“My name was Hussein” by Hristo Kyuchukov tells a story about a boy who has to change his name because of a war that is going on in his country, Bulgaria. Hussein and the rest of his family are getting ready for Ramadan, a very important holiday for Muslims. Hussein loves to visit his grandparents on holidays. But one day, during the preparation for Ramadan, something happened. An army came, equip with tanks and cannons, to take over the land. Everyone in the country, including Hussein, could not visit their family. They were not allowed to go outside at night and they were not allowed to speak their native language anymore. They also had to change their names. Hussein did not want to change his name; his name means handsome. He was very saddened by the fact that he had to change his name.

This story touched me in many ways because Hussein’s family, his culture, and his village are being taken away from him. The title is what really caught my attention. The word “was” stuck out to me. I wanted to know what story was behind the word “was.” This story includes a large amount of Bulgarian and Indian culture and traditions that can be very useful in the classroom.

This book can be used in many ways in the classroom. For literacy, I would have the students write a journal entry explaining how they would feel if they were forced to change their name, if they could not see their grandparents, or speak their first language.
This is a great book to introduce the many traditions of Indian culture. For art, I would have my girls draw the outline of their hands on big white paper and have them paint it a pattern, to represent the henna art. For my boys, I would have them draw, paint, and color a pair of pants, a shirt, and a pair of shoes, to represent the clothes that they would wear for the Ramadan holiday. There will be plenty of discussions about this book in the classroom. We could discuss the things about the army, the officers, etc.

This book covers three levels of social justice education. Self love and acceptance are shown because Hussein, clearly, loves himself and doesn’t want to change his name. The story demonstrates how people do not respect each other. However, this story tells us what really happens in those countries. This story is giving us a little boy’s perspective of the whole ordeal. Racism and classism are explored in this story because the army is attacking this particular village and these particular people. Unfortunately, the last two levels of sje are not included in this story. I wish they were there is so much that can be done about this social issue.

Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez

Harvesting Hope
The Story of Cesar Chavez
Author: Kathleen Krull, Illustrator: Yuyi Morales

Summary:

Harvesting Hope is a short biography of Cesar Chavez, a civil rights leader who founded the National Farm Workers Association. Before the creation of this organization, workers were not protected against harsh working conditions.
The book begins by describing Cesar’s childhood, which were filled with happy memories, until a drought in 1937 caused his family to lose their eighty acre ranch. This caused his family to become migrant workers, where they worked long hours in harsh conditions only to earn thirty cents a day (total of the whole family’s wages!). Cesar also went to an “English only” school, where he was ridiculed by his teacher for speaking Spanish. He dropped out after the eighth grade and continued to do farmwork. Later, he was inspired by outsiders to fight for change. He talked to various workers and persuaded them to join his fight. As word spread, more and more people joined in his protest through non-violent means. Eventually, the owners of the farms that many migrant workers worked on gave in and signed contracts with Chavez, which paved the way for fair treatment of all farmworkers.

Reflection:

I was first drawn to this book by its title: Harvesting Hope. The title fits with the story in the sense that Cesar was the one who began planting the seeds of change and through his efforts instilled/”harvested” hope in the farmworkers for better working conditions. Additionally, I have never really heard much about Cesar Chavez, and in the “author’s note” at the end of the book, there may be a clue as to why that is. According to the author, Chavez “was-and is-controvesial. Especially among those resistant to change, he had many enemies and received constant death threats. Even today, some argue about him and his goals, and others have forgotten him or have never heard of him.” Thus, through reading this book, I was able to find out more about him and it also made me wonder whether or not there were other important civil rights leaders whose names may have been ignored or forgotten over time.

Lesson Plan Ideas:
The following site is a teacher’s guide that contains several lesson plan ideas:
http://www.yuyimorales.com/guide.pdf

SJE Domains:
This book covers SJE domains #3 and #4. It explores issues of social justice in terms of workers’ rights and how Cesar Chavez struggled for social change through different forms of protest.

Curricular Units:
This book can be used in a civil rights movements unit study/curriculum or even to explore different forms of oppression in addition to the more well-known ones (i.e. racism, classism, etc.).

