By: Tori Vacknitz, Sarah Chamberlin and Alice Cao

 

Fiction: ‘When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry…’

Author: Molly Bang

Date of Publication: 1999

Publisher: The Blue Sky Press

Description and Reason for Choosing:

We chose this book because we felt it portrayed anger well for kids between the range of 3-5th grade (specifically 5th). In the story, Sophie is a little girl who gets into a fight with her sister over a toy. She then runs away and cries. She then walked through the woods and looked at the scenery around her and started to calm down. After she calmed down, she returned home to her family and all was well again. She used walking away and calming down on her own as a coping skill for her anger. This is the best fiction book for anger management to use in a classroom because it shows the importance of healthy ways to handle anger and promotes strong discussion. This is a book that can be read before a mini-lesson on emotions and can be followed by a strong class discussion on healthy ways to express anger.

Quotes from the book:

• ‘She kicks. She screams. She wants to smash the world to smithereens. She roars a red roar. Sophie is a volcano. Ready to explode’.
• ‘And when Sophie gets angry- really, really angry… she runs and runs and runs until she can’t run anymore. Then for a little while she cries’.
• ‘The wide world comforts her. Sophie feels better now. She climbs back down and heads for home’.
• ‘The wide world comforts her. Sophie feels better now. She climbs back down and heads for home’.

NHES Standards Applicable:

NHES 1: Students will be able to comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.

• V1.5.2 Describe the benefits of using nonviolent means to solve interpersonal conflict.
• V1.5.3 Explain that anger is a normal emotion.
• PHW1.5.2 Describe values that promote healthy behaviors.
• MEH1.5.5 Describe appropriate ways to express and deal with emotions.
• MEH1.5.15 Explain that anger is a normal emotion.

NHES 2: Students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behaviors.

• PHW2.5.2 Identify relevant influences of peers on personal health and wellness-related practices and behaviors.

NHES 3: Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid information, products, and services to enhance health.  No relevant standards

NHES 4: Students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks.

• V4.5.1 Demonstrate effective verbal and nonverbal communication skills to prevent violence

NHES 5: Students will demonstrate the ability to use decision-making skills to enhance health

• V5.5.4 Identify options and their potential outcomes when making a decision that could lead to violence
• MEH5.5.5 Choose a healthy option when making a decision related to mental and emotional health

NHES 6: Students will demonstrate the ability to use goal-setting skills to enhance health.   No relevant standards

NHES 7: Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and avoid or reduce health risks.

• PHW7.5.3 Make a commitment to practice positive personal health and wellness behaviors
• MEH7.5.1 Describe mental and emotional practices and behaviors that reduce or prevent health risks
• MEH7.5.3 Make a commitment to practice healthy mental and emotional health behaviors

NHES 8: Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health.  No relevant standards

HBO if applicable:

Preventing Violence:

• • HBO 1: Manage interpersonal conflict in nonviolent ways.
  • HBO 2: Manage emotional distress in nonviolent ways.

Mental and Emotional Health:

• • HBO 1: Express feelings in a healthy way.
  • HBO 2: Engage in activities that are mentally and emotionally healthy.
  • HBO 3: Prevent and manage interpersonal conflict, in healthy ways.
  • HBO 4: Prevent and manage emotional stress and anxiety in healthy ways.
  • HBO 5: Use self control and impulse-control strategies to promote health.

Personal Health and Wellness:

• • HBO 2: Practice appropriate hygiene habits.

Health Learning Objective:

Students will be able to understand the importance of healthy expressions of anger through our class discussion.

Comparison to Other Books:

Finding books for this topic was very difficult for both fiction and non-fiction. There were a few we were able to find online, but ‘When Sophie Gets Angry- Really, Really Angry…’ by Molly Bang was the only book we were able to find in the Western Library or the Clearing House on the topic of anger management.  This book provides a strong example of how someone can cope with their anger and remove themselves from that situation. We also chose this book because we felt it sets up a great discussion aspect for talking to our students about anger and healthy ways to deal with these feelings. It also has very engaging images for all ages that will draw the students in to visualize how anger might feel in an artistic form.  Many of the other books we saw online did not have as engaging images and did not promote as strong of discussion.

Core integration for 5th graders:

A great way to integrate this book into the classroom would be through an art lesson after reading ‘When Sophie Gets Angry- Really, Really Angry…’ by Molly Bang. “What is Sophie feeling in the middle of the book? How can be portray her anger with colors? What about at the end of the book? How would those colors change with the emotions she is now displaying?’ Students would have to discuss what Sophie was feeling, and how this changed because of her actions. They would be able to draw/paint these changes and be able to explain why they chose the colors/shapes they did. Did the story influence these colors/forms? Do certain colors relate to different emotions? This would promote a discussion before, during, and after the paintings were complete. By doing this assignment students will learn the importance of identifying when you are angry and how to handle that situation to become calm again in a healthy and safe way, while developing their artistic abilities.

Common Core state standards for 5th graders:

CCSS.H4.W6.5 Demonstrate appropriate interpersonal communication skills.

CCSS.H5.W7.5 Apply decision-making skills to make a health-enhancing choice.

 

 

Non-Fiction: ‘How to the take Grrrr out of Anger’

Author: Elizabeth Verdick & Marjorie Lisovskis

Date of Publication: 2015

Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing Inc.

Description and Reason for Choosing:

We chose this book because it presents different situations that are relevant to children’s everyday lives relating to anger. It helps children to see anger as a normal part of human emotion and teaches them to express these emotions in healthy ways. The book teaches children to recognize and manage their anger while also recognize anger in others. This book is the best choice to use for 5th grade because it’s humorous, engaging, and provides informative and practical information with specific anger management strategies that are relatable, accessible, and achievable for students of upper elementary grades. Sections of this book can be used as the follow-up read after a mini-lesson on emotions and a read of a relating fiction book, such as When Sophie Gets Angry, for a deeper discussion about anger management and healthy ways to cope with feeling angry.

