Teaching Material


Learning Guide for "The Dolls"

Suitable for ages 5-8

You can use this story to teach the importance of taking care of things, pets and people. It also teaches values such as gratitude, compassion, empathy and optimism. Lastly, it can be used to show how to learn social skills and overcome shyness.

Discussion Questions

  1. How come Alma didn’t like Joanne? Do you think those are good reasons?

  2. Why did Alma’s dolls go to Joanne’s house? Do you think that things have feelings? Should we take care of them almost as well as we take care of our people and pets?

  3. Do you have a pet and/or favorite stuffed animal? What’s its name? How do you take care of it?

  4. How come Joanne and Alma never played with each other? If they had talked to each other before and been honest with each other, do you think they could have become friends sooner (i.e. before Alma’s dolls brought them together)?

  5. Is there someone you want to be friends with? Do they know? How could you get to know them? What’s the worst thing that could happen if you started talking to them? What’s the best thing that could happen?

  6. What do you think they’d like to talk about? Are you curious about them? What could you ask them about themselves?
Download learning guide pdf file or view the story


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