What if everybody did that writing prompt

While working with younger children, I have noticed that rules cannot simply be stated. Children are curious and like to question boundaries. They want a reason for why a rule has been made! That being said, I think it's important to show your students what our world, i.e. classroom, would be like if we all disregarded the rules. In order to demonstrate to my younger students the importance of rules, I devised the following lesson plan based of the book "What if Everybody Did That?".

In addition to its humor and vibrant illustrations, this book can also be easily incorporated into Virginia's Civics SOLs!

Grade Level

: First Grade

Lesson Objectives

:
SOLs:
1.10 The student will apply the traits of a good citizen by
a) focusing on fair play, exhibiting good sportsmanship, helping others, and treating others
with respect;
b) recognizing the purpose of rules and practicing self-control;
d) taking responsibility for one’s own actions;

Student Learning Objectives

The student will...
Know:
1. The purpose of rules
2. How to take responsibility for one's own actions
3. Value of participating in classroom decision making
4. Terms: responsibility, rule

Understand:
1. That rules are made so that everyone is treated fairly
2. Understand what it means to be responsible
3. Understand the impact our actions can have on others

Be able to:
1. Recall the importance and purpose of rules
2. Recall the classroom rules that have been created as a class

Introduction to Lesson:
Activate prior knowledge by asking students what would happen if there were no rules. Explain to them that we are going to talk about what it means to be responsible and to follow rules. Additionally, tell them that we are going to discuss being responsible for one's own actions and how our actions affect others.

Whole group Instruction:
Begin by reading "What if Everyone Did that?" by Ellen Javernick to the class. While reading the story, make sure to stop and have children assess the choices that are being made and rules that are being broken.

Use the following discussion questions while reading:
1. What if everyone dropped their soda can out of the window?
2. What if everyone left their coat on the floor?

Once you have finished reading the story, ask the students "What if everybody..." examples pertaining to the classroom. Some examples include:
1. What if everyone talked when the teacher was talking?
2. What if everyone came to class tardy?
3. What if everyone returned their library books late?
etc.

Discuss with the students that the concept of this book may seem small when one person doesn't follow the rules, but what happens when everyone ignores them? How would this affect our classroom?

Review the what it means to be responsible and the rules of the classroom. Identify the responsibilities we have as students, teachers, and members of the school.

Assessment of Learning:
Once you have finished reading the story, ask the students "What if everybody..." examples pertaining to the classroom. Some examples include:
1. What if everyone talked when the teacher was talking?
2. What if everyone came to class tardy?
3. What if everyone returned their library books late?
etc.

Discuss with the students that the concept of this book may seem small when one person doesn't follow the rules, but what happens when everyone ignores them? How would this affect our classroom?

Review the what it means to be responsible and the rules of the classroom. Identify the responsibilities we have as students, teachers, and members of the school.

Lesson Closure:
Create a class book called, “What If Everybody Did That?” written. Each
student writes a page to contribute to the class book. Students draw and color a picture
to illustrate their page.

Extension:
Break the class into smaller groups, give them “rules and procedures” to demonstrate for the class. Have them present the “wrong way” and the “right way” to do their assigned activity. Record them and make a class video.

Clutter Free Classroom Store

Regular price $5.00

$0.00

Unit price per

Our What If Everybody Did That? Activities are now digital for distance learning with editable teaching slides and worksheets based on Ellen Javernick's book. Read aloud the Back to School picture book then use the printables or go paperless with Google or Seesaw to practice standards-based skills.

THIS READING UNIT FOCUSES ON USING THE MENTOR TEXT TO TEACH:

◼️ READING STRATEGIES

☐ analyzing character

☐ point of view

☐ analyzing illustrations

☐ identify the main idea

☐ cause and effect

◼️ SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING TOPICS

☐ manners

☐ making good choices

☐ interrupting

◼️ GRAMMAR & LANGUAGE CONCEPTS

☐ nouns

☐ action verbs

☐ verb tense

☐ interjections

SUMMARY OF THE MENTOR TEXT:

The story What if Everybody Did That? Is about a boy who struggles to use his manners and make good choices. He does things like push his grocery cart as fast as it will go, throw his garbage out the window of the car, interrupt his teacher, and splash in the pool. Whenever he makes a poor decision, the adults around him ask “What if everybody did that?” The boy then has to reflect on what would happen if everyone was making the same decision that he was choosing to make. The boy uses his reflections to make better choices.

THIS COLLECTION OF ACTIVITIES and LESSON IDEAS INCLUDES:

➜ Comprehension Questions categorized by reading strategy; text-dependent
➜ Social-Emotional Learning guidance lesson ideas & discussion topics based on the story
➜ Vocabulary Activities with kid-friendly definitions
➜ Grammar Topics selected to align with the text
➜ Focus Sentences use the book & author's craft as a mentor text to improve writing
➜ Lesson Planner summary, background info and planning space

➜ Story Mapping Printable identify character, setting, problem and solution

➜ Making Words Activity Page use any word from the book

➜ Focus Sentence copy work, identifying elements of the sentence, rewriting)

➜ Design a New Book Cover demonstrate understanding of the text by creating an illustration

➜ Predicting Activity primary-ruled and wider-ruled versions
➜ Summarizing Somebody → Wanted → But → Then → Finally

➜ Comparing and Contrasting using a Venn Diagram

➜ Cause and Effect analyze how events affect one another

➜ Visualization illustrate visualizations from the story and support thinking with text-based evidence

➜ Making Connections identify text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections

➜ Thematic Writing Paper Use with the Writing Prompts... Makes a Great Bulletin Board

➜ 2 Sequencing Activities First → Next → Then → Last and Beginning → Middle → End

➜ 2 Vocabulary Activities Vocabulary Booklet and Word Mapping

➜ 2 Character Trait Activities listing traits and supporting traits with text-based evidence
➜ 30 Text-Based Writing Prompts 3 prompts for each of the following types of writing: