Freedom River by Doreen Rappaport

Title: Freedom River
Author: Doreen Rappaport
Illustrator: Bryan Collier
Link to book: http://www.amazon.com/Freedom-River-Doreen-Rappaport/dp/1423106342/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202102219&sr=8-2

Summary: Freedom River is based on a true story about John Parker, an ex-slave, and his persistence and courage in repeatedly taking the dangerous journey of helping slaves escape. In this story, Parker helps Isaac, Sarah and their baby (a family of 3) escape from Master Shrofe. At his first attempt, they were caught and as a result, their baby had been taken away from them. Parker felt responsible for the baby's separation from her parents and was determined to help reunite them and set them free, despite their repeated rejection of him trying to help.

Reflection: When I read this book, I realized that so many different lessons can be created from reading this one book. Although the story line is relatively simple, this book is packed with meaningful concepts and ideas that teachers can use to teach in different subjects. The illustrations does a really great job conveying to the readers the emotions and feelings that John Parker and the slaves may be experiencing during time like that...the dark colors used during scenes of danger and enslavement, and light colors during scenes of freedom.

How I would use this book: As mentioned above, many lessons can be created from this book and can be integrated into different subjects. Following are some ideas:
Literacy: This book can be incorporated into the unit of character study, where students can analyze John Parker as a character. John Parker can be viewed in a variety of perspectives: in the eyes of slave owners, slaves, and ex-slaves (freed slaves). Students can be split up into groups where they will take role as one of these characters. This can also be an introduction to a unit on slavery and/or racism.
Math: Units of distance can be taught her, as well as addition and subtraction word problems. Maps of the Underground Railroad can be created and appropriate scales will be learned during this time.
Social Studies: Students can research more on who John Parker is and his life. Questions like: What caused him develop such courage and determination to help families escape?

Depending on the direction that the unit goes, different culminating projects can be designed:
-writing a story on how they helped someone and why; a time when they were treated unfairly and whether or not someone helped them; taking the role as John Parker (or other characters) and writing a diary about their journeys; pretending that they were students traveling back in time and can speak to the slave owners.


Domains of Social Justice:
Self Love and Acceptance: Students can talk about how Isaac and John are different because while Isaac, a slave, doesn't really have a voice of his own, John who is freed, does. This can link to students learning that it is important to accept themselves with their own identity and not as someone else's property. They should be proud of who they are.

Respect for others/Exploring issues of social justice: Although this book does not directly talk about this idea, discussion about how people do not respect others of a different race during the slavery time will spark the idea of respecting others while also exploring the idea of social justice.

Taking Social Action: Using their own voice and perspective, students will write letters to slave owners telling them why owning slaves is unfair and give suggestions as to what they can do instead. There will be a day when the class will "travel back in time" and read these letters to a slave owner (role played by teacher)

And Tango Makes Three

Title: And Tango Makes Three
Author: Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Illustration: Henry Cole
Link to book: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780689878459&itm=1

Summary: Many different kinds of families go to the Central Park zoo in New York City. In the zoo, there are also many different kinds of animal families that live there, and among them, is the Tango family. Every year female penguins and male penguins start to notice each other and become a couple. But there are two penguins in the penguin house that are a little different. Roy and Silo are boys but they do everything together; They walk together, sing to each other, and swim together. One day, they notice that other penguins are able to do something they cannot do. The mama penguin lays and egg and the papa penguin takes turns keeping the egg warm until it hatches. The zookeeper who notices this, takes an egg that needs to be cared for and puts it in Roy and Silo’s nest. Soon tango is born and is the first one in the zoo to have two daddies! The children who come to the zoo can see Tango and her two fathers playing in the penguin house. At night, the three penguins return to their nest to snuggle and sleep just like all the other animals in the zoo.

Reflections: The fact that this book was based on an actual true event immediately drew me to this book. I felt that students would connect more to the story knowing that the event took place in the same city they live in. Even though the book is for younger children, it’s definitely delightful enough for an older audience as well. The illustrations in the book are done in beautiful soft watercolors.

