Teaching Values to Small School Children Through Reading-

Teaching Values to Small School Children Through Reading-

Article 8 in a Series to Parents

by Dr. Edward  E. Green

General Manager of Family Literacy Centers, Inc. 

As parents we want to bring up children who have high moral standards - who are kind to others,

fair, and responsible. Society and the schools play less of a part in teaching values than in years past. So it’s mostly up to parents to teach and set an example. Researchers have found that a warm, affectionate family environment helps children become friendly, honest, responsible, loyal and morally courageous. Children receive the most important moral lessons at home from the examples and teaching of loving parents. But there are resources that can help. The purpose of this

article is to show how reading and writing activities can be helpful in teaching values to children. The ideas and examples focus on beginning readers, usually children who are in grades kindergarten through second grade. 

How can books and stories be used to teach values? By reading a story together. Then talking about it. Youngsters will sometimes understand the moral implications just by hearing the stories. But they’ll learn more if you have a short discussion. This is not a time for the parent to do all the talking. You don’t need to be afraid to state your principles clearly. But most of the time should be spent asking questions, then letting the child think and answer. Open ended questions like these help a child think. 

PARENT:

Do you think what he did was right or wrong? Why?

What would you do if that happened to you?

What will happen if she does that?

How would it make people feel?

What would be a better thing to do? 

Books can help children identify values. They need models of good and bad behavior, and books can supply these. Choose books that deal with values you want your child to adopt. Many stories present moral conflicts that children can relate to. For example, the series of “Little House” books trace the lives of a loyal, honorable, and loving family. 

Ordinary fairy tales often teach moral values. The Ugly Duckling is about a swan who is mistreated

because he looks different from the others. Bennett’s Book of Virtues for adults and children

contain many short stories and poems that teach a moral. The hero of Brave Brush-Tail Possum learns to overcome fear and be brave. Through determination, he is able to trick the dreaded Goanna Lizard, who has eaten so many of Possum’s relatives. The story provides a context for a parent to talk about courage and friendship. 

PARENT [READING]

“Well, you can’t just stand there when the

Goanna comes, said Wombat.

“Yes, I can,” sighed Possum. “I haven’t any

choice. I’ll freeze.”

“But you’ll be eaten!” said Spiny Anteater

“I know,” said possum

“That’s terrible!” cried Koala Bear.

“My cousins froze, “continued Possum, “and they

were eaten.”

“POSSUM!” said Wombat. “You said you were

brave! Being brave means you don’t just give up.”

PARENT:

Would you give up or be brave?

CHILD:

I’d be brave. Maybe I would fight the Goanna!

PARENT:

Brush Tail Possum is scared but he won’t give up.

Let’s see what he does to be brave. 

Moral beings are able to understand the consequences of their actions. Beginning readers are usually mature enough to talk about consequences, if you keep things simple. The Bike Lesson demonstrates a number of bad things that happen to Dad when he doesn’t think ahead. His son has to wait and wait for a turn on his brand new bike. 

PARENT:

So the dad says “Of course. You may ride it.

You can. You will. After lesson five. How to go

down hill.”

Woops! What do you think will happen if he

rides that bike down the hill.

CHILD:

Oh no! He’ll run into the chickens.

PARENT:

Right you are! Smash! What should a smart

bike rider do?

CHILD:

I’d look where I was going!

PARENT:

Would you ride a bike fast down a steep hill?

CHILD:

No. It would be hard to make that turn at the

bottom.

PARENT:

And what do you think the farmer is going to

do? 

People who treat others with kindness feel empathy for others, a quality that can be encouraged by reading stories. Empathy means feeling happy for someone else’s happiness and sad for others’ grief. Empathy can be strengthened by talking about how characters in a story feel. In Best Friends for Frances, Frances the main character learns to be kind to her little sister after experiencing

rejection on the part of a friend. This book relates to the experiences of most children. 

PARENT [READING]:

“It was a pleasant summer morning, so Frances

took her bat and her ball and some chocolate

sandwich cookies and went outside.”

“Will you play ball with me?” Frances’s little

sister Gloria called to her as she was leaving.

“No,” said Frances. “You are too little.”

PARENT:

Hmm. I wonder Why Gloria didn’t want to

play with her little sister.

CHILD:

Well, little sisters are a pain. They can’t do

anything.

PARENT:

That’s true sometimes. How do you think

Gloria felt, though.

CHILD:

Probably pretty bad.

PARENT:

Maybe like you feel when your brothers run off

without you. [CONTINUING] So Frances says

this little poem:

“Sisters that are much too small

To throw or catch or bat a ball

Are really not much good at all,

Except for crying”

PARENT:

“When Frances got to Albert’s house, he was just

coming out, and he was carrying a large, heavy looking

brown paper bag.”

“Let’s play baseball, “ said Frances.

“I can’t,” said Albert, “Today is my wandering

day.”

“Can I wander with you?” Asked Frances.

“I only have one lunch,” said Albert.

“I’ll bring my own,” said Frances.

“No” said Albert. “The things I do on my

wandering days aren’t things you can do. I’d

have to ruin the whole day showing you how. “

CHILD:

Oh, oh, she’s getting treated just the same way

she treated her sister.

PARENT:

You are very smart to notice that. I wonder if

she’ll be a little kinder to Gloria now. Do you

hope she will? 

Henry’s Happy Birthday is about a little boy who doesn’t like the way his mother planned his party. Henry is very ungracious and sulky. 

PARENT [READING]:

“The prize for musical chairs was a little silver

whistle, and Henry wanted it. But Timmy

pushed him off the last chair just as the music

stopped. Henry was miserable.” “No more

games,” he said.

[TO CHILD]: Why do you think Henry stopped

the game?

CHILD:

He wanted the prize.

PARENT:

Yes. He wanted everything for himself. How do

you think the other children felt?

CHILD:

Mad!

PARENT:

Yes. All the other children wanted prizes too. It

isn’t fair for Henry to get all the presents. 

Don’t overdo the moral discussion - a lecture will ruin the fun. Just a comment or two are enough. If you want your children to be tolerant of people from different races and backgrounds, stories can help them see how much human beings from different cultures have in common. Some educators suggest writing exercises that can help children and adults tune into other people’s feelings and needs. Many of these types of activities can be found in the Writing Activity Books available from Family Literacy Center, Inc. One such writing activity might be called “Who needs me to be kind?” 

MOM:

I thought it might be nice to keep a kindness

diary, so I bought each of us a little notebook.

BOY:

Cool!

MOM:

There’ll be a page for each kind deed. It will be

fun to look back over it later.

Write the name of someone who needs you to be

kind to them. Can you think of anybody.

How about grandpa? Have you noticed that at

family parties he sits by himself?

CHILD:

Yeah. I noticed. He wants to tell the same

stories over and over and so people go away.

But I could ask to hear one of his stories.

MOM:

Good idea. That would make him very happy

CHILD:

How do you spell “listen?” 

These are a few ways you can use reading and writing to help your child learn and live values. Values are important because they shape character and instill proper habits in all family members. Some values are often taken for granted that we assume our children know, but reading practice can reinforce them and give us better assurance that our children can understand and apply them.