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By: Mitail Perkins
Illustrated by: Jamie Hogen
Publication: 2007
Genre: Fiction
Target Age Level: 9-12
Target Grade Level: 3rd to 5th
Accelerated Reader: MG
Lexile Level: 730
Teaser: Naima is a talented ten year girl that loves to paint. She really wants to help her father earn money for their big family. However she lives Bangladesh where girls are not allow to go work outside their home. Determined to help Naima disguise herself as a boy in order to get out and accomplish her mission of helping her family. Read along and explore the culture, heritage, art and traditions of Bangladesh!
Activity:  In the story Naima uses her talents in painting to help her father provide for the family. For this activity students will write about a skill or talent they have. This can be similar to Naima's painting or other skills like cooking, singing, or dancing. Students will write about this skill and how they would use it to help their family. For example, I am really good at baking. I would write about how I would stay my own baking company called "Makeda's Magnificent Sweets" and sale to people within my neighborhood in order to help my family. Once everyone has written their responses have them share within groups.

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By: Carmen Tafolla
Illustrated by: Magaly Morales
Publication: 2009
Genre: Fiction
Target Age Level: 3-7
Target Grade Level: Pre-K to 3rd
Accelerated Reader: LG
Text Level: Not Available
Teaser: Doesn't a nice cool paleta sound refreshing on a hot summer day? Wondering what a paleta is? If so follow along as a young Mexican American girl enjoys her paleta and explores the silly things she can do with it while strolling though her beloved Mexican community. In this vibrant book celebrating Mexican heritage, readers can learn about the different aspects and customs of this culture by exploring the different foods, language, and traditions within it!
Activity: The author combines English language with Spanish language to tell the story of Paleta and how they bring together the community. After reading, discuss some of the Spanish language used within the story. Also ask students any prior knowledge they have using some Spanish words as well. After the discussion have the students write a short story about their neighborhood combining the languages similar to the way the author did within the story. As the teacher decide how many Spanish words you wish to be included in each student's story. After writing have the students share their stories with the class.

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By: Alma Flor Ada
Illustrated by: K Dyble Thompson
Publication: 1993
Genre: Fiction
Target Age Level: 9-12
Target Grade Level: 3-5
Accelerated Reader: LG
Lexile Level: 860
Teaser: Maria is the new girl in her third grade classroom. Things are already difficult for her to adjust to but things get even more confusing when two other girls in the classroom have the same name as her! Maria is then given a new name by her teacher which is something Maria hates. Read along as Maria lets her new classmates get to know her. Even though others in the class may have the same name, her peers will know what makes her who she is as MARIA!
Activity: In the story Maria's teacher gave her a new name because there was already two other Maria's her 3rd grade class. This activity will allow students to individualize their names by attaching their own personal identities to each letter in it. For example my name is Makeda. M for Music, A for African American, K for Kind-hearted E for Empathic, D for Dimples, and A for Ambitious. Each word was something that described my character or features. Have students do this with their name and then present it to the class. This way each student feels special in their own way. After this activity have the student attach this to their desk so any new member in the class can get to know each individual student!

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By: Rosemarie Hausherr
Publication: 1997
Genre: Non-Fiction
Target Age Level: 0-8
Target Grade Level: 1-2
Accelerated Reader: NA
Lexile Level:710
Teaser: Celebrating Families is a book created to celebrate different families from all around the world! Follow along as the book introduces 14 different children that come from a wide variety of family structures. The families celebrated in this book go beyond two-parent households and proudly displays divorced families, nuclear families, step-families, extended families, same-sex coupled families and more! The theme of this book is to show that not all families look the same.
Activity: Modeled after the "Boys will be boys; Girls will be girls" lesson plan in chapter eight, students will be engaging in an activity that breaks away from the typical family stereotypes in today's society. Before reading this book, I will have students talk about the different families structures they are used to seeing in their neighborhood with a partner. Once we begin reading the book, I will have students pay close attention to the different kinds of families presented to them in the book. After reading I will have students discuss with that same partner the different family structures they saw in the book that surprised them. To end the activity, we will come together as a class and talk about each family shown in the book. We will also talk about why it is important to understand that not all families look the same or have the traditional two parent household with a mother and father. The goal of this activity is to have students understand and appreciate the different types of families in today's society.

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By: Sook Nyul Choi
Illustrated By: Karen Dragon
Publication: 1993
Genre: Fiction
Target Age Group: 0-8
Target Grade Level: PreK-2
Accelerated Reader: LG
Lexile Level: 640
Teaser: Field trips are always something students look forward to. It is a chance to finally get out of the classroom and have FUN! However, for a little girl named Yumni her excitement is overshadowed when her grandmother Halmoni, who is new to America from Korea, agrees to be the chaperone for the class picnic. Yumni worries the other students in her classroom will make fun of Halmoni for her accent, clothes, and food from her Korean culture. Read along as Yumni's fears shift as everyone learns more about Halmoni as well as her Korean traditions and culture.
Activity: Inspired by the lesson plan ideas in Chapter 6, students will complete an activity based on character development using the beginning, middle, and end writing lesson plan. The main characters in this book are Yunmi, her grandmother Halmoni, and the other children in Yunmi's class. I would have the students write down specific details about the three characters at the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Those details would include; what are the characters traits, attitude's,  fears, views and how they change throughout the story. After finishing the story I would have students partner up to talk about how each character changed throughout the book. The activity is to get students to understand the story thought the development and changes the different characters went though.

