In addition to nightly reading this week the kids will also be bringing home a picture book to read alongside you. As mentioned in last week's newsletter, these books each fit within our current inquiry into the concept of normalcy and the ways in we sometimes mistreat others for being different than us in some way (think middle school!). The books the kids are bringing home move beyond classroom and school examples of such mistreatment. Each of these books shares a story that shows how entire groups of people have had to fight for equal rights and opportunities. These include...
Ruby's Wish -- a girl in China who wants to go to University just as her brothers do
Granddaddy's Turn - a Black man who wants to exercise his right to vote
Emmanuel's Dream - a Ghanian man who wants to show that disability does not mean inability
Brave Girl - an immigrant girl who wants fair treatment and fair pay for female workers
Elizabeth Leads the Way - a woman who wants to secure the right to vote for women
The Case for Loving - an interracial couple who want the right to marry
Each child will bring home one of these books. During the week they are going to read the book with you, have a written conversation about ideas, feelings, etc, and then complete a chart similar to one we've been working on in class that identifies different aspects of what is going on in this story. When they bring these back next Monday they'll use the reading, conversation, and chart they completed at home to engage in literature club discussions with others in class who took the same book home before sharing out to the entire class.
This engagement - inviting perspectives from home - is a new one. I purchased these books a few months ago with a grant I received from Teaching Tolerance. I'm very excited to see how this evolves. Thanks so much for your part in making this a rich experience!
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