Solving Your Problems

Students will learn:

About problems in life

How to handle their problems

Practice what they learned

Lesson on Solving Problems

Short Story - Sheri's Art Project SHERI'S ART PROJECT On Saturday, five-year-old Sheri and her parents moved into their house. "Sheri, take your boxes of art supplies and books up to your room. It's your room," her mother said, "put them where you want them." "Okay, Mommy," Sheri replied, as she picked up her box of art supplies and books. Sheri liked her new room. It was bigger than her old room and had nice shelves. When she had her art supplies and books put away, she looked around her room. The walls were very clean; freshly painted white. I liked my old walls better, thought Sheri. Her old walls had wallpaper on them, with pretty flowers and animals all over it. "I like pictures on my walls," Sheri said to her doll, Tina. She got her box of crayons off the shelf along with Tina. She sat Tina on the floor to watch. "This is a dog," she told Tina as she began to draw, "and this is a red ball he is chasing." Sheri was so busy coloring that she didn't stop to look and see you entered her room when she heard the door open. She dropped her crayon and immediately turned around when she heard her father shout, "Sheri! What are you doing?" "Coloring," Sheri muttered. "I know that, but why are you coloring on your walls?" "I wanted a picture on my wall." "I want you to stop coloring." "Why? I'm not finished." "You are now," her father replied sternly. "But Daddy, I'm not done." "Give me the crayon!" her father ordered, as he held out his hand. "Okay," Sheri yelled, as she burst into tears. "Sheri, you will now take soap, water, and a sponge and clean up your wall." "But Daddy, it will ruin the picture." Her father left and returned with a pail of water. Now, get to work." When he left, Sheri sat in her room and cried. "Why is Daddy mad at me? I don't want white walls. I want a picture. I want to keep it. Mommy said it was my room! I know. I'll move my chair in front of it." Sheri got up and moved her chair, and then she got the sponge wet. Within a few minutes, her father entered her room. "I see that your walls are clean. I'm glad you did what I told you. Now, come and eat your supper." When Sheri sat down at the table, her mother said, "Sheri, I'm glad you cleaned up your room, but I still don't understand why you colored on your wall." "I wanted pictures on my wall." "That was not the way to go about it," her mother replied. "My old room had drawings on the wall." "That was wallpaper. We'll see what we can do," promised her mother. After supper, Sheri went back to her room and moved the chair so she could start coloring again. When she finished the picture, she moved her chair back to cover it up. "Sheri, it's time for you to go to bed," called her mother from the doorway. "Okay, Mommy," Sheri hollered, as she moved quickly away from the chair. She got out her pajamas and threw her clothes on the chair that covered up the picture on the wall. Some of the clothes fell on the floor. "Sheri, don't throw your clothes around like that. Put them in the clothes basket. It will make your room look neater." "I'm sorry, Mommy. I'll pick them up." "No, I'll do it. You climb into bed." Sheri suddenly remembered her picture was behind the chair. "I'll do it!" "Now climb into bed like I told you," her mother said sternly. Sheri trembled with fear, as she climbed into bed because she knew her mother had seen the picture when she heard the chair move. "What's this?" her mother asked. "Sheri, I thought you cleaned up this wall. Why did you lie to us?" "I don't know," Sheri replied, with tears in her eyes. "Tomorrow morning, you will clean this off, and you will not color on your wall again. Is that clear?" her mother asked sternly. "Yes," Sheri yelled, as she burst into tears. "It's time for you to go to sleep. We'll talk about this tomorrow," her mother said. When morning came, Sheri’s mother woke her up. "Sheri, I want you to clean off the wall right after breakfast." "Okay," Sheri replied angrily. After breakfast, Sheri and her mother went back into her room and Sheri began to clean off her wall. As her mother stood and watched, Sheri thought, I still wish I could have my own pictures on my wall. Mommy sure is angry with me. I wish I had been good. They find out when I lie, too. Maybe I can color on paper and put it on my wall. When Sheri finished, her mother said, "I don't want you to color on your wall or tell any more lies. Do you understand?" "Yes," Sheri mumbled. "I’m sorry Mommy." “That’s okay. I’m sorry I got upset with you. I wanted your room to look nice. When you color on your walls, it makes your room look messy. You need to take care of your walls. It’s important for us to take care of the things we have.” “Okay. I understand,” Sheri replied. “Good. I’m glad,” her mother replied, as she hugged her. “Mommy, can I draw pictures on paper and put them on my wall?” "That would be a better idea." "Can I have some paper?" "Yes. We'll buy some paper and a large bulletin board so you can pin up your drawings." "Oh boy!" Sheri exclaimed, then quickly added, "I'm sorry, Mommy. I won't color on my wall again." "I know you won’t. We found a better way to put up your pictures," her mother replied. After breakfast, Sheri and her mother went shopping. They bought some paper and a large bulletin board. When they got home, Sheri began to color on her paper and soon had several pictures finished. Her mother put the bulletin board up while Sheri colored. After the bulletin board was up, Sheri's mother helped her put up her drawings. Sheri stood in her room and looked at her drawings. She liked her drawings on her bedroom wall.

Worksheet over story Questions for Reading Comprehension 1. Who was the main character in the story? 2. Who were the other characters? 3. Where did the story take place? 4. What happened in the story? 5. What conflict did the main character experience? 6. How did the main character handle his/her problem? 7. What lesson did the main character learn? 8. Did the character's personality change in the story? 9. What did you learn from reading the story? 10. How can you apply what you learned from the story?