Alfie: (The Turtle That Disappeared)

How to Teach This Book

1. Give students a chance to appreciate one another and show how even small gestures can make a difference. Share the things you notice and appreciate students doing to model the idea of appreciating others. Then ask students to write positive messages, notes of thanks, or messages of appreciation or encouragement to fellow students as they notice the things their classmates say and do to support each other every day. Have a special box available to collect their writing and make time to regularly read them aloud at the end of the school day.

Questions for Discussion or Reflective Writing

1. How can you learn about the perspective of someone else?
2. How can you learn about the perspective of an animal?
3. What can help you better understand different points of view?
4. What happens when you step into someone else’s shoes?
5. Was there ever a time where you saw something one way and someone in your family or a friend saw it differently?
6. What makes you feel appreciated by your friends and your family?
7. How do you like to show appreciation and gratitude to others?

Additional Resources for Teaching About Empathy and Appreciation

• Explore LiveCams
• Turtle Time text set from Newsela
• Librarian’s Quest: A Conversation with Thyra Heder
• Project Wild from the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies
• Imagine Walking in Our Paws: A Collection of Poems by Animals at Storybird
• Reading Is Fundamental support materials