Riding Through Diversity

Essential Question

What makes all of us so different?
What are the pros and cons of living in a diverse society?
How can we find things in common with those of different diversities?

Texts

Visual

Two Friends

This photograph depicts two children playing. One child has multiple disabilities and the other child does not.

Realistic Reflections

Grade Level

K-2

Topic

Race & Ethnicity Ability

July 2, 2014

Literature

Raspberries! An American Tale of Cooperation

With only one wing, the little bird cannot fly to the raspberry patch with her brothers. As luck would have it, she meets a little dog, a chipmunk, and a frog who work together to get them all across the street to the raspberry patch.

Mary Newell DePalma

Grade Level

K-2

Topic

Ability

July 2, 2014

Literature

Eat, My Fine Coat!

Which are you more likely to notice: a person’s character or his or her clothing? Hoca has a witty response when the latter is true at a dinner he attends after a day of hard work.

Barbara Walker

Grade Level

K-2 3-5

Topic

Class

July 3, 2014

Informational

Peace Begins With You

Katherine Scholes begins this informative piece by describing the multi-facted nature of the word "peace" and what it can mean to different people at different times. Then she provides concrete ways that each of us can be a peacemaker.

Katherine Scholes

Grade Level

K-2 3-5

Subject

Civics

History

Economics

Geography

Topic

Bullying & Bias

July 3, 2014

Teaching Strategies

Exploring Texts Through Read Alouds

Anchor Charts

An anchor chart is an artifact of classroom learning. Like an anchor, it holds students' and teachers' thoughts, ideas and processes in place. Anchor charts can be displayed as reminders of prior learning and built upon over multiple lessons.

Grade Level

K-2

CCSS

R.K-2.4, L.K-2.4, L.K-2.5

July 13, 2014

Exploring Texts Through Read Alouds

Creating Questions to Engage Critically with Texts

This strategy provides tools to create questions that help students engage critically with Perspectives central texts and examine them for issues of power and social inequity. The activities suggested here also encourage readers to bring their knowledge and experiences to the reading of a text.

Grade Level

K-2

CCSS

RL.K-2.1, RL.K-2.2, RL.K-2.3, RL.K-2.6, RI.K-2.1, RI.K-2.2, RI.K-2.3, RI.K-2.6

July 16, 2014

Exploring Texts Through Read Alouds

Student Journals

Student journals are a collection of students’ written and illustrated predictions, reactions, understandings and questions based on Perspectives central text read alouds.

Grade Level

K-2

CCSS

RL.K-2.1, RL.K-2.2, RL.K-2.3, RL.K-2.6, RL.K-2.7, RI.K-2.1, RI.K-2.2, RI.K-2.3, RI.K-2.6, RI.K-2.7, W.K-2.2

July 13, 2014

Exploring Texts Through Read Alouds

Who's Telling It?

Students explore the same Perspectives central text from various viewpoints and identify author, speaker point-of-view, publication date, intended audience and characters.

Grade Level

K-2

CCSS

RL.K-2.1, RL.K-2.3, RL.K-2.6, RL.K-2.7, RI.K-2.1, RI.K-2.3, RI.K-2.7

July 13, 2014

Student Tasks

Do Something

Buddy Share

Students choose a mode of expression—e.g., writing, art or storytelling—to share theme-related ideas and feelings with a “buddy” from outside the classroom.

Grade Level

K-2

July 13, 2014

Do Something

Community Spotlight Cards

Students create “trading cards” spotlighting diverse community members who work toward social justice goals that connect to themes from the central text.

Grade Level

K-2

July 13, 2014

Do Something

Identity Self-Portraits

Students create visual self-portraits that contain symbols representing the student’s identity, beliefs, values or areas of interest related to diversity, anti-bias or social justice.

Grade Level

K-2

July 13, 2014

Plan Built By

bbrown01

Riding Through Diversity

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