👩‍🏫 Parent & Teacher Guide

Who Ate My Ice Cream?

Everything you need to guide great conversations, answer questions, and extend the learning beyond the book.

📋 Answer Keys
💬 Discussion Scripts
📅 Weekly Schedule
🎯 Learning Objectives

📋 Guide Overview

What this book teaches, who it's for, and how to use the student workbook alongside it.

📖 About the book

What kids learn from Who Ate My Ice Cream?

Through Ellie the Republican Elephant and Donnie the Democratic Donkey, kids ages 9–12 discover:

🎯 Learning objectives

What students should be able to do by the end

💬
Define "tax" in their own words and give a real-life example
⚖️
Explain the difference between Ellie's spending taxes and Donnie's income taxes
🏛️
Name at least 3 public services that taxes fund
📜
Explain the 16th Amendment (1913) in simple terms
🤝
Articulate that good people can disagree on how taxes work
🧮
Do basic percentage math on a paycheck deduction (Activity 2)
📚 Standards alignment

Curriculum connections

📂 How this guide pairs with the student workbook

Two documents, one experience

The Student Workbook is written directly to the child — they read it, fill in answers, and work through activities at their own pace. This Parent & Teacher Guide gives you the answer keys, discussion questions with talking points, a suggested schedule, and tips for navigating the political content with balance and confidence.

🔑 Answer Keys

Full answers for every check-in question and activity in the student workbook.

💡 A note on "right" answers

Activities 3 (Budget Game) and 6 (Write a Scene) have no single correct answer — they're designed to spark thinking and conversation. For those, use the discussion questions in the Discussion Guide tab instead of checking against a key.

📝 Check-In Questions

Question 1
Who are Ellie and Donnie, and why do their animals matter?

Ellie is a Republican elephant and Donnie is a Democratic donkey. The elephant and donkey are the actual real-life symbols of the Republican and Democratic parties in the U.S. The book uses these characters to make the abstract idea of political parties concrete and memorable for kids.

Question 2
Explain "Ellie's Way" of collecting taxes.

Ellie prefers taxing what people spend, not what they earn. Examples: sales tax, gas tax, hotel tax, restaurant tax, excise taxes. The Republican philosophy here is that spending taxes are more neutral — everyone pays when they choose to buy something, regardless of income level.

Question 3
Explain "Donnie's Way" of collecting taxes.

Donnie prefers taxing what people earn — income taxes. He believes people who make more money can afford to contribute more, and those funds support public services that help everyone. Examples: federal income tax, state income tax, Social Security, Medicare.

Question 4
What happened in 1913 that changed how the U.S. collected money?

The 16th Amendment was ratified, giving Congress the official power to collect income taxes. Before 1913, the federal government relied primarily on tariffs (import fees) and excise taxes on specific goods like alcohol and tobacco. The 16th Amendment fundamentally changed the relationship between citizens and the federal government around money.

Question 5
Do Ellie and Donnie agree on anything?

Yes — they both want a strong, safe country where people can thrive. They disagree profoundly on how to achieve that (how much to tax, what types of taxes, and how to spend the money). This shared goal is the book's most important message: disagreement isn't the same as one side being villainous.

✏️ Activity Answer Keys

Activity 1 — Sort the Taxes
Which taxes belong to Ellie (spending) vs. Donnie (earning)?

Ellie's Way (spending/consumption taxes):
Sales Tax, Gas Tax, Hotel Tax, Restaurant Tax

Donnie's Way (income/payroll taxes):
Federal Income Tax, State Income Tax, Social Security, Medicare

Note: Social Security and Medicare (FICA) are technically payroll taxes — paid by both employees and employers. If a student asks about this nuance, it's a great conversation: Donnie supports them because they fund social safety nets, Ellie is more skeptical of their scale.

Activity 2 — Paycheck Math ($400 gross)
What are the correct deduction amounts?

Federal Income Tax (10%): $40.00
Social Security (6.2%): $24.80
Medicare (1.45%): $5.80
State Tax (1%): $4.00
Total deducted: $74.60
Net Pay: $325.40 — about 81% of gross

Good follow-up: "Is this fair? Would Ellie or Donnie want to change any of these?"

Activity 4 — True/False/It Depends
Correct answers for the 5 statements

1. False — People who earn more pay more income tax (progressive system).
2. False — Sales tax is Ellie's (Republican) approach.
3. False — Income tax began in 1913 with the 16th Amendment.
4. It Depends — Whether higher taxes help depends on how effectively the money is collected and spent. This is the core debate!
5. False — They disagree fiercely but both care about the country. That's the whole point.

💬 Discussion Guide

Questions to spark conversation at home or in the classroom — with facilitator notes for each one.

