What are good manners?
Manners are the ways in which we behave around other people. Have students make a list of what they consider to be good manners. Some possible answers include the following: • Wash hands before eating. • Walk to the cafeteria and table. • Stand quietly in line. • Place hands in lap when not eating. • Place a napkin and the hand not being used for eating in lap. • Keep elbows off the table. • Use a napkin to wipe your mouth and hands. • Sit up. • Take small bites. • Chew food with your mouth closed. • Talk quietly at the table. • Say please and thank you. • Pour liquids and pass food carefully. • Take a bite of every food selected or placed on the tray (Say “no thank you” instead of “yuck”). 3. Read and surf (search) the Internet. Younger students can read these books: • Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners, Jan and Stan Berenstain • Monster Manners, J. Cole Older students can search the Internet for the history of table manners or etiquette. One web site is The Gentleman’s Page.