Links:
-barnes & nobles

-amazon

-Illustrator's webguide to book

-Harvesting Hope Lesson Plan

The Three Questions

Title: “The Three Questions”,
Written and illustrated by Jon J Muth,,

Description:
“The Three Questions” is a book about a boy, Nikoli who has three questions and cannot rest until he finds their answers. His questions are: When is the best time to do things? Who is the most important one? What is the right thing to do? He asks his friends the dog, heron, and monkey who tell him different things, all of which are selfish answers. Still unsatisfied, Nikoli goes for a long walk and stumbles across his friend the old turtle digging his garden, so he began to help him. He asked the turtle the three questions and then a storm comes. Nikoli heard a cry for help and ran into the woods. There he finds a mother panda bear trapped under a tree. Nikoli rescues her and her baby. After the mother and baby bears are safe, Nikoli is still looking for answers. Finally, the turtle makes Nikoli realize that “there is only one important time, and that time is now. The most important one is always the one who you are with, and the most important thing to do is good for the one who is by your side.”

Reflection: The best part of this book is the illustrations, they are watercolor and enchanting. The storyline is meaningful and exciting for students to hear. Nikoli’s questions are questions that many people ask themselves at some point in their lives and to hear the answers that he finds is inspiring.

Lessons:
This book can facilitate discussions on how to be good citizens. It shows the importance of doing good for others.
Nikoli has many character traits that are evident in the story which makes this book wonderful for a characterization lesson. Students can not only list Nikoli’s character traits, but they can find evidence of it in the story.
It would be a good idea to have the students write a paragraph to ask their own three questions and try to answer them.
Questioning what’s going on in the world is one of the most important lessons we can learn, and this book can facilitate discussions about why its important to ask questions like Nikoli did.
This story is based on a story by Leo Tolstoy, so it would be a good idea to do a study of Leo Tolstoy with a group of fifth and sixth graders. Because Tolstoy wrote “The Three Tales” you could read it, and compare it to the “Three Questions” and then have the students write their own “Three Tales” story.

Heres a link about Leo Tolstoy: http://www.ltolstoy.com/etext/index.html

Levels of Social Justice:
This story addresses the fifth level of social justice education. Students are able to see Nikoli doing good for others, even though he didn’t know them. Through this book discussions can be raised about how to do good for the people in their town, school or anywhere. Nikoli sets an example of being a good citizen, which is one of the first steps to taking action for social change. After all, the last line of the story is “For these my dear boy, are the answers to what is most important in this world. This is why we are here.” This book is motivating and inspiring.

Alia's Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq

Alia’s Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq
By Mark Alan Stamaty
This book is based on a true story of Alia Muhammad Baker, the chief librarian of the Central Library. Alia loves her job and knows how important libraries are to society. Suddenly, war breaks out in Iraq. She begins to fear for the safety of the books when she sees that artillery has been placed on the roof of the library. At first she pleads with the government to help preserve the books but her requests are denied. So she starts to slowly remove the books from the library by hiding them in her purse and then stores them in her home. The war soon escalates and she decides to she needs others help her in the mission of saving the books and thus preserving the city’s great history and culture. Soon many people are inspired by her heroism and decide to aid her in the mission. Then one night the library is destroyed. Alia is incredibly distressed and faints. When she recovers she is delighted to know that she helped save over 30,000 books! She now is in charge of overseeing the plans of building a new and better library.
I was first drawn to this book because of the illustrations. The book is laid out like a comic book with different panels and speech bubbles. I also enjoyed the fact that the book focused on a female heroine who was Muslim, something that is rarely seen in books. I also enjoyed the way that the book showed Iraq as a modern country. Often people envision Iraq as a barren desert. This book however shows the city of Basra complete with stores, restaurants, cars, apartments, and libraries.
The book’s overarching theme that any person can be a hero is a great way to empower students. The book also offers some resources to contact if one wanted to get involved with helping preserve libraries around the world.
The book is also great for discussing the current war in Iraq. The website:
http://www.teachablemoment.org/elementary/iraqstudyguides.html
offers ways to use the book in order to illicit discussions of the war in an elementary classroom.
The book fits into several stages of social justice. It explores the issues of war and war’s effects.(stage 3) It can be used to empower students with the message that everyone can make a difference and that heroes can be ordinary people. (stage 4) The book also gives resources for ways students can get involved with helping to preserve libraries.(stage 5)

Yertle the Turtle

Title: Yertle the Turtle
Author: Dr. Seuss

This Seuss story is about a turtle named Yertle that is the king of the pond and all that he can see. One day, he decided to have a few of the turtles in the pond climb on each others' backs so can can stand on the top of the pile and have a better view of much more land, therefore ruling over more territory. He gets greedier and greedier, forcing more and more turtles to stack up, despite the poor turtles' tired and aching backs. He seems unstoppable, until the small turtle on the bottom burps, causing all of the turtles to fall, and finally landing Yertle in the mud, powerless. This is when all of the turtles finally become equal and are no longer oppressed by the former king Yertle.

