships. What does that statement mean to you? How do they support that statement in their article? How does science relate to a child’s culture? Think of ways in which reading this book (Viorst, 1971) could be especially helpful to English language learners.
2. Activity: Read the article (Conezio & French, 2002), especially the vignette about planting seeds on p. 15. Relate the ideas to the children’s book about Barney (Viorst, 1971). • Design an Activity Plan: Objectives/Materials needed/What to do/Words to learn/Lessons to Learn/Reflection. How would you extend this book in the classroom (e.g., bringing in a photograph of an animal or person who has died and telling their friends all the good things about that animal/person)? Design the activity. Indicate whether or not (or how) you would invite parent involvement? Explain. •
Reflection: Find passages in the book where characters were curious, observant, or making predictions. How important were those activities in the story? How important are those activities as part of the scientific process?
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Be sure to reference any and all material that you select from the articles.
Analysis and Reflection Evaluate this activity. What do you think children might learn from this
experience? Was it useful or helpful to you? Explain. What will you take away from this experience?
Sources:
Conezio, K., & French, L. (2002). Science in the preschool classroom: Capitalizing on children’s fascination with the everyday world to foster language and literacy development. Young Children, 57(5), 12-18. Hopkins, A. R. (2002). Children and grief: The role of the early childhood educator. Young Children, 57(1), 40-47. Neubert and Jones, 1998. Creating culturally relevant holiday curriculum: A negotiation. Young Children, 53(5), 14-19. Viorst, J. (1971). The tenth good thing about Barney New York: Aladdin Books
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