Foundations in Reading by https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2 Spring 2022 en-us 2022-02-10 00:47:09 UTC 2022-02-24 13:14:38 UTC hello@padlet.com My Windows or Mirror Book Share-Lila Balentine lbalenti1 https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2044978107 I love sharing this story with my students. If you aren't familiar with it, its a story about two girls who are best friends but then suddenly realize they have different tastes and wonder if that means they can't be best friends. They soon discover that their friendship, no matter the differences in tastes is all that matters. ]]> 2022-02-13 21:27:57 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2044978107 Mirrors Book: "Making the Moose Out of Life" dobaker2 https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2044994754 I chose this book because in the story the moose feels somewhat isolated from the other animals despite the fact that they are all creatures in a woodland community. I thought it would be a good choice because students can see themselves as an integral part of the whole class community at school in the windows book while still acknowledging and appreciating each individual member of the class's differences and the contributions those differences bring. in the mirrors text.]]> 2022-02-13 21:52:05 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2044994754 Windows Book: "The School Book" dobaker2 https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2044998486 I chose "The School Book" for my windows book because I love that Todd Parr is intentional about representing lots of different kinds of students in his books. All these students participate in the school community to make it a fun and successful place. They see that each student is their own individual person, but together they are a class family who learns and grows everyday. Students can read this text and feel that they too are an important part of our school and class community.]]> 2022-02-13 21:57:01 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2044998486 Windows and Mirror book share thilker https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2051286488 I've read this book only once with a class because a teacher only recently suggested it, but I loved it the first time I read it. In the story, a young girl is saving up her change to buy her grandmother a special chair. Unfortunately, a fire burns down their apartment. The neighborhood comes together to give the family new furniture for their new apartment. This book shows what life is like for many who live in the city and how communities can come together to help each other. ]]> 2022-02-16 16:32:18 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2051286488 Windows and Mirrors Book Shareby Margaret Stephenson https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2052210732 When I taught kindergarten, I read this book every year and sometimes I read it multiple times. Today, I read this story to inspire my students. They can be and do anything they set their minds to. Amazing grace is the story of an African American girl who loved to dress up and pretend to be all kinds of famous people. Then, one day at her school, her teacher announced that they would be holding auditions for the play Peter Pan. Grace wanted to be cast in the part of Peter Pan more than anything else. But the kids pointed out that she couldn't be Peter Pan be cause she wasn't a boy and she was black. She ran home upset and her grndmother had just the idea to help her grandaughter feel better. She took her to see Rosalie Wilkes the first African American prima ballerina to perform the part of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. After that, she practiced and she practiced and do you know who got to play the part of Peter Pan? If you hsven't figured it out, you will have to read it. I love this book because it serves as a mirror for African American girls, as well as girls, letting them know that then can do and be anything that they set their mind to!]]> 2022-02-17 01:52:57 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2052210732 https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2053204478 2022-02-17 13:44:53 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2053204478 Misty Sammons: Widows & Mirrors https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2054052840 WINDOW: Earlier in the school year an Asian teacher was being picked on by a few students in my class.  We've had discussions about being accepting and interested in learning about people and different cultures.  Students wrote apology letters and I actually emailed them to her. We've also discussed how intelligent a person is to be able to communicate in more than one language.  We imagined if I was sent to China and students were picking on me? What challenges would I be facing? How would they feel if they knew I was being picked on because I had a different culture or accent?  I think this would be a great opportunity to learn more about Asian culture and appreciate our substitute.]]> 2022-02-17 20:39:07 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2054052840 My Windows and Mirrors Book Share- Same Same but Different https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2054099761 I was going to do the sandwich swap, but someone beat me to it! So I will share Same, Same, but different. This is an excellent book that shows that we all have similarities with others that may be different than we are! We read this book in our Culture unit in Social Studies, but it would make a great morning meeting book that would lead to great discussions about how we can learn and embrace about different cultures! 
- Rebecca Osorio]]> 2022-02-17 21:14:58 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2054099761 adaigle4 https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2054117316 Families, Families, Families by Suzanne Lang & Max Lang (WINDOWS) 

