Susie Learns Respect
How can I help others?
Goal:
Goal:
Here’s a story about two sisters named Marga and Susie. One of them teaches the other an important lesson about being helpful and respectful. Click through the slides to read the story.
Marga and Susie were sisters. They were alike in many ways. They were close to the same age. They both liked to play hopscotch. They went to the same school.
But Marga and Susie were very different in other ways. Marga liked to help her parents with chores around the house. She washed dishes. She swept the floors. She emptied the garbage. She did it without being asked.
She loved to help at her school, too. At school, Marga stayed after to clean up the classroom. She organized the books in the classroom library. She sharpened pencils. She helped the teacher put away school supplies. She loved to help.
Susie did not enjoy helping others. She slept while Marga helped after school. She watched TV while her sister helped mom with chores around the house. Susie thought it was boring.
One day, the sisters saw a group of kids standing around a big poster on the wall at school. Susie read the poster. “It’s a contest!” she yelled out. “You can win $50 for writing an essay!” Susie was so excited. She really wanted to win the $50.
The teacher, Mrs. Wilkins, explained that a bakery owner created the contest. He wanted to recognize students who were helpful, respectful, and kind. To enter the contest, students had to write a paper about ways they help their family or community.
Each student also had to ask an adult to write a short essay about them and their good qualities. The bakery owner would read all the essays and pick two students who most deserved the $50. Those students would also be on a local TV news show.
All the way home from school, Susie talked about the prize. She would love getting the money and being on TV. As she thought about it, she was having a hard time choosing a teacher. She hadn’t always been kind and respectful to her teachers.
Marga worked on her essay all weekend. Susie said she would do hers after school on Thursday. She would rather play outside than work on her essay.
She didn’t want to help her mother with the chores, either. She couldn’t believe Marga helped their mom around the house without even being asked! Marga was always thinking of others instead of herself.
When she chose a teacher to write about her, Marga asked Mrs. Wilkins. Her teacher said it would be easy. There were so many things to say about how Marga was helpful and kind. This made Marga feel proud.
Every night, their mom asked the sisters how their essays were going. Marga’s was almost ready. Susie was waiting until the last minute to do hers. But, she found out that wasn’t a good idea! When it came time to write, she couldn’t think of anything.
Marga told her to write about why she likes helping people. Then, Susie realized she didn’t help many people. That made it hard to write about.
Marga told Susie that she didn’t just write about the things she did for people. She wrote about why she helped people. She wrote about how good it made her feel.
Susie realized she wasn’t helpful, kind, or responsible like her sister. She only did things for herself. She did not do things for others. She also felt bad when she thought about how that might hurt other people’s feelings. All of this made Susie decide that she shouldn’t enter the contest.
When the winners of the contest were announced, Marga and a fifth-grade boy were chosen to win the money and the TV interview. On the way home from school that day, Marga told Susie about winning the contest. She was worried her sister would be mad about all the attention she was getting. But Susie surprised her. Susie was happy for her sister. She decided from now on, she would think of others, just like her sister Marga.
Question
Why did Susie decide she didn’t want to enter the essay contest?
Susie didn’t have any stories about being respectful and helpful. She was not always helpful.