I was originally drawn to this book because I have always been a fan of Dr. Seuss. I enjoy his ability to capture the readers' interest with rhythmic word patterns, cartoon-esque illustrations, and amusing story plots. It was not until college however that I truly realized the depth of his books. Geisel (Dr. Seuss) includes valuable lessons and morals that relate to real-life, world events in many of his stories, such as Yertle the Turtle. This story in particular offers a critical look at dictatorship and the greed associated with the power struggle. The website http://www.cnn.com/books/news/9910/17/dr.seuss.war/index.html would be a valuable resource if a teacher decided to conduct an in-depth author study that not only included research on his past, but an analysis of his stories and underlying messages. This would be a useful skill in getting students to think about critically analyzing stories and books that they read to find the deeper meaning and a possibly hidden message that they are absorbing. includes information on Seuss's (Theodor Geisel's) history as a political cartoonist,and his intention with the book.

Another focus of the story could be a study of dictatorships of the past and present. One website, http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/tlc-ancientrome/includes a lesson plan entitled "Dictator for a Day." It discusses the dictator of ancient Rome, Julius Caesar, and provides various discussion questions for the students to explore the concept of dictatorship. It also provides an activity in which a student would be appointed the classroom dictator, and would be allowed to make all of the rules and decisions for the class for the entire day. This could be done either before or after reading Yertle the Turtle allowing for personal reflection and connection to the themes within the story.

Another website I found that could be helpful for all various grade-levels was a website dedicated to exploring Dr. Seuss themes and activities. http://www.vickiblackwell.com/seuss.html provides lesson plan ideas as well as printable versions of worksheets and activities for use in the classroom. It also provides many links to other Seuss and children's literature lesson plans and themes.

There are many different ways that this book can be used within a classroom. It could be used in any grade level from K-High school, depending on the depth of which the teacher decides to analyze the story. It can be used as a social studies/history focal point by covering government, dictatorships, civil rights, power struggles, oppression, perspective, etcetera. It can be used within the language arts spectrum as an author study, word study with the use of rhyming and the rhythm he chooses to write in. Mathematics can be included by looking at the number of turtles stacked in relation to how far Yertle could see into the distance, etcetera. It could also be used within a classroom in which bullying is an issue so that students can relate it to dictatorships and reflect on the problematic behavior.

This book clearly fits into two of the stages of social justice education, and could easily be used to enhance the fifth stage as well. It explores issues of social justice by exploring the oppressive consequences of power and dictators. It also relates to the fourth stage of social movement and change because the students saw that the one small turtle on the bottom of the stack was able to lead to the dictator being overthrown, allowing freedom for all. If the class discovers an issue of power abuse in their community, such as something they notice with a bully or other school issue, they could potentially write letters or discuss the behavior to make a difference in the classroom. This book has the potential to springboard many different meaningful, integrated themes and lessons within many different age groups in classrooms. I recommend it to any teacher, especially Dr. Seuss fans!


To buy the book: http://www.amazon.com/Yertle-Turtle-Other-Stories-Seuss/dp/0394800877

Smoky Night

Book: Smoky Night by Eve Bunting, illustrated by David Diaz

Summary: A little boy watches the riots with his mother from their apartment. Later, their own building is on fire and as they are leaving, the boy realizes that his cat is not there. The neighbor Mrs. Kim, who is disliked by the community, is also missing her cat. The community gathers in a shelter to escape the fire and the riots on the streets. The story ends with the two cats being found together and teaching the humans a lesson about getting along.

Reflection: The first thing that attracted me to this book was the illustrations. They were so real and reflected exactly what the author is writing about. Also, I thought it was really interesting that this book is about the L.A. riots, but no where in the book does it mention that. I This book can be helpful when teaching children about tolerance and racial conflicts overall. It also shows that during a time of need, race/ethnicity shouldn't matter because the only way to survive as a community is to work together.

