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Teaching Honesty with The Wolf Who Cried Boy 

honesty The-Wolf-Who-Cried-Boy

by B.J. Hennessy

Grades: 1-3

CASEL Standard: Self-Management- The ability to manage one’s emotions, thoughts and behaviors effectively in different situations and to achieve goals and aspirations. 

Character Education Lesson Objective: To understand what honesty is and why it is important

Materials:

Part 1:  

  • Have you ever said something that wasn’t true to try to trick someone or be funny?  What happened?

  • Sometimes we like to try to play tricks on our family or friends to be silly.  That can be fun, but, even when playing a trick or being silly, it is important to be honest.

  • What is honesty?  Honesty is telling the truth.  This means that you tell what really happened.

  • Why do you think it is important to be honest?

  • When you are honest, people can trust you and know that what you are saying is always true.

  • If you are dishonest or do not tell the truth, even one time, people could start to not trust you and believe what you are saying.

  • You are going to be doing a matching worksheet.  You will read the situation and then draw a line to match the situation to the way that the person in the situation should behave.

  • When you are done, we will go over your answers.

  • After the students have completed the worksheet, talk about each situation and how it should be handled in an honest way.

Part 2:  

  • We are going to be reading a book called, The Wolf Who Cried Boy by B.J. Hennessy.

  • Read the book.

  • What was the Little Wolf unhappy about when it was dinner time?

  • What did Father Wolf say would happen if Little Wolf ever saw a boy?

  • Do you think Little Wolf made a good choice when he yelled “Boy!” even though he hadn’t seen one?  Why or why not?

  • Do you think it is alright to play tricks on people?  Why or why not?

  • How did Father Wolf figure out that Little Wolf was not being honest about seeing a boy?

  • What happened when the Little Wolf saw a whole group of boys?  Why?

  • Why do you think it is important to tell the truth?

Part 3:  

  • Little Wolf did not tell his parents the truth about seeing a boy two days in a row.  When he finally did see a group of boys, his parents did not believe him. 

  • When you are not honest, people do not trust you and believe what you are saying. 

  • You are going to be writing a story, just like The Wolf Who Cried Boy.  You can write about a person or an animal who does not tell the truth.  You should then write about what happens because of that.

  • For example, I might write, “The Cat Who Cried Bird.”  I would write a story about a young cat who kept saying that there was a bird to catch.  The other cats would come running and there was no bird.  One day, the young cat really did see a bird, but none of the other cats came and the bird flew away.

  • After you have finished writing your story, you will have a chance to share them.

  • When the students have completed their stories, allow them to share. 

Related lessons:

View more: Character Education Lesson Plans

Written by Kimberly Greacen, Education World® Contributing Writer

Kimberly is an educator with extensive experience in curriculum writing and developing instructional materials to align with Common Core State Standards and Bloom's Taxonomy.

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