This book is a lot of fun to share in a classroom setting because of the family diversity that is represented. This book describes various family dynamics, including examples of families that have one parent at home, two parents at home, parents living separately, or households with grandparents. This allows students to get a snapshot of what their peers' home might look like. This book concludes with the statement, "...if you love each other, then you are a family." I love this because not only does it reflect different family dynamics at home, but can also be extended to include the classroom family. ]]> 2022-02-17 21:29:06 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2054117316 Windows and Mirrors https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2054145273 This is one of my wife's favorite songs and when I found out it was a book, I ordered for my class. It tells the story of a girl who comes from a poor background that doesn't believe that being rich means having a lot of money. The moral of this book reaches across the socioeconomic status of many different types of communities.]]> 2022-02-17 21:52:11 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2054145273 "Esperanza Rising" https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2055446055 "Esperanza Rising," is a historical fiction novel that goes along with the Social Studies standards. It addresses the struggles of Hispanic immigrants who came to the United States to work on farms in California. It helps students understand the struggles and hardships of the Dust Bowl and The Great Depression through the eyes of Hispanic Immigrants. It opens up for discussion how they struggled to teach and keep their culture while living in a new environment. It exposes them to the Spanish language and customs from Mexico. ]]> 2022-02-18 15:29:20 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2055446055 Mirrors and Windows https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2056065698 This is a book I've read to my PreK class for several years. I started reading it when we were learning about shapes. A second benefit is sharing parts of the Asian culture with my class. Examples of this are round rice bowls, square dim sum, rectangular Chinese lace, and square blocks with Chinese writing symbols. Each class has enjoyed seeing how different and alike the items in the story are to the way we live. ]]> 2022-02-18 23:35:11 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2056065698 Windows and Mirror Book Share-Jennifer Gibson https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2056753866 This book is a really great book to share for New Years. I usually share this book every January with my Kindergarten class. I usually show it on you tube read aloud books with animation. The book has an almost sing song text with rhyming words throughout the story. The story goes great after my class has learned about several different Fall/Winter Holiday traditions from Thanksgiving to Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza... We usually draw and write about our family traditions while sharing different things that we do and or eat with our own families. This book starts off as the little girl- Shante Keys and how her family is making a traditional New Years feast with food but her mom forgot the black eyed peas! So, she goes to her neighbors to see if they have some to borrow and hears some different multicultural traditions and food choices that her neighbors share with her. 
I love to share how I grew up eating the New Years peas for luck to maybe earn pennies or cents. I then share how we would also eat collard greens and ham for luck to hopefully earn green money dollars! We then, have the students share about their traditions by telling us what they did over the Winter Break. The students can then draw/write about their own family traditions for the Winter Holidays and New Year! This book allows the students to have not only a mirror in how they might eat different food for Holidays like in the book. It also provides the windows outlook too because we can discuss how the characters were celebrating with their families but also were all a little different, too with a variety of different family cultures and traditions.]]> 2022-02-19 19:16:57 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2056753866 Windows and Mirrors Book Share- Rachael Shuba rshuba https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2056866919 Lia's Kind Mind is a book that I have read to my class after reading it to my son.  Both of my children were born with physical differences that we have taught (and will teach) them to embrace and love as something that makes them special and unique. I always want to teach my students life lessons to be understanding of themselves and others around them. We have students with many differences both in our classroom and on our hallway. This book is a great conversation starter!

https://theablefables.com/product/lias-kind-mind/ ]]> 2022-02-19 22:58:45 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2056866919 Mirrors and Windows Leah Anderson https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2057446063 This is one of my favorite books and I love reading it to my students each year.  It has such a variety of children from many different backgrounds and cultures.  My students always seem to find themselves in this book.  We enjoy going back through the book and talking about the likenesses and differences that we see.  I leave this on my bookshelf throughout the year, so that my students are able to reread it as often as they would like.  ]]> 2022-02-20 16:36:01 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2057446063 Windows and Mirror- Book Share https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2057682243 I was able to share this book, A Sled for Gabo by Emma Otheguy, with my students this year. It's about a boy named, Gabo, who moved from warm weather to somewhere cold. He doesn't have a sled and he is feeling shy. He has great qualities such as speaking Spanish and English, loves animals, and sharing the food his family love the most. Gabo slowly changes from a shy boy to embracing his community and meeting new people. 

At our school, we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and creates discussions in our classroom about different cultures and traditions that our students celebrate. 

-Julianne Gaillard ]]> 2022-02-20 21:36:05 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2057682243 Amy Manly - Windows and Mirrors Book Share https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2057733477 This book could be mirrors for some and windows for others (or both) in my diverse classroom where there is approximately 33% white, 33% black, and 33% Hispanic students. There is also a diversity in reading level, motivation to read, and love of reading in my classroom. While this book, having a black author and character, could certainly be a mirror to some of my black students, it could ALSO be a mirror to some of my white and Hispanic students simple because of the problem/plot. I feel like even if the book has a main character who looks different than us, or who enjoys different things that we do, or has an overall different culture from us - while the book may be a window to see the world and other people's perspectives - it could also be a mirror that allows us to see that we ARE in fact LIKE these "different" people. We have the same struggles, feel the same feelings - and this knowledge will grow empathy and respect for others.]]> 2022-02-20 23:06:57 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2057733477 Megan Phillips - Windows & Mirrors mwinter53 https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2057741427 In my classroom, this book would be a great window for my students. The main character Daniel is awakened in the middle of the night to go to work with his LatinX parents (who are both night custodians of a large corporate high-rise building). As they work, Daniel is disgruntled by the sloppy condition the building has been left for his parents to clean. They ease his grumpiness by making imaginary stories (i.e. - the Paper Kingdom) out of the situation and give him hope. Daniel imagines what it would be like if one day he became king of the Paper Kingdom, allowing him to dream big about giving respect to all of his subjects. It exposes students to the reality of dual-but-low income families and the importance of hopefulness for equality. ]]> 2022-02-20 23:21:06 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2057741427 https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2057796898 This story showcases many but definitely not all of the beautiful and extremely important inventions that were created by African Americans throughout the years! We have been unveiling new information in our Classroom in honor of Black History Month! The students have been so amazed and intrigued to find out how many things we use day to day that were actually contributed to American Society by African Americans! The students  are so hungry for more and ask daily are we going to get to learn more about Black History!!! I have truly enjoyed the conversations and thought provoking that this story stems in our classroom!! I always remind them that no matter what you can do and be anything you want if you work hard and stick to your goals!!!!