Activities:

• Students could do a writing activity where they talk about a time that they were scared and how they maybe tried to feel less scared.
  
• Students could also do a writing activity where they talk about a time they felt courageous and did something they were proud of
  
• Students could make an art collage in the style of the illustrator using daily objects
  

Curricular Units:

• A unit on riots in the U.S. Explore the similarities and differences between these riots. The causes.
  
• A unit on diversity overall
  

Social Justice Education:

Self-Love and Acceptance: Students learn about accepting themselves and recognizing they are different from other people.
Respect of Others: Students learn about accepting cultural differences and being tolerant
Exploring Issues of Social Justice: Students learn about racism
Social Movements and Social Change: The cats are used as a metaphor for social change and through that, the students learn about how in a troubled time, helping each other is the only solution.
Taking Social Action: Students explore how they can take action against racial prejudices and intolerant behavior.

Websites:

Where to buy the book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0152018840/timstore06-20

Candy Shop by Jan Wahl

Summary: Candy Shop is a children's book written by Jan Wahl and illustrated by Nicole Wong that addresses the isue of prejudice and racism in one's community. The book focuses on a young African American boy, Daniel, and his Aunt Thelma detailing a typical day spent together doing chores, getting haircuts, and ultimately rewarding themselves with a trip to the local candy store at the end of the day. The real content of the book only comes close to the end of the story when Daniel and his Aunt arrive at the candy shop. At first they notice a big crowd of people huddled around the store and the owner of the shop, Ms. Chu, is standing at the front crying. At first Daniel thinks people want the candy but quickly realizes that the people are gawking at a racial slur written on the sidewalk in front of Ms. Chu's shop. Daniel and Aunt Thelma enter the shop with Ms. Chu, who is apparently a friend of the two, and comfort her. Daniel tries to think of what a real cowboy would do in a situation like this one (throughout the story he hs been pretending to be a cowboy) and decides he should help clean the sidewalk clear of the hateful words. In the end Aunt Thelma invites Ms. Chu over for dinner and Ms. Chu gives Daniel some free candy for doing such a nice thing for her.

Feelings/Suggestions/Activities etc: I like this book for a variety fo reasons. One is because the main character is named Daniel, which i think is a great name, but also because it addresses heavy topics liek racism and prejudice in such a way that it is appropriate for younger children. Often i feel that adressing issues of social justice can seem difficult mainly because it is sometimes hard to find source material that is both age appropriate and legitamatly informative. This book is nice because it just grazes the issue calmly without introducing topics or concepts that would be difficult to explain. Perhaps the most tactful aspect of this book is that the racial slur that is written outside the shop is never specified or mentioned precisely. So, without introducing a hateful wod and then having to explain how one should never use that word the book addresses the topic broadly. One doesn't need to know slurs to understand their effects and this is one of the reasons why i think this book could work well to introduce the topics of racism and prejudice for students. I think that the best activity to do with students relating to Candy Shop would be to use it as a springboard to A: introduce the idea of racism in our communities and B: identify the damaging effects of prejudice, namecalling, etc. I would do a read aloud with my students using the book and then have a serious discussion with my students about what types of feelings the story brought up and how we can adress real life situations that are similar and may affect us.

SJE: This book addresses the topics of respect for others, exploring issues of social justice, and taking social action. I think the most important of these is the social action, since ultimately the young protagonist is the one who takes action and cleans up the sidewalk-which is both empowering to know that as a child you can make a difference.

In short: solid children's book with nice illustrations and the subtlty is not perhaps its strongest attribute.

Ish by Peter H Reynolds

Ish is about a boy named Ramon. Ramon loves to draw and it is what he does until his brother makes fun of one of his pictures. Drawing becomes such a struggle that Ramon gives it up. It is not until his sister reaffirms him that he is able to reconnect.

What I really liked about this book was the simplicity of the language and emotion. This enables children to connect and think on different levels. While the content is probably on level for a first or second grader I think this book could be used with any age. Last semester my CT used this book in our fifth grade class as part of community building/ conflict resolution. The structure of the book allowed the students to see how what we say can effect others. It also encourages ways to think positively.

