We Dream of a World

Title: We Dream of a World...
Authors: Scholastic; Classroom of students from University City, Missouri

This book is made by a classroom of students and dedicates a page to each social justice issue they wanted to focus on. Each page/topic includes facts and a few ideas of what we can do to help this issue. Some of the issues include hunger, homelessness, education, pollution and peace. This is a great way to not only introduce many topics of social justice to your class, but also to show them that kids can make a difference.

I would use this book to introduce and incorporate social justice themes into my classroom by reading a page/issue biweekly. This would give them a chance to brainstorm ideas of how they could help. They would then be encouraged to write letters, educate their peers, or incorporate other ideas and activities to take social action. This book could be incorporated into thematic units, or integrated into multiple areas such as literacy, math, or science and health. An example would be to look into a nutrition unit and encourage the school to sell healthier snacks in the lunchroom by writing letters to the school board.

This book covers three levels of social justice education. 3 because it shows issues of social injustice; 4 because it suggests ways for social change; and 5 because it encourages the opportunity to make a difference.

Dinner at Aunt Connie's House BY Faith Ringgold

This is a story about a young girl named Melody who goes to her aunt Connie’s house every summer for dinner and a special showing of her aunt’s artwork. Melody meets Aunt Connie’s adopted son Lonnie and they play hide and seek, in the house, before dinner. While playing hide and seek, they find Aunt Connie’s portraits of African American Women who have made great contributions to American History. The portraits talk to Melody and Lonnie; they tell both of them about their lives and how they contributed to American History. This book is great because it gives a brief description of these women and you can see how they look. This good contains a lot of valuable information that used in many different ways in the classroom.

This book can be utilized in the classroom by having students draw their own self portraits and write their own description of themselves. They can write about what contributions they made. This book could also be used as a starting point for research papers. Students could pick one woman they want to learn more about and they can research and make a presentation to the class. The students could even do a skit and act like the women they are researching. They could even act a dinner scene in which they students are portraying the women in this book. The students could also write something that they would want their portrait to say 50 years from now. How do they want to change the world? What do they want to be known for? The first woman to do… The first man to do… Being that the book was inspired by a quilt; the class can make a quilt out of their own portraits.

This book addresses all the stages of Social Justice Education.

A Friend Like Ed by Karen Wagner

Summary: Differences are celebrated and the value of real friends are learned. It is about two offbeat, lovable, unforgettable characters and their true and everlasting friendship.

Activities:

1)Self-portraits & write about culture, interests, talents and what friendship means to you

2) Poetry Lesson

3) Write appreciation cards/letters

4) Civil Rights Movement

5) Racism, sexism, stereotypes

6) Community awareness- bringing differences together

7) Learning how to write detail

Prompts:

1) What does it mean to write from the heart?

2) What are you thankful for?

3) What makes you laugh so hard that you cry?

4) Are you a risk taker?

5) Embarrassing moments..

6) Strange hobbies

7) Talents

8) Times when you feel lonely...

SJE:

Falls under all categories

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

This book tells the story of a little girl named Wanda Petronski. She’s not like her classmates, she has a funny name and wears the same faded-blue dress to school every day. Though she wears the same dress everyday Wanda claims to have one hundred dresses lined up in her closet at home. Her claim among other things makes her a target for the bullying by several other girls in her class Eventually, the bullies come to find out that Wanda did have one hundred dresses and also find out how their teasing game effected Wanda.
I think this book addresses many issues related to social justice such as immigration, poverty, and bullying. I think it does a good job of showing how bullying does not always have to be a physical assault and that words can really hurt. I also like how these issues of social justice are intertwined and that the book addresses the effects these issues have on children.
This website offers some lessons on how to use the book to engage students in a discussion about having courage and standing up for things they know are wrong http://www.bu.edu/sed/caec/files/elemlesson2.htm
I think this book addresses these levels of social justice: Stage 2 because it teaches students that people that are different from them have talents and qualities that they can appreciate. Stage 3 because it explores the issues of poverty, immigration/racism, and bullying. I think that this book could definitely be used to motivate students to work for change especially through such lessons that put them in a characters role and challenge the students to act in a way that may be different from their normal manner.

My Painted House My Friendly Chicken and Me

MY PAINTED HOUSE MY FRIENDLY CHICKEN AND ME
by MAYA ANGELOU


Summary: The book is from the point of view of a 8 year old Ndebele girl from South Africa named Thandi, meaning hope. She describes her life in the village: her best friend who is a chicken, the houses that they paint in the village, and also the beads that her mother wears. She is asking the reader to embrace her life and become her friend. The photographs in the book are real photographs, making the reader feel so close to the village. The books is also interestingly designed because the layout of each page is very different. Not only do the layout of the pictures change but the fonts size and style also changes.

Activities: 1)Students can make a book about their culture and customs in the same form as this book. They can write it as if they were talking to Thandi or someone who has never experienced their lifestyle
2)Students can find similarities between their life and Thandi's life
3) Students can describe their best friends and what characteristics make a good friend

Social Justice Education: This book addresses Respect for Others because it exposes kids to another culture and different It also addresses Self-Love and Acceptance because it teaches kids that being different is okay and one should be proud of it.