Children's Books Teach Diversity, Respect

Note

Before preparing or distributing any food in the classroom, make sure you are aware of children's allergies or dietary restrictions, and caution children about choking hazards.

Subjects

• Arts & Humanities:
  Literature
• Social Sciences:
  Civics, Sociology

Grades

3-5

Brief Description

In this lesson, students compare themes, characters, settings, and other aspects of two children's books that teach diversity and respect.

Objectives

Students will

• discuss terms such as values, hero, courage, bravery, respect, apathy, hostility, segregation, humiliation, intimidation, prejudice, taunt, and equality;
• recognize that there are universal values;
• recognize the importance of those values in our society;
• work in groups to complete a graphic organizer;
• build upon prior knowledge to create a final project.

Keywords

character, values, hero, courage, tolerance, prejudice, citizenship, respect, dictionary, team, cooperative, group, graphic organizer, Venn diagram

Materials Needed

• The Brand New Kid, by Katie Couric
• Teammates, by Peter Golenbock
• dictionary
• chalk, pencils
• copies of a Venn diagram (possible sources: Venn Diagram [Acrobat Reader required] or Venn Diagram Worksheet)

Lesson Plan

Before the lesson, read aloud to students The Brand New Kid and Teammates. (The library media specialist might have read those books to students in the weeks before doing the lesson.) Discuss keywords used in both books. Help students define those words in their own words or use a dictionary to look up definitions.

Begin the actual lesson by having students brainstorm vocabulary words reviewed in both books. Write those words on the board or a chart as students share them.

Divide students into small cooperative groups. Provide each group with a Venn diagram work sheet (see Materials Needed above for a link to possible forms). Ask students to use the form to compare and contrast the books. Allow students five to ten minutes to complete this activity.

Then call groups together. Provide time for groups to share what they talked about. Use student contributions to create a large Venn diagram on the board.

Follow up this lesson with critical-thinking activities that students can complete after the lesson:

• Write a short paragraph using the new vocabulary terms introduced in the lesson.
• Create an original fable to reflect any specific value covered in the lesson.
• Create a dictionary of keywords discussed; illustrate the definitions.
• Design a crest for the school, highlighting character education values.

Assessment

Students will participate in the brainstorming session, contribute in their groups to completing the assigned Venn diagram, and provide information to the class Venn diagram. Teachers can use an assessment rubric for evaluating group work.

Submitted By

Joanne E. Hughes, Covert Avenue Elementary School, Elmont, New York

Teachers have permission to copy this page for use in their classrooms.

To help us keep our Lesson Plan Database as current as possible, please e-mail us to report any links that are not working.