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Author: Robert Coles
Illustrated by: George Ford
Publication date:
Genre: Autobiography and Biography
Interest level: 2-5
Approximate text level: 5.4
Teaser: Ruby Bridges, a young African American girl, enters a whites only school. Everyday on her walk to school, Ruby would pass by angry mobs of white people. Ruby persevered, did not give in and worked hard in the classroom.
Teaching idea: EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA! After reading aloud this story, I would have the students create a newspaper article about Ruby Bridges and her experience in her new school. I would give a few prompts to the students to guide the the formation of their newspaper article such as the challenges she faced from going to a white only school, as well as the reason why she did not move away from the mob. Once everyone has finished their articles I will combine the articles into one and pass them out to the class as if it were a real newspaper. This way the students will be able to read everyone's creative ideas as well as feel the pride of having their article "published".  In this activity students will be using their character analysis skills as well as inferences they have made about the text.
Additional ideas:
http://achieve.lausd.net/cms/lib08/CA01000043/Centricity/Domain/217/Roberts.pdf
https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/ruby-bridges/printable-activity/

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Author: Karen Katz
Illustrated by: Karen Katz
Publication date: 1999
Genre: RealisticFiction
Interest level: K-2
Approximate text level: 3.9
Teaser: After discussing with her mom, Lena discovers that the color brown is not limited to one specific color, but a variety of different shades and combinations. As Lena and her mom go for a walk, Lena is exposed to the many different beautiful and delicious shades of brown that each person embodies.
Teaching idea: For The Color of Us, I would have the students participate in a fun hands on activity to help them explore diversity. I would print out blank cutouts of all of the characters from the book. I would then have each student pick two characters from the selection to focus on. With these character cut outs, the students would use the descriptive words used in the story to paint/create their character. I would supply the students with a variety of supplies to create their characters such as paints, facial stickers, yarn (for hair) and other accessories. After the students have completed their characters I would then have them write to Lena. First, they would write a letter to Lena. They would describe one thing that they learned from her story about being different. Next, they would address a way they think that they are similar and different to the two characters that they chose to create.
Additional ideas:
http://www.karenkatz.com/colors%20of%20us.pdf
http://www.thecurriculumcorner.com/thekindercorner/2014/08/21/diversity-differences-make-us-unique/

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Author: Rania Al Abdullah and Kelly DiPucchio
Illustrated by: Tricia Tusa
Publication date: 2010
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Interest level: PreK-2
Approximate text level: 2.5
Teaser: Lily and Salma are best friends, they do essentially every activity together. They each have their own ideas about each others lunch choices and keep quiet until one day. This day occurs when a very big commotion takes place and the girls' friendship is ruined. However, all is fixed when they come up with a great idea to unify multi-culural differences.
Teaching idea: I will use The Sandwich Swap to have students make predictions as well as checking their predictions for understanding. Before reading the book I will begin by asking students a few preparation questions that will relate to the story such as "Have you ever got in a fight with your best friend? If so, what happened?" I will then take students on a picture walk through the book until we are half way through. I will have students make two or so predictions for this point in the story. Next I will continue to picture walk through the rest of the book and have students add new predictions to their existing predictions. At each half of the picture walk I will have students record their predications on chart paper. I will read the story aloud to the class and as we are going through the story I will have students check their predictions for accuracy and relevance by asking who, what, when, etc. questions. When the story is complete, if there are students with correct predictions, I will ask them to explain to the class how they arrived at those predictions. The goal is to have multiple ways explained so that the students can see that there are more than just one way to form a prediction.
Additional ideas:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/532128512193346720/
https://rampages.us/fitzgeraldes/2015/11/10/the-sandwich-swap-lesson-plan/

