Stephanie J. Sheehan
*Please refer to the Resources section for an annotated listing of literature relating to the themes presented within this unit.
Introduction
In order to introduce the year-long focus of understanding identity and provide a base from which to teach and later assess, the children will draw, write about, and introduce themselves verbally. Then they will describe what they think they know about certain groups of people. Please refer to Lesson Plan 1 for details.
Theme 1: Family and Me
Through multicultural literature, conversation, writing, and drawing, I will challenge the children to see differences and similarities among families of many sizes and cultures, and assign many speaking and writing exercises to help them make connections between their own lives and those of the characters in the stories.
I will start this section of my unit with a read aloud of a book about families. Please see Lesson Plan 2. Next, I will ask the students to make connections to a book that depicts a loving, African American family, called In My Momma's Kitchen. Then, students will have an opportunity to share their connections out loud and discuss similarities and differences among their own experiences.
I will then address the theme of unconditional parent/child love. I will read aloud two similar stories in which children from different cultures want to know how much their mothers love them. We will talk about why someone might keep asking his mother if she would still love him. The children will respond to the stories by drawing themselves doing or being something unbearable and asking the parents if they still love them. The students will label their picture and write a short sentence about it. We will discuss how the families look and act differently and the similarities of their feelings.
The next theme will be fatherly love. I will begin by reading poems and ask the children to comment on them and share stories about their own fathers. The children will write about their fathers with drawings and sentences, using sentence starters as necessary. Then, I will read stories that show several different family situations including a single-father, a step-family, and stories about divorce. I will spend two days on each book, first asking the children to think about how their family is different. After listening, they will compare their own families in writing, by finishing the sentence, "My family is different because…" I will expect the children to write about any differences they feel are significant, from the skin color of the characters to the family dynamic presented in the book. Then, on the following day, I will reread the book, asking the children to think about ways they are the same and complete the activity accordingly.
Then, I will share stories about two families in which one parent has to work at night. I will use stories in which the working parents represent different genders, in order to allow the children evaluate whether this alters the feelings of the children in the stories. Students will respond by writing about a time they didn't want to wait to do something special with their moms, dads, or grandparents. They will be asked to volunteer to read their personal connections and explain their feelings. They will then discuss how they would feel if they were the children in the story. After getting the children's reactions, I will guide them in a discussion to compare and contrast the two families in the stories.
Next, I will delve into the topic of grandparent relationships. I will start by reading a poem and then do a shared writing activity in which we create a list of statements that are true about grandparents. We will then discuss our list and discover differences among grandparents. I will then read a book about visiting grandparents. The children will draw and then write a short memoir about visiting their grandparents, from one to three sentences, depending on their individual abilities. We will share these in class and talk about how the children's experiences are similar or different from one another's.
Next, I will explore sibling relationships by reading several books about siblings. We will discuss new baby siblings and sibling rivalry. I will ask the children to write about ways their families are similar or different from the characters we read about and then share stories about how their parents show that they are proud of them and love them. Finally, I will read a book about a Biracial family with two children and ask the children to compare and contrast their own family to the one in the book. We will brainstorm ideas together before the children write, and I will make sure to bring up ideas about the activities the family takes part in during the book as well as the racial dynamic presented. We will discuss whether race and gender influence the way siblings and families interact and feel toward each other.
Assessment
I will ask the children to draw a picture of the family that we read about that is most like their own and write a sentence explaining why. Then, they will have to draw and write a sentence explaining why one of the families is very different from their own. The books will be displayed in the room so that the children will be able to refer to them if necessary. We will do a final shared writing activity in which we list different types of families. After this activity is completed, I will ask the children which family is best. Hopefully the children's responses will reflect the idea that all families are different and good in their own ways, as long as the family members love each other.
Theme 2: Community and Traditions
Community
Students will recognize that they are part of a school community and a neighborhood community. They will write observations about their own community and compare it to various others. By the second quarter of the year, the students will be expected to write at least one complete sentence, by looking at the question on the board to find the words they need to start their sentences.
To start the unit, I will read aloud two books about neighborhood friends and ask the children to write connections to the stories. After they've shared their writing, I'll ask the students to identify where the stories take place. We will compare the settings of the stories with the school and the children's home neighborhoods. I will ask the class to consider what the buildings, sidewalks, and the children's homes look like. I will ask them to consider the kinds of people that live in the neighborhoods in the books. After this, I will ask the children to draw a picture of their home neighborhood and label the parts. They will then present their drawings to the class, telling how they are similar to or different from the setting of one of the books. On the following day, the children will have to write a short memoir about why they like or dislike their neighborhood. Based on this writing, we will compile a list of positive and negative neighborhood qualities.
After analyzing their own neighborhoods, the children will continue to examine and compare other neighborhoods and communities. I will read several books with different kinds of settings, including rural and urban locations in the US and other countries. Before reading each book, students will look at a world map to identify their own location and that of the story. I will ask the children to consider the types of houses, the stores, and the way the people look and dress. I will ask them how the family and neighborhood relationships are similar to or different from what we're used to and we will elaborate on ways the communities are different from our own, through shared writing. The students will then make connections to the content of the stories, and the feelings and motivations of the characters. Finally, they will draw pictures of one of the places we read about and write a story using that setting. As a shared writing activity, they will list the things they like about the various types of communities we read about.
