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This letter is sent home to families that introduces the Positivity Project, the benefits of character trait education, and gives an overview of the 29 character traits that are taught throughout the school year.

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Weekly Family Letter - P2 Introduction - Pre-K-12

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Characters show leadership through actions.

Characters show leadership through visual elements such as color, shape placement, and typography.

Authors use motifs and symbols in multiple texts to show leadership characteristics or items that help characters attain leadership characteristics.

Authors use literary devices such a figurative language to show all six characteristics of leadership - specifically in Ground Zero.

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Case Study on Positive Character Traits being taught in schools

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Case Study on Positive Character Traits being taught in schools

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Positivity In Action - Journal of Emerging Trends in Social Sciences - Garwood_2022

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Wagner (2018), Good Character is What We Look Fo in a Friend Character Strengths Are Positively Related to Peer Acceptance and Friendship Quality in Early Adolescents 

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Research reviewing how young children look for positive character traits in friends which then relates to acceptance. 

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Research reviewing how young children look for positive character traits in friends which then relates to acceptance. 

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P2's Definition of Leadership for Grades 1/2

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P2's Definition of Leadership for Grades 1/2

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P2's Definition of Leadership for Grades 3-5

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P2's Definition of Leadership for Grades 3-5

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P2's Definition of Leadership for Grades 6-8

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P2's Definition of Leadership for Grades 6-8

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P2's Definition of Leadership for Grades 9-12

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P2's Definition of Leadership for Grades 9-12

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Example Lesson of P2 Leadership Week - 6th Grade

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Example Lesson of P2 Leadership Week - 6th Grade

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Each week, every grade level will learn about the same character trait. This is the 6th-grade weekly lesson that is taught and discussed daily for 15 minutes. When a student is brought up in a school that consistently uses the P2, the students will continually get a lesson built upon the knowledge that the previous grade levels have taught.

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Our main character, Mr. Tiger unintentionally finds leadership qualities in this book!

Genre: Fantasy

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Exemplifies qualities of leadership through our secondary character, Nia.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

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Timid by Harry Woodgate. Story time with Mrs T.

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This is a great book to talk about the character traits that Positivity Project defines within leadership but is our character a leader? This is a text that your students can grapple with and decide if she is a leader in her own right or not.

Genre - Realistic Fiction

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This is the second of the Grandad's book from Woodgate. In this text, we still have our character, Milly, who is learning from her Grandad about Pride and does something amazing for him in his town. What leadership qualities does she exemplify in this text?

Genre - Realistic Fiction

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Qualitative Analysis - Leadership in Children's Literature - Boulais

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Qualitative Analysis - Leadership in Children's Literature - Boulais

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In this picturebook biography, Sharice Davids explains how she used her voice to become a Congresswoman. What leadership qualities can we find within her story?

Genre - Biography (Informational/Nonfiction)

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Full Disseration of Boulais - Leadership in Children's Literature 

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Full Disseration of Boulais's - Leadership in Children's Literature 

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Full Disseration of Boulais's - Leadership in Children's Literature 

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Curated Text Set for Leadership by the Positivity Project organization

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Curated Text Set for Leadership by the Positivity Project organization

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This document shows texts that the P2 organization curated for the character trait of Leadership. You will see that the texts within the set range from PK-high school age but do not have a wide range of diversity. What I am setting out to do is add to this text set and allow educators at my school site a more diverse set of texts that students can read through where they can discuss the character trait of leadership through many different perspectives and cultures!

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Malala's Magic Pencil - Malala Yousafzai

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Malala's Magic Pencil - Malala Yousafzai

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Malala Yousafzai has written a beautiful picturebook about her use of a pencil that can create anything that is needed for her and her family. She then begins to see differences that she cannot ignore.

Genre - Memoir (Informational/Nonfiction)

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Malala's Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai | Read Aloud by Auntie's Bedtime Stories

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Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong, 2018

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Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong, 2018

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This text follows the life of Larry Itliong after he immigrates to the US at the age of 15 and begins to work as a migrant farm worker. He was one of the cofounders of the United Farm Workers, alongside Cesar Chavez and Delores Huerta.

Genre - Biography (Informational/Nonfiction)

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Reviewed by Joshua Talosig

Review Source: International Examiner
Book Author: Dawn Bohulano Mabalon, Gayle Romasanta

It is well known that children's literature has a powerful ability to provide impactful and long-lasting lessons on its target audience. They can make our youth smile, laugh and feel empathy for the people whose tales are told within. Yet, we rarely see juvenile literature also be biographies of historical figures. And when we do, we don't typically see representation of people whose complex story of hardship and leadership is packaged into an understandable way for its target audience.

