Say Hello to Zoro

They say art imitates life; such is the case in my classroom. Let me start by sharing that I have a pug named Nellie. I will often look for stories about pugs to read in my classroom (several Pig the Pug books line my bookshelves). One day at the school book fair, I came across Say Hello to Zorro! by Carter Goodrich (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2011), and thatʼs where this lesson began.

A Social-Emotional Connection
Say Hello to Zorro! is about a family who gets a second dog, but more importantly, it’s about the adjustment that the dogs have to make in this new situation. I thought this would be a great way to tie social-emotional learning into a project and talk about how sometimes families change and getting used to new situations can be a challenge. Many students and even adults go through this, sometimes very unexpectedly, and our emotions can run the gamut.

Some of my students are great at recognizing emotions by facial expressions, but others struggle with those social cues. This project is a great way to talk about some of the different emotions we feel and how we can recognize those feelings in others.

Starting with Shapes
To create the body of the pug, students begin with a 6 x 9" (15 x 23 cm) sheet of tan paper. With the paper turned vertically, they draw an arch as wide and tall as the paper and then cut it out.

Using a 3 x 4" (7.5 x 10 cm) sheet of black paper turned horizontally, they draw another arch as wide and tall as the paper to use as the dog’s muzzle. After cutting it out, they draw another arch about one-third of the way down the paper with a white crayon.

Using additional scraps of black paper, students make a nose, ears, and two ovals that will go behind the eyes.

Finally, students create eyes with the colored scrap paper of their choice, adding pupils and white highlights. Then it’s time to have some fun.

Creating Emotions
This is the point where we start to assemble the dog parts and create the expressions. I ask students, “What if I turn the dogʼs mouth like this (making a smile), keep the ears tipped up, and have the eyes wide open?”

“He looks happy!” they answer.

Then I ask, “What if I turned the mouth upside down and tipped his ears down?”
“Aw…he looks sad,” they say.

Then I take things one step further. I take the black ovals that go behind the eyes, place them together, and snip a bit off of them. I tell students to imagine numbers on the ovals like a clock: “I’m snipping a little slice on these from 12 to 3. Now the ovals look like flat tires!” I take the ovals and position them so the cuts angle inward like a V, put the eyes on, add the mouth upside down, and ask students what the dog might be feeling.

“He’s angry!” they all agree. And just to be silly, I leave the eyes but turn the mouth back into a smile.

“Yikes! He looks a little evil!” one second-grader says.

Finally, I take the cut black ovals and flip them around so the cuts are angled like a capital A. I show how flipping the mouth around and tipping the ears up and down creates sadness, embarrassment, or shyness.

After students create their own expressions and glue their shapes, they put their names on the back, and I put the projects aside for week two.

Collaged Doghouses
Our next class is spent building a doghouse for our pug. We start with a vertical 12 x 18" (30 x 46 cm) piece of red construction paper (students could also choose their own color). We fold the top two corners down as though we are making a paper airplane and glue the triangular flaps down; we don’t bother cutting. We glue on a roof, glue on our dog, and add a door around the dog. We then add all of the amenities a dog would need, such as food and water dishes, toys, a window, and a nameplate. This is a great way to talk about how we can personalize a space and make it comfortable, and what makes us feel comfortable. Some students add additional details like potted plants, mailboxes, and chimneys.

Conclusion
This project has been one of my favorites to teach. I love that there is both a literacy connection and a social-emotional connection. It reaches students on both a basic level (I have a dog!) and on a deeper level (I had a hard time adjusting when I got a new brother/sister/mom/dad). If you have the chance, I hope you give it a try!