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By: Aeryn Myers
Teaser: This animated video shows several diverse families and how each of them are unique. It takes a look at the many types of different families that there can be. While all families look different, they may also sound different and speak various languages. They may be big or small and they may have different beliefs and cultures. In total, family is special and should be treated with respect and care regardless.
Activity: Students will watch this video as a class. Then, students will have to find a family from the video that they are either similar to or different from, and explain why. Each student will be given construction paper and have to write down the name of the family they are choosing to compare or contrast. Also on the construction paper will be drawings that students can circle showing similarities or differences (eg. there will be a drawing of a big family or a small family, and students will circle which one relates to them).

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By: Amaze Org
Teaser: Have you ever found your own family to be boring or think there is nothing unique about them? Or that maybe your family is special in their own way but didn't have the words to express it? You might feel differently after watching this! This video explores many different family dynamics and expresses them in a child friendly manner.
Activity: As a class we will each be given a stencil family cut out. We will make one for each family member and then draw and color their features. Each student will put theirs up on a poster board for the class to see. Under each family will be the words "My family is ___" and in the blank the students will write one word that describes their family.

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Author: Woodson, Jacqueline
Illustrator: Lopez, Rafael
Publication Date: August 2018
Genre: Fiction
Interest Level: K-3
Text Level: 980 (Lexile)
Teaser: People feel different for many different reasons. Maybe it's because no one looks like you or maybe it's because you are the new kid. Follow the main character as she becomes more comfortable in her own skin in a place that feels so unfamiliar.
Teaching Idea/Link/Connection to Theme: Students will write a short paragraph about their first day of school and how they felt. This will help students practice their writing skills through detailed descriptions of a specific event. Students will then finish the activity by drawing a picture to represent that day.

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4. The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family

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4. The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family

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Author(s): Muhammad, Ibtihaj and Ali, S. K.
Illustrator: Aly, Hatem
Publication Date: September 2019
Genre: Fiction
Interest Level: P-3
Text Level: 500 (Lexile)
Teaser: Faizah is excited for the first day of school while her sister is starting her first day wearing a hijab. Not everyone is nice about the hijab and both sisters must find ways to be strong and confident in themselves and what they stand for.
Teaching Idea/Link/Connection to Theme: Students complete and author's purpose worksheet where they will state what they think was the author's purpose for telling the story (entertain, inform, etc.). They will then write at least 1 sentence explaining why they think that and use proof from the book to support their reasoning.

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Author: Alexie, Sherman
Illustrator: Morales, Yuyi
Publication Date: May 2016
Genre: Fiction
Interest Level: P-2
Text Level: 420 (Lexile)
Teaser: Thunder Boy Jr. is named after his father but he wants his own name. He wants a name that represents something cool he's done in his life. Him and his dad pick out a name together..
Teaching Idea/Link/Connection to Theme: Students will write a short paragraph explaining what they would change their name to based off something cool they have done with their family if they could and why. If students want to share with the class, they will have an opportunity to. This will give students a chance to get to know each other and what cool things each student does with their families which connects to the theme of diverse families.

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Author: Juster, Norton
Illustrator: Raschka, Chris
Publication Date: 2005
Genre: Fiction, Picture book, Children's literature
Interest Level: Pre-2
Text Level: 670 (Lexile)
Teaser: This stream-of-consciousness story told from the child's-eye view of a visit to her loving grandparents encapsulates the feeling of love found in visits between family members.
Teaching Idea/ Link/ Connection to Theme: The students will make “Family windows” The windows will have 4 sections. The sections will be fun, love, work, and family members. The students will draw pictures for each section and/or write out one thing that fits into each of these categories that we will post for the class to see.

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Author: Morales, Yuyi
Illustrator: Morales, Yuyi
Publication Date: September 4, 2018
Genre: Children's Literature, Biography, Non-fiction
Interest Level: P-3
Text Level: 480 (Lexile)
Teaser: This story is about a diverse family of a mother and her son traveling to a new and unfamiliar place where the language is different. The mother and her son discover their new home and with the power of dreams and hope, they find the best parts of their new life.
Teaching Idea/ Link/ Connection to Theme: The students will participate in a read aloud activity where the teacher is reading to students. Throughout the reading, the class will stop at certain parts of the story and identify big events and challenges the characters face. It is up to the students to identify how the characters are feeling and reacting to these big events. Sentence starters will be available to the students: A big event the characters faced was___. This made them feel___. At the end of the reading, the class will discuss the main events and challenges, and how the characters reacted and felt. As a closing activity, students will have to think of a time when they faced a big event and challenge in their life. They will be asked to create a comic strip with drawings of their event/challenges and show their feelings (eg. happy, scared, nervous, sad).