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Author: Pam Munoz Ryan
Illustrator: Peter Sis
Publication date: 2010
Genre: Historical Fiction
Interest level: 3-7
Approximate text level: 3.7
Teaser: Neftali finds himself to be a very different child in comparison to other children, much to his father's disapproval. Along with daydreaming he enjoys expressing his creativity through reading and writing practices. While Neftali's father has plans of turning him into a doctor, Neftali goes against the status quo and makes his own dreams a reality. Neftali realizes the beauty of his diversity and uses it to become something great.
Teaching idea: To help my students realize the power and positivity that diversity holds, I will have them write a letter from Neftali the doctor to Neftali the poet. In this scenario, Neftali followed his fathers orders and became a doctor against his own wishes and dreams. In the letter the students will describe how Neftali feels and what his thoughts are about not following his own dreams and having pride in his diversity. The students may also add any other information they feel necessary. Through this activity, the students will learn that diversity is a positive aspect within their lives that they should take pride in.
Additional ideas:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/dreamer-discussion-guide
https://laii.unm.edu/outreach/common/educators-guides/2012-10_The-Dreamer.pdf

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Teaser: This song is expressing that diversity is a characteristic that should be felt with a sense of pride as opposed to shame. An individual should not want to hide their diversity, they should wear it proudly as they would a crown.
Teaching idea: After listening to this song and fully discussing the meaning of the lyrics as a class, in small groups I will have students research a song that discusses/celebrates diversity. Once a song is found, students will copy the lyrics of their song onto a poster board. With these lyrics, students will select four to six lines that they believe best replicate/explain diversity or a form of it. The students will write in their own words about how the line describes diversity and what it means. To help further their explanation and make it more clear to their peers as well as myself, they will accompany it with an illustration. The illustration will depict what they see/think of when they read the lyric line.

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Teaser: This bumper sticker describes that although there is only one Earth that we all live on, we all still have our own voice. Our voice is one of the many aspects that separates us from other individuals on this Earth.
Teaching idea: With the use of this bumper sticker, I will explain to students how their voice is their own. I will expand upon this by saying that they control what comes out of their mouth, what their voice is, and that makes them special. I will have all of my students create their own bumper sticker which will highlight their voice. On their bumper sticker they will add a phrase that is unique to their voice. As long as it is appropriate, this phrase can be anything. It can be a favorite slogan/saying, joke, etc. After students have finished their bumper stickers, I will attach them to a blow up picture of the globe which will be displayed on a bulletin board with a picture of themselves. From this students will be able to view their individual voice and how it is unique to them.

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Teaser: This website expresses and instructs about diversity within the workplace. Diversitycentral.com offers a wide array of resources to help an individual treat diversity appropriately within the workplace. After viewing this website, an individual may be confident in entering a very diverse work environment.
Teaching idea: With this activity, I wish to show students how this information will be relevant to them in their future. I will have the students select a dream job. With this dream job, students will be "working" in a work environment that happens to be very diverse. With the use of this website, students will describe how they will treat diversity appropriately within their workplace. They will describe possible forms of diversity/diverse situations that they may possibly encounter. With these situations in mind, they must list knowledge and tools that they gained from this website to aid them in their workplace. They will be connecting their dream job with the information that they receive from this website.

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Author: Shereen Collington
Teaser: This comic strip celebrates the idea that diversity is much more than a difference in race. Jasmine and her aunt Joppa add a fun twist to how race can be viewed in the world.
Teaching idea: After reading and describing the meaning of this comic strip as a class, I will have students create their own comic strip. I will want their comic strip to help celebrate diversity by putting a fun/positive spin on it. Just as in this comic strip, the students will take a genre of diversity and create their own comic strip based on that genre, using a fun, yet appropriate, scenario and dialogue to show diversity in a positive light. The students will illustrate their own pictures to go along with each scene as well. This activity will allow the students to use their imagination and have fun with diversity. Often times in society diversity can be seen in a negative light, which is why I think this activity is needed.

