Fireboat: The Adventures of the John J. Harvey by Maria Kalman

Summary: Fireboat is the real-life story of the John J. Harvey, which was first launched in 1931. After many years of service fighting fires along the Hudson River, the boat was finally retired. In 1995, several New Yorkers bought and restored the old fireboat. This inspiring book tells how, and why, the Harvey was called into service again on September 11, 2001.

Activities:
1)Students write a poem describing the characteristics of a hero
2)Students make appreciation cards for people who have jobs that impact the students' lives
3)Characteristics of Heroes: Write a list of character traits on the board (like bravery, intelligence, etc). Go through the character traits one at a time and discuss whether each particular trait would make a person a hero. Then have the group write down which of those traits they see in their friends and in themselves.
4) Empathy and Peace Building Activities
5) "If I Were a Hero, I Would…" Will they care about their friends, help their parents, be kind to people, say hello to neighbors? This exercise encourages students to think of themselves as heroes and feel good about it.

Social Justice Education: Covers all areas
Through the activities listed above, students will learn about self-love and acceptance, in addition to respecting and loving other people.

This book can also be used to discuss what happened on September 11th, andthe children can generate ideas on how the protect their country. What would they do if they were the President?

I SEE THE RHYTHM BY TOYOMI IGUS

Summary:

"I See The Rhythm" is a very rich book with beautiful illustrations on the history of African American music. It goes into great detail how music has evolved over the past 500 years; from early 1500's to present day. Additionally, NYC's legendary Savoy Ballroom, the Apollo Theater, and the Cotton Club are given special focus.

Reflection:

This is a Wonderful book that provides the history of African American music alongside with information and dates of what has transpired historically. Igus makes it easy to connect history to each musical era.

Activity in Social Studies:

Students can work with maps of Africa and the U.S. and show how blacks originated in Africa and migrated to the U.S. They can then begin to connect the different musical eras that have evolved:
Slave Songs, Blues, Ragtime, Jazz, Swing, BeBop, Gospel, R&B, Rock-n-Roll, Funk, and Rap/Hip Hop.

Social Justice Education:

Students will learn self-love and acceptance as they learn about their own culture; respect for others as they learn about other cultures; exploring issues of social justice as racism, sexism, and classism are confronted; social movements and social change show how people have struggled for social change; and taking social action- students will understand how music has worked towards a non-violent social change.