One of the first and most appropriate times to implement the core of this unit regarding diversity would be during the morning meeting. Since this is an ongoing activity that takes place everyday and due to the fact that takes place right after children arrive to school it will serve as a structured, teacher directed activity. It is during this time that the teacher gives an overall plan of what will take place during the day. The lessons are cumulative and build on the previous days activities. Each day the teacher repeats the previous day song and poems and build upon it by adding new activities to the centers or areas in the classroom following a two week cycle. These extensions at each of the centers are in the form of task cards that the children have to read and follow the directions. Each of the following lesson are divided in sections listing the objectives for the teacher directed activities, strategies to meet these objectives, resources needed, engaging activities, exploring activities, lesson extensions for specific centers, and lesson extensions exploring the topic for the different learning preference types.
Day 1-Hello to all the children of the World
Learning Objectives:
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Children will learn to say hello in five different languages.
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Children will learn to sing a song.
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Children will make comparisons and list four ways in which children around the World are the same.
Strategies:
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Guided reading, singing, whole class instruction, pair-share.
Resources:
Tape recorder, chart, cassette tape (Nipp, 1994)
Engaging Activities
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1. Since this is the first time the class gets together at group time, the teacher gives directions to form a circle by holding hands. Then asks them to greet the child to either side in any known way. The teacher continues by asking the children to share some of the ways we have of saying hello. She writes those responses on chart paper.
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2. The teacher writes as he/she speaks the objective of the lesson. The teacher shows the children the chart with the lyrics to the song and asks the children to listen to the song as she points to the words.
Exploring Activities
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1. Read ‘Hello to all the children of the World’
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2. Have the children turn to the person to their right, and greet them using any of the words in the song or some other way they know how.
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3. Is it always easy to say hello? Why or why not? Have the children talk to the person to their right. After a minute or so have them share with the rest of the group some of their impressions as you write them on the chart paper.
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What are some of the ways that they know of greeting people. How does their mother greet them? Do all the people greet each other the same? Why or Why not?
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4. Bring attention to the phrase “we’re children just the same”. What does that mean? How are we all the same? Have the children list as many similarities as they can think of. Write all the responses on the chart paper.
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5. Have the children listen to the song once again and have them join in the chorus.
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6. Read the chart and have the pairs share with their partner at least two other ways in which they are the same to all the children in the World.
Lesson Extensions. (Task cards for centers)
Literacy Development:
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Writing. Make a listing of all the different games and songs that you would share with the children in the song. Select one and describe in detail through writing the rules on how to play such game. If it is a song, find all the words to it and copy it.
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Journals. In their journals children either write or draw pictures of the people who would use greetings other than the ones they use. How are they different? Same?
Library. Read one of the following books:
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Black White, just right
(Davol, 1993). After, write four or five sentences describing your parents and yourself.
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Everyone Cooks Rice
(Dooley, 1991). Look at two of the recipes to make rice. Write the name of the recipes and make two lists. I one write the items that both have in common and the other the ones that are different.
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How my family lives in America
(Kuklin, 1992). Write which of the families in this story is closest to the one you live in. Describe your family. Write how that family is the same and in which ways is different to yours.
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Houses and Homes
(Mountfield, 1988). Read the book and then draw a picture of your home. Write labels for each of the parts. In another piece of paper list each of the parts of your home and write a fact about that area of the home which you learned from reading the book. Now draw a typical house from one of the countries which is part of the song “Hello to all the children of the World” and do the same. Are all the houses around the World the same? Do they serve the same purpose?
Physical Development:
Read the basic rules to play the hopscotch game from
Hopscotch around the World
(Lankford, 1992 p. 6-7). Then, continue by reading the directions to play the Texan version on page 44 or find another version from one of the countries where they speak another language other than English. With the use of some chalk, draw the pattern on the playground and teach someone to play it.
Creative Development:
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Art.
Make a picture of yourself using a mirror. Write down in a piece of paper how you went about drawing the picture. Before you color it, describe what you look like.
Cognitive Development:
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Geography
. Locate the continent of North America. Color the map. Label it. Write the name of at least three ethnic groups that live in the US.
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Math.
Count the number of letters in each of the greetings and make a table (i.e. hello = 5). Then, graph the number of letters. Do the same with the names of the countries where those greetings are used (i.e. United States = 12).
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Science.
Exploring with color. Given the primary colors, plus black and white, the children are asked to come up with a combination of the colors that is the closest possible to their skin color. What colors did they mix? Once they are finished, the children are asked to write in their journals how they came up with their skin color and some of their findings on color combination.
Extensions for learning preferences.
The following extensions can be used as individual task cards or homework extensions with the learning preference of each child in mind. They can be also used with the whole class.
The extroverted learner
Interview four people on the ways that they use to greet each other in their families. Think of two questions you want to ask, write them down, and bring them back to your groups for comments before you try them out.
The introverted learner
Go to the library and find a map of the United States. Look for information on how many people live in the US. Make a list of all the different ethnic groups that make up the United States. Writ next to them the language or languages they speak and the type of greeting they use.
The sensing learner
Act out the song. First read it using the big chart. Then sing it. Continue by acting the way you think that people from different ethnic groups would act when saying hello. Add a different couple of greetings. Next do it through gestures. Put it all together.
The intuitive learner
Make a listing of the different ways of greeting as they appear in the song. In the next column write the language it is in. Continue in another column by writing a country where it is used. Look for any pattern that you may see. How would you greet someone who is deaf in each of the countries? Would you greet the same way someone you know than someone you don’t know?
