Crazy Hair Day Teaches Friendship, Peace and Act with Love and Kindness (2024)

Jewish Value: Friendship

Questions for Reflection

1. Why would G-d say that it is not good for us to be alone?
2. What should we expect from our friends, and what should our friends expect from us?
3. What are some things that you have learned from your friendships?
4. Who do you consider a true friend and why?
5. How can you incorporate the value of chaverut within the classroom?

Materials

• Copy of Crazy Hair Day
• After the Story: materials for the activity “Crazy Hair Day,” including fun items to wear in or on the hair (for example, silly hats, wigs, huge bows, hair curlers, beads, feathers, pipe cleaners, etc.)

Technology

• Author and illustrator Barney Saltzberg reads the story aloud: http://barneysaltzberg.com/b_crazyhair.htm
• Vote on the best “crazy” hairstyle for Stanley: http://www.barneysaltzberg.com/crazyhair/fl ash/crazyhair.htm
• Animation and reading of Hug o’ War by Shel Silverstein: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w49hoR9FMIU
• “You’ve Got A Friend In Remix”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPoNpJ29bvE

Introducing The story

Reading The Story

Read the story aloud, stopping when appropriate to explore illustrations, address comments, clarify, predict, and guide students’ understanding of the story and the values of friendship—chaverut and peace—shalom, as well as act with loving kindess—g’milut chasadim.

Ask the following questions:

• After reading the page that says, “Stanley ran to the bathroom,” ask, “Why did Stanley run away? How did he feel? Who made fun of Stanley?”
• When reading the page when Stanley is still in the bathroom, stop and say, “Why did Stanley say that it’s a day he will never forget?” (He is so upset.) “Do you think Stanley should go back to class? Do you think he should forgive his friend Larry?”
• At the end of the book ask, “Why did Stanley say again that it is a day he will never forget? Did he mean the same thing when he said it before?” (Now he was so happy about what his classmates and teacher did.)
• Revisit the questions you asked before reading the story. Ask, “Do you think that they acted with loving and kindness? Do you think they acted like good friends?”

After The Story

Play the video of author and illustrator Barney Saltzberg as he reads his book Crazy Hair Day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ckm1c5N9EoM. Revisit key themes from the story in terms of the Jewish values of friendship, as well as love and kindness, by asking the following questions:

• Why was Stanley upset with his friend Larry? (Larry had teased Stanley.)
• What did Mr. Winger tell Larry to be? (Be a “peacemaker” instead of a “troublemaker.”) How did Larry make peace? How did Larry show or not show loving kindness to Stanley? Do you think Stanley and Larry will still be friends?
• What would you say to Stanley’s classmates about their idea to wear their hair in crazy ways? Why do you think they did this? Do you think that this made Stanley feel better and showed him friendship? Ask students to share a story about a time they made a mistake. Guide them in the understanding that everyone makes mistakes and when we do, it is important that our friends are supportive and kind.

Celebrate Friendship with a “Crazy Hair Day”!
This can be done school-wide or classroom wide. Your “Crazy Hair Day” can include students creating their own “Crazy Hair Day” slogans and song verses (like the one Stanley sang). Involve music, art, and PE teachers in activities for this special day! Take pictures and display them throughout the school. Alternatively, as a class brainstorm and select a different type of “Crazy Day” to celebrate, such as “Crazy T-Shirt Day,” or “Crazy Hat Day,” etc. Involve students in creating slogans and song verses and involve the school’s music, art, and PE teachers.

Bulletin Board, Art, Technology

Draw Stanley’s face on the bulletin board. Whenever you observe a situation in which friendship-chaverut is demonstrated, add a strand of “crazy hair” to create the style selected. As a class, brainstorm and vote on a hairstyle students would like to give Stanley for the “Crazy Hair” bulletin board! For additional ideas, visit the following interactive game in which they can click on various hairstyles which Stanley then models: http://www.barneysaltzberg.com/crazyhair/flash/crazyhair.htm.

HUG O’ WAR

Literacy, Poetry

• After viewing the video and listening as the poem is read, involve students in making their own class video of the poem.
• Display the poem on a bulletin board, surrounded by pictures of the students hugging, with the caption “Friendship—Chaverut.”
• Help the students “read” the poem by leaving words out for them to fill in. (See the Oral Cloze Technique in Appendix.)

BE A PEACEMAKER

Dramatic Play

• Using puppets or stuffed animals, role-play scenarios (use real-life situations when possible) in which one character did something unkind to another and how another character did something nice demonstrating a peaceful resolution.
• Ask the students if they remember a time that they had an argument with a friend and role play how they worked it out.

TOY STORY FRIENDS

Technology, Audiovisual

Watch the clip of this “You’ve Got A Friend In Remix” from the film Toy Story:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPoNpJ29bvE. Ask students, “Who are the friends in the movie? How do they show their friendship?”

CRAZY HAIR FUN

Math, Art

Friendship BINGO

Make a class set of Bingo cards using the photos of all the students in your classroom community. The following website will help upload each photo you would like to use to create the Bingo cards: http://www.eslactivities.com/picturebingo.php. Make a set of “calling cards” which consists of the same pictures used to make the Bingo cards. Students take turns being the “caller” whose job it is to select a picture and then call out the name of the person pictured on the card (with the assistance of the teacher as necessary). The other students listen to the “caller” and use their bingo chips to mark the photo of each individual as the name is called (use any small, flat objects as bingo chips such as unifix cubes or coins). This game can be particularly useful in the beginning of the year to help students learn the names of their classmates. Students “win” when they can mark an entire row of their friends’ photos.

Gonna Make Peace

by Miss Emily Aronoff Teck Inspiration Text

“May The One who makes peace in high places make peace upon us”-found in theSim Shalom blessing of the Amidah

Activity

Ask students the following questions:

• What does the word peace mean?
• What parts of your life or our world need more peace?
• What can you do about increasing peace when you grow up?
• What can you do about increasing peace today?

Show students this project made by elementary-age kids at Temple Emanu-El inPalm Beach Island: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpYXSsVY7C8. Introducethe video by directing attention to the action words of the song. For example, “Weare going to watch a short movie created by Jewish children who share a lot of thingsin common with you. They made this movie using this song to share their ideasabout the good work they could help do in their world. I wonder if you could do someof the same things that they want to try …”

After viewing, ask students to recollect the ideas shared by the children and then addmore ideas. When students perform these actions, commend them on their work.For example, “Wow! I admire the way you’re using kind words to talk to each other.You’re helping make the world a more peaceful place.” Or “Thanks for making theworld a more peaceful place by comforting a friend.”

Have students brainstorm ideas regarding how they can fix the world today. Collectthe ideas, displaying them in a visible location (for example, on a whiteboard, smartboard, or poster) and write them in short phrases that include a verb and noun. Askstudents to choose a goal to illustrate. Give each child a page and then bind his orher art into a book, display it as a bulletin board, or make it into a slideshow. Letthe illustrations guide the class as they sing their own version of the song. Singthe song, inserting their goals into the melody in place of “make peace.” Sing asmany turns of the song, in this way, as there are ideas. Consider making your ownpresentation like the above video.
Lyrics

Encourage parents to talk to their child about the qualities of a good friend and the importance of friendship—chaverut.

• They may ask their child about the child’s friends and what makes each special.
• Ask the child to notice, while at the playground or when taking a break from play, if other children act like a good friend, to notice and describe acts of friendship that they see.

Suggest parents arrange playdates for their children with old friends and new friends.

As parents read various books with their children, as appropriate, talk together about the main characters. Would they want to be friends with them? Why or why not?

* PJ library Books