Craft Lesson 4

Resource Materials:

Seuss, Dr. My Many Colored Days. Illus. Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. New York: Random House, 1996.

Target Audience:

Pre-K

Discussion:

Children experience feelings just like adults, but they often lack the vocabulary to express themselves clearly. The illustrations in My Many Colored Days provide a concrete handle for children to use to explore their feelings. The point of this lesson is to label feeling words (i.e. mad, sad, and happy) with colors (i.e. black, purple, red) that make sense to the individual child.

How to Teach It:

First review the colors that will be presented in the book (Crayola 8-pack + grey and pink). Then read My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss aloud to the class. Initiate a brief grand discussion where students can reflect on times when they have felt red, blue, etc. Reread the story, this time encouraging the students to act out the text. For instance, on purple, they might hang their head down and drudge around the room in loneliness. It is important to allow the students the freedom to connect their feelings to the colors that make sense to them. For example, some kids might describe angry days as red instead of black or sad days as black instead of purple. For this lesson, it is more important that the students make a personal connection than it is for them to repeat what was stated in the text. Finally, roll out a long sheet of butcher paper on the floor (Be sure to protect the floor with a drop cloth). Provide finger paints in the colors presented in the book and give the students 10 minutes to finger paint a "how-I-feel-today" mural, which can be displayed on a wall in the classroom or in the hallway.