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Teachers can use ARTHUR, THE CHRISTMAS ELF as a component of the program they direct by using these suggested activities over two or three days. These projects can be expanded to include community service and citizenship activities where the children reach out to others.

DAY ONE:

READ THE STORY ALOUD, showing the pictures. Students may read or teachers may read.

Use these discussion questions to talk about the story. Or write your own.

ABOUT THE BLIZZARD
1. When was the snowiest winter you can remember?
2. How did you and you family deal with the snow?
3. Did your lights go out the way they did in the story?
4. Have you ever been very, very cold? Explain why.
5. Do you enjoy winter sports?
6. If you were Angie or Timothy, would you be frightened? Why or why not?

ABOUT ARTHUR AND SNOWFLAKE
1. Can you enjoy these characters and the magical things they do? Why or why not?
2. Do you believe in Santa Claus? If not, why not?
3. What do you think is the real subject of this story?

ABOUT ANGIE’S FAMILY
1. Angie and her mother argue over Christmas traditions. Do you think Angie should get her way and receive only money for Christmas? Explain your point of view.
2. Angie’s father works long hours and is away from home because of it. How do you feel about this aspect of the story?
3. Compare Angie’s family to your family.

ABOUT TIMOTHY’S FAMILY
1. Timothy has to work to help support his family. Do you think this is a good thing? Explain why or why not.
2. Timothy is angry about his circumstance. How would you feel if you were Timothy?
3. Compare Timothy’s family to your family.

THE FROZEN LADY
1. Do you think people who do not like to give to other are selfish? Why?
2. Why do you think Arthur shows this picture to Angie?

THE ENDING
1. Explain why you think the ending was written this way.
2. Make up a different ending to the story.

DAY TWO:

PREPARATION FOR THE CRAFTING SECTION
Prior to teaching the crafts, you and your colleagues should decide if you’d like to do one craft, or several, depending on the number of students you have and how many teachers are involved in the program. Each teacher should be responsible for one craft project when doing more than one per day.

Girl Scout Troop leaders of Junior Girl Scouts ages 8 - 11 can incorporate the story with badge requirement activities and use the crafts for completing badges such as:

Puppets, Dolls and Plays
Make it, Eat it
Stitch it together
Yarn and Fabric Arts
Toymaker
Sew Simple

1. Decide which craft you’d like to do with the students. The students may bring in the materials, or the teachers may provide them. Examples:
a. Provide cardboard, magazines, scissors and glue to make the collage.
b. Provide beads, thread and clasps for the necklace project.
c. Provide stuffing, old tee-shirts, old shirts, yarn of different colors, needles and thread, buttons and ribbons, and scissors for making the rag doll.
d. Provide pre-cut wooden blocks and acrylic craft paint, sand paper, paint brushes, water and paper towels for cleanup.
e. Baking Cookies

2. Arrange the supplies so students have easy access to the materials they will need.
a. Depending on the size of your space, you may want to have a separate table for the supplies and have the children work on tables together.

b. If the room has school desks, then each child can work independently.

3. Explain the process briefly, and then go step by step through the instructions making sure all the students have completed each step before moving on to the next.
a. Longer projects may require two or three days to complete: making the rag doll and the wood block town with the people can be two day or longer projects.
b. Simpler projects such as collage, puzzle and necklace, the sock puppet and the pillow should take only one day.
c. Baking the cookies is a one day project, but needs close supervision.

4. Ask the students to tell who they are making the gifts for.
a. They can hold up their finished present and tell the others in the group who they made the gift for and why.

b. If you choose, you can also make the gifts as grab bag presents, and in this case, the students might give some hints about the person to see if the group can guess who the gift is for. Then, of course, you exchange gifts.

5. Wrap the gifts in holiday paper and ribbon.
a. Give as a surprise grab bag in the group
b. Give to family members
c. Give to needy children in the community
d. Give to Church Sunday School programs
e. Give to pre-schools and/or retirement communities.

DAY THREE:

Expanding on the puppet project:
1. Ask the students to count off by a number that easily divides into how many students there are. Divide by 4 if you have 16 students. Divide by 3 if you have 15 students, etc.
2. Assign a leader from the group.
3. Have the students make up a short 3 to 5 minute puppet show.
a. They can re-tell the Arthur story.
b. They can change the ending.
c. They can make up their own Christmas story.
4. Have the students perform their play.
5. Video tape their plays for added fun. They will love watching them on television.
6. They can perform their puppet plays for smaller children in the school or a pre-school in the area.

Expanding on the puzzle project:
1. Tell the students they are making puzzles for a pre-school in your area.
2. Arrange for their puzzles to be delivered to the pre-school.
3. Make the delivery into an outing for your group, and they can show the children how to use their puzzles.

Expanding on the rag doll project:
1. Arrange for their dolls to be delivered to the pre-school in your area, making sure to have enough dolls for a class of children.
2. Tell the students they are making dolls for a pre-school
3. Make the delivery into an outing for your group, and they can give the dolls to the children.

Expanding on the cookie project:
1. Bake several batches of cookies and deliver them to a retirement home for the residents.
2. Have the children sing Christmas Carols to the elderly residents during their visit.
3. Have the children read the story Arthur, The Christmas Elf to the elderly residents. The children can read sections, taking turns till the story is completed.
4. Make Christmas Cards for the residents, too.

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