The Bully Tree. (appropriate for all ages)

Transcription

1 Copyright 2013 by Elizabeth L Hamilton All rights reserved. The Bully Tree (appropriate for all ages) Desired Learner Goals At the conclusion of this lesson, students will be able to: verbalize understanding of the bully tree as it illustrates the bully problem list each of the 4 bad fruits of the bully tree with examples of each express understanding of what the bully tree needs Supplies and Preparation Printouts of pages 4, 5, and 6 Printout of assignment sheet for each student Teaching the Lesson Adapt your talk to meet student needs. Ask: Have you ever seen a bully tree? (Hold up page 4 photo of real tree.) Say: This tree is called a bully tree, but it is not the Bully Tree in today s story. Let s find out about a different kind of bully tree. Tell this story in your own words, changing it to fit your listeners culture and ages Sixteen-year-old Kevin and nine-year-old Nicole were not only brother and sister. They were also buddies. All seven children in their family got along well, but Kevin and Nicole shared a special connection. They shared friends outside the family, too: Zachary and his sister Alexis, who were exactly the same ages as Kevin and Nicole. The four friends were together that Saturday morning the day when they learned about bully trees. Kevin s idea started it all. You know, what I d like to do today, he said, is visit that old farm on the edge of town the one with the big, empty house. We might find some really cool stuff in there. Zachary jumped up, twirling keys in his hand. Let s go! he said. I ve got the car.

2 He didn t need to say it twice. They all dashed for the car. There wasn t much traffic in their small South Dakota town, and they reached the old farm in minutes. They jumped from the car, and stopped, staring at the big, empty house. Look! Nicole exclaimed. There are trees growing in the middle of the house. Kevin shook his head. I don t think there s any roof there, Nicole. It probably fell in and the trees took over. Come on. Let s go inside. They climbed broken steps to the old front porch. Alexis stepped to the big, dirty red door, and knocked, just in case someone was there. It s empty, Kevin said. He grabbed the doorknob, but before he could turn it, the door opened, and he stumbled inward. He fell against a man who looked as old as the house. Kevin gasped. The old man spoke. Come to see my trees? Kevin looked at Zachary. Zachary cleared his throat and said, Yes, sir. He might have asked, What trees? or said, We didn t know anyone lived here, but all he said was, Yes, sir. The man motioned them in, and led them to a long hall. One side of the hall was a faded green wall, but the other side!! There they saw glass doors, beyond which were trees, and beyond the trees more of the house! Kevin nudged Nicole and whispered, There are trees growing in the middle of the house! Story trees, said the old man. Got time? The teen brothers knew their sisters loved stories, so they said they had time. The foursome followed the man into his tree garden. He stopped at the first tree. My Worry Tree, he said. We all got worries in life, but worries don t belong inside with me. Can t sleep if they re inside, so I just hang em on my Worry Tree when I come home at night. I pick em up in the morning, but it s kinda funny. Ain t near as many in the morning as when I left em here the night before. He pointed to another tree. That there s my Huggin Tree, he said. Ain t got no kids at home anymore. Grew up and moved away all of em. Wife died, too, so I get lonely sometimes. That s when I go to my Huggin Tree. Just put your arms around that. You ll see what I mean. They took turns wrapping their arms around the smooth, warm bark. Somehow, the Hugging Tree seemed to understand and comfort each of them. The gray man insisted on showing every tree. They recognized the Christmas Tree, of course. Not so with the Circus Tree, Dragon Blood Tree, or Boojum Tree. As the man moved to the seventh tree, he began laughing. The tree looked ordinary, but when they asked, the old man just laughed harder. They snickered a little just because he was laughing, but then they laughed more, and the air soon rang with laughter. Laughin Tree! the man gasped. Makes me laugh, that makes others laugh, and we all get a dose of laugh medicine. Good for us!

3 As he turned to go back, Kevin called after him. You missed one, he said, pointing. That one isn t like the rest. It s strange. You should pull off that rotten fruit so it looks better. Go ahead. You pull off one of em rotten things, said the old man. That s a Bully Tree. Each of them reached for a piece of the fruit, but no sooner had they pulled it off than they shouted, Yuck! Smelly brown juice oozed over their hands. Stickiness glued the fruit to their fingers. When they tried to throw it down, it clung to them, pouring its evil smell into their noses. The old man yanked the fruit off their hands with a rag. Then he pointed to the Bully Tree. New fruit grew where we pulled those, Zachary exclaimed, but it s already rotten! Bully Tree can t grow good fruit, the old man said. Tree itself s bad. Bad roots. Doesn t help to pull the rotten stuff to make it look better. Never will change unless it gets good roots. Wouldn t even be a Bully Tree then. I leave the bad roots as a reminder. The old man took them into the house then, and sinking into a sagging chair, he told them one more story. He told about a boy that bullied others. At age three, the boy bullied by biting or pinching. At age seven, he bullied by tripping, kicking, and saying bad things about others. As he grew older, he stole things, and made fun of others skin color, or the way they talked. When he turned sixteen, he began sending nasty messages with his computer and cell phone. The messages were so nasty that one bullied girl took them to the police. What happened then? asked Alexis, her eyes big and round. The old man sighed. They arrested me, he said, and I was punished because I was that bully. I keep the Bully Tree to remind me not to produce that kind of rotten fruit ever again. Apply the story in age appropriate words. Display the page 5 graphic of bad fruit tree. The old man said that bully trees produce bad fruit. The bully tree reminded him that bullies produce bad fruit. The actions of a bully are like the bad fruit of a Bully Tree. The things the old man did when he was a bully were fruits that grew on his tree. He named FOUR BAD FRUITS. I want you to remember them. First, physical bullying fruits: things he did to harm someone s body or belongings biting, kicking, and stealing. Second, verbal bullying fruits: talking unkindly to or about someone. Third, racial bullying fruits: making fun of the way people look or talk. Fourth, emotional bullying fruits that grew when he sent nasty notes to upset someone. Do you remember what the old man said you must do to change a bully tree? What is the only way to make it produce good fruit? Display the page 6 graphic of roots. If you are a bully, I hope you will ask someone to help you get new roots. It s the only way you will ever stop producing that disgusting, smelly fruit. It s the only way you will ever stop being a Bully Tree. Assignment Distribute printouts of the assignment.

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7 The Bully Tree Name Write your name and answers to these 10 questions on a separate sheet of paper. Clip it to this page. When you are done, ask your parent(s) to sign it. Young children may talk about the questions with a parent and have the parent write answers. 1. What is different about the two trees above? 2. Is the Bully Tree on the left or on the right above? 3. The Bully Tree should remind us of what? 4. Both trees have fruit. Fruit reminds us of what? 5. Why is the fruit bad on the Bully Tree? 6. Name 4 kinds of bad fruit that grows on a Bully Tree. Give examples of each. 7. Can you make a Bully Tree good by pulling off the bad fruit? 8. Can you make bullies good by making them stop doing 1 or 2 bad things? 9. What does the Bully Tree need to produce good fruit? 10. If you do that, will it still be a Bully Tree? Parent(s): please sign above to show that your child has completed the work.