What is Joy | Tarbiyya

What is Joy?

Lesson 9

Learning Goals

1. I can explain what joy is.

Preparation:

Reflect on the progress of how well your pupils are returning the magazines with the Home Connection activities. If needed, remind the pupils and/or their parents about the activities.
Think of some things that fill you with joy (Step 5).

Materials:

Magazine: The Calabash of Joy [Dowload Colour] or [Download Black/White]

Joy colouring worksheet [Download]

Egwak chang yi ki Ian (Joy Song) [ ▷ Play ]

Washable tempra paint

Crayons or coloured pencils

Water for handwashing after the craft

Procedures

Step 1 (5 min): Introduction

Ask	What are the two character strengths that we have learned about so far? Hope and Perseverance What does Hope mean? Believing good things will happen What does Perseverance mean? Choose to keep trying, even when there are challenges
Explain	Today we are going to begin learning about one more character strength. Do you want to know what it is? Let’s play a guessing game. I will give you clues, and see if you can guess what it is. Below are some clues. After giving one clue, pause to let the children guess. If They guess something close, tell them they are close and encourage them to guess joy. It is something that puts a smile on your face. It is something that is spelled with 3 letters. It starts with the letter j.
Write	Write the Learning Goal on the board. Read the I-Can statement.
Explain	The last character strength we are going to learn about is joy!

Step 2 (5 min). Read The Calabash of Joy

Ask	Do you remember what a calabash is? Raise your hand if you remember. Who can explain what a calabash is? Let one or two pupils explain. Emphasize that it can be used to carry things.
Explain	We are going to read a story about a tortoise who had a calabash, and he tried to fill it with something very nice – joy! Do you want to hear about what happened to the tortoise with his calabash of joy?
Share	Share the magazine.
Read	Read aloud - The Calabash of Joy. (Download above)

Step 3 (5 min). Comprehension Questions

Ask	In the beginning of the story, what did Ijapa the tortoise travel around the country to do? Collect joy What did Ijapa do with the joy when he collected it? Put it in a calabash When Ijapa collected all of the joy he could find, what did he want to do with his calabash of joy? Hide it Why did Ijapa want to hide the calabash of joy? Keep it for himself OR Protect it so others won’t steal it Where did Ijapa decide to hide the calabash of joy? Top of a palm tree Was Ijapa able to climb to the top of the tall palm tree with his calabash of joy? No Why not? He kept sliding back down OR The calabash of joy got in the way When the young monkeys came dancing and singing, how did that make Ijapa feel? Frustrated
Explain	As Ijapa was trying to climb up the palm tree, he kept sliding down because the calabash of joy was getting in his way. That made him frustrated. Frustrated means that you are annoyed because you want something but you cannot get it. Ijapa was frustrated because he wanted to climb to the top of the palm tree but he could not.
Ask	Have you ever been frustrated before? What did frustrated Ijapa do with the calabash of joy when he saw the monkeys singing and dancing? Threw it to the ground What lesson did Ijapa learn from this experience? The best way to have joy is to express it and share it Who really had joy in the story? The young monkeys What can we learn about joy from the story? Let a few pupils respond

Step 4 (5 min). Sing Egwak chang yi ki lan Song

Explain	Just like the young monkeys, we are going to express joy by singing and dancing. I am going to teach you a song to sing and dance to.
Guide	Instruct pupils to point to the song on page 2 of the magazine.
Sing	Teach Egwak chang yi ki lan to the pupils with the actions.
Ask	How did you feel while you were singing? Let a few pupils respond. What can we learn about joy from the song? Let a few pupils respond.