How would I use the book/curriculum units: This is a great book that can be integrated into a social studies curriculum such as the family unit. It can be used as a springboard to introduce or discuss topics of homosexuality and educate children about different kinds of families. You can easily integrate science by doing studies/research on different animal species too.

Domains of Social Justice:

1. Self love and acceptance: This book sends the strong message to its readers that it is totally ok to be different and not necessarily follow the “norm” like in the case of Roy and Silo. We should love and accept ourselves for who we are.
2. Respect for others: We learn through this book the importance to respect others even if they are different from ourselves.
3. Exploring issues of social justice: The book definitely opens doors to a discussion on homosexuality and those that are being oppressed for this reason.
4. Social movements and social change: The book depicts the story of Roy and Silo who even though they diverge from the “norm” at the zoo, they prove to be just as loving and caring parents for Tango.

5. Taking social action: The zookeeper definitely takes action to create change when he gives Roy and Silo an egg to take care of. Mr. Gramzay’s faith in Roy and Silo gives them the opportunity to start a family just like all the other couples

A Rose for Abby

A Rose for Abby
By Donna Guthrie

Link to where you can purchase book:
http://www.bestwebbuys.com/A_Rose_for_Abby-ISBN_9780687365869.html?isrc=b-search

Summary: A Rose for Abby is the story of a girl who, while looking out her window to the city streets below, pays witness to an older woman searching through trash cans and building a home on the sidewalk. When Abby asks her father about what she saw she finds that the old woman was homeless and had to find places to stay and things to keep her warm on the streets. Abby takes this new knowledge to heart and decides to take an old pair of gloves and hat from her house and leave them in a paper bag for the woman to find in the garbage across the street from Abby’s window. When she looks out the window to find the woman uncovering Abby’s planted treasures she sees how happy it made the woman. After this she thinks of how easy it would be for everyone from her neighborhood to give one thing to help the homeless people on the streets. With this realization Abby goes out on a quest to gather goods to put on a nice, hot soup dinner at her church.

Reflection: A Rose for Abby is really a very sweet story. It shows a positive image of a young girl that takes notice of what is happening around her and empathizes with characters outside of herself and her lifestyle. Abby then takes it upon herself to first make small changes in the life of the homeless woman on the street by giving her gloves to wear and then turn that into bigger actions where she involves her community in order to help more homeless people in her neighborhood. The story is simple yet holds a great idea about how one person can care for and help another in simple ways. Book Use/Activities/Curricular Units: This book lends itself easily into discussion about homelessness and its effects on those that are homeless and those that are also not homeless. It also allows for preliminary ideas about empathy for others to be generated. The book gives ideas as to how an individual can take small steps to make a difference in someone’s life and how they maybe able to involve the community around them to take similar action. The book could also stress the importance of working together in order to make something big happen.

Websites:

http://books.google.com/books?id=YJgkBZwUDDAC&pg=PA49&lpg=PA49&dq=%22a+rose+for+abby%22&source=web&ots=dp-BhsCIVR&sig=WakJWL4n5EeRhU3PES7-wuXp0ZI

Domain of Social Justice Education:
2.) Respect for Others- Strengthens intercultural competence. Abby notices a woman outside of her window that appears to be making a bed on the street
3.) Exploring Issues of Social Justice- Racism, Classism, Sexism, homophobia and other forms of oppression are confronted. Abby seeks out information in order to learn about the homeless woman on the street and why she is there and is there are others like her.

4.) Social Movements and Social Change- Students learn how people have struggled for social change. Abby decides to help the woman on the street by leaving gloves and a hat in a decorated paper bag in order to help the homeless woman to keep warm.

5.) Taking Social Action- Students explore their own context and develop tools to work for change. Abby goes to her community and asks for their help so that she can put on a dinner for all of the homeless people in her neighborhood.