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Author: Cox, Judy
Illustrator: Brown, Elbrite
Publication Date: September 1, 2003
Genre: Children's Literature, Fiction.
Interest Level: P-3
Text Level: 580 (Lexile)
Teaser: In this story the author describes each of the main characters family members and what instruments and what music they play. The author dedicates an image and a description to a family member.
Teaching Idea/Link/Connection to Theme: To begin, the teacher will read the story aloud to the class. The teacher will pause to ensure understanding at key moments. Once finished the students will be given a sheet that says "This is my __________" and below that will be lines for writing. On those lines the students will write about that person and something they are good at or love to do. Once finished writing the students should draw a picture below that illustrates what they wrote about.

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Author: Khan, Rukhsana
Illustrator: Blackall, Sophie
Publication Date: March 2010
Genre: Children's Literature, Fiction
Interest Level: K-4
Text Level: 490 (Lexile)
Teaser: This story takes place in modern day regarding a Pakistani family, three sisters and their mom. The oldest sister was invited to her first birthday party, and has to bring her younger sister along with. It turns out that the younger sister makes the adventure all about her. Throughout this story, the sibling rivalry that exists transcends all cultures.
Teaching Idea/ Link/ Connection to Theme: Kids will be given cut-outs of red lollipops, like the one in the story. Kids can write, or draw, on the lollipop how families around the world are the same and how they are different. Kids will compare and constrast their families to the family in the story. As a class, there will be a discussion before hand so students have an idea of what to include on their lollipop.

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11. Don't Let Auntie Mabel Bless the Table

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11. Don't Let Auntie Mabel Bless the Table

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Author: Brantley-Newton, Vanessa
Illustrator: Brantley-Newton, Vanessa
Publication Date: September 22, 2010
Genre: Children's Literature, Fiction.
Interest Level: P-3
Text Level: 4-8 years
Teaser: In this humorous story, a family sits down for their Sunday dinner. The whole family has been seated when it is time for them to bless their meal. Auntie Mabel offers to give the blessing and they say yes. She proceeds to bless each person and portion of the meal individually. Leading to be the longest prayer ever.
Teaching Idea/Link/Connection to Theme: From the theme of this story I would like each student to think of a unique tradition that their family participates in. Just as Auntie Mabel's family participates in a Sunday night dinner with a blessing of the meal, I would like the students to think of a tradition that their family does. It does not have to be a meal, or a blessing. It could be a holiday tradition, or even a weekly movie night. Once they have thought of it I would like them to open their writers notebooks and write one sentence about why they love this tradition and what their family does that is unique.

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Author: Hegedus, Bethany & Arun Manilal Gandhi
Illustrator: Turk, Evan
Publication Date: March 11, 2014
Genre: Children's Non-Fiction Literature
Interest Level: Pre-3
Text Level: 600 (Lexile)
Teaser: Have you ever had a family member, friend, or other influence in your life that you worried you could never live up to? Imagine now that person being one of histories greatest leaders, and also your grandfather! This is the story of Arun, one of Gandhi's grandson's and his struggles with emotion and living up to the Gandhi name.
Teaching Idea/ Link/ Connection to Theme: We will begin by listing times we felt happy, nervous, angry, or another strong emotion. Then, after the reading is done we will extend this lesson by thinking back on the times we have listed on the board and how we reacted, as well as the ways Arun reacted to various situations. We will now think outside of our own shoes to show how Gandhi may have reacted to these situations. The students will now be working on their own and thinking what would Gandhi have done differently in these situations we brought up. The students will each write out one of our situations we have listed, and then try to think from Gandhi’s point of view what he may have done in the given situation.

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Author:  Oliveros, Jessie
Illustrator: Wulfekotte, Dana
Publication Date: 2018
Genre: Children's Literature; Fiction
Interest Level: K-4
Text Level: 490 (Lexile)
Teaser: Old age and health problems that come with it are difficult topics to acknowledge, especially if you have ever lost a loved one. This book approaches the topic of a diverse family whose loved one is battling with illness in a heartfelt and engaging way.
Teaching Idea/ Link/ Connection to Theme: Have students write down what their best memory was with one of their family members. They will be given paper shaped balloons where they will write down a good memory with a family member, writing who it’s from and who it’s to. These will be placed on a poster board the class can see full of balloons with each student's memory in the center of their balloon.

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By: Maya Angelou
Teaser: Though the notion of diversity to this day makes some uncomfortable, Maya Angelou derives a heart-warming narrative from this deficit ideology. She brings to light the topic of diversity in families and around the world in an intimate way with a powerful message at the end: We are more alike than we are unalike.
Activity: The students will each try their own attempt at poetry. They will each write a short poem that describes their family and one thing that makes them unique.