Step 5 (5 min). Direct Instruction on Joy

Ask	What does the word joy mean? Let a few children respond. Acknowledge their answer, even if it is incorrect.
Guide	Instruct pupils to point to Jinan Joy.
Read	Read what Jinan Joy says.
Explain	Jinan Joy used lots of words that start with the letter j! Jolly and jubilantly mean about the same thing as joy.
Ask	What is the definition of the word joy? Choosing to respond to situations with happiness
Explain	Remember that perseverance means to choose, or select to keep trying even when there are challenges. In joy, we also choose or select to do something. But with joy, we choose to be happy no matter what is happening around us. Give some examples of things that fill you with joy.
Ask	What are things that you do that fill you with joy? Let a few pupils respond In our story, when the young monkeys were filled with joy, they sang and danced. What are some things you do when you choose to be happy? Let a few children respond

Step 6 (5 min). Direct Instruction on Joy

Explain	Jinan Joy has a signal that he makes to show that he chooses to respond to situations with happiness. Do you want to see what the signal looks like?
Guide	Demonstrate the joy signal. Make a fist with both hands. Then raise both hands up and apart while also giving a big smile. Shout, “Joy” as you do it. Have the pupils repeat the joy signal a few times.

Step 7 (20 min). Joy Handprint Craft

Ask	We are going to do a handcraft. Does doing a handcraft fill you with joy – does it make you feel happy inside? Raise your hand if doing a handcraft makes you joyful. How do you spell the word joy?
Guide	Present a blank worksheet.
Ask	What letters do you see here? Read the letters with me. JY What letter is missing to spell the word Joy? O
Explain	The letter O is missing. We are going to have to make the letter O. We all want to be filled with joy, so we are each going to use our hands to make the letter O.
Guide	Demonstrate making a handprint as the letter O. To do this, add a dab of paint to your palm and spread it by squishing it and rubbing your fingers over your palm like handwashing with one hand only. Then carefully place your hand on the paper where the letter O should be, being careful to fully press the hand down, but not moving the hand around to smudge the edges of the handprint. *When making the handprint, spread out your fingers to see the entire hand. Though it does not look exactly like the letter O, children’s handprints are a special and valuable craft.*
Explain	We are each going to make the letter O with our handprints. But first we are going to colour the border and letters J and Y so we do not smudge our handprints when we are finished.
Guide	Let pupils colour the border and letters J and Y with crayons. When pupils finish colouring, guide them in making their handprint where the letter O should be. After each child has finished making the handprint, they should wash their hand.

Step 8 (10 min). Direct Instruction on Joy

Explain	Let’s learn more about what joy means.
Guide and Ask	Have pupils turn to page 3. Before reading each section, have pupils point to the next picture. Then ask: What do you see in the picture? After one or two pupils have described the picture, read the text.
Ask	After reading the page, ask: What have you learned about joy? Let a few pupils respond.

Step 9 (10 min). I Spy Something that Brings Me Joy Game

Ask	What does the word Spy mean? Let one or two pupils respond
Explain	The word spy can mean a few different things. One thing it means is to see or notice something. You can say “I see” or you can say “I spy.” We are going to play a game called “I spy.” It means that you see something. The leader in the game I spy looks around them and picks something. Then they say, “I spy something that is – blank.” The blank can be a colour, like “I spy something that is green.” Or the blank can be a letter, like “I spy something that starts with the letter t.” Then everybody has to guess what they spy – what they see. We are going to play “I spy something that brings me joy” and add the colour of the object. The leader is going to look around to find something that gives them joy, something that makes them happy. Then everybody else has to guess what that object is. If they guess incorrectly, the leader will say No. If they guess correctly, then the leader says Yes and the person who guessed correctly is the winner. The only rule for the leader is that you have to be able to see the object with your own eyes. The rule for everybody else is that you have to raise your hand to make a guess, and wait for the leader to call on you.
Guide	Play I Spy for a few rounds with you as the leader. For example, you might pick the tree outside the window and say, “I spy something that gives me joy and is green.” Then let pupils take turns being the leader. Note that the pupil should whisper what they choose to you because leaders can be tempted to change what they choose if they do not have accountability.

Step 10 (5 min). Conclusion

Read	Read the I-can statement from the board.
Ask	Can you explain what joy is? Show me a thumbs up if you know what joy is, and a thumbs-down if you do not know what joy is. What is Joy? Let pupils give a chorus answer What did you learn about joy today? Let a few pupils respond Who can make Jinan Joy’s signal? Have all of the pupils make the joy signal together.
Printable version of What is Joy Lesson [Download]