Illustrator: Kadir Nelson

Published: September 2000

Genre: Picture books for children

Approximate Interest Level: Kindergarten - 3rd

Approximate Text Level: Kindergarten - 2nd

Lexile: 680L

Sassy, a young ballet dance in Inglewood, California has been made fun of for her long limbs and big feet by her brother and the other girls in her ballet class. One day, when her ballet instructor announces that a famous Russian ballet school instructor is coming to look for talented girls for a dance festival in Washington D.C., Sassy jumps on the idea. She stands out enough with her tall body and big feet. Will she be able to be noticed by just walking into a room? 

As a lesson to go along with this book, I would use a variation of a lesson listed in chapter 4 of our textbook. I would use the lesson of Previewing. I would introduce the book to my students have instead of doing a read aloud, I would show them just the pictures. Because this lesson is targeted towards younger children, instead of writing down their predictions for a specific picture, I would have them discuss them with a partner. The reason for this lesson is to teach all of the parts of this book. This book teaches diversity by having a strong African American female character, but it also teaches individuals stand up for what they believe in, no matter what or who is going against them. Predicting the story gets the students involved and invested, and therefore they will have a better take away than just reading the book. 

This blogpost gives a few lesson/activity ideas to go along with this book: http://2009bookclubblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/dancing-in-wings-by-debbie-allen.html

Illustrator: Suzanne Kaufman

Published: July 10th, 2018

Genre: (Fiction) Picture books for children; Stories in rhyme

Approximate Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten - 3rd grade 

Approximate Text Level: Pre-Kindergarten - 2nd grade
Lexile: 370L

When going to any place in the community, there are many different kinds of people; which means there are many different kinds of children in school. There's different clothing, different types of food, different origins, different hopes, and different stories. All Are Welcome introduces all different qualities of people in the story. Will you see yourself?

This text is not only about accepting and welcoming everyone's differences, it also has a rhyming pattern. For a lesson on this book, I would not only have a discussion about the topic, but also about the rhyming words. As early elementary schoolers who are beginning to read and write, it is important for them to look for patterns with words. After reading the text all the way though, I would meet with small groups individually and let them each look at the book (after having a discussion about rhyming words). I would first ask them if they could recognize any words that rhymed. I would go from there to read each page and have the students identify the words that rhymed after I read one page. We would then look at the spellings of the words and dissect why they rhymed. This book and it's images allow the readers to connect with the characters indirectly just by looking at them. The lesson of diversity is still being taught when looking at an important grammatical concept. 

Illustrator: Vanessa Brantley-Newton

Published: January 13th, 2015

Genre: (Fiction) Picture books for children

Approximate Interest Level: Kindergarten - 4th grade

Approximate Text Level: Kindergarten - 3rd grade
Accelerated Reader BL: 3.5

Look around you; what do you see? What are you able to do because you can see? Zulay has a visual disability, and all she wants to do is run during her schools' field day event. Will she be able to master her cane in time to run in the race?

The book not only is important for informing students of different types of disabilities, it touches on the world of Braille. A lesson for this book would be a more interactive one. I would go through the book again and ask the students where or when in the book did they see braille. After reviewing the book, I would give them the activity to write the first and last name and what town they are from (or what town the school is in) in Braille. I would have them complete the activity by coloring in the correct bubbles for each letter in Braille, and then I would give them bubbly stickers once checking with a teacher if their bubbles were filled in correctly. The purpose for this lesson is to really allow the students to have a hands on experience of how those with a visual disability learn. It is especially important to introduce this to kids at this age because this is when they are learning to read, and it is important to have a better understanding of the different way other people may read the same material they do. 

Link to Braille alphabet and numbers:
https://www.royalblind.org/sites/www.royalblind.org/files/Braille_Games_BrailleGuide.pdf
Link to Who Are You? activity:
https://www.royalblind.org/sites/www.royalblind.org/files/Braille_Games_WhoAreYou_0.pdf

Illustrator: Rilla Alexander

Published: March 6th, 2018

Genre: (Fiction) Cumulative tales; Picture books for children; Stories in rhyme

Approximate Interest Level: Kindergarten - 1st grade

Approximate Text Level: Kindergarten 
Lexile: 460L

We've all seen squirrels, and birds, and raccoons on our porches. But what if there were bears and mooses and possums, all at the SAME time? Will the porch handle all the commotion, and if things go wrong, who will help put the porch back together again? Find out in A Bear Sat on My Porch Today!

A lesson plan for this book is to have the students recognize rhyming words. I would read the book to the students in the group setting again and stop at every page to have them connect the two rhyming words with a drawing. By connecting the two words, they will have a better understanding of rhyming words. This book has great simple rhyming words that kindergarteners would know. I would also have them complete one of the activities from the author (link provided below) in which they draw the animals on the porch. I would have them work together with a partner to discuss how each animal would help with the reconstruction of the porch and making lunch. This gets their imaginations and storytelling to take control and will help with their creative writing skills in the future.

