Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade and 3rd Grade
AASL V.A.1: Learners develop and satisfy personal curiosity by reading widely and in multiple formats.
AASL III.D.1 Actively contributing to group discussions.
MO School Library Instructional Standards: (K-2) Reading Engagement. Connect. Recognize connections through reading. Identify a connection between myself and what I am reading.
Fiction 2.A.2
Visual Arts Cn10A.2
one 60-minute class period or two 30-minute class periods (could extend to an additional class period if needed)
This lesson is based on an activity shared in the 2023-2024 Show Me Readers Award Activity Packet created by Show Me Readers Award Committee members and has been adapted by Becky Grisham from Gainesville Elementary School.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This lesson is designed to help create a sense of community and belonging among students. Students will listen to a read aloud of the book I Eat Poop: A Dung Beetle Story by Mark Pett, participate in pre and post reading activities about friendship and kindness and then create a poster to help promote kindness. This lesson will also help students to connect with the Missouri Show Me Readers Award Nominees.
I Eat Poop: A Dung Beetle Story by Objectives:
-Students will make a connection between their own experiences and the experiences of the characters in the story.
-Students will engage in a post reading discussion about friendship and kindness.
-Students will use examples shared during a post reading classroom discussion to create a poster that promotes kindness.
Before Reading:
-Introduce the book I Eat Poop: A Dung Beetle Story by Mark Pett.
-Ask students what they know about dung beetles and discuss.
-Have students predict what they think the story will be about.
During Reading:
-Read I Eat Poop: A Dung Beetle Story by Mark Pett aloud to the class.
Pause at various points in the story to discuss the main and supporting characters’ thoughts, feelings and actions.
After Reading:
-Ask students if they can relate to the feelings of the characters in the story.
-Lead a class discussion about the different ways the characters in the story showed kindness to others.
List the examples from the story that are shared by the class for the group to see on a marker board, poster paper, or
presentation device.
-With the group, discuss what makes a good friend and discuss ways that we can show kindness to others.
List the comments/suggestions that are shared for the group to see (these can be added below the list of examples that were
shared from the story).
-After the group discussion, have each student create a poster to promote kindness; ask students to include at least two examples of kindness that were shared by the group during the post reading discussion when creating the poster. Have students include the words: ‘Kindness Matters’ on their posters.
-Display the posters in the hallway or library.
-Observe students during the read aloud discussions to check for understanding.
-Observe students during the class discussion to check for understanding.
-Evaluate the posters to see if students used at least two examples of kindness that were shared by the group during the post reading discussion.
-Students could create a digital poster to promote kindness.
-Students could work with a partner or a small group to create a poster that promotes kindness.