Assessment
In order to assess their understanding of different communities and the people in them, I will ask the students to write and draw the community that they feel was most different from their own. I will then ask them to make a connection to someone who lives in the community they drew to see if they understood that people can be different in many ways, and may still have feelings or experiences that are common.
Traditions
The students will learn about celebrations of various religious and cultural traditions. I will read aloud and discuss stories that describe various traditions of families celebrating Hannukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, and Chinese New Year. The children will make connections to preparing for a celebration in some way. After this, we will compare and contrast the holidays. The students will then make comparisons between the holiday celebrations and traditions in their own lives. They will write and illustrate detailed memoirs about their favorite family traditions. I will help them to elaborate and revise the stories and I will create a book of family traditions. The children will practice reading their stories to the class, and we will prepare for an Authors' Tea Party. Several children will share their memoirs with the class each day until all the stories have been read and discussed. In addition to rehearsing, the children will work together to prepare invitations, a refreshment wish-list, and decorations for our party. Then, they will read the stories in front of the class and an eager parent audience. Holiday-related projects will be completed in art class throughout this subsection of the unit. See Resources for ideas.
Assessment
After listening to the children's stories, we will compare and contrast the traditions. The children will have the opportunity to make observations about them in connection with what they learned in class. I will assess the students' knowledge of the various holiday traditions as well as their ability to understand that celebrating with family is a common interest, even among people who have differing beliefs and traditions. I may also prepare a short matching quiz to assess content knowledge of the holidays studied.
Theme 3: Celebrating African American History
The students will learn about African American heroes of past and present. Comparisons will be made between people with similar accomplishments and a difference of race, gender, or economic status. The many factors that influenced them will be acknowledged and analyzed, including race, religion, family background, hardship, economic status, political factors, and motivation. Students' writing should be 2-4 sentences at this time.
We will begin the section on Black History by preparing a song and a poem for the school-wide Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Brotherhood Assembly. Since the festivities are in honor of Dr. King, I will begin by reading a book about him to the class, and discussing the reason for celebrating the holiday. I will discuss civil rights very briefly for now, and concentrate on the message of treating all people like family, regardless of what they look like. I will utilize shared reading to teach the children a Civil Rights/brotherhood-related poem and a song that they will perfect in music class. I will ask the children to try to explain the meaning of these works. After we brainstorm and discuss them at length, I will ask the children to illustrate and write a connection to each, and we will discuss how the children's stories relate to the messages in the poem and song. The class will practice reciting the poem emphatically on a daily basis until it and the song are ready to perform. In order to assess their learning so far, I will ask a few children each day to explain why we will be performing these particular works.
After preparing for the Brotherhood Assembly, I feel it is important to spend some time teaching the children about slavery before giving a more detailed background on the Civil Rights Era. I will take some time to show Africa on the map of the world and explain how slaves were taken to America. In addition to explaining a little bit about slavery, I will use several picture books to teach the children about the Underground Railroad, the significance of quilts and coded songs, and the courage of the slaves. In art class, they will design their own quilts, and create their own meaning for their designs. When the quilts are completed, each student will present his or her quilt with an explanation of what the designs mean. To make this subject come alive for the students even more, I will teach them several traditional African American songs, using books that you will find listed in the Resource section. We will practice the songs, and when the songs are well prepared, we will invite other classes to a sing-along. I will ask for volunteers to explain to the other children that slaves used songs to keep their spirits up, but also to alert others to their plans to escape without the slave masters becoming aware.
We will move on to a discussion of the Civil War and the abolition, or ending, of slavery. I will explain that life remained very hard for former slaves because they still did not have much money or opportunity, and most White people did not treat them respectfully. I will demonstrate that changes happened slowly after slavery ended through the use of several picture books that show individual Black people making strides toward freedom and fair treatment. Next, we will discuss school segregation and Ruby Bridges. The students will write connections to her experience, using their imagination to write how they would have felt if they had been in her place. I will delve deeper into the Civil Rights Movement by reading biographies about Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X. The children will discuss and write about each person they learn about. As a follow up, I will invite older relatives of the students to come and speak to the class about their experiences during the Civil Rights Movement.
At this point, we will study Langston Hughes, reading his poems and a biography. We will read many poems about freedom, education, family and personal feelings. After reading African American poetry extensively through independent and shared reading, and read alouds, the children will be ready to write and perform self-inspired poetry.
We will then study the accomplishments of many African American heroes. I will begin by reading about Wilma Rudolf and Jesse Owens and discussing the obstacles they overcame. The children will have to compare the two runners and the many similarities between their life histories. After the children have written individually about these two athletes, we will compile a list of similarities and differences as a class shared writing activity. At this point, I will read about Bessie Coleman and Amelia Earhart. The students will have to compare their lives and achievements, taking into consideration their work history, family history, and family resources. Throughout the remainder of the semester, I will continue teaching about important Black heroes, including inventors, musicians, and athletes.
