We are in a period where it is critical that we expose our students to people who may look and live differently than themselves. I found that the best way to do this is through literature. I think that the basal has a place in the curriculum and that would be as a supplement (smile).
Why not use a good picture book that can cover character education and diversity along with the reading strategies you teach?
I was so excited to find the picture book Mommy’s Khimar written by Jamilah
Thompkins-Bigelow and illustrated by Ebony Glenn! It’s about a young
Muslim girl who loves her mother’s khimar. She’s full of imagination! We have
discussed the character traits Creativity and Appreciation of Beauty with this
book.
 |
| Students walked around the grounds to write or draw what they thought was beautiful. |
We also learned about Ibtihaj Muhammad who was the first woman to compete in the Olympics wearing a hijab. Many of my students had never heard of the sport fencing and thought it was extremely fascinating. We read a biography about Ibithaj and the students wrote four facts in their reading journal about her. They were able to put the little reader inside their personal libraries to read at a later date.
I think most kids at this age love to draw and color! They look forward to the directed drawing with each picture book we complete. I usually have them write what they thought the theme was in the story or a summary. It’s great practice for writing our response to literature pieces.
I taught possessive nouns previously, but we needed a refresher. We did a few activities where they had to identify the possessive noun and use an apostrophe to create a possessive. They also wrote sentences with possessive nouns.
I LOVE teaching from a diverse picture book! I can cover a variety of standards when I plan the lesson!
You can check out the full unit here!
Happy teaching and dive deeper with diverse books!
