Carol S. Heidecker
The approach of the next millennium offers humanity a renewed hope as a new era begins. What can humanity hope for in the twenty-first century? A world of peace? A world of unification? If this is our hope, we must address issues of division that are prevalent within our educational institutions. We must take responsibility to educate and build the character of our children so that they arrive at an appreciation for themselves and learn acceptance for those who are different. If given the opportunity, our nation's children can learn to appreciate their own differences and the differences of others through understanding the varied and marvelous heritage's that enrich our nation and make our country what it is today.
Goal
With this in mind, I have planned a unit that promotes New Haven's curriculum within a multicultural literature-based thematic unit, "Learning to Appreciate and Respect Differences Through Cultural Diversity in Literature: Teaching Acceptance." My goal is to establish a sense of pride in my students for their own cultures, and an appreciation for other cultures by introducing literature that shows the struggles and courageous efforts of people as they overcame adversity.
I hope to accomplish this goal through the study of books representing the following cultures: African American in
Sounder
, Japanese in
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
, Jewish in
The Hiding Place
, and Hispanic in
Poems Across the Pavement
.
General Objective
As a teacher of Reading at the sixth grade level, my general objective is to provide my students with a balanced literacy program. Such a program would include reading aloud, shared reading, guided reading, independent reading, interactive writing, shared writing, guided writing, independent writing and publication. Therefore, I intend to incorporate activities and strategies that support the above and my students' continued development as life-long readers.
Ongoing Objectives:
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-to understand that literature reflects and illuminates human experiences, motives, conflicts, and different value systems and philosophies
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-to engage critically and constructively in oral and written presentations that foster the exchange of information and develop personal growth
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-to produce a variety of writing
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-to become aware of different cultures by reading a variety of multi-ethnic literature
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-to appreciate the courage of people from other cultures
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-to have a sense of pride for ones own culture
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-to maintain a Reading Log of all books read during the year
Culminating Unit Activity
The students will publish a biography based on someone they learned about from this thematic unit. The students will be taken through the entire publishing process; from first draft through revising, editing, and illustrating.
Introduction to the Students
They will be given an agenda that presents a proposed timeline for the reading of each book. In addition, each student will fill in a multiple-choice Pretest that will also serve as a Posttest. (See Appendix A and Appendix B, Sample A)
