In this activity, students will determine the central message or moral of the story, and then use details from the text to support their thinking.
Central Message: Be happy with who you are.
This story illustrates that everyone is special in their own way, and people should accept who they are!
Evidence to support:
Other possible messages that students can create storyboards to support:
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that shows a central message or moral from Freckle Juice.
Begin by introducing the concept of a central message/ moral in any story. Ask the students to tell some morals they have learned through any story and discuss them with the rest of the students in the class. Tell them that these central messages are supposed to help us learn good things and take examples from the lives of other people.
Give students examples of central messages from well-known children's stories such as “The Hare and the Tortoise”. Teachers can ask students, what they thought the moral of that story was and what they learned from it. Carry the discussion by discussing other examples.
Before students can distinguish good and bad values, it is important for them to learn about these good values. Teachers can talk about some basic moral values such as honesty, loyalty, self-confidence, and helping others. These values can be discussed by giving examples from cartoons and books that are mostly watched by the students.
Ask a student to make a drawing or a painting of characters in the story representing the moral lesson of the story. For instance, if the moral lesson of a story is being sincere to your friends then the students can draw a portrait of two friends shaking hands or sitting together.
By demonstrating how Andrew gives in to peer pressure and tries to improve his look by purchasing the freckle juice formula, the novel tackles peer pressure and low self-esteem. He makes terrible choices because he wants to fit in and get his peers' respect. As the narrative progresses, Andrew discovers that self-esteem should originate from the inside and that making changes for other people might have unfavorable effects. It also reflects on the lengths that people can go to achieve something because of low self-esteem and peer pressure.
Andrew's encounter with freckle juice teaches him some valuable lessons. He discovers that trying to alter his looks in order to appease people is not a wise strategy. He discovers that making hasty judgments might result in unpleasant and unexpected results. In the end, Andrew learns to embrace himself and understands that it is better for him to be himself than to attempt to be someone he is not.