Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type
From Weston Woods Storybook Films · 2001
10 min1st2nd3rdReading & Writing (ELA)Social-Emotional Learning
Summary
Doreen Cronin's barnyard comedy: Farmer Brown's cows find a typewriter and start leaving notes -- first asking for electric blankets, then going on strike when he says no. With the hens joining in and a duck acting as neutral go-between, the animals and the farmer have to reach a compromise. A funny first look at negotiation and standing up together.
Viewer safety
All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
When the cows learn to type, they start making demands -- and Farmer Brown has to bargain.
- What do the cows want, and how do they ask for it?
- What does it mean to "go on strike"? Why do the cows stop giving milk?
- In the end, both sides give up something to reach a deal. What is a compromise?
- Think of a time you and someone else wanted different things. How did you work it out?
Quick work-a-long
Words to know: typewriter, demand, strike, compromise, neutral
- Write a short "Dear Farmer Brown" note asking politely for one thing, and give a reason.
- The duck stayed neutral. Explain what "neutral" means in your own words.