The Bracelet
Written by Yoshiko Uchida
Illustrated by Joanna Yardley

Links to where you can buy the book: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780698113909&itm=3

Summary: A young girl named Emi and her family are sent to an internment camp for Japanese Americans. Emi is nervous and scared about leaving home, especially because she wants to make sure that she remembers her best friend named Laurie. Laurie gives Emi a bracelet to wear and always think of her when she sees it on her wrist. Emi promises Laurie that she will never take it off. When Emi and her family arrive at the camp, they are sent to their barrack and Emi realizes she has lost her bracelet. Upset and sad, she felt it was the only way to remember Laurie. When she and her family unpack, Emi remembers the sweaters she and Laurie wore for this first day of school. Emi then realizes she doesn’t need the bracelet to remember Laurie because she will always be in her heart.

Reflection: This was a great book because it shows how an innocent family deals with the hardships of the internment camps. This book depicts the struggles a family has to go through as they try to come to terms with what is happening. This story is real in that it illustrates a dark moment in American history and has an aspect that others can relate to, such as worrying about not remembering a friend. Rich illustrations accompany the text so the reader can truly see how hard it is on a family.

How I would use the book/ curriculum units: This book would fit well in social studies, especially in a unit of study on World War II. It would work with class discussions about past experiences and how we can work together to learn from them to be able to improve the past and future. The book would also work with a unit study on character, as students could write about the way Emi deals with the hardships and see if they would react the same way. The concept of empathy could be introduced as students could try to imagine how Emi feels and complete a writer’s workshop entry.

Links to lesson ideas:
http://www.teacherlink.usu.edu/tlresources/units/byrnes-famous/YOSHIL1.html

http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/TLresources/units/byrnes-literature/Dent/DENT.HTM

http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/TLresources/units/byrnes-literature/JONES.html

Domains of Social Justice:
1.) Self-Love and Acceptance- Children learn about their own culture. Emi continues to learn about her culture and that everyone is not as accepting as he or she should be.

2.) Respect for Others- Strengthens intercultural competence. Emi learns that she and her family were not respected as they should have been, since they were sent away and she tries to come to terms with this information.

3.) Exploring Issues of Social Justice- Racism, Classism, Sexism, homophobia and other forms of oppression are confronted. Emi’s family is oppressed because they “look- like” the enemy and are forced to leave their home and are faced with both emotional and physical struggling.
4.) Social Movements and Social Change- Students learn how people have struggled for social change. Emi realizes that she and her family are not being treated well and that they must learn to make the best of their situation and work together. This will allow people to learn from the past so the same events do not happen again.
5.) Taking Social Action- Students explore their own context and develop tools to work for change. Emi learns that although she and her family were sent away, she will always remember her friends in her heart and will use her situation to learn about herself and others as they work together to deal with the hardships they face.

Tar Beach

Title and Author: Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold

Link to where you can purchase book:
http://www.amazon.com/Tar-Beach-Faith-Ringgold/dp/0517885441/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201931374&sr=1-1

Summary: Tar Beach is the story of a young girl named Cassie Louise Lightfoot whose imagination and wishful thinking allow her to fly all over New York City and transcend boundaries (both economic and racial) that she normally wouldn't be able to. Her family often spends nights on the rooftop of their building, which is affectionately dubbed 'Tar Beach'. From Tar Beach, Cassie does her daydreaming, and " with stars and skyscraper buildings all around me, made me feel rich, like I owned all that I could see." At 8 years old, Cassie already has a deep sense of right and wrong and she uses her 'flying' to help her fix the problems in her life. For example, her dad is denied acceptance into the labor union because he is half-Black/half-Native American and so she flys over the union building and "buys" it for him. The book has an overall inspirational tone that permeates throughout the story. Through her imaginings, Cassie becomes empowered to go after what she wants and deserves and sees the beauty in the places around her.

Reflection: I really liked this story. Not only were the illustrations beautiful and rich in colors and prints, but the story evolved from being one about a little girl with an overactive imagination to one about a girl trying to make her world a better place for herself and her family. I would recommend this book to anyone, child and/or adult, because it raises several important issues about race and class but frames it from a child's perspective. Even though she is addressing these issues, they still have an innocence attached to them in that if you believe in something enough, maybe it will come true.