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By: Andrea Cheng
Illustrated by: Ange Zhang and Low Books
Publication: 2000
Genre: Fiction
Target Age Group: 0-8
Target Grade level: K-3
Accelerated Reader: LG
Lexile Level: 570L
Teaser: Helen is a biracial, Chinese-Caucasian, girl who lives in America with her parents, brother, and sister. One day to her surprise she finds out that her grandpa is coming to live with her! However, her excitement is quickly put on pause when she realizes he only speaks Chinese while she only speaks English. Helen now has the challenging task of trying to figure out how she will communicate with her Grandpa!  Read along as Helen begins to learn more about the Chinese language and culture that is a part of who she is!
Teaching the Dimensions of Literacy: This book can be related to the sociocultural dimensions. The book discusses the challenges both Gong Gong and Helen faces when trying to learn each other's language. This concept goes along with sociocultural because it touches on the different literacy skills belonging to different cultures and how it effects one's interactions in the world. The theme of this book also incorporates the importance of one's social identity and how it can affect learning reading and writing skills.
Activity: In the story Helen's grandpa Gong Gong is in an entirely new place different than where he is from. For this activity students will put themselves in Gong Gong’s shoes. Students will pretend they are new to America, like Gong Gong, and write a letter back to someone in China. Student will write about how it feels to adapt to a new place, language, and culture.

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By: Natasha Anastasia Tarpley
Illustrated by: E.B.Lewis
Publication: 2003
Genre: Fiction
Target Age Group: 0-8
Target Grade Level: PreK-2
Accelerated Reader: LG
Lexile Level: 840
Teaser: Have you ever thought about what your hair could be? Have you ever compared your hair to something silly like a globe in outer space? Or thought of it as instruments to make you dance? Well if you have you are not alone! Follow a young African American girl named Keyana  on a journey for self-love and self-acceptance starting with her hair! I Love My Hair tells a story of how everyone can learn to celebrate not just their hair but their heritage as well.
Activity: One of the goals of I Love My Hair! is to teach young students how to love themselves. After reading this book, I would assign my students a writing activity. I would ask them to write one thing they love about themselves, whether that be their eyes, smile, or hair. I would then ask them to write three reasons why they choose that feature. Students would complete this task privately, and would not be required to share what they picked with me. Similar to the book, the goal of this activity would be to promote positive and self-love among the students.

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By: Charlotte Zolotow
Illustrated by: Garth Williams
Publication: 1958
Genre: Fiction
Target Age Level: 0-8
Target Grade Level: PreK-1
Lexile Level: 430
Accelerated Reader: LG
Teaser:  A promise is a commitment you make to someone about something you will do. Making a promise to someone is not always about the action; sometimes it can simply show how much you love them. In the story Do You Know What I'll Do, a big sister shows her abundant amount of love for her little brother thought a series of thoughtful promises she makes to him. This book shows how when you really care for someone, you are willing to do any little thing that might bring a smile to there face.
Activity: I would have each student think about someone they really care about in there life. Whether that be a parent, sibling, relative, friend, or teacher all students would have to pick out one person that means the most to them. I would ask them to write down five promises to that person. Those promises can be abstract like "I promise to bring you a star from the sky" or more realistic like " I promise to help you with your homework everyday". On a separate sheet students will write down five promises along with why they chose to make each one. In the book the little girl loved her brother very much. Having the students write down why they made their promises can help strengthen their relationship with that person. Once the activity is complete I would ask them to go home and share it with the person they chose.

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By: Alexandra Penfold
Illustrated by: Suzanne Kaufman
Publication: 2018
Genre: Fiction
Target Age Level: 0-8
Target Grade Level: Prek-1
Lexile Level: 370
Accelerated Reader: LG
Teaser: The world today is made of all kinds of people that are apart of many different cultures. Now imagine seeing this kind of diversity in your own classroom! All Are Welcome tells a story about the first day of school for a group of children. Read along and see the variety of races, religions, and backgrounds of the many students in the classroom. This welcoming picture book celebrates diversity in schools today by depicting different people that come from all over the world. It also encourages kindness and inclusivity among all the students and even teachers in the classroom.
Activity: This book promotes acceptance and unity in schools. In order to do this in our classroom students would draw a picture and write a welcoming greeting that would help a future new student feel welcome in the classroom. The goal of this activity is to teach students how to interact and get to know other students that are from different backgrounds. The picture and writings can then be hung around he classroom.
Another Activity is to have students create welcoming hearts for the school fence. These hearts would be a symbol to welcome unity and diversity in the school.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=HRVeyMRjaZs

