Stick and Stone is an empowering kindness picture book for kids that engages students with its simple message about friendship. Add this important book to your classroom lesson plans, and add wonderful friendship activities and discussions at school.
A Friendship Book For Kids: Stick and Stone
As teachers, we know the importance of helping create positive student relationships. We never want one of our students to feel excluded or left out. We want our classrooms to be a place where friendships form.
One powerful tool in achieving this goal is using children’s picture books that teach valuable lessons about friendship. Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry is a friendship book for kids that helps students understand what it takes to be a good friend and how to appreciate the friends around them.
The Role of Children’s Picture Books in Friendship Development
Children’s picture books play an important role in teaching young students. They offer an imaginative and relatable way for kids to learn essential life skills related to friendship, kindness, growth mindset, self-esteem, and more. These books provide a safe space for children to explore various aspects of social interactions, teaching them how to make friends, resolve conflicts, and be a good friend to others.
The colorful illustrations and engaging stories in friendship-themed picture books always grab young readers’ attention, making the learning experience enjoyable and memorable. Through relatable characters, these stories teach kids valuable life lessons and how to build strong, positive relationships.
Table of Contents
- A Friendship Book For Kids: Stick and Stone
- The Role of Children’s Picture Books in Friendship Development
- Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry
- Teaching Friendship Skills with Stick and Stone
- Stick and Stone Lesson Plans
- Stick and Stone Extension Activities
- Friendship Book Companions
- Resources to Help You Teach Friendship
- More Friendship Ideas For The Classroom
Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry
One amazing example of friendship books for kids is Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry. This delightful picture book tells the heartwarming tale of two unlikely friends, Stick and Stone, who find each other during challenging situations. As students read this simple yet powerful picture book, they discover the power of friendship, loyalty, and standing up for one another.
Teaching Friendship Skills with Stick and Stone
This heartwarming friendship book for kids is a tale of unlikely friends. The book Stick and Stone is not only engaging and relatable for students. It teaches students about friendship, acceptance, loyalty, and resilience.
Understanding Differences
Stick and Stone introduces young readers to characters with distinct personalities and characteristics. Stick is tall and slender, while Stone is round and smooth. Through their friendship, children learn to embrace differences, fostering an understanding that diversity is what makes each friend unique.
Loyalty and Support
Stick and Stone’s loyalty is a powerful example of true friendship. Teachers can use the story to start discussions on the importance of supporting friends through thick and thin, teaching students that being there for one another is an important part of being a good friend.
Standing Up Against Bullying
In Stick and Stone, the duo faces a bully, Pinecone. This encounter provides an excellent opportunity for teachers to address the topic of bullying and teach children how to stand up against it. Through Stick and Stone’s resilience, students learn the value of courage and the impact of kindness in overcoming challenges.
Stick and Stone Lesson Plans
Stick and Stone is a great addition to your classroom library and an amazing resource for friendship activities. Like other friendship picture books, you can use this book to create engaging lesson plans.
Discussion
Before diving into Stick and Stone, get students ready for friendship exploration. Begin by asking students what friendship looks, sounds, and feels like. After that, consider asking students to share personal friendship moments or stories.
While reading, use strategic points in the story to help guide students’ understanding of the story. As you read, have kids look for examples of friendship. Discuss what they do together as friends. Point out how they care for each other (i.e., Stick stands up for Stone, Stone looks out for Stick).
After the story, ask kids to describe a time that they were a good friend to someone or someone was a good friend to them.
Use book chat cards to help encourage discussions before, during, and after the book. These chats can often lead to deeper discussions. The discussions that come from these books are amazing!
Interactive Anchor Chart
Create an anchor chart called “Good Friends.” Discuss with students ways they can be good friends (i.e., stand up for them, listen, play, explore, have fun, etc.). and record them on the chart. When finished with the chart, consider hanging it up in the classroom so students (or you) can refer back to it when needed.
