Responsibility in our Families and Communities
A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams (1982)
This Book Kit was planned by Megan Bell
Grade Level: Elementary primary grades 1-3.
Lesson Objective:
Students will define responsibility and will find ways to show responsibility in their
families and communities.
Background Knowledge:
The teacher will need to review information about families and what communities are with
the students.
Instructional Procedures:
Experience:
Read the book A Chair for My Mother aloud to the students.
Express:
Ask students the following questions:
What is responsibility?
What does it mean when someone is responsible?
How did the girl in the book show responsibility?
How did the girl’s community in the book show responsibility?
Students will give their answers by raising their hands. The teacher will record what they say
on the overhead.
Label:
The teacher will then talk about the definition of responsibility and ways it was seen in the
book to clarify answers. Make sure the students understand the posted definition. The teacher
will also talk about people whose job centers on helping the community (Firemen, Policemen,
Garbage men, etc.) The teacher will pose several situations that involve family and
community responsibility. For the first situation the teacher will show an example that is
correct and label it responsible. The students will work through other examples and will
identify situations are responsible and which actions are not responsible. The teacher will
check for accuracy to see if students understand the types of things that responsible and
caring people do for their families and communities. Students will discuss why some actions
are responsible and some actions are not.
Application:
A. Students will be given a piece of paper to write and draw on. They will be given
writing prompt to write about a time when they showed community or family responsibility
and then draw an illustration of the event. These pictures will be placed on a bulletin board
under the heading, “We are Responsible.”
B. Students will write a letter a community helper (the police department, the fire
department, etc.) thanking them for the jobs they do around the community and the
responsibility that they show. These letters will be sent to the community helpers.
C. Concrete Object: Students will pass around a jar filled with coins. This jar will sit in
the classroom and remind them of the responsibility that the little girl in the book showed to
her family when she put her money into the jar to help buy her mother a chair. A prompt will
go with the object that will require the students to think of a way that they could show family
or community responsibility when they go home from school that day. This could be anything
from picking up litter, to helping their parents, to obeying their parents. They will write this
goal down, put it in a second jar, and then send the jar to another student. This responsibility
jar will join the money jar to display.
Evidence of Student Learning:
The three activities will provide evidence of student learning. In the first activity, the
students identify a time when they showed responsibility to their family or community. If
they do not understand the concept, their story and picture will show that and they will need
to be re-taught.
In the second activity, the students demonstrate that they see other people in the
community being responsible, which makes their community a better place. (Example: the
police department makes our community better because they keep us safe. If they were not
responsible our community would be unsafe.)
In the third activity, students show they can apply responsibility to their own life and the
real world by coming up with their own idea and implementing it. The teacher can see that
they know what responsibility is because they can think of an idea to show responsibility.
Materials for the Lesson:
* “A Chair for My Mother” by Vera B. Williams
* Definition of Responsibility
*Paper and pencils for activities
* Jar with money
*Pictures of people in the community
*Responsibility scenarios
Responsibility:
A state or
condition that
makes you act in
a way that is
dependable,
reliable, and
trustworthy.
Name______________________
I showed I was responsible when I…..
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
Art Activity
1. Think of someone who is new in your neighborhood or a friend you have
just met.
2. Make a card for that person welcoming them to your neighborhood or
saying something kind about them.
3. Be sure to include a picture.
Math Activity
How much does a chair cost? At this table you will find several different
chairs with different prices. You will also find a worksheet with different
combinations of chairs you can buy. Your job is to determine how much
each combination of chairs will cost.
1. Answer the problems on the worksheet
2. Turn your worksheet in to the teacher.
Wooden Stool
Cost: $10
Rocking Chair
Cost: $12
Blue Chair
Cost: $13
Potty Chair
Cost: $20
Yellow Chair
Cost: $8
Name _____________________
How Much Does a Chair Cost?
Look at the chair cards at your station to find out how much each one costs and answer
the questions below
1. If I wanted to buy the wooden stool and the blue chair how much money
would I need?
2. If I wanted to buy the potty chair and the yellow chair how much money
would I need?
3. If I wanted to buy the yellow chair and the rocking chair how much
money would I need?
4. If I wanted to buy the potty chair and the blue chair how much money
would I need?
Bonus: If I wanted to buy all five of the chairs how much money would I
need?
Retelling
1. Use the paper at your table to summarize
the story, A Chair for My Mother, using
pictures and words.
2. Do this project as a group so each person
takes one part of the book to retell.
3. Make sure you are telling the main points.
4. Put all your pages together in the right
order and retell the story to each other.
