Chrysanthemum would be a great read for 2nd or 3rd grade during the first week of school. Chrysanthemum begins school and loves her name, but when she gets to school, classmates begin to make fun of her name, hurting her feelings. But, when the other students in her class are introduced to another teacher, things begin to change for Chrysanthemum and she blossoms. This book deals a lot with hurt feelings and being kind to one another. An idea during a read aloud, would be to cut out a paper heart and have the students crinkle the heart every time they hear something unkind. After the book is over, have your students put band aids on the heart to help them understand that mean words are hard to forget about. This could lead to a class promise and agreement.
Lexile: 570L
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