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Film
Directed by: Sean McNamara
Released: 2011
Teaser: Bethany Hamilton was only a teenager when she lost her arm in a shark attack while surfing. Despite her injury, she overcomes the odds and her own fears of returning to the water.
Teaching Idea: Use the questions below to guide students in discussion about the important themes of the movie and how the music impacted the feeling of the movie.

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Author: Diane Gonzales Bertrand
Illustrator: Robert L. Sweetland
Publication Date: 2004
Genre: Fiction, Friendship
Interest level: K-2
Text level: Lower Grade
Teaser: This story is about a boy and his friend, Victor, and all the fun things that they do together.
Esta historia es sobre un muchacho y su amigo, Victor, y toda la diversión cosas que hacen juntos.
Teaching Idea: Have the students write a story about their best friend in a language other than English. They can choose from their home language, sign language (will be presented instead of written), Braille, or a language that interests them. Find out what languages the students want to use ahead of time so you can provide dictionaries, or have iPads with translating apps.

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Author: Pete Seeger and Paul Dubois Jacobs
Illustrator: R. Gregory Christie
Publication Date: 2006
Genre: Fiction, Jazz
Interest level: K-3
Text level: Lower Grade
Teaser: After losing his hearing, Lee thought that he would never play jazz again. He thought that he would never play the piano with his snazzy style - no more "plink-a-plink-bomp-plink-a-plink". That is, until one day, he enrolls in a school for the deaf and learns to play music in a new way.
Teaching Idea: In the story, Lee loved learning sign language, and he eventually used it to create music. Use this lesson to teach students basic signs. This will expand their literacy and help make them more open minded to different forms of communication.
http://www.lessonplans.com/overview-of-sign-language/

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Author: Andrea Stenn Stryer
Illustrator: Bert Dodson
Publication Date: 2006
Genre: Fiction, Nepalese people, deaf children
Interest level: K-3
Text level: Lower Grade
Teaser: The yaks are missing! A storm is coming! Kami, a Sherpa boy who is deaf, takes it upon himself to find the yaks and prove himself to his family.
Teaching Idea: Use this template to help support students' developing literacy. Have students respond to the story through drawing and writing.
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson-docs/SampleLitResponse.pdf

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Author: Myron Uhlberg
Illustrator: Colin Bootman
Publication Date: 2005
Genre: Fiction, Baseball
Interest level: 2-5
Text level: Lower Grade, Lexile 610
Teaser: In Brooklyn, New York during the 1947 baseball season, a young boy learns about discrimination and tolerance as he and his deaf father share their love of baseball and bond over the success of the Dodger's new player, Jackie Robinson.
Teaching Idea: Use this Teacher's Guide from Peachtree Publishers to help students think about their own ideas about the themes of the book such as traditions and discrimination. This lesson also helps students to develop prediction making skills.
http://peachtree-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Dad_Jackie_and_Me_TG.pdf

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Author: Robert Andrew Parker
Illustrator: Robert Andrew Parker
Publication Date: 2008
Genre: Biography
Interest level: K-4
Text level: Lower Grade, Lexile 840
Teaser: Art has bad eyes. Surgery makes them better, but not much. Despite his visual impairment, he makes beautiful music. His love of playing the piano takes him farther than he could have ever imagined.
Teaching Idea: Have students create their own short story in the style of the first few pages of Piano Starts Here ("This is the house in Toledo where I was born.", "This is my father. He is a mechanic.", etc.)

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Author: Bonnie Christensen
Illustrator: Bonnie Christensen
Publication Date: 2009
Genre: Biography
Interest level: 2-5
Text level: Lower Grade, Lexile 700
Teaser: Django was a child prodigy. People called him the "Gypsy Genius". He played guitar and banjo with flying fingers - sending music floating to the stars. One day, after receiving an amazing offer by a famous musician - tragedy struck. With the odds against him, would Django be able to live his dreams again?
Teaching Idea: Listen to various works by Django as a class. Then, have the class create a piece of art based on the song Chasing Shadows and how it makes them feel.

