[Credit: Leslie Davison, Catharina Greenberg]
lost a tooth
goes to the dentist
Help!
A dragon has lost a tooth. He goes to the dentist. He says: “Help! I have lost a tooth!” The dentist has teeth, but no dragon teeth.
The dragon goes to the Museum of Natural History. He says to the woman at the Museum of Natural History: “Help! I have lost a tooth!” The woman at the Museum of Natural History has dinosaur teeth, but no dragon teeth.
The dragon goes to the Tooth Fairy. She gives him teeth. The dragon is happy.
Catharina adds:
“We teach kids the language that they use. If you listen carefully to what little kids say you’ll hear them often talk about how many teeth they’ve lost. Kids come to class with their mouth wide open pointing to the wiggly tooth. Once it falls out it’s saved in a plastic tooth locket that hangs around their neck like a trophy. It is a big deal. A tangible sign of growing up.
“Any version of this story works well. It can be simplified greatly for the very young, with added dialogue and details for the older kids. I bought a dragon puppet on eBayt that roars with red flashing lights. Student actors would work just as well.”