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Author: Charles Bennafield
Publication date: 2012
Teaser: This poem is narrated by diversity itself. It discusses all of the forms and variations that diversity can be found and seen in. Charles describes diversity to be a living and breathing aspect within the world of interaction.
Teaching idea: I Am Diversity, Please Include Me is a great poem that describes diversity in a unique form. I believe that from this poem students will be able to truly understand what diversity is through thinking about it and seeing it in different forms. Because this is my goal from this poem, I would like my students to expand on the poem so i can truly see their understanding of and the meaning that diversity has to them. I will have my students select a line from the poem to focus on. From this point the students will use their own life experiences and connections to add five to eight more lines to the line they had selected. In these lines they will be describing diversity that they see and or feel in their everyday lives. I will instruct them to use descriptive phrases to help me feel the diversity that they have experienced or seen. This will form a deeper meaning of the diverse experiences for themselves as well.
Link:
http://simmaliebermansinclusionblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/i-am-diversity-outstanding-poem.html

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Author: Yangsook Choi
Illustrated by: Yangsook Choi
Publication date: 2001
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Interest level: K-2
Approximate text level: 2.9
Teaser: Being the new student in school is hard, especially when you are from a different country and no one can pronounce your diverse name. Unhei tells her new class that she is nameless and will choose a name by the end of the week. Students in her class fill up a jar with name suggestions for her to choose from. However, on the day of her choosing, the name jar strangely disappears.
Teaching idea: For this story I would have my students focus on the element of comparing and contrasting characters. The students would be comparing and contrasting Unhei and her friend Joey. Before reading the story I would give the students a handout that has both a character trace out of Unhei and Joey. During the read aloud I would have the students write descriptive words describing the characters characteristics and emotions during the story. When the story is over, I will allow the students to color the trace outs and add physical characteristics to their characters. Once they have finished this, I will have them create a chart in which they will describe the similarities and differences among the two characters. For this chart they will use the character trace outs that they have added information to, as well as any other information that they feel would be helpful from the text. After they have completed their individual charts I will ask for volunteers to share their ideas and we will create a master list as a class.
Additional ideas:
http://www-tc.pbskids.org/lions/parentsteachers/pdf/RABC2-TheNameJar.pdf
http://www.tolerance.org/exchange/name-jar

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Author: Taye Diggs
Illustrated by: Shane W. Evans
Publication date: 2015
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Interest level: PreK-3
Approximate text level (Lexile Measure): 440
Teaser: Mike has curly, red zig-zag hair with green eyes and tan skin. The children at school tell him that his parents do not match because they are not the same color. Mike brushes all of these comments off with his cool personality and the way he is proud of his diversity.
Teaching idea: Mixed me has a lot of rhyming sequences within the book. For this activity, I will read the book aloud to the class and stop reading before the last page. I will then ask my students to create their own ending to the book. They will do so by writing their own a rhyming sequence of a required length that I will give. They will also be using their prediction and creativity skills when creating their ending. They will also need to use the given information about Mike and his world to create their ending. I will supply my students with an 11 by 14 piece of card stock paper as well as coloring supplies so they can illustrate their ending. When the students have finished, I will bring them back together so we can finish the story. I will then ask for a few volunteers to compare their ending with that of the book, as well as discuss any similarities or differences. This activity requires students to take information from the text and create predictions as well as appropriately rhyme sequences.
Additional ideas:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/activity-plan-mixed-ages-me-dolls

