The Empty Pot Story Hour Post

     Story Hour Post

     The Empty Pot Story Hour

1.    Demi. The Empty Pot. Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2012. Print.

        

 

2.   Setting the scene: To set the area the room should have a chair for the reader to sit at the front and an area for the children to sit in right in front of the reader. For when the story is finished, there should be tables for the children to sit at. Along the walls should be pots with various types of flowers and one pot with no flowers. The room can then also be decorated with various Chinese lanterns and red streamers.

3.   Get into character: To get into character, the reader should practice playing the part of an old man and a young boy (named Ping). The old man can sound stern, as he will be an emperor. The young boy can sound like a child that is mostly happy and then sad for one part.

4.    Props: For props the reader can have a small empty pot on the side, which can be picked up when reading the young boy’s parts. The reader can use a small hand fan for when reading the emperor’s parts.

5.   Telling the Story: The reader should use one hand to hold the book and while reading, he/she should make sure the children could see the book. To tell the story, the reader should primarily switch between speaking as Ping and the emperor. There should also be intonation in the reader’s voice throughout the reading.

6.   Craft/Activity: The children should first be asked what their favorite part was and what they learned from Ping and the emperor. After this, the children should be given soil, little pots, water, and a seed from a selection of various plants. After choosing the plant they would like to grow, the children would go through the process of planting a seed and watering it. When they finish, the children can then color/draw the flowers that they decided to grow. They should be encouraged to color/draw it like how they think it will look.

·      Learning Standard: With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.

·      Goal: For the children to understand that good things can come from patience and that they should not lie about something they did not do.

·      Objective: Affective – The children will think about what it means to be patient and honest and how they can follow Ping’s example of being proud and truthful about what you have done.

·      Outcome: The children will gain a deeper understanding of patience and truthfulness and realize how it can affect them and their decisions. From the deeper understanding of being truthful, they should also recognize the consequences of lying, especially when the other person knows they are lying.

7.   Snack ideas: While drawing the children can eat healthy snacks like celery and carrots. It should be explained to them that the snacks originally came from just a little seed. If an unhealthy snack is wanted, then cookies in the shape of a pot are a good option.