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Title: Mira, Royal Detective Animated Series

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Title: Mira, Royal Detective Animated Series

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By: Disney Channel and Disney Junior
Teaser: The Indian culture and lifestyle is explored and showcased throughout this Disney series. Mira is a commoner who is appointed to be a royal detective by the queen. Follow her along her journey of helping everyone from commoners to royals.

Activity: Students will act as detectives and explore a culture that is not their own. After exploring, students will make a presentation to show what they have found. Depending on grade level, the presentation can be just picture or it can include other factual information. Whether this is an independent project or a partner project also depends on the grade level. This allows students to learn about a culture other than their own and hopefully will then help students have a better understanding of some of their peers.

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Diwali | Music Video | Mira, Royal Detective | Disney Junior

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By: Biddle, Buffie
Teaser: Have you ever thought of what the world would be like if everyone was exactly the same? This animated video shows the importance of diversity in friendship and how fun it is to be different and learn from each other's differences in life.
Activity: Students will be given a cut out of a person. They will all be given a variety of art supplies to decorate their cut out to represent themselves such as markers, glitter, feathers, buttons, glue, crayons, etc. Then the teacher will put everyone's cut outs on the "friendship wall" to observe all the differences between everyone but emphasize even though everyone is different, we can all be friends and accepting of one another.

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Diversity Diversity - Diversity And Inclusion

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Author: Penfold, Alexandra
Illustrator: Kaufman, Suzanne
Publication Date: January 2019
Genre: Fiction
Interest Level: P-3
Text Level: 370 (Lexile)
Teaser: Follow around a group of students as they go through their school day and learn from each other's traditions. This is a school where patkas, hijabs, baseball caps and yarmulkes are all welcome.
Teaching Idea/Link/Connection to Theme: Students will all bring something in that represents their cultures and traditions for a show and tell. This will allow the students to show off and be proud of where they come from while also learning from others.

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Author(s): Bates, Amy June and Bates, Juniper
Illustrator: Bates, Amy Junie
Publication Date: February 2018
Genre: Fiction
Interest Level: P-3
Text Level: 370 (Lexile)
Teaser: Look! Resting next to the door is a big umbrella. It looks like it could have all types of people under there!
Teaching Idea/Link/Connection to Theme: Students will make their own "big" umbrella. Students will have a variety of art materials available so that each umbrella can be unique and represent the essence of each student. This is a special activity where students will think about the construction of their umbrella as a form of how they would include and "cover" their peers.

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Author: Mora, Pat
Illustrator: Colon, Raul
Publication Date: September 1997
Genre: Fiction
Interest Level: P-2
Text Level: 440 (Lexile)
Teaser: Tomas, who is the son of migrant workers, travels from Texas to Iowa with his family for work. While he's there he visits a library where he meets the librarian. They become friends and teach each other new things.
Teaching Idea/Link/Connection to Theme: Students will listen to a read aloud of this book and answer questions along the way to check for comprehension and to make sure everyone is paying attention. Along the way, students should realize the relationship between Tomas and the library lady. At the end of the book, students should be able to explain what Tomas and the library lady have taught each other. Lastly, students will answer the question, "Who is someone important in your life that has taught you something? What did they teach you?". Students will share as a class if they want to. This shows diversity in family and friends.

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Author: Saeed, Aisha
Illustrator: Syed, Anoosha
Publication Date: June 2019
Genre: Fiction
Interest Level: P-3
Text Level: 520 (Lexile)
Teaser: Bilal helps his father make his favorite dish called Daal which he wants his friends to try. While waiting for it to cook, Bilal gets nervous his friends won't like how the dish tastes.
Teaching Idea/Link/Connection to Theme: Students will get into small groups and share their favorite dish their family makes and describe what it is to introduce each other to new dishes in different cultures. This activity touches on diversity within families and cultural dishes.

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Author: Faruqi, Saadia
Illustrator: Aly, Hatem
Publication Date: August 2018
Genre: Children's Literature, Fiction
Interest Level: K-3
Text Level: 470 (Lexile)
Teaser: Yasmin's Baba (father) convinces her to make a map so she can be an explorer. When Yasmin goes to the farmer's market with her mother, she loses sight of her. Yasmin has to use her map she made to retrace her steps to find her mother.
Teaching Idea/Link/Connection to Theme: Students will be creating their own explorer maps based on places and things around their houses. They can use the picture of Yasmin's map in the book for inspiration. In small groups made by the teacher, students will share their maps and explain key details of their map around their house to show differences between each student. This book/activity connects with the theme because it shows diverse families/homes.

