DIVERSITY ASSIGNMENTBy: Lucinda Menne & Amber

Liebhart

Powerful story that is easy to connect tooHelps students relate to other students from other

culturesEasy to understandShows a different perspective in social justiceIt will allow the students to discuss in class social issues

and allow them to confront them in the real worldExposes students to the existence of social issues in the

real wordThrough this book the students

informed and thoughtful members of society that are capable of taking action.

Helps with reading skills such as empathy, and personal response

Why this book is interesting

Literacy: You could have your students write a journal entry explaining how they will feel if they were forced to change their name, if they could not see their grandparents, or speak their first language.You could have your students research a time when a government forced people to change their names, and then write a short summary about it. You could have your students take action regarding the social issues in their own lives. One form of social action is the writing of a letter to government officials, newspaper editorial boards, or even an individual with whom you have had a (possibly uncomfortable) social interaction with. You could have your students work together to model how a letter of this type might sound. After reading this book, students could choose to address the social issue of environmental conservation by writing a letter to the local newspaper.

How teachers can use this book

Social Studies: You could use it in a unit study about social issues

Goal of this unit of study is to develop conscious and responsible citizens of society.

In this unit we want to trigger interpretation, empathy, and personal response skills.

This is a great book to introduce the many traditions of Indian culture. For art, you could have the students draw the outline of their hands on

big white paper and have them paint it a pattern, to represent the henna art.

You could 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.

You could also teach your students about the holiday Ramadan and ask them what holidays they celebrate.

How teachers can use this book continued….

How this book addresses standardsNCSS Standard 1: CultureNCSS Standard 2: Time, Continuity, and ChangeNCSS Standard 4: Individual Development and IdentitySS 3bCCSS W 4.1CCSS W 4.2