Diversity

The cultural diversity in my school system is somewhat limited to religion and special needs.  Therefore, teaching diversity is always interesting and enlightening for my students. 

Our first lesson centered around David McPhail's book Elmer.  I love this lesson because it helps students celebrate differences.



For our next lesson, read This is the Dream by Diane Z. Shore & Jessica Alexander.  Next, we  examined the similarities and difference in white eggs and brown eggs.  We discovered that the only difference was the color.  One of my sweet students said "Hey, it is just like people.  It doesn't matter what is on the outside, it is what is on the inside that counts.

My favorite lesson comes from Martin's Big Words and teaches about the Civil Rights Movement.  I always love to see my students reactions- they just cannot seem to understand why people were treated differently based solely on the color of their skin.  After reading the book, the students picked 3 of Martin's big words to illustrate.