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Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille

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Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille

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Author: Jen Bryant
Illustrator: Boris Kulikov
Publication Date: 2016
Genre: Biography
Interest level: 1-2
Text level: Lower Grade, Lexile 480
Teaser: Louis' dad worked in a leather shop. Louis wanted to be just like his dad. When an injury causes him to lose his vision, he does not give up. Through hard work, he becomes like his dad in a way that is different than he thought.
Teaching Idea: Use this lesson from ReadWriteThink to have students write their own autobiographies, similar to how this story is written in first person, through Louis' point of view.
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/telling-story-about-young-421.html

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Film
Directed by: Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise
Music by: Alan Menken
Released: 1996
Based on the book The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo
Teaser: Quasimodo is isolated and lonely until, one day, he meets Esmeralda. Quasimodo must help Esmeralda escape the sinister Frollo.
Teaching Idea:
Literature as a catalyst for social action. This lesson talks about breaking barriers and building bridges.
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/literature-catalyst-social-action-105.html
More Ideas:
Using collaborative reasoning to support critical thinking
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/using-collaborative-reasoning-support-31179.html

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Author: Lyon, George Ella
Illustrator: Avril, Lynne
Publication Date: 2010
Genre: Fiction
Interest level: PK-2
Text level: Lower Grade, Lexile: 580
Teaser: Ginny thought that seeing two of everything was normal, so she didn't understand why the other kids in her class didn't understand her. Then, everything changed on Vision Screening Day...
Teaching idea: Use the Text Scavenger Hunt Grid for the illustrations in the book. Have the students look for illustrations that helped them understand how Ginny felt. I would then have them write about the purpose of the illustrations, and how they communicated Ginny's feelings/condition.

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Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah

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Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah

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Author: Thompson, Laurie Ann
Illustrator: Qualls, Sean
Publication Date: 2015
Genre: Biography
Interest level: K-2
Text level: Lower Grade, Lexile: 770
Teaser: Emmanuel was born with only one strong leg. Many people saw him to be a curse, but he had a dream. Through hard work, he accomplished his dream and inspired others.
Teaching idea: Use the worksheets found in the link below to have students talk about and illustrate Emmanuel's powerful words/ideas, and their own powerful thoughts/ideas/dreams.
https://www.scribd.com/document/251881365/Emmanuel-s-Dream-Curriculum-Guide#scribd
Other Ideas: Use the Paired Reading strategy from Chapter 6 of the textbook, Teaching the Dimensions of Literacy by Stephen Kucer and Cecilia Silva -
Before reading, introduce the text to the students. Let them look at the cover and make predictions about what they think the story is going to be about. Then, pair up the students and have them read the book together, aloud. Have the students help each other as they read the story. After everyone has finished, bring the students together and talk about the parts of the book where they struggled and how their partner helped them.

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Artist
Teaser: Heidi Hooper used to be a sculptor. After losing most of her right arm to cancer, she could no longer do what she loved. Not wanting to give up on art, though, she found another medium to use: dryer lint. Her dryer lint art pieces earned her the prestigious Niche Award in 2014, and she has been called the "Andy Warhol of dryer lint".
Teaching idea: Use the lesson plan "The Power of Mistakes" to teach students to embrace "mistakes" and overcome the fear of not being perfect. Instead of focusing so much on mistakes, use obstacles or feelings of insecurity, such as Heidi Hooper may have had when she lost her arm. Instead of using the book Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzburg, use Heidi Hooper's success story. https://educationcloset.com/2016/09/02/the-power-of-mistakes-creating-a-classroom-environment/
Other ideas: Have students create a piece of art with cotton balls (pulled apart) and paint to imitate Hooper's style. If they wanted to, the students could even try to do the project with one arm.

