The learners will:

• hypothesize the motives and feelings of characters in children's literature, describe why things happen, and label the behaviors of the characters.
  
• identify examples of giving and sharing in daily life.
  
• describe all persons as deserving of respect.

Because of the age of the children and the length of the unit, assessments will be held at the end of each lesson in the unit.

• Synopsis of The Little Red Hen: None of the characters in the book wishes to help the main character, the Little Red Hen, through the steps of turning a grain of wheat into a loaf of bread. They act rudely when they are asked to help with the preparations, but all wish to taste the bread when it is ready.
  
  
• Synopsis of Noisy Nora: Nora is the middle child in a loving family. The parents must attend to the needs of the baby, Jack, and the older sister, Kate. While Nora is waiting for attention from her parents, she makes lots of noise. When that doesn't get anyone's attention, she announces that she is leaving. It is only then, that the family shows how much they care for Nora. At the end she appears with a monumental crash.
  
  
• Synopsis of Amazing Grace: Grace is an African-American girl who loves to act out stories. When there is a chance to play Peter Pan in a school play, she wants to try out. Her classmates tell her all the reasons she is not right for the part, but she has the loving support of her family to bolster her independence. Grace keeps in mind that she can be anything that she wants to be and ultimately wins the coveted role.
  
  
• Synopsis of Julius, the Baby of the World: Lilly is very excited about getting a new baby brother . . . until she realizes he takes her parents' attention, he doesn't play, and he doesn't smell good. Lilly very creatively tries to ruin her brother and pretend he doesn't exist. When Lilly's cousin tells her that she doesn't like Julius either, Lilly becomes fiercely loyal to her little brother. This story is funny and warm.
  
  
• Synopsis of Miss Rumphius: Alice Rumphius is a small girl at the beginning of the story with three goals for her life: She will travel to faraway places, come home and live by the sea, and make the world a more beautiful place. The story follows Alice through her life as she fulfills her dreams. At the end of the story she seems like the oldest woman in the world and she is known as the Lupine Lady because she has planted lupine flowers all over the area where she lives. Here is a woman who has shared her time, talent and treasure to make the world a more beautiful place.
  
  
• Synopsis of The Brand New Kid: A brand new kid comes into the classroom. He looks a little different and has an accent. The other students do not want to play with him and they tease him. Soon one of the students feels bad about the teasing and makes an effort to get to know the brand new kid. The sensitive story is written in fun rhyming couplets.
  
  
• Synopsis of The Sneetches: Sneetches come in two varieties; some have stars on their bellies and some do not. The star-bellied Sneetches think that they are superior to the plain-bellied Sneetches. They do not let them play or come to their marshmallow roasts. Soon a con man comes to the beach with a machine that will place stars on bellies. All the plain-bellied Sneetches pay the man to have stars put on their bellies. The Sneetches with stars are outraged and they pay to have their stars removed. The Sneetches spend the day having stars put on and off and on and off until they are completely out of money. At the end, the Sneetches decide that they are all the same and that the stars do not matter.