Explore vocabulary You may want to define the vocabulary words students may find challenging (see Appendix, Vocabulary Lists). Remind them that they can always ask their Big Buddy about words they aren’t familiar with.
Review communication skills Discuss any communication issues or other problems that came up during the previous sessions. Review solutions and strategies as needed. Ask students to share how their Big Buddies helped them keep the conversation going during the previous buddy sessions.
45–60
minutes
Forgi v eness LITT LE B uddy S ession 2:
Read and Talk Together
After the buddies pair up, it should take about 30-45 minutes to go through the story. Encourage students to talk freely, but keep the class on task by letting them know when it is time to move on. Be mindful of students’ conversations and if a pair seems to have gone too far off the topic, have them tell you their answers to the most recent question, and then ask them to continue the story.
Early Finishers If buddies complete the interactive session early, you can use these ideas to help them keep the discussion going until the end of the session: • Direct buddies to a book corner that has related books on display (see Appendix, Recommended books). Encourage buddies to choose and read a book together. Encourage them to talk about how it relates to what they learned. • Have them use the forgiveness Think About It cards to review, recall, and reflect on events in the interactive story.
Class Discussion Leave about 10 minutes at the end of the session to bring the whole group together. Lead a discussion about what students thought of the story and their buddy experience. (Note: The Little Buddies may need a little extra encouragement to speak up in the larger group. You may want to have the Little Buddy teacher lead the discussion.) Ask questions such as: • Why was Buster mad at Binky? • How was Buster feeling while he was carrying around the grudge? Have you ever felt that way because of something someone did to you? • What things did Buster do to help him get rid of his grudge? What do you do to help you get over being mad at someone? • What can you do if you find out you hurt someone without meaning to? • How can we use what we’ve learned from the story to help us be better buddies? 41 Little Buddy Session: Buster’s Growing Grudge