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Artist: Sean Forbes
Link to Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lQx1f5lEFo
Teaser: Being deaf, people expected Sean Forbes to live an average life. In his song, however, he talks about defying stereotypes and pursuing his dream of being a music artist.
Teaching idea: Use this lesson from ReadWriteThink to use songwriting to build literacy and awareness of beginning letter sounds. http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/using-songwriting-build-awareness-274.html
Other Ideas: Have students write down negative stereotypes that they think apply to their race/gender/disability. Have a discussion about how they can overcome those stereotypes, then have students take turn crumpling up and throwing away their paper.

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A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin

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A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin

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Author: Bryant, Jen
Illustrator: Sweet, Melissa
Publication Date: 2013
Genre: Biography
Interest level: 1-5
Text level: Lower Grade, Lexile 610
Teaser: Horace loved to draw and paint. He way very good, but when he went away to war he was injured. His injury kept him from painting, until one day, he had an idea...
Teaching idea: Take the students outside. Give them colored pencils, drawing paper, and clipboards and have them use drawings and words to capture the colors and textures that pop out at them, like Horace did. Then, have them share their thinking about what they drew.
Other ideas:
-Use the Previewing form from the textbook "Teaching the Dimensions of Literacy" to initiate discussion about the effect that the illustrations had on the story
http://reader.eblib.com.libproxy.lib.ilstu.edu/(S(0sp4nelgsyqfn0xlhdqjfas1))/Reader.aspx?p=1046808&o=863&u=kuoruG0MyvNE5yQE3eCaSg%3d%3d&t=1488317523&h=483A159FC378F0D4A9DF185D1DE82BD62E34370C&s=54318557&ut=2787&pg=1&r=img&c=-1&pat=n&cms=-1&sd=2#
-Use this web resource: http://www.theclassroombookshelf.com/2013/10/a-splash-of-red-the-life-and-art-of-horace-pippin/

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Author: Alexander, Claire
Illustrator: Alexander, Claire
Publication Date: 2012
Genre: Fiction
Interest level: K-3
Text level: Grade equivalent: 2.6, Lower Grade, Lexile 800
Teaser: Stan was so excited to draw a birthday card for his principal! Then, his teacher told him he had to write on the card, too. Stan didn't like to write because it was hard for him to get the letters to come out right. This story is about Stand overcoming his fears and the friends he makes on the way.
Teaching idea: Use this lesson plan from ReadWriteThink to move students from drawing to writing. Instead of using the book Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie dePaola, use Back to Front and Upside Down. Talk about how Stan couldn't just draw a picture for the principal's card, he had to write, too. Even though writing was hard for him, he was able to learn to do it. http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/draw-story-stepping-from-45.html
Other Ideas: Hand each student a worksheet with a picture of a star on it. Have the students partner up and give each group a hand-held mirror. Have one partner hold the mirror in front of the paper, and try to trace the star only using the reflection. The other partner will use their worksheet to cover their partner's hands. When both partners have had a turn trying to trace the star, have a discussion. Have the students reflect on the experience.

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Author: Rabinowitz, Alan
Illustrator: Chien, CaTia
Publication Date: 2014
Genre: Biography
Interest level: PK-2
Text level: Lower Grade, Lexile 670
Teaser: Alan is a young boy who has a very special connection with animals. Alan has a stutter, but makes a promise to his animal friends that if he is to ever find his voice, he will use it to protect them. How he keeps his promise is beautiful and inspiring.
Teaching idea: Have the students put themselves "in the shoes" of the author. Have them complete every day tasks without the use of one body function (ex. cannot speak, cannot use left arm, etc.).
Other ideas: Use the Writing About Critical Issues strategy from the textbook "Teaching the Dimensions of Literacy" to have students think about a critical issue in society today (i.e. Jaguars being hunted), a goal about how to solve it (i.e. setting up a sanctuary), who would be an advocate or supporter for their idea (i.e. the government of the country where the sanctuary is located), and what the outcome would be (i.e. jaguar's are saved from going extinct).