Perspective is an issue that can easily be picked up from this book. Ramon's brother and sister both look at the same picture and see different things.

The most important thing I took from the book was encouragement to be creative. In addition, when you set your mind to something anything is possible; and perfection doesn't always matter. This ability to be creative and take risks in learning is integral to academic success.

Links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVlDtmb_s1g

This a clip of Reynolds talking about the work he does and his take on it.

http://www.fablevision.com/

This a site created by Reynolds with some resources for helping to encourage creativity in the classroom.

A Shelter in Our Car

A Shelter in Our Car

Story by Monica Gunning

Illustrations by Elaine Pedlar

A Shelter in Our Car is about a little girl, Zettie, and her mother's search for a better life in America. After her father died, Zettie and her mother left Jamaica to come to the United States. This book shows Zettie's mother struggle to find a job and obtain a better education in an American city. During her search, Zettie and her mother sleep in their car, search for food, wash up in public restrooms, and try to stay away from the police. Both characters show strength, love, courage, and determination despite the fact that they are without a home.

I was drawn to this book because of its colorful, unique illustrations. I also liked how the book showed the harsh realities of being homeless in America. Zettie and her mother are lovable characters that all readers can appreciate.

This book would be useful for all students to read and discuss in the classroom. In both my previous and current student teaching placements, students from NYC shelters have been a part of the class. I feel that this story would help these students understand that they are not alone in their struggle. The last page of the book tells its readers about homelessness in America and some reasons why people are homeless. This section of the book explains that all human beings have basic needs that need to be met and suggests ways individuals can help others meet their basic needs. The end of this book provides hope, information, and suggestions about how to be a part of the solution to homelessness.

A Shelter in Our Car addresses all five levels of social justice education. Self love and acceptance are shown by explaining both Jamaican and immigrant culture through the two main characters. Zettie and her mother show that they accept themselves and want to make the best possible lives for their family in America. The story demonstrates respect for others when the police officer helps Zettie. It also shows a time when respect for others was not present when Zettie's classmates make fun of her. Students could learn from the negative incidents that happen to Zettie when she is at school. Classism and homelessness are explored in A Shelter in Our Car, which addresses level three of social justice education. Zettie and her mother's story shows a struggle for social change. Both characters worked hard to overcome their hardships faced in America. Finally, the end of the story provides students/readers with information to learn about homelessness in America and ways to work for change. I think that students would learn a lot from this text and related discussions.

Children's Book Press provides an excellent teacher's guide containing detailed lesson plans, cross curricular activities, and additional resources.

Teacher's Guide to A Shelter in Our Car

Whoever You Are by Mem Fox

Title: Whoever You Are
Author: Mem Fox

Summary: This beautiful picture books talks about how children all over the world have differences (ie: color, race, education, homes, etc), but that every child shares a common ground. Every child loves, laughs, smiles, and cries.

Reflection: The reason why I really liked this book was because it was very simple yet, very meaningful. The author does explain that every child is different, but the author also mentions the similarities all children have. This would be a great story for the first day of school or even just for a read a loud. I would use this book to help create a comfortable, safe, learning environment that embraces all differences. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and the book is very engaging.

Activities: I would read this book before the students make self-portraits. I would ask the students to list their unique traits and ask them to express those traits in their self-portraits. Then, I would make a Venn Diagram to show similarities and differences students have in the classroom. Students can even make a Venn Diagram with just a partner. One student can write their traits in one circle and the other student can write their traits in another circle. In the middle, they can write the similar traits that they share. This activity would help students to appreciate themselves and also learn about their peers. I would also have them do a writing assignment in relation to their self-portrait. The students would write and explain what they drew in their self-portraits. This would be a great way for students to take pride in their work and in themselves. I would also make copies of the picture on the cover of this book. I would ask the students to write what they think the picture means. Students would share some of their ideas and interpretations.

SJE: This book fits into the stages of social justice education. Through this book, children can learn about themselves, their culture, their personality, etc. They are also given the opportunity to learn about others and appreciate others. This book can lead to a discussion on social issues like racism and discrimination, which then brings the opportunity to talk about social movements and social action.

