Parts

Parts
Arnold, T. (1997). Parts. New York: Dial Books For Young Readers. Grades K-2.
Written by: Tedd Arnold

Subject area: Science
Genre: Fiction

Summary:
This is a story written about a young boy who is going through some typical childhood developmental changes. All these incidents happening to the boy, such as losing some hair, peeling skin, and losing teeth, are terrifying the young boy. He completely blows his issues out of proportion and convinces himself that terrible things are happening to him. He finally stresses himself out so much that he tapes himself together in hopes that nothing else will be lost from his body. When his parents find their son covered in masking tape, they decide that it is time to have a talk about the changes we experience in life. This a great, fun, rhyming story which will have kids laughing and will also reassure them that the changes that are occurring in their life are completely normal---they happen to everybody!

Themes:
Life cycle/childhood development

Initiating Questions and Activities:
Questions:

1. Looking at the cover, what does the boy look like he is feeling?
2. Can you name some body parts?
3. Have you ever had a stomach ache or had any part of your body ache? 
4. Why do you think the boy on the cover looks so worried?

Activity:
Have a group discussion with the class. Ask them questions asking how they would feel regarding "losing" part of their body (example: a tooth). How did they feel? Were they nervous/excited/happy/scared? Then discuss that changes happen to everybody constantly. Change is always happening around us. Talk to the students about different changes in the world and in our life. Then do a class graph of how many students have lost teeth. This will help prove to the children that losing teeth and other changes happen (eventually) to everybody.

Culminating and Extending Questions and Activities:
Questions: What was your favorite part to the story? The boy sounded silly, but did you ever feel upset or scared when you "lost" part of your body? Why do changes happen to us? Changes can be scary, but how can they be good? How do we know when we're just going through a change and when something might really be wrong with us?

After each section where the boy has another problem, ask the child if that has happened to them

• Have you ever lost some hair?
• Have you ever found fuzz in your belly button?
• Has your skin ever peeled?
• Has anything gray and wet ever fallen out of your nose?
• Have you ever had a loose tooth?
• How did you feel when these things happened to you?
• Did "losing" any part of your body ever make you nervous?

Activity:
Have each student find a partner. Give each child a large sheet of paper. Have each partner trace each others body. Then the children will fold their  paper "body" in half vertically. On one side they will color themselves in as they are now and then they will color themselves in as they may be in the future. This will show that everyone is going to change at some point in their life time.