1) To illustrate that each individual has his/her own point of view and people cannot be judged merely by their external appearance:

a) Ask your students to draw what Marcy looks like to THEM.
b) Instruct students to hold up their pictures of Marcy.
c) State: “You are all correct!”
d) When a student questions how it is possible that everyone is correct, point out that every person has his/her own perspective.
e) To drive this point home, ask your students to draw a picture of you (the teacher) or the principal. As each drawing will be different, the point can be made that we each have our own perspective.

2) Just as we each see the same person and situation very differently, so too can we hear things differently. This point can be driven home by playing a game called telephone:

a) Secretly write a short tongue twister on a piece of paper.
b) Whisper the tongue twister into the ear of one child.
c) Ask that child to whisper into the ear of another child.
d) Go around the room doing this and see if the last person can recite the exact message you whispered.

3) To drive the point home that there are many ‘correct’ or ‘positive’ ways to handle problems: Students should choose alternative ways Marcy could have handled individual situations. This exercise may be valuable to enhance both reading comprehension and creative writing.

4) To facilitate ‘understanding’ and ‘compassion’ use ‘Breakfast With Marcy’. Have one student act out the part of Annie and another act out Marcy’s part, then, ask the students to switch. This highlights the value of trying to be aware of how the other person feels.