Exploring Diversity through Literacy

Essential Question

How can I describe and compare my group identities with those of other people?
How can I ask people about their lives and experiences in a respectful, kind and understanding way?
How can I live, work and play with others when we have differences?

Texts

Literature

Shoulders

In this poem, the speaker sees a man carrying his son across the street and is struck by the tenderness the man displays for the child. The speaker realizes that humanity must cloak itself in this same caring nature.

Naomi Shihab Nye

Grade Level

3-5 6-8

Subject

Civics

Topic

Bullying & Bias

July 2, 2014

Informational

Peace Begins With You

Katherine Scholes begins this informative piece by describing the multi-facted nature of the word "peace" and what it can mean to different people at different times. Then she provides concrete ways that each of us can be a peacemaker.

Katherine Scholes

Grade Level

K-2 3-5

Subject

Civics

History

Economics

Geography

Topic

Bullying & Bias

July 3, 2014

Informational

Four Freedoms

In his 1941 State of the Union Address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt outlined four fundamental human freedoms—the freedom of speech, of worship, from want, and from fear—for the United States and the rest of the world.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

Subject

Civics

History

Economics

Geography

Topic

Civil Rights Movement Religion Class Rights & Activism

June 10, 2015

Literature

New Girl in School

This story follows a girl who befriends the first African American to attend High Point Central High School, as a result of desegregation. What begins as an unintended and awkward experience in the cafeteria, becomes a strong and admirable friendship.

Carol Passmore

Grade Level

3-5 6-8

Subject

Civics

History

Topic

Class Bullying & Bias

July 16, 2018

Teaching Strategies

Word Work

Word Wall

A word wall is an organized display of vocabulary words drawn from the texts students are reading.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

L.6-12.4, L.6-12.5, L.6-12.6

July 19, 2014

Close and Critical Reading

Annolighting

“Annolighting” (annotating and highlighting) shows students how to identify critical information in a text during close reading. Students learn to annotate text, highlight important facts and summarize what they have read to capture main ideas, concepts and details.

Grade Level

3-5

CCSS

RL.3-5.2, RI.3-5.2, RL.3-5.4, RI.3-5.4, RL.3.5, RI.3.5, L.3-5.4

July 19, 2014

Close and Critical Reading

Challenge the Text

Challenge the Text helps students ask and answer their own text-dependent questions by taking multiple perspectives and uncovering assumptions and biases within the text.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

RL.6-12.1, RL.6-12.2, RL.6-12.3, RL.6-12.6, RI.6-12.1, RI.6-12.2, RI.6-12.3, RI.6-12.6

July 19, 2014

Close and Critical Reading

GIST

Generating Interactions between Schemata and Texts (GIST) is a summarization procedure that helps students digest complex texts by requiring contextual word learning. GIST explicitly combines the most important words with reading and writing to comprehend complex texts.

Grade Level

3-5

CCSS

RL.3-5.2, RI.3-5.2, RL.3-5.4, RI.3-5.4, RF.3-5.4, L.3-5.4

July 19, 2014

Close and Critical Reading

Question-Answer Relationships (QAR)

QAR gives students practice questioning the text and identifying literal and inferential questions. Students learn to find different types of evidence and to rely on their own interpretation when doing close reading.

Grade Level

3-5

CCSS

RL.3-5.1, RI.3-5.1, RF.3-5.4

July 19, 2014

Student Tasks

Write to the Source

Cause and Effect

Cause and Effect asks students to demonstrate their explanatory and informative writing skills.

Grade Level

3-5

CCSS

W.3-5.2, W.3-5.4, W.4-5.9

July 19, 2014

Write to the Source

Questions that Come Up

Questions that Come Up asks students to demonstrate their explanatory and informative writing skills.

Grade Level

3-5

CCSS

W.3-5.2, W.3-5.4, W.4-5.9

July 19, 2014

Plan Built By

kaoneal

Exploring Diversity through Literacy

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