This is the link to the activities provided by the author, Jane Yolen, to go along with the book:

Illustrator: Vashti Harrison

Published: June 19th, 2018

Genre: Picture books for children (Fiction)

Approximate Interest Level: Kindergarten - 3rd Grade

Approximate Text Level: Kindergarten - 2nd Grade 
Accelerated Reader: IL: LG, BL: 3.5, AR Pts: 0.5

Cece is a young scientist. She loves to ask "what if?" questions and won't give up until her answer is found. Cece and her best friend Isaac come up with a "what if?" question and Cece's dog Einstein is their main subject. Will Einstein eat any kind of vegetables, even if they're disguised? Will Cece follow her teacher, Ms. Curie's, advice that "a scientist thinks outside the box and never, ever gives up?" Follow Cece, Isaac, and Einstein to find out!

This book teaches children all about the scientific method through Cece and her scientific thinking.  A perfect lesson for this book is to teach the scientific method to children with an experiment. The website Little Bins for Little Hands gave an example of a question for an experiment: Does ice melt in faster in different liquids? After reading this book to the class, I would review with them as a whole what steps Cece and Isaac took to find that Einstein would eat veggies if they were blended with bananas (Observation, question, hypothesis, testing, recording data, and a conclusion). After reviewing and defining these with the whole class, I would pose the scientific question to the class. We would then go through the steps that Cece and Isaac did (and I would have them compare what our steps are in our experiment to what Cece and Isaac did). This is a great way to introduce the scientific method to children in a non-complicated way and to teach the importance of asking questions. I chose this book because it not only discusses important scientific method procedures, but it also features diverse characters and families. Cece's is biracial, and her family comes from different backgrounds. She is a strong diverse female character that is simply interested in science, and it introduces diversity to children in a way that is natural and some could relate to. 

This is the link to the website that came up with the experiment question:
https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/using-scientific-method-experiments-kids/

Illustrator: Christian Robinson 

Published: January 8th, 2015

Genre: Picture books for children (Fiction)

Approximate Interest Level: Kindergarten - 2nd Grade

Approximate Text Level: Kindergarten - 2nd Grade
Lexile: 610L

CJ asks his Nana why they always have to go somewhere after church, why they have to take the bus and not a car, and why they have to wait in the rain. He keeps asking questions to his Nana when Mr. Dennis, the bus driver, pulls up to their stop. On the bus ride, CJ and his Nana meet many different people: a blind man, and man with tattoos, and a musician who plays the guitar. But the biggest question is, where are they going? What lies ahead at the last stop on Market Street? Will CJ see the beauty that his Nana sees? Take a ride to the last stop on Market Street! 

A lesson plan to go along with this book is to introduce KWL (what they know, what they want to know, and what they learned) to the students. I would do this lesson as the first KWL lesson and it would be with the whole class/some partnering so they understand what it is and then are able to do it on their own the next time they do this activity. Before reading the text, I would preview the book with the whole class by going through and looking at the pictures and having volunteers share what they know from the pictures, or what they think the story is about. I would then have them partner up (before reading the story) with the person sitting next to them and have them come up with what they want to learn from the book. I would have each of them share what they want to learn and write it on the board, so they are able to see what they want to learn while I read the book out loud. I would then read the story to them, and after reading, I would have each of them individually say what they learned to the class. They could be things about people in the book, or the answer to what hey wanted to know. I think this is a great book to introduce this type of activity/lesson because there is a lot children could learn from this book. Some may not know about public transportation, or guide dogs for people who are blind, or what a soup kitchen is. This book introduces a lot of new ideas to children in a manner that also introduces diversity among all of the characters CJ and his Nana meet in a natural way.

Link to a KWL activity sheet:
https://notebookingfairy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/KWL-graphic-organizer.gif

Illustrator: Matt Lamothe

Published: May 2nd, 2017

Genre: Culture and Customs; Picture books for children (Nonfiction)

Approximate Interest Level: Kindergarten - 3rd Grade

Approximate Text Level: Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
Lexile: 620L

Summary: There's Kei from Japan, Ribaldo from Peru, Kian from Iran, Oleg from Russia, Ananya from India, Romero from Italy, and Daphine from Uganda. Each of them lives in a very different place and they all do very different things each day, but they all fall asleep looking at the same moon and stars. Follow these seven kids as they show what they do in a day in their lives! 