The thinking learner
Role play going to a country where everyone is the same and you are the only one who is different to everyone else. Think for a minute. How would the people around you act out? You need to write one sentence telling where you are, another stating how you are alike to everyone else, another one saying how you are completely different. Then you need to write five sentences using one of your five senses to describe the people around you ((i.e. they smell like . . . , when you first look at them you see . . . , etc.)
The feeling learner
Work with three other children. Imagine that you are feeling very happy and you find one of your friends. How would you greet them? Now imagine that you are sleepy. How would you greet someone that you don’t know? or someone that you don’t like? Someone that is different than you are? Write down your responses and compare them with the members in your group.
The judging learner
If you could meet each of the children that the song talks about, and you knew how to speak that language, what would you say to each of them? Write down what each of those children would tell you. You have fifteen minutes and than I’ll ask you to read it to me.
The perceiving learner
Draw each of the greetings that the children use in the song. Draw the first thing it comes to your mind when you see, or hear that greeting. Would each of the drawings have the same colors. Why would they be the same or different? Write down under each of the pictures. Show them to two children in the class and let them know what it is before you go on to the next greeting.
Day 2-We are America’s Children
Learning Objectives:
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We all have the need to communicate with others.
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Children will learn to say hello in five languages.
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Children will be able to differentiate between a globe and a map.
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Children will locate and name in a map at least three of the countries where they use the greetings in the song (United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada).
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Children will list four items that all children around the World need.
Strategies:
Guided reading, singing. whole class instruction, pair-share
Resources:
Tape recorder, chart, cassette tape (Nipp, 1994), globe, World map
Engaging Activities
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1. Children sitting in a circle review the previous day song by reading the song first and then singing along with the tape. Then they re-read the chart that they created. Does any body want something else?
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2. The teacher writes as he/she speaks the objective of the lesson for today.
Exploring Activities
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1. The teacher takes out a globe and asks the class if they know what it is. He/She writes their answers on a chart. Then, follows to explain how if we were to flatten it and opened it we would have a map of the World.
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2. The teacher would ask the children to read the lyrics to the song and would point both in the globe and the map the location of some of the countries that use those greetings. The teacher would make a listing on the chart writing the countries down, and the name of the language.
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3. Bring attention again to the phrase “we’re children just the same”. Have the children name three or four other ways in which all the children are the same.
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4. Introduce the song ‘We are America’s Children’ by letting the children know that we are all live in a country named America. The song was written by Ella Jenkins to celebrate the birthday of the signing of the independence. She felt that the children needed to play a more important role in the celebration, Point in the globe, then in the map where America is, differentiating between North and South America.
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5. Play the song and follow the lyrics along as the song is playing. Then read the song with the children.
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6. Stop first at the verse that says “listen to what children have to say”. What do you think Ella Jenkins mean by that? Write the responses on the chart paper.
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7. What are some of the things that you would say to grow-ups? Do you think that children around the World would say the same kind of things? Write them down and then read all the responses.
Day 3-Other Children by Helen Wing
Learning Objectives:
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We all live in a home.
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Children will memorize part of the poem.
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Children will identify the group of people that the poem refers to.
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Children will be able to locate in a map the regions.
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Children will make listing of the similarities and the differences in housing among the group of children.
Strategies:
Guided reading, whole class instruction, cooperative grouping
Resources:
One copy of the poem per child, chart.
Engaging Activities
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1. Children stand in a circle holding hands. They introduce the person next to them by their first name and list something good about that person. They both hold that hand up in the air. The child that was introduced, does the same with the person next to them, until the whole group has been introduced and everyone is holding their neighbors hands up in the air. At that point everyone in unison says “We are America’ s children, We are brothers and sisters”.
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2. Standing up sing ‘We are America’s Children’
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3. The teacher writes as he/she speaks the objective of the lesson for today.
Exploring Activities
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1. Read the poem ‘Other Children’ by Helen Wing to the class.
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2. Choral reading.
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3. Have each member of the group select one of the first four sets of verses. The first set of 4 verses is team member #1. Repeat until #4.
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4. Call all the #1s to one area of the room, #2 to other, . . . .
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In each of the new formed groups ask them to read the four verses. They draw a picture and discuss the following questions:
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Is housing important? Is it something that you must have? Why do you think the house is that way?
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5. Back to original groups. Class rereads the poem but this time all #1 stand up as they read the first four verses, #2 the next four, . . . The last three sets are read by everyone in the class.
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6. Using a round-robin structure, each member of the group shares their picture and something they learned in their “specialized” group. As a whole group their task is to answer the following question: What are some of the similarities and differences?
Reflection questions:
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Content/thinking: What vocabulary words did you learn? What are some of the places that children live in?
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Social: What social skill did you need to work in your “specialized” group?
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Personal: How did you feel when you had to move and work with a different group?
Appreciation: The best thing of the activity was . . .
Culminating and ongoing activities on diversity
Learning Objectives:
Through the participation on the following culminating activities the children will be able to experience and celebrate, through personal contact, the cultural values of other children, families, and members of the community. Children will make comparisons on how they are alike and different to other families and to the values and characteristics that represent them. They will discover how each family member plays a different role, and how they are alike and different in their composition and roles to their own.
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1. Having a different parent come to the classroom weekly throughout the year to celebrate “diversity day” by sharing family stories, favorite games as a child, etc.
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2. Have a fiesta type of celebration where everyone brings a dish using the same ingredient. (A good culminating activity for the book
Everybody Cooks Rice
)
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3. Have a field day for adults to share games from childhood. It would be divided in categories such as: games you play alone, games in a group, hand games with rhymes,etc.
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4. Hopscotch Around the World Day. On this day the children would draw all the different boards, would mark them with a flag of that country, and play on them.
