Oct 1st Curricula

1. Children could be asked why older adults are so important that we have a special day to honor them. The teacher could list children’s responses on the board. Then, children design a card to send to a senior. It could be to one’s grandparents, to other relatives, to friends, neighbors or even teachers, who are seniors. Or, the cards could be sent, in bulk, to a nearby nursing facility or senior center.
2. Children can be asked why older adults are so important that we have a special day to honor them. Explain that since this is a new holiday in our City, not that many people know about it. They can design and create posters that will be hung about the school, asking people to celebrate elders that they know.
3. Children can plan a Thanksgiving event at the school, where elders will be invited during November, near the Thanksgiving holiday. They can be asked to think about the details for the event. They can also think about how to bring such an event into reality. On an ongoing basis, they can prepare for the event with acquiring supplies, making decorations and inivitations to grandparents and elders in their lives. Perhaps they can connect with other classes to hold a bake sale or other way to fund the event.
4. Children can write stories that involve a senior, showing the way.
5. Staff can invite a special senior into the class who can talk about ways that they have taught, shared, encouraged or inspired others. Students can write cards, thanking the speaker.

1. Students could be asked to choose a book, from the list below, and to write a one or two page review that explains how the story connects with “International Day to Honor Older Adults”:
   Literature for 4^th to 7^th Grade Level Students

   (Created by educators N. Baumgarten and
   Curricula team Lifeforce in Later Years
   Web Address: www.L-i-L-Y.org | Tel: 917-775-1199)
   • Mrs. Katz and Tush
     by Patricia Polacco
     An intergenerational friendship between an elderly Jewish lady and a young African American neighbor.
   • Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge
     by Mem Fox
     A little boy who helps residents of retirement home.
   • The Secret of the Red Shoes
     by Joan Donaldson
     A woman tells her great-granddaughter about her life through shoes.
   • Loop the Loop
     by Barbara Dugan
     A friendship between an elderly person and a young girl.
   • Say Hello, Lily:
     A Book About Children and the Elderly
     by Deborah Lakritz
     A young girl visits an assisted living home.
   • The Lemon Sisters
     by Andrea Cheng
     An 80-year-old woman narrates the story of memories sparked by seeing three young neighborhood children playing in the snow.
   • How Does It Feel to Be Old?
     by Norma Farber
     A grandmother tells her feeling about growing older to granddaughter.
   • The Two of Them
     by Aliki
     Tells of the relationship between a girl and her grandfather and how she continues to take care of him even when he gets sick.
   • Maxie
     by Mildred Kantrowitz
     Learning that Maxie, an elderly woman, is feeling lonely the community decides to make an effort to connect with her.
   • The Old Woman Who Named Things
     by Cynthia Rylant
     An elderly woman who names inanimate objects she knows she can never outlive as a way of protecting herself against loss realizes its worth it to form a living relationship.
   • Grandpa’s Song
     by Tony Johnston
     Tells of the relationship between a grandfather and his grandchildren and how that relationship continues even after the grandfather begins to have memory lapses.
   • Naomi and Mrs. Lumbago
     by Gilles Tibo
     7 year old Naomi finds a friend in her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Lumbago.
2. Students can find ways to publicize Day to Honor Our Elders.

1. Students can be asked to write a biography about an elder they know or would like to know. They can interview a grandparent or other relative, a neighbor or friend, a faculty member or willing stranger. Perhaps one grandparent will agree to be interviewed by a group or the whole class. Students will be taught how to best interview someone. Students can be asked what some of the problems could be on an interview and how to solve them in advance. For example the possible need of ice-breakers, best place for the interview, or the benefits. The teacher will ask a student to role play with him/her, illustrating the foibles of interviewing. For example, close-ended questions (like ones with yes/no answers) will not net much information. What happens when the senior stops talking, but the student needs more information? The class should come up with the need for scripted questions. In groups, they can create a list of 20 questions that they can take with them on their interview or that they can ask to an interesting visiting senior. The teacher provides students with guidelines for writing the essay, the need for an introduction, a body and a conclusion. When the interviews and essays are finished (for homework), students should report to class and partake in a discussion about the value of older adults in communities and how they can honor them throughout the year.
2. Students can create a Facebook Page, Blackboard Discussion or Website for October 1^st, where everyone in the class must enter an example of an elder who has benefited our world, explaining why. Or, they can write about “What I want to be able to say about myself when I am 90 years old...” and “Would I want to be honored at 90 years old for my contributions to the lives of others?” and “Why or why not?”
3. Students can develop a list of activities that would work to honor elders, for example:
   1. introduce yourself to an elder neighbor,
   2. send your grandparents personalized letters,
   3. volunteer to do community service at a senior center or nursing facility if appropriate,
   4. create an event at school where elders are invited to be honored, for example, the Margaretville Central School in Margaretville, New York, hosts an annual October supper and dance for the county’s elders. In 2014, 104 elders were treated to an unforgettable night of song, entertainment (by students) and dinner.
   Each student commits to carrying out a plan of action and writes an essay on his or her experience.

For additional information, questions or comments, please contact Irene Zola at Lifeforce in Later Years at Email: IreneZola@L-i-L-Y.org or Cell phone: 917-775-1199