Mini Lesson Plan: Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow (grades 6-8)

After reading the Diplomacy story called “Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow,” students will take part in a variety of follow-up activities to enhance the learning experience. Here is a story scenario you can use to help teach about the need to be diplomatic with adults in positions of power such as teachers, administrators, and parents. Valuing & Respecting Authority are two important survival skills that all thinking individuals need to display if they wish to get along well in this world. Students will learn when it might be appropriate to “eat crow” with teachers and other significant adults in their lives. One of the goals of this story is that students will increase the number of times they choose to “eat crow” with teachers instead of being rude or disrespectful.

Step 1: Read the story called “Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow.”

Story Description: Tom almost always got in trouble with his teachers while his best friend Denny rarely did. One day while the two boys were out fishing, Tom asked to know Denny’s secret. Denny, with the help of his grandfather, taught Tom the very important survival skill of learning how to “eat crow” with teachers, bosses, and other adults in positions of power.

Links to 3 chapters for “Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow.”

Chapter 1: Tom Gets In Trouble

Chapter 2: Tom and Denny

Chapter 3: Tom and Denny’s Grandpa

Step 2: Have class participate in the role-play based on the complete story called “Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow.”

Diplomacy role-play: Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow

Step 3: Have class participate in discussion questions about this story.

Let’s Discuss Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow

Let’s Discuss Diplomacy Tale: Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow

After reading the story called “Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow,” hold a class discussion using these ten discussion questions. You can also act the story out by using the scripted role-play provided.

Link to Self-Mentoring story: Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow

Link to Self-Mentoring role-play: Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow

Click DIPLOMACY to read the ten Class Discussion Questions as a follow-up to the story called “Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow.”

Diplomacy role-play: Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow

Visit this page to get the link to the PDF file for the scripted role-play to print for classroom use called “Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow.”

A. Students participate in scripted role-play called “Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow.”

Story Description: Tom almost always got in trouble with his teachers while his best friend Denny rarely did. One day while the two boys were out fishing, Tom asked to know Denny’s secret. Denny, with the help of his grandfather, taught Tom the very important survival skill of learning how to “eat crow” with teachers, bosses, and other adults in positions of power.

Click on DIPLOMACY to read and download the role-play on Examiner.com.

Tale Hub Page for Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow (Grades 6-8)

Here is a story scenario you can use to help teach about the need to be diplomatic with adults in positions of power such as teachers, administrators, and parents. Valuing & Respecting Authority are two important survival skills that all thinking individuals need to display if they wish to get along well in this world. Students will learn when it might be appropriate to “eat crow” with teachers and other significant adults in their lives. One of the goals of this story is that students will increase the number of times they choose to “eat crow” with teachers instead of being rude or disrespectful.

Section 1: Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow

A. Teacher reads story to the class called “Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow.”

B. Story Description: Tom almost always got in trouble with his teachers while his best friend Denny rarely did. One day while the two boys were out fishing, Tom asked to know Denny’s secret. Denny, with the help of his grandfather, taught Tom the very important survival skill of learning how to “eat crow” with teachers, bosses, and other adults in positions of power.

Links to 3 chapters for Denny Teaches Tom to Eat Crow

Chapter 1: Tom Gets In Trouble

Chapter 2: Tom and Denny

Chapter 3: Tom and Denny’s Grandpa

How to become a better communicator via fun role-play called “Goofy Jane”

Eighteen-year-old Jane is training to be a singer, dancer, and actress so she can become a Hollywood movie star. She nearly blows her chance to fulfill her dream as she breaks every communication skill rule with a Hollywood agent by the name of Mr. Headworthy.

Feel free to read or download this role-play at the link included in the resource section. It is provided by Debbie Dunn aka DJ Lyons, the School Conflict Resolution Examiner for Examiner.com. She posts free stories, role-plays, articles, and lesson plans on the subjects of Conflict Resolution and coping with bullies.

In any case, this ‘how to’ article teaches some ways to become a better communicator by striving to NOT do any of things done by Goofy Jane. After all, Goofy, Goofy, Goofy Jane. No one’s as goofy as Jane! Are they? Goofy Jane! Goofy Jane! No one’s as goofy as Jane.

Click COMMUNICATION SKILLS to read the entire article on eHOW.com.

K-W-L Model discussion for Communication Skills role-play: Goofy Jane

Class will discuss the K & W of the K-W-L Model at beginning of lesson: What do you know and what do you want to know about the techniques used by good communicators? At the end of the lesson, they will close with the L discussion: What have you learned about the techniques used by good communicators?

Click COMMUNICATION SKILLS to read the entire article.

Communication Skills writing assignment: Goofy Jane

Instructional objective: Students will write about the six levels of the Bloom’s Taxonomy Discussion Questions for the Communication Skills role-play called “Goofy Jane.”

Link to Communication Skills Role-Play: After participating in the role-play called “Goofy Jane,” have the students answer the following questions. Links to the lesson plan included at the end of the article.

Click COMMUNICATION SKILLS to see the list of questions that students will write about.