School Manners with Rowdy-osaur

To start the school year off on the right claw, use the Rowdy-osaur felt story to introduce a series of activities related to appropriate and inappropriate school behavior.

Grade: Preschool

Target Learning Skills:

reinforcement of positive social behaviors
problem solving
graphing

Have children create Rowdy-osaur puppets (directions can be found in the craft section of the Back to School with Dinosaurs theme) that they can use to act out their learning in dramatic play. The children will love helping their puppets to learn appropriate classroom behavior just as you are helping them to do the same.

Little Rowdy-osaur Goes to School
By Jolanda Garcia, KidsSoup, Inc.

One day a little Rowdy-osaur came to school.
But she didn't know even one school rule.

She raced in the hall and she climbed up chairs.
She roared out loud and she thought nobody cares.

You and the children chant:

"Stop! No more
little dinosaur."

She stomped her feet and didn't wait for her turn.
She disrupted the classroom so the children couldn't learn.

You and the children chant:

"Stop! No more
little dinosaur."

continue with the story.... (see Rowdy-osaur Goes to School Felt Story) KidsSoup Resource Library Members only

Preschool Activities:

Media Root

Preschool Activities:

Media Root

Once children have had an opportunity to hear the Rowdy-osaur felt story a few times and play with their puppets, introduce the Rowdy-osaur School Manners Game Cards with the Happy and Sad Faces. Prior to beginning the activity, laminate the faces and attach craft sticks to the backs with tape. If needed, prepare additional faces so that each child has one happy and one sad face. One-at-a-time, hold up each card featuring one of Rowdy-osaur’s behaviors. If the behavior is positive, children hold up a happy face. If the behavior is negative, children hold up a sad face.

Extend the lesson by attaching one happy face and one sad face to an easel. Have children place the Rowdy-osaur School Manners Game Cards in the correct sections on the easel. When all of the cards have been placed, have children count how many cards are in the happy face section and how many are in the sad face section. Ask questions such as “Which section has the most and which has the least?”

Preschool Activities:

Media Root

Follow the happy face/sad face graphing activity with a “Thumbs-Up, Thumbs-Down” game that extends learning about school manners by discussing additional behaviors that apply to your classroom. Cover a clean, empty coffee can with construction paper and write the words “Thumbs-Up, Thumbs-Down” on the front.

Preschool Activities:

Media Root

Preschool Activities:

Media Root

Write down a variety of classroom behaviors that you’d like to address, both positive and negative, on strips of paper. Fold the papers and place them into the can. Have children choose behaviors from the coffee can and respond by giving a thumbs-up if the behavior is appropriate for the classroom and a thumbs-down if the behavior is not appropriate for the classroom. Lead children in a conversation that addresses why each positive behavior is beneficial to them and their classmates. Encourage children to think of ways that the negative behaviors can be changed from “thumbs-down” behaviors to those that are “thumbs up.”

Submitted by KidsSoup member Melissa Nickdowicz