Freedom Summer By Deborah Wiles

Summary: This book tells the story of two best friends, a white boy Joe, and a black boy John Henry in the segregated south of 1964 America. The boys had many similar interests and hobbies, but were not allowed to publicly do many of those things, such as swimming in the neighborhood pool and buying freeze pops at the local store, because of segregation. The summer of 1964, also known as 'The Freedom Summer,' marked a pivotal change in history by passing laws that banned segregation. However, the boys soon find that laws passed and attitudes and actions still carried out do not always coincide.

My Opinion: This story is a great introduction for talking about segregation and civil rights. It explores the child-like innocence that exists while also exposing children to the unfair nature of a 'democratic' society. I think that it is well written and captures the youth experience. It makes you emphasize and want to change the unjust behavior. I also like the simple illustrations that depict hot summer days in the south.

Possible Topics: This book depicts the nature and emotions that exist with segregation. It also is a great way to introduce civil rights and laws passes in the 1960s. It also brings up the point of having laws passed did not mean that the way blacks were treated would change. It can also lead to discussions on what is fair and unfair and trying to see from the perspective of all races.

Literacy/ Social Studies Lessons:

• Students could write journal entries from the perspective of either John Henry or Joe concentrating on having the students relate to the characters feelings.
• The students could do character studies on either of the main characters and also compare and contrast the two boys using graphic organizers.
• Students could write letters to local elected officials from the perspective of a community member of the Mississippi town telling the officials how the new laws are being treated and carried out.
  

Math/ Social Studies Lessons:

• Students can calculate the wage differences between blacks and whites of various occupations in the1960s and compare the wage difference of whites and blacks today.
• Students can research and find out the racial breakdown of the United States in 1964 and what the breakdown of elected officials in 1964 and compare. Analyzing the misrepresentation.

Social Studies Lessons:

• Introduce and begin to analyze the Civil Rights Act. Do they agree with the laws? Do they think they were effective?
• Consider and discuss the disparity of law and practice.
• Discuss if they think that these unfair acts still occur today. Examples of unfair treatment and segregation that the children think of can lead to them writing proactive letters to the organizations or those in charge of the unfair acts.
  

Because of Winn-Dixie

The book I chose was Because of Winn- Dixie By Kate DiCamillo. Because of Winn- Dixie is a book about a girl named Opal who lives with her father, a preacher. She has recently moved to a new town and has no friends. Opal finds a dog, Winn Dixie, who , with a smile always on his face seems to attract people which helps Opal make friends. Opal 's friends are a very eclectic group ranging from the "witch" to a musically gifted mentally disabled man who spent time in jail. Opal learns what is really important in life and how important it is not to make judgments about people without getting to know them.
Because of Winn-Dixie not only tells a delightful story, but also it addresses several socially sensitive and pertinent issues that many young people encounter today. The story includes references to alcoholism, prejudice, the elderly, death, single-parent families, and the importance of community.
This book is a great book to use to teach children about social issues as well as literacy Kate DiCamillo uses the main character's inner voice, a strategy that students are introduced to during writing. This book is a heart wrenching book. It can be easily used by teachers for not only literacy, but also to help the students reflect about their own life as well as the lives of others and see how they intermingle. The students are encouraged to question the reasoning behind many of the authors seemingly simple characters and events for they often can be understood at a much deeper level.
This book fits almost all levels of social justice because it discusses people's differences, prejudices, and ends with Opal taking social action. She plans a party for all her new friends to attend and thus brings all the townspeople together allowing them to see for themselves the dangers of judging others too quickly.
Examples of curricular units could be writing realistic fiction, symbolism, social interaction/peer relationships.
http://www.enotes.com/because-winn-dixie-qn/, http://www.webenglishteacher.com/dicamillo.html,http://www.rif.org/educators/lessonplans/winn-dixie.mspx,

Martin's Big Words - Doreen Rappaport

*I hope that worked!! If not, the link to that amazong page is,
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0786807148/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-3692424-5398365#reader-link

Book
Martin's Big Words, by Doreen Rappaport

Summary: This is the story of Martin Luther King, Jr. growing up in the South, seeing things he did not like (for instance, a 'Whites Only' sign), and deciding to change it. Very biographical, and shows students what a difference one person can make. Except for the ending, I think this is a great book to have in your classroom.