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By: George David Weiss and Bob Thiele
Illustrated by: Ashley Bryan
Publication: 1995
Genre: Fiction
Target Age Level: 0-8
Target Grade Level: 1-2
Lexile Level: 280
Accelerated Reader: LG
Teaser: Looking for a book that will promote unity and harmony in the classroom? Well this is the right book you! Written by Wiess and Thiele, made famous though song by Lou Armstrong What A Wonderful World is a great read for the classroom.Though its excellent illustrations depicting  multi-cultured children from all over the world, this book will surely bring hope, joy, and positivity to all who read it.
Activity: Connecting to the reading strategies in chapter four, children will be using rhyming to understand the meaning of the words in the book. This book consisted of detailed drawings and a text filled with rhymes. I would have students reflect on what their favorite page in the book was and why. Then I would
have students create another line that rhymed. For example, a student could say " I see stars in the night time sky and lit up fireflies, I think to myself what a wonderful world". The student would have to explain what their line means to a partner. The student would have to explain how does stars connect to the sky and what lit up fireflies are. This would be a way of using rhymes to give meaning to words in the text. The students could then draw a picture of the line they wrote and add their line to the bottom of the page. I could then put all the student's pages together and create out own class What A Wonderful World picture book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De2KU-e1lpQ
Students can then listen to the song while they are completing the activity. The teacher can see what form the students liked better; the song or book with illustrates.

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By: Ella Jenkins
Song/Audio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFi4X3ytKyg
Teaser: What is a more better way to give students exposure to different cultures than though language! Thank You in Many Languages is a perfect way to give students the chance to explore the politeness of people all around the world.
Activity: This short song gives young students a small amount of exposure to different cultures though language. Have the class listen to this song a few times. After listening, talk about which greeting each student found to be there favorite. Then discuss the importance of embracing other culture's languages in the classroom and how it can make others belonging to those cultures feel accepted. After the discussion, pick one greeting from the video. Have the students use that welcoming greeting everyday in the classroom. After one week, have the students use another greeting for the week. This will be a greet way to get students comfortable with other languages and cultures.

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By: Michael Jackson
Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2AitTPI5U0
Teaser: Though a catchy beat and powerful lyrics, Michael Jackson's Black or White promotes unity all around the world literally by traveling all around the world in the video! This song celebrates people belonging to different cultures and their traditions.
Activity: While students are watching the videos have them pay attention to the different cultures represented. After watching turn the students into songwriters! The class will create their own verse to a class song. Each person will create 4 lines discussing what diversity means to them personally just like Michael did in his song. They will have to talk about a specific culture and its traditions in their verse. Afterwards have the class come together and sing their verses one at a time. As a class give the song a title and truly bring it to life!

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The World's Family (An Embracing Culture Story)
Written by: Miranda Paul
Illustrated by: Fanny Wen
Narrated by: Leisha Daniel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni_at59TzMA&t=28s
Teaser: The words in this poem and visuals to assist will expose students to various backgrounds all over the world. There are many representations of different cultures, races, and religions that will benefit from seeing. This video demonstrates how we are all similar no matter where we come from.
Activity: Have students pay close attention to the different characteristics of each culture. After watching, have a discussion about the video. Ask students one thing they already knew about something shown in the video. Then ask each student to share one new thing they learned about a specific culture from the video and why it stood out to them the most.

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Teaser: This poem uses the concept of different colors to explain the importance of diversity. If everyone looked, thought, acted similar or came from the same place the world would be a boring place. This poem shows that our world today is like a exciting box of crayons with many different colors. All these colors can be used together in order to create a picture. When diversity is universal it can make the world a beautiful place for everyone no matter what color, background, or culture.
Activity: After reading the poem to the class, have each student pick one crayon. Give them ten minutes to create a picture using the one crayon they chose. After students have completed their first picture give them an additional ten minutes to create another picture. This time the students can include a variety of crayons to create their second picture. Once both drawing have been completed have students write about the difference between their pictures and how it related back to the poem as well as the importance of diversity in the world today.

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Teaser: Maya Angelou was a famous African American Poet, singer, and Civil Right activist. This poster included one of her most famous quotes about the importance of seeing the beauty in diversity. Read over this quote with students and have a class discussion about Maya's quote. Talk about the value of diversity not just in school but in the world today.
Activity: Students will think about what diversity means to them. They will then need to form a statement of there own about the value of diversity in society. Once they have formed their own quote students will create their own collage focusing on diversity. This collage will include their statement and a representation of the new cultures they have learned about from reading the previous books. This can include pictures of clothes, foods, toys, and families that belong to various cultures.