| The Original Letter People
This article is about the original 1969 - 1996 Letter People
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Planning and Preparation: Huggables, Mr. M and Mr. T; Record #1; Alpha Time Master #6; child's toothbrush; paper, long cardboard strip, scissors and crayons, slip of paper for each child.
Introducing Mr. T's Tall Teeth[]
Listening to Mr. T's Song[]
Play Mr. T's song.
Let the children reacquaint themselves with Mr. T by talking to him and by asking him questions.
Tell the children that Mr. M is complaining about Mr. T.
Mr. M is glad that Mr. T came. There is just one thing wrong. Mr. T is so busy taking care of his teeth that he has no time to play with Mr. M.
Why do you think Mr. T is so busy with his teeth?
What is different about Mr. T's teeth? (they are very tall)
Let's ask Mr. T about his teeth.
Illustrating Tall With Hands[]
Tell the children: "Mr. T says that he has tall teeth!" Demonstrate the word "tall" with your hands, Encourage the children to do the same as they repeat the following Tall Teeth rhyme.
When we look at Mr. T,
Tall, tall teeth are what we see!
Tall, tall teeth are what we see,
When we look at Mr. T!
Listening To Mr. T's Story[]
Tell Mr. T's story to the children. You will need a child's toothbrush as a dramatic prop. Gather the children around Mr. T.
Mr. T knows that Mr. M is unhappy because he has no time to play. Mr. T wants to have more time to play with Mr. M. Let's listen to his story and see if we can help him.
"I was so happy when I came to this class. I loved meeting each of you. When you left school, Mr. M and I were going to play and play and play- with the blocks, with the dolls, with the crayons, and with the puzzles!
"Guess what? I had no time to play! I had to brush my Tall Teeth. I took a tiny toothbrush (show it to the class) and started to brush just one of my Tall Teeth. Tall Teeth take a terribly long time to brush. I used up a lot of toothpaste.
"I brushed and brushed with my tiny toothbrush all through the night. Tall Teeth take a terribly long time to brush. I brushed and brushed with my tiny toothbrush all through the morning. Tall Teeth take a terribly long time to brush... such a long time that I had no time to play.
"I don't know what to do! What would you do if you had Tall Teeth?"
Making a Tall, Tall Toothbrush And Comparing Sizes[]
Poor Mr. T! Tall Teeth can be a problem.How can he brush them and not take so much time?
Let the children discuss Mr. T's problem. Then lead them to the conclusion that he needs a tall, tall toothbrush.
Help the children to make a tall, tall toothbrush out of a long strip of cardboard. Cut enough slits in the brush end to accommodate one slip of paper for each child. Let each slip of paper represent a bristle. Print one child's name on each bristle.
When the tall toothbrush is finished, have the children stand next to it. Decide which is taller- the children or the toothbrush.
Tying It Together[]
Distribute copies of Alpha Time Master #6 to each child.
Let's look at Mr. T. Show us how tall his teeth are.
What is the size of his toothbrush? (small)
How does Mr. M feel? (unhappy)
How can we tell that Mr. M is unhappy? (the look on his face)
What is in the tall pile of things next to Mr. T? (empty toothpaste tubes)
Why do you think there are so many empty toothpaste tubes in this tall pile?
Which is taller- Mr. T or the tall pile of toothpaste tubes?
How many tubes do you think there are in the pile?
On Their Own[]
Children may choose from the following activities:
- Using a ruler to measure the tall pile on toothpaste on Alpha Time Master #6, as well as measuring Mr. T and comparing sizes.
- Using a yardstick or marks on the wall to measure how tall the children are.
- Counting Mr. T's Tall Teeth
- Drawing happy and unhappy faces (with turned up smile and turned down mouth) to show how Mr. M felt when Mr. T came and then how he felt when Mr. T was too busy to play.
- Making scrapbook of advertisements for toothpaste and toothbrushes.