Book Use/Activities/Curricular Units: This book really lends itself to many different topics. It could be used during a unit on Families and/or Traditions because the book outlines a lot of activities that Cassie's family does together. Students can design their own quilts depicting their families' experiences. Faith Ringgold was inspired tremendously by her own family's history and their experiences with quiltmaking is evident in each page. The book also contains a few historical references such as the exclusion of Cassie's father from the labor union because of his racial background. This book could serve as just one example of many of the injustices committed against minorities in this country but on a much more personal level.

Websites:
Flying to Freedom: Tar Beach and The People Could Fly
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=32

Making Multicultural Connections Through Trade Books
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/socialstd/mbd/Tar_Beach1.html

Faith Ringgold's Official Website
http://www.faithringgold.com/

Art Lesson Plan: Tar Beach
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/elem/TarBeach.html

Domain of Social Justice Education: (1) Self-love and Acceptance: Students describe, analyze, and explore the different traditions in their lives and with their families and use that as a lens to understand Cassie.

(2) Respect for Others: Students learn elements of African-American folktales and of other methods of storytelling as well as learning about the experiences of groups of people different than themselves.

(3) Exploring Issues of Social Justice: The book introduces issues of racism and class and highlights how discrimination does not always happen in the most obvious ways but through everyday interactions.

The Jacket

Title: The Jacket
Author: Andrew Clements
Age Range: 8-12

Summary: The Jacket is about a young boy named Phil who makes another boy (Daniel) for his brother because of the jacket he is wearing. Phil immediately accuses this boy of stealing the coat. Daniel is black and Phil’s realization of his reaction to the situation may have to do with Daniel’s race. Phil grapples with the meaning of being prejudiced as well as issues and the interplay of friendship, race, and even class. Phil eventually travels to Daniel’s home in attempt to rectify the situation. The book ends with the boys beginning to understand the similarities that they share.

Reflections: This book was used in a grades 3-4 general education class at my student teaching placement. The book was used as a Read Aloud with Accountable Talk dispersed throughout the novel. The children seemed to respond well to the story voicing their various opinions. I was surprised by the straightforward writing (mostly Phil’s thoughts) regarding race, especially discussing the tensions between “black” and “white.” The book didn’t downplay or sugarcoat this topic and the straightforward writing/thinking makes this discussion very accessible for children of these ages. However, I did feel that the ending was a little to simplistic. Race and prejudice are complex topics and the ending doesn’t really reflect that complexity.

How to use this book in the curriculum:
- Works well as a Read Aloud.
- Modeling how a character changes over the course of a book or how to incorporate internal thought.
- Including this book into an Author Study on Andrew Clements (I would make sure to structure conversation with this book as it deals with sensitive issues).
- Using this book to discuss issues of race in the school and/or community.

Domains of Social Justice:
2. Respect for Others – In this novel, Phil is working to understand his own negative reactions and thoughts. He seeks to understand how his thoughts and actions towards Daniel, and those of other races, affect his relationship with those around him.
3. Exploring Issues of Social Justice – Phil repeatedly uses the word prejudiced to look at inequalities related to race.
5. Taking Social Action – Though Phil does not take a huge stand against all racism, in his own way, he takes action. Phil goes to Daniel’s house to apologize for his wrongdoing and mend his relationship with Daniel.

Website: http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?sid=810&pid=409950&agid=21
This website includes some ideas for lessons and discussion questions.