Additionally, small groups will meet with the Library Media Specialist weekly to conduct research and create a PowerPoint presentation on an African American hero of their choice. The group will be responsible for presenting the information to the class. It will be up to the group members to decide on the best way to show what they have learned, whether by speaking, using illustrations, presenting a skit, or some other method.
Assessment
After the children have studied and compared themselves to many Black American heroes, they will be asked to write about the people they feel they are most similar to and explain why. For additional content assessment, I may prepare a short matching quiz. As a culminating activity for this section, the students will perform in a classroom talent show to show off the skills that connect them to their favorite Black heroes.
Theme 4: Celebrating diversity and personal history
I will encourage the children to see commonalities between seemingly different people and to appreciate differences, specifically by designing lessons utilizing literature with universal themes, representing a variety of ethnicities. The students will observe the characters' situations and feelings, and continue to make personal connections as well as connections between characters and stories. Some of the themes that will be addressed are physical abilities, visiting relatives, being honest, wanting something one can't have, and pride. The students' writing skills will be developing, and they will be expected to use characters' names and details from both stories when making connections.
I will begin this unit with a shared reading activity with a book about children from different cultures becoming friends. For the following four or five days, I will pair the children for partner work. On the first day, I will give the children five or six interview questions, such as "What kind of house do you live in?", "What do you like to do?", and "Who are your family members?" They will record their partners' responses in complete sentences and then work together to create interesting presentations of their partner's responses. Finally, they will compile a list of similarities and differences between them. The children will use art supplies, create a song, or use a combination of ideas to present their work to the class. They will be graded on their presentation creativity as well as their speaking skills, written responses, and cooperation.
Next, I will read aloud two books about hair, a theme most children easily relate to. Even boys with short hair are likely to have a story about a haircut or a family member. In order to get great connection stories, I will share a personal hair story and then ask the children to volunteer theirs. After the discussion, the students will write a connection between the two stories, telling how they are similar. This will be followed on the next day by written memoirs about their hair.
Next, we will read These Hands and Hands! as shared reading activities. The children will then write, and later revise, sentences about what they are able to do with their hands. After writing, they will trace their hands, cut out the handprints, and color them with multicultural crayons. The prints will be glued to white paper along with revised sentences. We will display these around the room and take notice of the common activities for which the children use their hands. This will be followed by discussion about the many things that people of all colors do with their hands. This will provide a perfect opportunity to emphasize the point that people who have significant differences often have a lot of common ideas and abilities.
The next activity will be a read aloud and discussion of The Gift, because it illustrates that everyone, regardless of race or appearance, has his or her own special talent. After discussing this book, the children will write personal "success stories." The stories should explain what steps they took in order to discover or acquire their skill and end with examples of their talents or successes. After the stories are written, I will edit them and help the students to elaborate by writing sentence starters where details should be added. After conferring with me, the students will revise their stories and illustrate them for publishing. They will practice reading the stories and make invitations for their parents to come listen to their stories at a publishing party.
The students will continue writing connections and/or personal memoirs relating to the stories I've chosen that reflect a variety of identity differences, including gender, race, health, and ability, which have nearly universal themes. In each case, I will ask the children to imagine the same story happening to someone of a different race, gender, etc. and discuss how the experience would be different or similar. Once again, through the teacher's guided discussion, the class will see that people have some of the same kinds of experiences no matter what they look like. I will include extensive discussion of the ideas that it is important not to prejudge someone and that obstacles can be overcome. Students will write fiction or non-fiction stories that tell about accomplishing something that other people said couldn't be done. I will then ask the students to write about how they think they would feel and act if they had to go to school with a disease or disability and how they think classmates would treat them. They will then write a story about how they would make a seemingly different classmate feel at home.
I will end this section of the unit by reading stories that directly praise diversity and asking the children to explain the main idea of each story. We will conclude this section of the unit by making a class collage of self-portraits and photos and using shared writing to create a poem about our own diversity.
Assessment
I will ask the children to draw three pictures of people who they feel are different from each other in important ways. After the drawings are complete, I will ask the children to present their pictures and explain how the people are different and then to comment on something they might have in common. We will then make a mural with all the pictures.
Culminating Activities
Students will create a final project in the form of a personal scrapbook and written autobiography. Finally, the introductory lesson will be repeated. See Lesson Plan 3.
Addressing Multiple Intelligences
I feel confident that my unit addresses the needs of people who exhibit most of the nine intelligences Howard Gardner has identified. The responses to literature include drawing, verbal and written response, which will allow Verbal-Linguistic learners to excel, along with the Visual-Spatial learners. The majority of the lessons I've planned include comparing and contrasting, which will allow Logical-Mathematical thinkers to thrive. The self-reflection and discussion aspects of most of my lessons will appeal to the Interpersonal and Intrapersonal as well as the Existential learners. The various performance activities, including reading published writing, reciting poetry, singing songs, and participating in a talent show will appeal to Musical and Kinesthetic learners. Finally, I believe the entire Celebrating Diversity theme may especially appeal to Existential learners. (C. Hancock)
____