K, 1, 2

Learners will discover the definition of trust in an interactive way.

Lesson Rating 
PrintOne Twenty Minute Class Period

The learner will:

  • define "trust."
  • compose a song about trust.
  • practice ways to trust within the classroom.

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson(See Bibliographic References).


Woodson, Jacqueline.  The Other Side. New York: G.P. Putnam's Son, 2001.  ISBN: 0-399-23116-1.


  1. Anticipatory Set:Give each child a small item to hold (wrapped gum, sucker, marble). Tell them not to disturb its contents if it is edible. Ask if they would like to have the item to keep. Then before reading the story tell them that they need to give that item back to you for safe keeping. Promise to return the item and tell them they will need to trust you to return it to them.

  2. Define trust as "confidence or faith in a person or thing." Ask students to give examples.

  3. Read The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson. Ask questions throughout the reading of the book such as:

    • Do the girls know each other at the beginning of the story? Are they friends?
    • Why do you think the girls' mothers told them not to cross the fence?
    • Do the girls trust each other at the beginning of the book? Why or why not?
    • How do you think Clover and Annie were feeling before they started talking to each other?
    • Why was sitting on the fence a good idea?
    • After Clover and Annie got to know each other, what happended, what did they discover?
    • Did it change the way the other children felt about Annie?
    • Do the children trust each other at the end of the book?
    • Which illustrations in the book show trust between the children?
  4. Give the item that you took away for "safe keeping" back to the students and allow them to express how they felt when you took it away and then returned it. Ask if they knew you would keep your promise and have them explain why.

  5. Ask students to think about a conflict situation that can be changed by trust.


Teacher observation of learner participation and completion of activities.

Philanthropy Framework

  1. Strand PHIL.II Philanthropy and Civil Society
    1. Standard PCS 01. Self, citizenship, and society
      1. Benchmark E.1 Define the word <em>trust</em> and its role in all communities.