Writing Prompt
Reading the friendship book and completing an anchor chart is a good start; writing will bring this lesson to the next level. Writing helps students internalize what they are learning. So, after talking about ways to be a good friend, complete a writing prompt. Have students write about ways they can “stick” by their friends or ways that good friends “rock.”
After students are done writing, discuss the ideas the kids have come up with as a whole group.
Stick and Stone Extension Activities
After reading and completing the activities above, it’s always important to extend the learning with some hands-on activities. Many friendship activities can enhance this friendship picture book and make learning even more fun for students.
Good vs. Poor Ways To Be A Friend Sorting Activity
A sorting activity is always a helpful extension for read-aloud activities because it allows students to look at different scenarios and use what they just learned to sort them correctly. For this sorting activity, students need to determine whether a description given is showing a “good way” to treat a friend or a “poor way” to treat a friend.
Friendship Hat
Who doesn’t love a fun hat craft? This hat is more than just a fun activity, however. This friendship hat has a purpose. Have students draw and write ways to be a good friend. Then, they can draw a larger picture of themselves as good friends in the middle.
Friendship Pledge
Sometimes, kids do not know exactly what it means to be a good friend. Have students recite the friendship pledge and take it home to share with their families. Teachers can even add this pledge to their morning meeting routine.
Friendship Activity Book
Once students have read the friendship pledge, they can complete the friendship activity book. This book is full of simple activities that allow students to show they understand the friendship pledge and messages in the book.
Friendship Rocks
Get out the paint and have students paint friendship rocks. These rocks can have pictures or words that reflect good friend qualities. Place the rocks around the school or in a garden to remind others of what makes a good friend and good friendships, and spread the positive messages to others.
Friendship Book Companions
It’s always a great idea to include multiple books when teaching about friendship because it can look different every day. I’ve created more book companions for some of my favorite friendship books for kids.
Peanut Butter and Cupcake
Follow the quest of Peanut Butter, a slice of bread, as he seeks the perfect friend. Along the way, he encounters quirky characters like Hamburger, Cupcake, and Egg, each with a humorous response. Through delightful interactions, the book shows the joy of unexpected friendships and the important idea of embracing diversity.
Meesha Makes Friends
Meesha is a young girl eager to make new friends. With the support of her mother, Meesha explores different approaches to connect with her peers, from sharing toys to displaying kindness. The story captures the essence of friendship, emphasizing the importance of empathy, understanding, and inclusivity in building meaningful connections.
Enemy Pie
A young boy has to deal with a neighbor who becomes an unexpected enemy. The boy’s father encourages him to invite this neighbor to experience the “enemy pie” recipe. A recipe that promises to turn enemies into friends. The story teaches readers important lessons about understanding and empathy, showing how sharing experiences can help create real friendships.
The Rainbow Fish
A beloved children’s book that tells the story of a dazzling fish with shimmering, colorful scales. Initially reluctant to share his beauty with others, the Rainbow Fish learns the joy of generosity and sharing when he gives away his scales to fellow ocean dwellers.
Resources to Help You Teach Friendship
Friendship Book Companions
Stick and Stone Book Companion is a great resource that helps students understand friendship. It allows them to learn and practice what it means to be a good friend and how they can exhibit friendship qualities with others.
There are other valuable Friendship Book Companions besides Stick and Stone that help students with their friendship skills. Students will participate in classroom discussions, book chats, and share their experiences in writing. Plus, they will participate in fun, engaging activities that build emotional awareness and social skills.
If you like the book companion resource, you will love the SEL Book Companion Bundle. It includes over 40 books focusing on growth mindset, kindness, feelings, and MORE!
Free Ways to Be a Friend Storybook
Try the FREE Ways to Be a Friend Storybook by Proud to be Primary. Students will love reading about the different ways to be a friend. Once done reading, they can color the pictures and bring them home to share with their families!
Click the image below to grab a copy.
More Friendship Ideas For The Classroom
Children’s Books About Friendship
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