Dawn Bohulano Mabalon, Gayle Romasanta and Andre Sibayan's Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong is one notable exception. Their book tells the story of labor organizer Larry Itliong, an incredibly important figure in Filipino American history, highlighting his struggles and triumphs to a generation born decades after his time but continue to be impacted by his work to this day. Continue reading.

By Gayle Romasanta

. . .Larry Itliong immigrated to the United States in 1929 when he was fifteen years old and immediately began working throughout the country as a farm laborer and in the salmon canneries of Alaska. His heart was set on becoming an attorney and seeking justice for the poor. But the poverty he lived through and violent racism he and Filipinos encountered all but barred him from getting the education he initially sought. He never became an attorney, but he became a storied Filipino American labor leader and organizer, leading labor organizations in Alaska and throughout the West Coast.

He called Stockton his hometown while he recruited more than a thousand new members to join the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC). He was so good at what he did, union leaders asked him to leave for Delano to organize Filipino grape workers. It was there in Delano, a small town four hours outside of Stockton, that he led the Filipino grape workers at Filipino Hall to vote to go on strike on September 7, 1965. The next day, the Delano Grape Strike began, and more than 2,000 Filipino farmworkers, members of AWOC, marched off the vineyards to demand $1.40 an hour, 25 cents a box, and the right to form a union. The farmworkers had a lot on the line. If they went on strike, they wouldn't get paid. Continue reading.

Publisher's Synopsis: This book, written by historian Dawn Bohulano Mabalon with writer Gayle Romasanta, richly illustrated by Andre Sibayan, tells the story of Larry Itliong's lifelong fight for a farmworkers union, and the birth of one of the most significant American social movements of all time, the farmworker's struggle, and its most enduring union, the United Farm Workers.

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Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong - Social Justice Books

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Reviewed by Joshua Talosig Review Source: International Examiner Book Author: It is well known that children's literature has a powerful ability to provide impactful and long-lasting lessons on its target audience. They can make our youth smile, laugh and feel empathy for the people whose tales are told within.

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Based off of how the Positivity Project (P2) defines Leadership, the selection criteria of the text needed to match the traits that P2 gives as examples that leaders have as character traits. The criteria is as follows:

Characters needed to have one or more of the following traits to analyze and critique how they fit into the definition of leadership:

1. Inspirational

2. Motivational

3. Persuasive

4. Encouraging

5. Trailblazer

6. Organizer

As I reviewed each text, I ensured that students would be able to discuss the characters, their interactions, and how they developed the plot and themes of leadership through the lens of those 6 traits. If a character did not exhibit one of those traits, the text was not included in the Text Set.

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Stan State Warrior Cross Cultural Center

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Journey for Justice:  The Life of Larry Itliong. Read by Homero Mejia

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This text follows a little girl named, Ayesha, who attends her older cousin's wedding. Through the text, they are met with protestors and hate due to Ritu marrying another woman. Ayesha shows leadership characteristics in a few different ways.

Genre - Realistic Fiction

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Vashti is not an artist and did not want to complete a project until her teacher told her to just put something on paper. That one dot on the paper changed everything for her somehow. What leadership characteristics do we see in Vashti and the other characters in The Dot?

Genre - Realistic Fiction

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An Encouraging Read Aloud: "The Dot" by Peter H. Reynolds

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I added the Kouzes and Posner Leadership Framework as an extra level of text selection as I wanted to see where their five categories fit within P2's leadership character trait.

1. Being Inspirational is on both lists.

2. Being Motivational fits within a couple of categories - Embrace the Heart and Inspire a Shared Vision

3. Being Persuasive fits within Challenging the Process and Enabling Others to Act.

4. Encouraging is exactly that - Encouraging the Heart

5. Being a Trailblazer is Challenging the Process and Modeling the Way

6. Organizing is well within any of the five categories.

With this framework and the definition from P2, the selection criteria were solidified.

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Both Brandon (9M, 2001) and Reshmina (11F, 2019) have to handle events in their lives that change them in a quick turnaround. What traits can be found within their characters that represent our definition of leadership?

Genre - Historical Fiction

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Two kids. One devastating day.
September 11, 2001. New York City. Nine year old Brandon goes to work with his dad on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center. Out of nowhere an airplane slams into the tower, creating a fiery nightmare of terror and confusion that threatens everyone in the building. Can Brandon survive-and escape?

September 11, 2019. Afghanistan. Eleven year old Reshmina has grown up in the shadow of war, but she dreams of peace and progress. When a battle erupts in her village, Reshmina stumbles upon a wounded American soldier named Taz. Should she help him-and put herself and her family in mortal danger?

In time for the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Ground Zero delivers a pulse-pounding and unforgettable take on history and hope, revenge and fear-and the stunning links between the past and present.

Scholastic | February 2, 2021 | Ages 8 and Up

The plot starts at a heart-pounding pace and never relents...A contemporary history lesson with the uplifting message that humanity's survival depends on us working for, not against, one another. A must-have.