Social Justice Education
Touched upon many of the levels of Social Justice Education we have been speaking about. I would venture to say it hits all 5: Martin's mother telling him he was just as good as anyone else, Martin telling people to use their voices and not their fists is respectful of others, and the entire Civil Rights movement explores social justice and change. Clearly, through things like the Montgomerey Bus Boycott, and the ending of Segregation in 1964 at his hands, students can see how one person can make a difference.

Curriculum/Units the book touches on
The ideas of Slavery, Segregation, Integration, Civil Rights, Social Action, Social Justice, Inequality, Racism, Racial Relations, the Power of the Individual, Violence, Non-violent Protest, and the Power of Words come to mind instantly. Showing students how much they can accomplish with a dream and hard work - that it ISN'T up to someone else. They could be that someone who makes a great change in our world that is in such desperate need of change, which would be great for self-esteem and empowerment. It is also important for them to reflect on the fact that he, like Ghandi, refused to give in to the temptations of violence, finding other creative ways to solve the problems he saw around him. His story shows the power of believing in yourself, and being a good leader. It will also inspire students to think of things in their communities that they don't like and want to see change; and then can try to think of how they can help start that change today.

Other Notes on the Book

Personally, I think the pictures are gorgeous, and I like the illustrator (Bryan Collier)'s use of fabric-looking pieces to make up backgrounds and articles of clothing They are detailed and gorgeous to look at. It's not typical illustrations, and I think students will appreciate how interesting the pictures look, and may want to learn how they can emulate this in their own publishings (of course, it's no photocopies-and-cray-paz work, but it will do).

As I mentioned earlier, my biggest complaint is the abrupt, somber ending. It is the truth, that he was shot and that he later died from it, but the rest of the book was worded so beautifully, I felt a little more tact could have gone into the last thing the students will remember of the book. I guess that could have been the author's intent, a shock-value, but if I was reading this to a younger class, I would think of my own way to say it.

Jumping back to the positives, the book is entitled "Martin's Big Words", and on each page, we get a small snippet from all of Doctor King's famous speeches, which really shows the power of his words, and give a glimpse to how wonderful this man and his ideas really were.

Also, at the back of the book, it gives a substantial listing of other books and websites that can be visited to learn more about the life of Doctor King. Here are some of them (sorry, I don't know how to do this link thing yet!)

A Picture Book of Martin Luther King Jr. - David A. Adler
If You Lived in the Time of Martin Luther King - Ellen Levine
My Dream of Martin Luther King - Faith Ringgold
My Story - Rosa Parks and Jim Haskins
He Had a Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement - Flip Schulke

http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/mlk/index.html
http://www.surfnetkids.com/king.htm
http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Holidays/MLK/MLK.html *this one says it has thematic lessons on it*
http://fun.familyeducation.com/martin-luther-king-jr/activities/32832.html

BOOK CLUB

Book: a sweet smell of roses by angela johnson (lower case on the book cover too, which I found rather odd).

Summary: Two young girls sneak out of their house, down the street and across the town to where men and women are gathered, ready to march for freedom and justice.

Reflection: I enjoyed reading this book. I chose this book because the cover of the book made me interested in knowing more about it. It is an easy read and I think it would be best for older grades so you can have more of an in depth discussion of what is going on, but it could be used for all grades as well. The pictures are black and white, but they are wonderful. I had an idea of what was going on by looking at the pictures alone. The pictures showed unity, oppression, different emotions and movements. The color red is used for the flag, the bear's ribbon and the red roses.

Activities: I would use this book to talk about how people sacrificed for freedom in the past and connect it to how people are sacrificing for freedom today. I would also use this book to study justice, injustice, oppression, tributes, how people create change, power and bravery, marches/pickets, leaders/followers, the civil rights movement, community and staying together, fighting for what is important, having the kids pretend they are MLK and writing what they would want to change and why-then make a class book about social change.

Curricular Units: Social Studies: Civil Rights Movement 1950's - 1960's, Study People: Rosa Parks, MLK, Malcolm X, Robert Kennedy. Literacy: speeches

SJE: This book addresses EVERY stage.
1) Children are learning about their own culture, what is going on around them, they are accepting it, loving themselves, family and community while being a part of change.
2) There was opposition, but they continued to mind their business and march without fighting. They built community by respecting one another.
3) Oppression, marches, standing against the forces of injustice.
4) Being a part of a social movement, being a part of the struggle.
5) The two girls were part of the marches and played a role in social action/change.