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Author: Dan Bar-El
Illustrated by: Tim Bowers
Publication date: 2013
Genre: Comedy and Humor Fantasy Fiction
Interest level: K-3
Approximate text level: 2.9
Teaser: On his seventh birthday, Crispin is expected to breathe fire like every other dragon in his family. However, fire seems to be the only thing he cannot breathe. Against all odds, Crispins diversity is what makes him a hero in the end.
Teaching idea: In this story, Crispin breathes out objects that relate to different contexts and surroundings within the book. For example, he breathes out bandages at the doctors office. After reading the story aloud, I would ask my students to come up with alternative items that Crispin could breathe out that would still fit the context of where Crispin is. I would supply the students with five blank/open dragon mouths. For each mouth, they would pick a location in the story and then draw in things that Crispin could breathe that would still fit the context of his surroundings. After the students have finished adding items to all of their dragon mouths, I would ask them to select their favorite one and have them hang it up somewhere in the classroom. From here I will give each of my students five post it notes and have them identify the context/place of five of the mouths hanging on the wall. They will do so by looking at the objects Crispin is breathing and then using their background knowledge to identify the place/context in which he is breathing. This is a good hands on activity for students to focus on context and relevance within a story.
Additional ideas:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/not-your-typical-dragon-a-lesson-for-kids-about-the-importance-of-helping-others/article9520389/
http://storypath.upsem.edu/not-your-typical-dragon/

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Author: Mary Hoffman
Illustrated by: Caroline Binch
Publication date: 1991
Genre:  Realistic Fiction
Interest level: 4.1
Approximate text level: K-2
Teaser: Grace loves when her grandmother tells her stories. She loves to act out every story she hears, no matter the role she has to play. When Grace finds out that the school play is Peter Pan, she desires to play Peter, against the crude words of her classmates. With the help of her mom and grandmother, Grace learns that she can do anything she puts her mind to.
Teaching idea: After reading Amazing Grace, I would ask my students to select one of the various roles from the story that Grace has played other than Peter Pan. I would ask them to use their imagination and information that they know about Grace from reading the story to write a scene play of Grace playing that selected role.  Leading up to the scene play about the role I would ask my students to answer the question "Is there any obstacles that Grace needed to overcome to play this role? If so, what was the obstacle and how did she overcome it?" After the students have written their stories I would ask them to find a student that selected the same role/play to write about and to share their scene plays. I would have them discuss the similarities and differences between their stories as well as their feelings and thoughts about the obstacles that Grace needed to overcome in order to play the role. This activity will help students select descriptive words and phrases about Grace and expand on ideas an illustrations that were offered in the text.
Additional ideas:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/amazing-grace-teaching-plan
http://www.keepemthinking.com/search/label/activity%20to%20describe%20characters

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Author: Mary Hoffman
Illustrated by: Karin Littlewood
Publication date: 2002
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Interest level: K-2
Approximate text level: 3.4
Teaser: Hassan and his family are originally from war-torn Somalia but they have recently moved to the United States. In school Hassan is unsure as to how to do many things because school life in his home country are very different. One day, Hassan uses a painting to describe the terrifying occurrences that forced him and his family out of Somalia.
Teaching idea: In the story, Hassan paints a picture of his tragic life from his old country. After reading this story, I will have my students paint a picture of what they believe Hassan's new home (America) looks like. I will have the students use different important aspects from the story to paint their version of Hassan's new home. In this activity, students will be using descriptive words, emotions and feelings as described by the character and illustrations from the text to create their paints. At the end of the activity students will share their work with others so they can view the thought processes and creative work of other peers. This activity will help students learn to use the text to create visualizations of the world inside of the text. Visualization can help students divulge themselves into the text and gather a better understanding of the text.
Additional ideas: http://hmd.org.uk/resources/books-for-youngs/colour-home-mary-hoffman-and-karin-littlewood
curry.virginia.edu/reading-projects/projects/.../The%20Color%20of%20Home.doc

