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Junie B. Jones has all the answers when
it comes to cheating. It’s just plain wrong!But what about
copying someone else’s homework? That’s not cheating, right?
’Cause homework isn’t even a test! And speaking of tests .
. . what if a friend shares an answer that you didn’t even
ask for? Sharing definitely isn’t cheating . . . is it? Uh-oh.
Maybe this cheating business is more complicated than Junie
B. thought. Could she be a cheater pants and not even know
it?
In this guide for Junie B., First
Grader: Cheater Pants, Junie B. fans learn there are
lots of different ways to express thoughts and feelings. An
activity spotlighting a special kind of poetry teaches budding
poets that some poems don't have to rhyme. An opportunity
to create and make entries into their own special journals
encourages students to write with fluency and spontaneity.
And a lesson on cultural understanding reveals that Native
American cultures often expressed their stories in pictures
on clay pots. A template for an analog clock on a companion
printout will help students tell time and remember to make
time for all the wonderful and important things they want
to schedule in their days.
Pre-Reading Activities
Using a show of hands, ask students how many of
them have friends. List with them what qualities we look
for in a friend. Junie B. says that there are "bestest"
friends and "regular" friends. Ask students if they agree
or disagree. Can they explain the differences between the
two? Have they ever had a fight with a friend? How was it
resolved? Did a friend ever ask them to do something they
didn't want to do or thought was bad? How did they handle
the situation?
Write the word cheat on the blackboard and ask students
if they know what it means. As a class, list situations
that would be considered examples of cheating. Have students
compare Junie B.'s use of the word borrow with Mr. Scary's
use of the word stealing. Write the word trust on the blackboard
and ask students if they know what it means. Have them give
examples of people in their lives who are very trustworthy.
Are friends always trustworthy? What happens when you lose
trust in a person? Can you trust a person again after he/she
has let you down?
 Poetry
Pallies
As Junie B. and her "pallies" have discovered, a
cinquain is a five-line poem with special rules for each line.
Put a cinquain format on the blackboard as follows:
______________
Line 1: Title (noun)
_____________ _____________
Line 2: Two words that describe the title (adjectives)
___________ ___________ ___________
Line 3: Three -ing action words (verbs)
________ _________ __________ _______
Line 4: Four words that express a thought or feeling about
the title (phrase)
____________________
Line 5: One word that means the same thing as the title (noun)
Discuss the different parts of speech identified
in each line and have students give examples of each. Using
your blackboard format, show how each of the cinquains created
by Junie and the kids in Room One (except for May's!) follows
these rules. Lead the whole class in the creation of cinquains
based on suggested topics.
Organize students into teams and assign each
team the task of sharing words and ideas with each other to
create their own special cinquain. After checking that each
poem is correct for form and spelling, have each team cut
out shaped outlines from construction paper on their poem's
topic. Then, print their cinquain on white paper and cut out
in the same shaped outlines as the construction paper, but
smaller. Then have the students paste their poem onto their
shaped construction paper. Have each team share their poetry
and art with classmates, and then post the poems in a classroom
display.
Pass out the My
Very Own Cinquain printer-friendly activity sheet so that
your young authors can try out cinquain writing on their own.
Dear
Diary
When Junie B. writes in her first-grade journal,
she expresses her thoughts and feelings about what is going
on in her life. Tell students that they are going to create
and write their own journals as a way to freely explore their
inner thoughts and create a source of ideas for their writing.
You will need the following:
- 10 sheets of white typing paper, folded in half for writing
pages
- 1 piece of construction paper, folded in half for a cover
- markers
- hole puncher
- ribbon or raffia
Place the folded sheets of white paper in the folded piece
of construction paper. Punch two holes in the fold, one at
top and one at bottom. Thread and tie a piece of ribbon or
raffia through the holes to bind your journal. Decorate the
cover with markers.
Now that students are ready, explain how each
entry must be dated, addressed, and signed. Have students
keep their journal for a week. Encourage them to be creative
by including poems, drawings, and song lyrics if they wish.
To give students ideas for their first entries, present the
following prompts and give them 5-10 minutes to write:
This weekend, one thing I did for fun was . . .
I get really frustrated and mad when . . .
I have a lot of thoughts inside my head today . . .
Collect and read journals after one week, making personal
rather than corrective comments on their thoughts and ideas.
Ask for volunteers to read aloud from their journals and have
students give the writer feedback on style and/or content.
You can also use Top-Secret
Personal Beeswax: A Journal by Junie B. (and Me!)
in your classroom! This hilarious companion to the Junie B.
Jones series features Junie B.'s own original writings along
with drawings, stickers, and lots of blank pages with creative
prompts designed to get students drawing and writing about
their own top-secret, personal beeswax. Students will love
getting to know Junie B. up close in this fun, interactive
writing format.
When
Clay Speaks
When Junie B. copies May's homework and reports she
took a pottery class over the weekend, she doesn't know that
clay pots can help us learn about a culture. Using library
or Internet resources, familiarize students with the clay
pots of the Native American people of the Southwest. Discuss
with them the pictographs, or painted images, that grace them
and how these pictures speak to us and tell stories of culture,
family, and community in this desert region.
Supply each student with a small handful of
self-drying clay shaped into a ball. Have them hold the ball
in the palm of one hand and use the thumb of the other hand
to make an indentation in the center of the ball. Keep turning
the ball of clay and pressing down to within a half inch from
the bottom. Have students rotate and pinch the sides of the
clay ball with thumb inside and fingers outside until the
desired bowl shape is achieved. Let dry and have students
paint pictures on the bowls that tell a story about young
potters who crafted them.
 Printable
Activities
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