Say Please!

Grades K-2 2519-03

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Producer: Carolyn Vanderslice

Executive Producer: Jean Robbins

Writer: Tony Mazzarella

Video Production: Mazzarella CommunicationsBristol, CT

Teacher's Guide: Barbara Christesen

Print Material Design: Linda Mallon

Copyright 1996SUNBURST COMMUNICATIONS

Pleasantville, N.Y. 10570

ISBN 0-7805-4217-7

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Table of Contents

Program Overview. ......................................................................................... 4

Guidelines for Class Discussion ..................................................................... 5

Viewing the Video ........................................................................................... 6

Suggested Activities........................................................................................ 8

Bulletin Board Starters .................................................................................. 10

Think Pages .................................................................................................... 11

Resources / Book List...................................................................................... 21

Send-Home Section ......................................................................................... 23Send Home Page .................................................................................. 24Spanish Translation of Send Home Page ........................................... 25K-2 Take Home Book ............................................................................ 26Grade 2 Take Home Book .................................................................... 27Spanish K-2 Take Home Book ............................................................. 28Spanish Grade 2 Take Home Book ...................................................... 29

Script .............................................................................................................. 31

Program Time..................................................... 14 Minutes

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Why Should Children View Say Please?

Children in grades K-2 are at a point where they are stilladjusting to interactions with other children beyond thesecurity of home. They are beginning to realize that it isnecessary to be respectful and polite in order to be accepted.Good manners and polite behavior are important componentsof these new social situations and words such as please,thank you, and excuse me should be incorporated intochildren's everyday vocabulary.

Learning Objectives

Children will:

understand why good manners are desirable.

recognize what constitutes good manners.

understand that good manners are a way of showing respectand caring for people.

learn polite ways to act in a variety of social situations.

Video Content

a story about a boy with no manners who finally learnshow to behave politely

examples that demonstrate respecting the feelings of othersand good table manners as well as how words such as please,thank you, and excuse me can be used effectively

Preview Questions

What do you think good manners are?

Can you think of some examples of poor manners?

Program Overview

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Guidelines for Discussion

Create a Climate of Openness and Acceptance

Encourage children to show respect for the opinions of others.

Model this behavior yourself.

Establish Ground Rules

Avoid put-downs, ridicule and sarcasm.

Dont allow anyone to interrupt a speaker.

Give students the option to pass if they dont feel like speaking.

Guard Against Inappropriate Self-Disclosure

Be prepared to handle discussions without allowing students to exposetoo much personal information.

Have strategies for moving the conversation along or for steering thediscussion in a different direction.

Probe Beyond the Neat and Tidy Answers

Children know how to tell adults what they think they want to hear.To find out what children really think, try prolonging a discussion tosearch for even greater depth.

Remind children that there is no right or wrong feeling for any givensituation.

Pause for Discussion

Some children may benefit from pausing for discussion after eachsegment of the video. This gives them the opportunity to moreimmediately reflect on the content as well as their own experiences.

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Scene Two

Viewing theVideoScene One

Jonathan Michael Harrison Dunn is a little boywho has terrible manners. He slurps his soup,never covers his mouth when he sneezes, andnever says "thank you," "excuse me," or "please."Jonathans manners are so bad that none of theother children like him. One day Jonathans par-ents can stand it no longer. They take Jonathan tohis room and tell him not to come out until heslearned some manners. Angry and scowling,Jonathan decides not to stay in his room. Butwhen he opens his door, he finds himself in a verystrange place, the Manners Mansion.

A woman named Ms. Manners appears from no-where. She tells Jonathan that he is about to go tothe World of No Manners . Jonathan suddenlyfinds himself with many other children who haveno manners at all. They push Jonathan, make facesat him, sneeze at him without covering theirmouths, and throw food at meal time. They grabthings without asking and never say thank you.Jonathan is completely horrified. He finally real-izes why good manners are importantthat theysimply make life more pleasant and nice for every-one.

Discussion Questions

Why do you thinkJonathan has such poormanners?

Why might the otherkids not like beingaround Jonathan?

Discussion Questions

How did the Worldof No Manners help

Jonathan to understand why good manners are important?

What would you thinkif you visited a placelike this?

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Discussion Questions

Why do you thinktreating people the wayyou want them to treatyou is a good idea?

What are some waysthat bad manners canmake people want tostay away?

Discussion Questions

How do you thinkJonathan's parents feelafter he wakes up fromhis dream?

Can you think of anyother examples of poormanners that weren'tshown in the video?

Scene Three

Jonathan finds himself back at MannersMansion. He has learned that the key togood manners is to treat all people the wayyou want them to treat you. Ms. Mannersnow teaches him all about table mannersand how to meet new people. He learns howto thank someone for a gift he really doesntlike, and how to graciously refuse an invita-tion when he really doesnt want to go. Helearns to say Im sorry when he acciden-tally hurts someone. Ms. Manners is proudof what he has become. Jonathan, on theother hand, is exhausted from all his hardwork, and falls asleep.

When Jonathan wakes, he is amazed buthappy to find himself back in his own room.He tells his parents, Ill always be polite andas kind as can be. Ill mind my mannersand always say thank you and please.

Scene Four

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Suggested Activities

Language Arts; Art

Have children create their own finger puppets with con-struction paper, felt, yarn and glue. Children can use thepuppets to role play situations in which manners areimportant, and apply some of the tips they learned in thevideo.

Language Arts

Have children practice their table manners by having adinner party in class (or by eating their lunch in theclassroom one day). Bring in paper plates, plastic knivesand forks, and napkins and help children set tables.Children can practice passing food, using their napkins,and other things that they learned in the video.

Creative Expression

Play a game of Guess My Manners. Give each child a turn toact out a good or poor manners situation for the rest of theclass (i.e. coughing without covering your mouth). Chil-dren can do this alone or with a partner. The rest of thegroup can try to guess what is being acted out and then saywhether it represents good manners or poor manners.

Language Arts; Art

Invite children to design their own Manners Mansion. Theycan draw a picture and then dictate or write somethingabout what happens inside.

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Language Arts; Art

With children, make a class book about good manners.Each child can write or dictate their manners tip and thendraw a picture to go with it. Several children can worktogether to design the cover. Use large sheets of paper forthe book pages and colored poster board for the cover.Display the book in your classroom library.

Language Arts

Create a rhyming word card game. Cut paper into card-sized sheets. Write different words on each card. Childrencan spread the cards out face down and take turns choos-ing two cards, turning them over, and determiningwhether or not they rhyme. If a child gets a rhyming pair,he can take another turn. To assist children in being ableto play this game independently, make a master list of therhyming words that children can consult as they play.

Language Arts

Display an old phone in your classroom or make a receiverout of cardboard. Invite children to use the phone to prac-tice their phone manners.

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Bulletin Board Starters

Create large cut-outs of speech bubbles. Write a different politeword or phrase inside of each bubble. Put all of the speechbubbles in a box or large manila envelope near the bulletinboard. Invite children to pick out bubbles that might be part ofthe same conversation and tack them to the board. Childrencould even dictate or write stories about the dialogue or add tothe conversation with their own speech bubbles.