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Author: Kevin Henkes
Illustrated by: Kevin Henkes
Publication date: Originally published in 1991
Genre: Comedy and Humor Fiction
Interest level: K-2
Approximate text level: 2
Teaser: Chrysanthemum loves her name and thinks that it is absolutely perfect in every way. However, this way of thinking changes when she arrives at her first day of kindergarten and realizes that her name is much different from the others. Chrysanthemum receives cruel comments about her name and begins to think that her name is dreadful. Fortunately, this all changes one day when she receives great news.
Teaching idea: I will use Chrysanthemum to teach cause and effect. We will create a cause and effect sequence chart to show how Chrysanthemum went from loving her name, to thinking it was dreadful to loving it again. Each student will be in charge of making their own chart on construction paper and I will be making a master one as well on chart paper to guide the whole class. Together, we will analyze the book and find occurrences in the book that can be named as the causes. Each time we find a cause we will write it down on the sequence chart and then we will find the effect that followed it. We will continue in this pattern until the end of the story where Chrysanthemum thinks her name is perfect again. After we have found all of the causes and their effects, on their individual charts, I will have the students describe how each cause led to its effect. From this activity students will learn how to identify cause and effect within a story and they will also be able to describe the relationship among the cause and effect.
Additional ideas: http://www.nancypolette.com/LitGuidesText/chrysanthemum.htm
http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/2356.html
http://www.brighthubeducation.com/middle-school-science-lessons/4014-chrysanthemum-lesson-plan/

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Author: Majula Padmanabhan
Illustrated by: Majula Padmanabhan
Publication date: 2011
Genre: Non-Fiction
Interest level: 1-4
Lexile Measure: 590
Teaser: This book takes students on an interactive experience of learning the question "Can you find me?" in 16 different languages. The students view the phrase in the different language and find the item on the page that is different from the rest.
Teaching Idea: After finishing this story I will assign a language from the story to two or more students; this will depend on how many students are in the class. Using their assigned language, each partner group of students will create their own language page. When all of these language pages are finished they will be compiled into a class master book known as the "Class Multiple Languages Dictionary". I will provide students with scrapbook paper and coloring supplies to complete their pages. On their pages students will label each page with their specific language. In the body of the page, students will choose a few of their favorite things in English (food, sports, hobbies, etc.) and find the translation for those words in their assigned language. Students will draw and label their selected words on their page. Once the students have the final products, and the pages are compiled to create one book, these books will help to further inform students of various languages and cultures other than English. The goal of this activity is to have students gather known information (information collected from the story) and expand upon it. From here students will conduct structured and meaningful research and then utilize that research to inform.
http://www.socstrpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/7-Final-Summer-2013-MS06520-Swain.pdf
Additional ideas:
http://www.socstrpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/7-Final-Summer-2013-MS06520-Swain.pdf

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Author: Marjorie Flack
Illustrated by: Kurt Wiese
Publication date: Originally published in 1933
Genre:  Adventure Fiction
Interest Level: K-2
Approximate text level: 4.2
Teaser: A little duck named Ping lives on the Yangtze in a boat with his family. Ping and his family leave the boat every morning to hunt and return in the evening. The ducks do not want to be the last on the boat when returning because of the punishment they may receive. One night, Ping realizes that he will be the last one on the boat, his decision to stay behind could potentially ruin the whole system.
Teaching Idea: After reading the story I will hold a class discussion with with students about the different kind of boats they saw in the story. I will then pose students with the question "Why do you believe that Ping thinks the boats have eyes?" I will then supply students with supplies to create their favorite type of boat from the story (construction paper, glue, scissors, markers, etc). I would supply students with a different color of construction paper to give their boats eyes. Once the students have finished their boats I will have them imagine that the boat has lifelike characteristics. Using these characteristics they will create their own story about their boats. To help guide their stories I will provide questions such as "what kind of activities does your boat do during the day?", "what kind of families and or individuals live on your boat?" and "what are some hopes and dreams of your boat?". To help students appreciate differences among each other, I will have the students partner with one other student and share their story. They will have a discussion about how their stories are similar and different while making connections between their books and the read aloud story. The goal of this activity is to have students gather information from the text to create their own version of the story which will enhance their knowledge of the deeper meaning in the story (the boats having human characteristics, eyes). When students share their stories they will be able to analyze their individual differences and conclude that it is appropriate for everyone to have their own outlook on a specific matter. http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/westonwoods/study_guides/the_story_about_ping.pdf
Additional Ideas:
http://www.mamaslearningcorner.com/story-about-ping-printables/