Kyle Jackson]]> 2022-02-21 00:42:03 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2057796898 How to Be Cool in the Third Grade kmwillia1 https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2057853287 Robbie is old enough to know that surviving school depends on one very important thing: knowing what's cool. But what is cool in the third grade? he asks himself.
He's got some ideas: Cool is a grown-up name like "Rob" instead of "Robbie." Cool is walking to the bus stop by yourself, and not having your mother there with a camera and a kiss goodbye. Cool is jeans and a t-shirt - and definitely not Super Heroes underwear. Robbie knows he has work to do in the cool department, but he's forgotten about one thing: Bo Haney, the school bully.
Bo is big, and he's been in the third grade for a long, long time. More importantly, when he gives a nickname, it sticks. And all it takes is one lurch of the school bus to land Robbie right in Bo's lap, and land him the nickname "Baby Wobbie." Now Robbie is convinced he's in for the worst year ever. But third grade can be full of surprises, as he finds out, not the least of which is his own resourcefulness. Young readers will cheer Robbie's ultimate success in this gentle, realistic chapter book.
I like to us this book at the beginning of the year to talk about how everyone feels different on the first day or week of school. We discuss the different things they are feeling and if Robbie's worries were really needed.
Michelle Williams
]]> 2022-02-21 01:40:10 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2057853287 Mrs. Spitzer's Garden- Stacy Lawson https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2057901248 In this book, Mrs. Spitzer is a teacher. The author, Edith Pattou does an excellent job of comparing a garden to a classroom of students. Mrs. Spitzer is a teacher and a gardener. She does a wonderful job of knowing just what her plants and students need. This book is very inspirational for teachers and students. I love to read this at the beginning of the year. I emphasize that we all are different and need different things at different times in order to be successful and to flourish. It teaches us all to embrace differences and celebrate all successes. ]]> 2022-02-21 02:25:14 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2057901248 LaVisha Youmans https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2057930395 I love this story, Home of the Brave. I usually teach this when I am teaching my 5th graders in our book club unit. This is a great story to learn about characters, how the setting impact characters, and character change throughout a book. The biggest lesson the story teaches is for the students to have compassionate and show empathy for others that are not like them. Kek comes from Africa because his country is in a Civil War. Kek comes to America, and has to leave behind his entire life. His dad and brother dies in the war and he and his mom were separated in a refugee in camp. In America he sees snow for the first time, and feels its sting. He's never walked on ice, and he falls. He wonders if the people in this new place will be like the winter – cold and unkind. The students begin to feel empathy for Kek because he doesn't know the language in America. They also put themselves in his shoes and think about when new classmates arrive or when they have been new in a situation. It really changes their perspective when they meet someone new. ]]> 2022-02-21 02:51:27 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2057930395 Windows or mirror book talong https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2057941679 I absolutely love this book and the short film by the same name. For many of my students this book is a mirror. It is about a determined little girl who wants her hair to be beautiful. She watches youtube videos at first but ends up needing her dad's help to make it beautiful. It is a great representation of a great father who is Black and a strong family unit. For other students in my classroom, this could be a window. All of us have different hair and they can learn a lot from this book about hair is styled. It's a fun book that all students can relate to no matter who they are. ]]> 2022-02-21 03:01:11 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2057941679 Window and Mirrors Book Share - J. Roper https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2058856390 In spite of what everyone keeps telling Bessie Coleman, a young African American girl in the 1920s, she still believes in herself and finds a way to follow her dreams. "Brave Bessie" became the first licensed female African-American aviator. 
I enjoyed sharing this story, written as a poem with beautiful illustrations, with my 3rd graders this year.  We had some very meaningful discussions about our lives and schools "then compared to now."]]> 2022-02-21 14:21:36 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2058856390 relewis5 https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2064520045 At the high school level, we consistently have students, who not only come from different backgrounds, but who are also figuring out their gender identity at the same time. When we speak of inclusiveness, I feel it is important to include books like "Pink is for Boys" as well. Many of my own students would relate to the themes in this book that include gender diversity and inclusion for those who might see themselves differently from the rest of the world. It also provides a chance for them to feel represented as there are so few books on this subject that are written for children. ]]> 2022-02-24 13:14:13 UTC https://padlet.com/smoss20/90ym9pgvr4znv3y2/wish/2064520045