Youtube Video of read-aloud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP39JX0KyR0&feature=youtu.be

NHES Standards Applicable:

NHES 1: Students will be able to comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.

• V1.5.3 Explain that anger is a normal emotion.
• V1.5.13 Identify situations that might lead to violence.
• MEH1.5.3 Describe the relationship between feelings and behavior.
• MEH1.5.5 Describe appropriate ways to express and deal with emotions.
• MEH1.5.15 Explain that anger is a normal emotion.

NHES 2: Students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behaviors.

• V2.5.7 Describe how relevant influences of peers affect personal violence prevention practices and behaviors.
• MEH2.5.7 Describe how relevant influences of peers affect mental and emotional health practices and behaviors.

NHES 3: Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid information, products, and services to enhance health.

 

• V3.5.2 Describe characteristics of appropriate and trustworthy health services that help reduce or avoid violence.

 

NHES 4: Students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks.

• V4.5.1 Demonstrate effective verbal and nonverbal communication skills to prevent violence
• V4.5.4 Demonstrate healthy ways to manage or resolve conflict to prevent violence
• MEH 4.5.1 Demonstrate effective verbal and nonverbal communication skills
• MEH4.5.4 Demonstrate healthy ways to manage or resolve interpersonal conflict
• PHW4.5.3 Demonstrate effective peer resistance skill to avoid or reduce participating in behaviors that can negatively affect personal health and wellness

NHES 5: Students will demonstrate the ability to use decision-making skills to enhance health.

• V5.5.1 Identify situations that need a decision to prevent violence.
• V5.5.2 Decide when help is needed and when is not needed to make a decision to prevent violence.
• V5.5.5 Choose a healthy option when making a decision that could lead to violence.
• MEH5.5.4 Identify options and their potential outcomes when making a decision related to mental and emotional health (e.g., dealing with interpersonal conflict, managing emotional stress)
• MEH5.5.5 Choose a healthy option when making a decision related to mental and emotional health
• MEH 5.5.6 Describe the final outcome of a decision related to mental and emotional health

NHES 6: Students will demonstrate the ability to use goal-setting skills to enhance health.

• MEH6.5.1 set a realistic personal goal to improve or maintain positive mental and emotional health
• MEH6.5.2 Track progress to achieve a personal goal to improve or maintain positive mental and emotional health
• MEH6.5.3 Identify resources that can help achieve a personal goal to improve or maintain positive mental and emotional health
• PHW6.5.3 Identify resources that can help achieve a personal health and wellness goal.  

NHES 7: Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and avoid or reduce health risks.

 

• V7.5.1 Describe practices and behaviors that reduce or prevent violence

• V7.5.2 Demonstrate violence prevention practices and behaviors

 

• V7.5.3 Make a commitment to practice violence prevention behaviors
• PHW7.5.1 Describe practices and behaviors that reduce or prevent personal health and wellness risks
• PHW7.5.3 Make a commitment to practice positive personal health and wellness behaviors
• MEH7.5.1 Describe mental and emotional practices and behaviors that reduce or prevent health risks
• MEH7.5.3 Make a commitment to practice healthy mental and emotional health behaviors

NHES 8: Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health.

 

• MEH8.5.3 Demonstrate how to persuade others to make positive mental and emotional health choices

 

HBO if Applicable:

Preventing Violence:

• • HBO 1: Manage interpersonal conflict in nonviolent ways.
  • HBO 2: Manage emotional distress in nonviolent ways.

Mental and Emotional Health:

• • HBO 1: Express feelings in a healthy way.
  • HBO 2: Engage in activities that are mentally and emotionally healthy.
  • HBO 3: Prevent and manage interpersonal conflict, in healthy ways.
  • HBO 4: Prevent and manage emotional stress and anxiety in healthy ways.
  • HBO 5: Use self control and impulse-control strategies to promote health.

Personal Health and Wellness: N/A

Health Learning Objective:

Students will be able to identify angry in different situations and learn to express it in healthy ways through classroom discussions and activities.  

Comparison to Other Books:

We chose this book because we struggled to find other fiction as well as non-fiction books in the Western Library and Clearing House. The book that we chose, ‘Taking the Grrrr Out of Anger’ by Elizabeth Verdick & Marjorie Lisovskis is the most extensive book we found that gave students strong ideas on how to manage anger, why this will positively benefit your health, and how to notice these signs in others as well. Most of the other books we were able to explore did not touch as deeply on different ways to manage these emotions. Also, the format of the book helps teachers be able to have strong discussions with the students about all the different resources and ideas.

Core Integration for 5th Graders:

The story ‘How to take the Grrrr Out of Anger’ by Elizabeth Verdick & Marjorie Lisovskis could easily be integrated into an English Arts Lesson in the classroom. After reading this book, students would be able to partake in a discussion about what was similar in this story and in ‘When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry…’ by Molly Bang. These similar ideas that they will discover will be about anger management and healthy coping skills for these emotions. This lesson would let students engage and participate in a deep discussion about anger management and develop their communicating and critical thinking skills.

Common Core state standards for 5th graders:

CCSS.H4.W6.5: Demonstrate appropriate interpersonal communication skills.

CCSS.H5.W7.5: Apply decision making skills to make a health-enhancing choice.

CCSS.H1.Sa1.5a: Identify dangerous or risky behaviors that might lead to injuries.

CCSS.H1.Sa3.5a.: Describe ways to prevent, reduce, and avoid violent situations.

CCSS.H1.Sa3.5b.: Analyze how violent behavior impacts self and others.