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Author: Leo Lionni
Illustrated by: Leo Lionni
Publication date: Originally published in 1959
Genre: Fiction
Interest Level: PreK-2
Approximate text level: 1.7
Teaser: Instead of staying at home, 'Little Blue' goes out to find his friend known as 'Little Yellow'. While visiting each other, the played and had a fun time. After their visit, they both ended up looking a little green. When they returned home their parents could not recognize them. As the story continues, it will be uncovered to both their parents and the readers what has actually happened.
Teaching Idea: I would provide students with a story cube cut out that has 6 different numbered sections. After reading the story aloud, I will have the students draw/paint their own picture of what happened first, second, third and so on in the story. After all of their sections are filled in, as a class we would put the cube together. I would then have all of the students leave their cubes on their desks, and travel the room to view the work of others. At at least five other students' desks, the students will leave a comment about something they noticed that was different from their cube. The comment will describe a difference that they saw from their cube work but also why they enjoyed or liked the difference. The goal of this activity is to help students map out different stages of a book and key ideas and elements within those stages. Also when students are viewing other student work, they will be able to see the diversity of thoughts among their own peers. The comments they leave will help them to see and describe that diversity can and should be appreciated. http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/lessonplans/profbooks/blueyellow.pdf
Additional ideas:
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/3476
http://www.teachingchildrenphilosophy.org/BookModule/LittleBlueAndLittleYellow

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Author: Jessica Herthel & Jazz Jennings
Illustrated by: Shelagh McNicholas
Publication date: 2014
Genre: Biography
Interest Level:  3-5
Approximate text level: 3.3
Teaser: Imagine growing up in a body where your soul felt like it did not belong. From the early age of two, Jazz Jennings felt as if she did not belong in her body. In this story she takes us on her journey of self-realization.
Teaching Idea: Because this book covers a touchy and sometimes uncomfortable topic, I would use this book to create awareness and instruct about a possible type of diversity. I believe this is extremely important because the transgender population is increasingly growing, and it is important to make students aware of this population for a couple reasons. In my lesson I would help the students to define transgender so that they can explore the population, I would help them accept different types of diversity within themselves and others and lastly inform them of how to be an ally of someone struggling with diversity. After providing students with this information through notes and presentations, I would instruct the students to create an action plan as to how they will raise awareness of this form of diversity and how they will be an ally. Students will need to create this action plan using a form of technology (PowerPoint, Prezi, etc.) Students will then present their presentations to first family or friends and then the class. Their at home presentation will be sent home with a viewing form that their audience will fill out. This form will require the audience to fill out new information that they learned as well as a few take aways they gathered from the presentation. From this assignment students will learn how to use tools such as presentations and notes to create their own informative presentation. This activity will also help students build their public speaking skills.
Additional Ideas:
http://hrc-assets.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com//welcoming-schools/documents/I_Am_Jazz_lesson_old_pdf.pdf

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Author: Eve Bunting
Illustrated by: Ted Lewin
Publication Date: 2006
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Interest Level: K-2
Approximate text level: 2.3
Teaser: While venturing on a school field trip to an apple orchard a young immigrant girl named Farah finds herself to be an outcast. After combining her diverse apple with the similarities of the others', she finds herself to be one with the cider.
Teaching Idea: I would utilize this book to teach my students about the way a character and or characters develop and change throughout a story. I would have the students use the illustrations on each page as well as specific words and phrases used by the author to make inferences about characters and their development in relation to the story. To aid in this process, I would provide students with a type of character map handout. The map would be separated into sections which represent the stages of character evolution throughout the book. On the map students would be able to fill in specific words and feelings that they believe describe the character in each phase. This map will help to students to track the way the character developed throughout the book as well as the key words and illustrations that helped them to make their inferences.
Additional ideas:
http://inclusiveclassrooms.org/inquiries/one-green-apple
http://www.socstrpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/MS-06555.pdf