Optimism

Be Positive!

Optimism is the ability to remain hopeful and confident about the future or successful outcome of something.

Assembly Read Aloud: Rain Brings Frogs: A Little Book of Hope by Maryann Cocca-Leffler

Read Alouds:

Be Positive! A Book about Optimism by Cheri Meiners	Wanda’s Roses by Pat Brisson	Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin	When Pigs Fly by Valerie Coulman
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Kraus	Sally Jean, the Bicycle Queen by Cari Best	The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper	I Think, I Am by Louise Hay

Good News Bad News by Jeff Mack

Today I Will Fly by Mo Willems

Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes by James Dean

Activities:

Have a discussion on how to respond optimistically in each of the following scenarios:

• You lose a game of checkers.
• You get your new sneakers dirty.
• It’s a rainy day and you can’t go on the playground.

Additional Resources:

Acceptance is appreciating the differences/similarities present in all of us.

Assembly Read Aloud: It’s Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr

• Same, Same, but Different by Carol McCloud and David Messing
• Unique Monique by Maria Rousaki and Polina Papanikolaou
• The Land of Many Colors by Rita Pocock and Klamath County
• Chamelia by Ethan Long
• The Big Orange Spot by D. Manus Pinkwater and Daniel Manus Pinkwater
• Whoever You Are by Mem Fox
• The Peace Book by Todd Parr
• Big Al by Andrew Clements
• There’s a Skunk in My Bunk by Joseph McCann
• The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss
• The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi

READ:

The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Pinkwater

The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

Unique Monique by Maria Rousaki

ACTIVITIES:

My Favorite Things: Using the attached sheet, ask the students to draw and/or label their favorite game, food, book and animal. Have them sign their name on the back of the sheet. When finished, collect the sheets and sit the class in a circle with all the pictures. Can they guess whose is whose?

Getting to Know You Bingo: Find someone who… (i.e likes the beach, has a sister, etc.)

When I Grow Up: Students sit or stand in a circle. Choose a student to go first. The first student says, “When I grow up, I want to be a chef.” The next student does a brief pantomime of something the person with the job student 1 said would do. Then they say “When I grow up I want to be a…”. Continue around the circle