This book made Heidi feel a lot of emotions. In the beginning of the book the boy feels invisible. He is lonely and does not fit in. What a sad feeling. Have you ever felt like that? What did you do? Who did you go to?

What can the boy do if he feels lonely? Do you ever see any kids sitting by themselves at school? They might feel lonely. What could you do to help them?

The end of the book ends on a happier note. You will notice how the colors change and the story progresses. What do you think the changing colors means?

Do you ever have new students in your class? It is uncomfortable to walk up to a new person and introduce yourself. But, it is more uncomfortable for the new student to introduce themselves to a group of new people.

Greeting New Students

When I was a teacher, when we had new students I would assign a student to be the new student’s helper. Often, I would assign the kid that had challenging behavior. Giving the ” naughty” kid a responsibility made them feel important. They felt trusted, and respected by other students. They felt they had earned the job and they took it seriously. I gave them a clipboard with a check list of things they needed to show the new student. Different areas of our room, the drinking fountains, bathrooms, areas of the playground, etc.

We also practiced how to introduce a new person. So when the class went to gym the helper needed to introduce the gym teacher to the new student. The helper became the expert on greeting new people. They almost became the class ambassador. The behavior of the challenging student improved and the new student felt welcome.

Other Application for these skills

I also used this when I had substitutes. A student was given a clipboard with a list of what to show the substitute and introduce them to the other teachers.

Substitutes would leave notes that my class was the best behaved and most helpful of any class they had ever had. Several said that they would love to substitute for my class anytime. Everyone wins!

Ideally in the work world bosses would assign another worker to be the go-to person for for minor things. For example, where various things are in the office, how to problem solve the computer systems, if there are office social events etc.