A great lesson for this book is to have students (at the 3rd grade level since this lesson is a little complex for younger grades) create their own version of this book with themselves after reading it as a class (their title would be "This Is How I Do It"). I would include a mini-lesson of what an autobiography is. Each page, they would draw and write their answer to the different phrases in the book: This is me; This is where I live; This is who I live with; This is what I wear to school; This is what I eat for breakfast; This is how I go to school; This is my teacher; This is how we learn; This is how I spell my name; This is what I eat for lunch; This is how I play; This is how I help; This is how we eat dinner; This is what I do in the evening; This is where I sleep; and This is my night sky. This is something that may take a few days during their writing workshop time, however it is one that has to be completed. Every students pages should be different, and the last page of the night sky should all be their own interpretation of a night sky. Once the whole class is done with their "This is How I do It" book, I would have them all go around and give them 5-10 minutes at each of their peer's desks to read their classmates story. After they have all shared their stories, I would lead a group discussion and ask them question (What were some similarities between yours and your classmates story? What were some differences?) After having that discussion, I would then ask them why they think they all have the same last page of the night sky. After getting answers from volunteers, I would follow off of them to remind them that although we all have different lives, and we all do different things, we are all human, and that our differences make us special and unique. These books that they create not only enhance their writing skills as young authors, but it also shows them a glimpse at their peer's lives and their cultures. I chose this lesson/book because it promotes diversity right in our own classroom and gives students a glimpse of different cultures around the world.

This is an activity kit for this book put together by the author and publisher:
https://www.chroniclebooks.com/landing-pages/pdfs/this-is-how-we-do-it-activity-kit.pdf

Illustrator: Ros Asquith

Published: 2010 (April 14th, 2011 for hardcover)

Genre: Picture books for children (Nonfiction)

Approximate Interest Level:  Kindergarten - 2nd Grade

Approximate Text Level: Kindergarten - 3rd grade
No Accelerated Reader or Lexile was available

The Great Big Book of Families shows big families, small families, loud families, extended families, and struggling families. Some families even include their pet cats and dogs! On every page, each families does different things, wears different clothes, and celebrates different holidays. Can you find a family that is similar to yours? I'm sure you'll find one in The Great Big Book of Families! 

Teaching Idea: A lesson plan to go along with The Great Big Book of Families is to have students (at the 2nd or 3rd grade level) conduct interviews with partners. After reading this book with the class, I would do a short mini-lesson on what a biography is. I would assign them into pairs and give them a list of questions to ask their partners that align with the book (Who do you live with?; Who is in your family?; What kind of home do you live in?; How do you get to school?; What does/do your parents/guardians do at work?; Have you ever gone on vacation?; What is your favorite food that you eat with your family?; Where do you get your clothes?; Do you have any pets?; What holidays do you celebrate?; What is something you like to do in your free time?). This is a printed out version that would leave room for them to write down their partner's answers. The next task is for the students to write an autobiography, including pictures, in a book format with blank paper booklets provided to them. (If resources are available, they can choose if they want to type it on the computer or write it on paper). The reason I chose this lesson is because it allows students to get to know their classmates, and it introduces a new writing technique. This lesson relates to the story by showcasing the different types of families right in the classroom. Families change and they grow, and not every family is the same. This book shows many different types of people in a way that is not forceful (ex: a child in a wheelchair dressed in a costume). As children, and people, they will experience many different types of people with many different families from their own, but they all are unique in their own way.

Here's an additional lesson made by welcomingschools.org:
https://hrc.org/welcoming-schools/documents/Welcoming-Schools-Great-Big-Book-Families.pdf

Illustrator: Freya Blackwood

Published: November 1st, 2017

Genre: Picture books for children (Fiction)

Approximate Interest Level: 1st grade - 2nd grade

Approximate Text Level: Kindergarten - 2nd Grade
Lexile: 480L

Imagine moving away from your home; frome everything you've ever known and loved. Imagine going to a new place, where the people look differently, they sound differently, and they live differently. "Cartwheel" decides to wrap herself in a blanket of all of the things that make her comfortable. Will she find a new blanket that keeps her comfortable in this new and foreign place? FInd out in My Two Blankets!

Teaching Idea:
A lesson to go along with this book is to have students fill out a retelling graphic organizer on the characters, setting, problem, and solution. I would start the lesson by doing a class read aloud with the book. We would read the book once, have a discussion about the plot, characters, and setting, and then I would read it again. I would instruct them to work individually and give them the worksheet that is linked below. This worksheet includes sections for the students to write the title, the characters, the setting, the problem and the solution. The students would be given 20 minutes ti complete this assignment. Afterwords, I would lead a discussion based on volunteers to share what they wrote. I would connect the main characters problem (feeling out of place in a new environment) and her solution (having a friend that helped her feel comfortable) to emphasize the importance of helping and including others. I would ask students how they can help involve others during school and provide my own examples afterwords (asking someone to play at recess, asking someone to sit with them at lunch, helping a classmate who is having a hard time understanding an assignment). The reason I chose this lesson to go along with this book is because part of the main characters solution was uncontrolled by her, and it was the girl who helped her. This relates to the overall theme of my text set because it is important for children to understand the impact they have on someone just by helping them and including them, which is what I will discuss with them all.

Link to the worksheet:
https://ecdn.teacherspayteachers.com/thumbitem/Fiction-Retelling-Graphic-Organizer-Problem-Solution-Lesson-Learned-3049938-1488872523/original-3049938-1.jpg