5. Turn your story in to the teacher.
Vocabulary
1. Think about some of the community
helpers in A Chair for My Mother. The
firemen helped put out the fire in their house
and the banker traded their coins for dollar
bills.
2. Take the worksheet and match the
definitions of the community helpers we see
in our neighborhoods with the right kind of
community helper listed.
3. This should be a review of things you
already know.
Name ___________________
Who’s Who in Our Community?
Match the definition below with the right community helper. Write the letter of the
definition next to the correct person.
______ Fireman
A. We go see this person when we are sick
and not feeling good or to get a check up.
______ Policeman
B. This person comes once a week to empty
our trash cans.
_______ Banker
C. This person fights fires and puts them out
with water when there is a fire in our
neighborhood.
_______ Garbage Man
D. This person works at a school and helps
students learn.
_______ Doctor
E. This person watches our neighborhood
and makes sure we follow the law to keep us
safe.
_______ Teacher
F. This person works with money and helps
us put our money in savings or helps us
exchange our money.
READY, SET, HELP Game:
Instructions: This game is for students to play in pairs or small groups. One game board,
one dice, situation cards, and playing pieces are needed for each group. Players take turns
rolling the dice and answering the questions on the situation cards as outlined in the
instructions that follow. This game helps to reinforce the idea of responsibility and makes
students think about the responsible thing to do in real life situations. Ideas may be
provided for ways to determine who will go first such as rolling the dice to see who goes
first or letting the youngest person go first. When players answer a question, their
answers should be thoughtful and show that they understand family and community
responsibility.
Instruction Players:
Instructions:
1. Select a piece and decide who will go
first.
2. On your turn roll the dice and move the
amount of spaces the dice says.
3. Pick up a situation card and read what it
says.
4. Answer the question about responsibility
on the card.
?
?
?
You made
fun of your
class mate.
Go back
one space.
?
You made a
new friend.
Move ahead
two spaces
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
You helped your
brother with his
homework. Move
ahead one space.
You helped your
mom with dinner!
Move ahead one
space.
?
?
?
?
?
?
You hit your
brother. Go
back two spaces
?
?
?
You didn’t let the
new kid play with
you. Lose one
turn.
Place Cards Face Down
Here
?
?
?
?
?
Game Situation Cards
Share a time when you
showed family
responsibility.
Your dad has asked you to
help with the yard work on
Saturday. You had plans to
watch cartoons. What
would you do to show
family responsibility?
Share a time when you
showed community
responsibility.
There is a family moving
into the house across the
street with a child your age
in their family. What would
you do to show community
responsibility?
Share something you could
do after school today to
show family responsibility.
Share something you could
do after school today to
show community
responsibility.
Your little brother is running
out into the street without
looking after you told him
not to. What would you do
to show family
responsibility?
There is a family in your
neighborhood who can not
afford to buy Christmas
presents this year. What
would you do to show
community responsibility?
Your little sister fell down
and hurt her leg while you
were bicycling. What
would you do to show
family responsibility?
You were playing baseball
outside and broke your
neighbor’s window. What
would you do to show
community responsibility?
What would you bring to
the little girl in “A Chair
for My Mother” whose
house burned down to
show community
responsibility?
What would you say to
your friend that you just
beat in a game of basketball
to show community
responsibility?
Share a time when you
showed family
responsibility and tell how
it made you feel.
Share a time when you
showed community
responsibility and tell how
it made you feel.
Your parents asked you to
help your grandma with
chores, but you want to stay
home and play video games.
What would you do to show
family responsibility?
You found a $20 bill at the
grocery store in your
neighborhood. What would
you do to show community
responsibility?
Your mom has a lot of
groceries to carry in from the
store and you are playing with
your toys. What would you do
to show family responsibility?
There is a new boy in the
neighborhood that is your
age that sits alone at
lunch. What would you do
to show community
responsibility?
You see some older kids
writing on a wall in your
neighborhood. What would
you do to show community
responsibility?
You got a cookie from your
mom and your little sister
dropped hers on the
ground. What would you
do to show family
responsibility?
The new child in your
neighborhood has asked to
play with you and your
friends. What would you do
to show community
responsibility?
You just ate a popsicle at
the park and can’t find a
trash can to throw the
wrapper away. What
would you do to show
community responsibility?
Your older brother has asked
you to stay out of his room.
He has a new toy you want to
play with in his room. What
would you do to show family
responsibility?
Your little sister is crying
because your mom is
making dinner and can’t
read her a book. What
would you do to show
family responsibility?