💡 Before you start

Set a simple ground rule: "In this conversation, everyone tries to understand the other side — not just win." Model it yourself by genuinely steelmanning the position you personally disagree with. Kids notice.

🍦 Starting Simple — For All Ages

Discussion 1
You earned $10 doing chores. If 20% went to "family taxes" to pay for dinner, Netflix, and internet — would that feel fair? What would make it more fair?
Why it works: Grounds the abstract in something real. Kids instantly feel the tension between fairness and necessity.
Facilitator tip: Don't rush to resolve it. Let them sit with "it feels unfair but I still need the internet." That discomfort is the lesson.
Discussion 2
Should people who earn more money pay more in taxes — or should everyone pay the same percentage? Or the same dollar amount? Which feels fairest?
Why it works: Introduces flat vs. progressive tax without the jargon. Every answer is defensible, which is the point.
Facilitator tip: Ask "what would Ellie say?" then "what would Donnie say?" before asking for their own opinion. This builds the habit of understanding both sides first.
Discussion 3
What's something you used today that taxes helped pay for? How would your day look different without it?
Why it works: Makes the invisible visible. Most kids haven't connected their school building, their bus, and the road they drive on to taxes.
Facilitator tip: Go first. "I drove on a road this morning. That road exists because of taxes. Without it, I couldn't have gotten here."

Ellie vs. Donnie

Discussion 4
Ellie and Donnie both want good things for the country — they just disagree on how. Can you think of a time you disagreed with someone where you both wanted the same outcome?
Why it works: Builds empathy. Models that political disagreement isn't always about bad motives.
Facilitator tip: Share your own example. Sibling arguments, neighborhood disputes, school decisions — anything where two "good" people genuinely disagreed on method, not intent.
Discussion 5
Can you agree with some of Ellie's ideas AND some of Donnie's? Or do you have to pick a side completely?
Why it works: Pushes back on all-or-nothing thinking. Most adults land somewhere in the middle — and that's worth naming.
Facilitator tip: If your family leans one direction politically, this is a great moment to say "I mostly agree with [Ellie/Donnie], but here's one thing I think the other side gets right."
Discussion 6 — For older kids or adults
Why do you think taxes make so many people angry? What would help people have calmer conversations about it?
Why it works: Meta-level thinking about political discourse — appropriate for 11+ and adults.
Facilitator tip: Don't just say "people are too emotional." Help kids identify the real reasons: taxes feel personal (your money), the stakes are high, and people disagree on what's fair at a deep values level.

📅 Suggested Schedule

A flexible one-week plan. Adjust to your pace — there's no wrong speed.

⏱ Time estimate

The full workbook takes about 3–5 hours total across the week, depending on how deep your discussions go. Activities can be done independently or together — most work both ways.

Day 1 — Read & Explore Words
Read Who Ate My Ice Cream? together or independently. Open the Student Workbook and go through the Vocabulary Words — try guessing definitions before revealing them. Aim for 8–10 words.
Day 2 — Check-In + Sort the Taxes
Student answers the 5 Check-In questions on their own, then you review together using the answer key. Do Activity 1 (Sort the Taxes) — it takes 10 minutes and makes Ellie vs. Donnie click fast.
Day 3 — Math Day
Activity 2 (Paycheck Math) + Activity 4 (True/False/It Depends). Let the student work through the math independently first, then check together. Great time for a "did anything surprise you?" conversation.
Day 4 — Discussion Day
Pick 2–3 discussion questions from this guide and make space for a real conversation — dinner table, car ride, or a dedicated 20 minutes. Activity 3 (Budget Game) works great as a table activity with the whole family.
Day 5 — Finish Line
Activity 5 (Real-Life Tax Hunt) — plan it for a day they'll be out running errands. Activity 6 (Write/Draw a Scene) — let them share it with you. Fill in the Progress Tracker together and celebrate! 🍦
🏫 Classroom adaptation

For teachers using this in a class setting

⚖️ Staying Balanced

How to talk about taxes and politics with kids in a way that teaches critical thinking — not a political position.

🧭 Core principle

The book's job is to inform, not persuade

The book presents both Ellie and Donnie as having genuine, defensible reasons for their views. Your job as a facilitator is to preserve that balance — even when your own views lean one direction. The most powerful thing you can model is: "I personally believe X, but I understand why smart people believe Y."

💬 What to say when...

Common moments and how to handle them

🚩 Signs the conversation is going off track

Reset phrase: "Let's take a step back — what would Ellie say about this? What would Donnie say? Both of them have a point."

🌱 The long game

What you're actually teaching

Beyond taxes and politics, this book — and the way you discuss it — teaches children something far more valuable: how to hold a position while genuinely respecting someone who holds the opposite one. That skill will serve them in every argument, relationship, and civic decision for the rest of their lives.