ARTS & CRAFTS RESOURCES Printable Coloring Pages Printable Word Search Puzzles FREE Clip Art		Friends Katie ALFY, Inc. Lesson Objectives Students will be able to recognize characteristics of a good friend. Subjects Early Childhood, Other Standards Grade Levels Pre-K/K,   1 Materials Big Al by Andrew Clements, chart paper, index cards, string, paper, camera, picture frame (personalized if possible), friendship tree (paper tree made by teacher; mounted on wall). Lesson Steps 1. Read Big Al by Andrew Clements with your students. This story is about an ugly fish who at first has no friends, but through being nice gains many friends. 2. Discuss the story. Have students state why Al gained so many friends. Discuss differences in people or things. Have students list (on chart paper) what characteristics make up a good friend. 3. Introduce the friendship tree to the students. The friendship tree is a large paper tree with many branches. On index cards, write the characteristics that are listed on the chart paper (one per card). Have students tape these characteristics to the friendship tree. Everyday for the next two weeks (or however long it takes), pull one characteristic off the tree to focus on for the day. 4. Discuss the friends that we have made in the class. 5. Introduce to the students the friend class book cover and tell them that they are going to create the pages for it. Have each student design their own friendship page. They can write characteristics, or draw their friends. Have students sign the author page and put all the pages together. Read the book as a group. Assessment Extension Activities 1. Take a picture of the class together. Put the picture into a frame. Personalize it if possible- for example, 'Ms. Abbott's Friends Club.' This emphasizes the closeness of the class and the importance of being a good friend to one another. 2. Read other books related to friendship, such as: Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister, Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel, and for 6-9 year olds, The Secret Shortcut by Mark Teague Relevant Internet Sites Making Friends http://www.makingfriends.com/index.htm Kids Care Story Center http://members.aol.com/kidz4peace/stories/ ALFY Goes to School http://www.alfy.com/Storyville/Flash/schoolframe1.asp Additonal Comments Explore the relevant internet sites with your students during computer time.