With his signature accessibility and insight, Gratz tackles events on both U.S. soil and abroad in Ground Zero..... Ground Zero will appeal to middle-grade readers, who were born after the events of 9/11, and to those adults who lived through it and will never forget.

-Booklist - STARRED REVIEW

Gratz moves back and forth between the two narratives in short, nail-biting chapters that create a vivid picture of each setting and make readers feel invested in each character's relationships and choices, and in the high-stakes global forces that affect the intimate details of their lives.

-Horn Book

Gratz's deeply moving writing paints vivid images of the loss and fear of those who lived through the trauma of 9/11.

-Kirkus

This tautly paced novel explores the events of that tragedy and the subsequent American response through two parallel story lines.

-Publishers Weekly

#1 New York Times Bestseller!
ABA Indie Bestseller List
Publishers Weekly Bestseller List
USA Today Bestseller List

2022-2023 Michigan Great Lakes Great Books Award Winner
2023 Oklahoma Sequoyah Intermediate Book Award Winner
2023 Mississippi Magnolia Award Winner
2022-2023 South Carolina Junior Book Award Winner
2022-2023 Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Award Winner
2022 Hampshire (UK) Book Award Winner
2022 New Hampshire Great Stone Face Book Award Winner
2021 Grateful American Book Prize
Barnes & Noble Best Young Reader Books of 2021
2021 Amazon.com Best Books of the Year

2023-2024 Idaho Battle of the Books Selection
2023 Wisconsin Golden Archer Middle Grade Book Award Nominee
2022-2023 Tennessee State Book Award Nominee
2023 Sakura Medal Nominee
2023 Utah Beehive Book Award Nominee
2022-2023 Ohio Buckeye Book Award Nominee
2022-2023 Virginia Readers' Choice Award Nominee
2022 Kansas NEA Reading Circle Recommended Titles, Junior Level
2022 Texas Library Association Lone Star Reading List
2022 SIBA Southern Book Prize Finalist
2021 Sandhills Bestseller List
2021 Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best List-Best Fiction for Older Readers
2021 Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist
2021 Amazon.com Children's Top 20 Best Books of the Year So Far
2021-2022 Junior Tome Society It List
2021 Amazon.com Best of the Month - February
2021-2022 Lectio Book Award Master List

Dutch Cover

French Cover

French Cover

Romanian Cover

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Two kids. One devastating day. September 11, 2001. New York City. Nine year old Brandon goes to work with his dad on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center. Out of nowhere an airplane slams into the tower, creating a fiery nightmare of terror and confusion that threatens everyone in the building.

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A simple story with an important message to young and old alike to be brave, to make your mark, to encourage others on life's journey.

This story has become a global phenomenon with millions around the world celebrating International Dot Day on the 15th-ish of September each year! Learn more at www.thedotclub.org.

The book is part of a trilogy about the creative journey with ISH and Sky Color - The Creatrilogy.
*Please write personalization in the Suggestion section at the end of your order if it is the option chosen*
The extra charge for signature and personalizations helps support Peter's brick and mortar indie bookshop and its efforts to support local and national literacy initiatives. We appreciate your support - thank you!

Hardcover, 32 pages, Physical Size: 8 1/16" x 7 7/16" Published 2003 by Candlewick Press

If you are ordering a Peter H. Reynolds book or print, please keep in mind that Peter's travel schedule will affect his ability to complete personalizations. The shipping of personalized items ordered while Peter is away may be delayed.

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The Dot - by Peter H. Reynolds - The Dot Central

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Written and Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds A simple story with an important message to young and old alike to be brave, to make your mark, to encourage others on life's journey.

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BIG is intentionally left blank as this is one that many could interpret differently but the character does go through a challenge and begins to challenge others and their thinking, which is in the Kouzes and Posner's Leadership Framework.

What are your thoughts once you read the book?

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How is leadership portrayed in children's literature? This text set will explore and define the character trait of leadership, analyze texts that portray leadership in different ways, and critically examine how children's literature can be read to and with students to engage them in critical inquiry of positive character traits and extend student thinking beyond what a text is saying.

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Comparison of Leadership Skills to Kouzes and Posner's Leadership Framework

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Comparison of Leadership Skills to Kouzes and Posner's Leadership Framework

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With the addition of the research from Boulais and her use of the Kouzes & Posner Leadership Framework in analyzing the Caldecott winners, I wanted to take her knowledge of those five categories and see how they fit within the P2 selection process of text. Most if not all of the texts that have been chosen can also be analyzed using the K&P Leadership Framework and could be something your students could do as an extension activity!

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Leadership Text Set Genre Classification

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Leadership Text Set Genre Classification

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Leadership – Genre Classification Quick Guide