The Composition by Antonio Skarmeta

Title: The Composition
Author: Antonio Skarmeta
Illustrator: Alfonso Ruano

Grades: 3-5

Summary:
Antonio Skarmeta wrote this children’s book about a boy named Pedro who lives with his mother and father in an unnamed country under a dictatorship. This book is about freedom, making choices and personal responsibility from a child’s point of view. Every day after work Pedro’s parents and neighbors sit around the radio in his home listening to broadcasts from a “long way away.” Pedro does not understand why the adults are so interested in listening to the radio, and goes on with his daily life, going to school and playing soccer with his friends. While he is playing soccer one day, Pedro witnesses his friend Daniel’s father, the owner of the local grocery store, being taken away by soldiers. When he asks his parents about what happened, he learns that Daniel’s father, as well as his own parents, are against the government dictatorship. The next day, a man in uniform named Captain Romo enters Pedro’s classroom, asking all the children to write a composition as part of a contest called “What my Family Does at Night.” At the end, Pedro’s composition is revealed through his parents reading it. He describes a very boring, and blatantly false story of what his family does at night, “I go out and play soccer…we sit at the table and I eat…after supper my father and mother sit on the sofa and play chess and I do my homework.” His parents smile after reading this, and his father says, “Well, we’d better buy a chess set.”

Reflection:
I thought this book gave a strong, but subtle account of how children can take action against something with which they disagree. There is no specified culture or country, giving the message a more universal meaning. In this book, Skarmeta seeks to show how children come to conclusions about and act on the world around them, even if they seem like they are not aware of what exactly is going on. Many adults may think that children should not be exposed to the real issues and are innocent to injustice in the world, as reflected in Pedro’s mother’s words when Pedro asks if he is against the dictatorship, confused about his role in the matter. His mother replies, “Children aren’t against anything, Children are just children.”
The children’s’ awareness of the situation becomes clear when they are asked to write a composition for the General about what their families do at night. Pedro discusses the paper with his classmate Juan, asking him if he is against the dictatorship. Juan replies with “Of course I am…they took my father away up north.”
Pedro’s composition shows that he knew exactly what the soldier was looking for, and it was not just a school composition contest, but a way to find out more information about who is against the dictatorship. Pedro’s fabricated story about his parents playing chess every night was an action against the government, protecting his family and displaying his awareness of the government situation and the importance of freedom and personal choice.

Activities/Curriculum Units:
Subject Areas: Social Studies, Lanaguage Arts

This book can be used in a Social Studies Unit on different government structures, power, authority and goverance. Although the story never outwardly explains what a dictatorship is, it provides a backdrop of a small community and how it affected by the dictatorship. You can go into depth about dictatorships and what countries have had this type of government structure.
A role playing activity or writing piece can give the students more insight into what a dictatorship is, and how they would feel if they were in Pedro’s shoes. The teacher or chosen student can act as a “dictator, “ and the rest of the class will reflect on the pros and cons of this specific government structure.

Domains of Social Justice:
1. Self-love and acceptance: Pedro is a normal boy, living in a small community, and he learns more about his role in his family and community, and realizes the importance of his own actions. Students will learn more about their roles and how they are an important part of their own communities.

3. Exploring Issues of Social Justice: Pedro’s community experiences government oppression. His friends and neighbors are being taken away by soldiers, and the government even invades his classroom to get more information about their families.
Students will learn of the injustice of a dictatorship and why Pedro’s community is living in fear.

5. Taking Social Action: Pedro chooses to fabricate a story about his family because he knows that the government may not like that they listen to the radio every night and are against the dictatorship. Students will see how Pedro took action, and although it was a seemingly small action, it was important to protect his family. More importantly, his awareness of the situation shows that children can take a stand and choose to go against something that is unjust. Students can think about their own personal choices and how tey have effected their lives and the lives of others around them. They can brainstorm more ways they could take an active role in their own communities, as well as ways they coud help others that are facing injustices. The children can chose one small thing to do indivudally and one larger action to take as a class against an issue with the government or community.

Other resources:
Website of lesson ideas for this book:
http://www.lindakreft.com/Americas/composition.html
Dictator For a Day:
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/tlc-ancientrome/#que

Buy the book at Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Composition-Antonio-Skarmeta/dp/0888995504/ref=pd_bbs_1ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201969649&sr=8-1