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Author: Kostecki-Shaw, Jenny Sue
Illustrator: Kostecki-Shaw, Jenny Sue
Publication Date: September 2011
Genre: Children's Literature, Fiction
Interest Level: P-2
Text Level: 460 (Lexile)
Teaser: A story about pen pals writing to each other from across the world, India and America. Elliot and Kailash discover that even though they live in two different places, they find many things in common with each other.
Teaching Idea/ Link/ Connection to Theme: Students will be writing to a pen pal (this will be pretend) who lives in a different country. There will be sentence starters to guide the students' letters. In the letter, students will share their interests and hobbies and what their family life is like.

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Author: Choi, Yangsook
Illustrator: Choi, Yangsook
Publication Date: October 2003
Genre: Children's Literature, Fiction
Interest Level: K-3
Text Level: 290 (Lexile)
Teaser: Unhei moves from Korea to the United States and she is new to her school with new classmates. She wants her classmates to like her, but nobody can pronounce her name and she gets made fun of. When she decides to give herself an American name, a classmate reaches out and tells her to appreciate her Korean name. Will the power of friendship take over and show Unhei to appreciate what she has?
Teaching Idea/ Link/ Connection to Theme: Have students write/draw their name in a creative way (eg. bubble letters, using markers, crayons etc.) on a piece of construction paper. As a class, students will share their own names and practice respectfully saying each other's names correctly.

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Author: Woodson, Jacqueline
Illustrator: Lewis, E.B.
Publication Date: January 2001
Genre: Fiction
Interest Level: K-3
Text Level: 490 (Lexile)
Teaser: Clover, a young African-American girl lives next to a fence that divides her town. Her mom tells her to never climb the fence and go the other side. One day, she notices another girl on the other side of the fence. Clover is longing to make a friend, what will she do?
Teaching Idea/ Link/ Connection to Theme: The class will participate in a read aloud activity where the teacher is reading to the students. After reading, the class will discuss what the fence meant in the story (segregation) and how did Clover create a bridge so she could make friends? Then, the teaching idea will be having the students create a problem-solution chart! They will be given a problem similar to this one in the story. The students will be told that there is a fence dividing them from making new friends and playing with them. The students will have to come up with a solution to overcome this problem. Each student will share their problem-solution, and we will add it to the chart in the classroom!

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Author: Sarah, Linda
Illustrator: Davies, Benji
Publication Date: August 28, 2014.
Genre: Children's Literature, Fiction.
Interest Level: K-3
Text Level: 3 and up
Teaser: This story is about a diverse set of kids and how they navigate changes in their friendships. Two friends meet to play on the same hill every day. That was until one day, a new friend joined and the friends had to navigate a new three-by-three rhythm opposed to the old two-by-two rhythm. Through the power of friendship the children are able to overcome the struggles.
Teaching Idea/Link/Connection to Theme: This was my IRA book. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1I70VLJdL5Ggk0LE4h47WoPH69gSLP8yctyGnQONwJ0I/edit?usp=sharing

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Author: English, Karen
Illustrator: Steptoe, Javaka
Publication Date: May 24, 2004
Genre: Children's Literature, Fiction.
Interest Level: K-3
Text Level: 580 (Lexile)
Teaser: This is a story about friendship. At the beginning of the story, two friends are in the middle of a fight and are not speaking to each other. Through the events of the story and the different people that they come across, the two girls are able to become friends again.
Teaching Idea/Link/Connection to Theme: The students will participate in a read aloud with this story. Through out specific points of the story the teacher will pause to check for understanding from the students. With a focus on the main events, the teacher will pass out a diagram to the students about the plot of the story. As the story progresses each student should write a sentence about the beginning, rising action, climax, falling action, and conclusion. Once the story is finished, the students will have a few extra minutes to wrap up their writing. Once finished, as a class, they will fill out a big plot diagram on the board to ensure that everyone is understanding the main points of the story.

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Title: We Are All Different - And THATS AWESOME!

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Title: We Are All Different - And THATS AWESOME!

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By: Blakeway, Cole
Teaser: In this multimodal source Cole Blakeway speaks about a friend that he has made and how he lives everyday to be unique. He speaks about the ways that the friend is different from him, but does not leave out the things about him that are so great. Blakeway shares experiences and stories based around the idea of friendship and the different qualities that people have to offer that make them unique. He exemplifies the point that being different is awesome!
Activity: In this activity students will be given the task to think of one trait or idea about themselves that sets them apart. Once the students have these ideas, I would like them to think of three ways that they can use those in future friendships and making new friends. The students will write these down on the given worksheet then the class will participate in the think/pair/share.

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We Are All Different - and THAT'S AWESOME! | Cole Blakeway | TEDxWestVancouverED