Submitted by Elhannan Lloyd Keller, East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Idea posted May 4, 2009
When I teach "Themes and Variations" to my fourth and fifth graders, I introduce the form by means of the "Have A Nice Day" smiley face. I first draw the basic face on the board. I then ask the class to tell me a different adjective instead of "nice" to describe the kind of day they would like to see. Whether I get responses of "Have A Sad Day" or "Have A Mean Day" or "Have A Silly Day," I can always change the original face to show the new adjective. By keeping the original face on they board the students can see the theme and variations. The students really enjoy the opportunity in a later class to come up and create their own "Have A ... Day" face.