Irena Sendler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto by Susan Goldman Rubin

You can buy Irena Sendler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto here.

Citation: 
Golman Rubin, S., & Farnsworth, B. (Illustrator). (2011). Irena Sendler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto. New York: Holiday House.

To Use or Not to Use:
This book is both devastatingly sad and supremely hopeful all at once. My students were so silent you could have heard a pin drop the whole way through except for the occasional murmur of astonishment. The discussion we had afterwards was incredibly rich!

 

Themes:
Social justice, racism,  discrimination, World War II, genocide, human rights, non-violent resistance, resistance, doing what’s right, taking risks, civil disobedience

Type:
Picture Book biography

 Grade Range: 
4-7

Curricular Connections:
Curricular Competencies:

• Grades 4-6 – Social Studies
  • Differentiate between short- and long-term causes, and intended and unintended consequences, of events, decisions, or developments (cause and consequence)
  • Take stakeholders’ perspectives on issues, developments, or events by making inferences about their believes, values, and motivations (perspective)
  • Make ethical judgements about events, decisions, or actions that consider the conditions of a particular time and place, and assess appropriate ways to respond (ethical judgement)

Content:

• Grade 6 Social Studies
  • Regional and international conflict
• Grade 7 Social Studies
  • Interactions and exchanges between civilizations and cultures, including peace, trade, expansion, and migration

 

Core Competencies:

• Social Responsibility
  • Contributing to the community
  • Solving problems in peaceful ways
  • Valuing diversity
  • Building relationships (ask students: would Irena have been able to save so many children on her own? Who did she work alongside to save the children?)

Summary:
Irena Sendler was a social worker in Poland when the Nazi’s invaded. She defied their rules and issued fake Polish citizenship papers to Jewish people so they could get financial aid. When the Nazis began building a wall around the ghetto and forbidding its inhabitants to leave, Irena and her friends disguised themselves as nurses, snuck in, and started smuggling Jewish children out of the ghetto. Irena hid children in trucks and bags or found secret exits via sewers or doors that straddled the ghetto line. Once the children were safely out of the ghetto, Irena and her team found safe houses for them where they could pretend to be a Polish child. One evening, Irena was arrested by the Gestapo. She was tortured for months but refused to tell them anything about what she and her team had been doing. After three months, she was sentenced to death. Luckily, the guard who had been charged with shooting her accepted a bribe from her team and let her go. Irena hid with a number of Jews at the Warsaw Zoo. By the time Poland was liberated, Irena and her team had saved over two thousand children.

 

Teaching Tips:

• Before reading, make sure that your students have some background knowledge about WWII. They should have an understanding of the anti-Semitic sentiment that was sweeping through Europe.

 

Other Notes:

• This book is heavy, probably one of the heaviest read-alouds I have done with my students this year. We took it slow and broke it up over two days as it is also quite text-heavy.

 

You can buy Irena Sendler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto here.

 

Emmanuel’s Dream by Laurie Ann Thompson and Illustrated by Sean Qualls

You can buy Emmanuel’s Dream here.

Citation:
Thompson, L., and Qualls, S. (Illustrator) (2015).  Emmanuel’s Dream.  New York: Schartz & Wade.

To Use or Not to Use:
An inspiring story of how one boy who proved the world wrong. A nice can-do tale.

 Themes:
Physical disabilities, discrimination, self-advocacy, raising awareness, ableism, determination, defying expectations

 

Type:

Picture Book Biography

Grade Range: 
3-5

Curricular Connections:

Big Ideas:

• Grade 3– English Language Arts
  • Stories and other texts help us learn about ourselves, our families, and our community (narrative texts…that teach us about human nature, motivation, and experience, and often reflect a personal journey or strengthen a sense of identity)
• Grade 4-5– English Language Arts
  • Exploring stories and other texts helps us understand ourselves and make connections to others and the world
• Grade 4-5– Career Education
  • Exploring our strengths and abilities can help us identify our goals

Curricular Competencies:

• Grades 3-4 – Physical Education
  • Describe factors that positively influence mental well-being and self-identity

Summary: 
When Emmanuel was born in Ghana it was quickly discovered that one of his legs did not work. His mother encouraged him to find ways to do all the things he needed to do, even with just one leg and no crutches. He even hopped on one leg for two miles to get to school once he got too heavy to be carried! Later, Emmanuel got crutches and bought a soccer ball. He was able to make friends with his classmates by learning to play the game. Eventually, he learned to ride a bike. When Emmanuel turned thirteen his mother got sick and he had to support his family. He faced discrimination due to his physical disability but finally found housing and employment. After his mother’s death Emmanuel decided to raise awareness about what people with physical disabilities were able to do. He was blessed by a king and made a shirt that said “THE POZO” (the disabled person). Then he got on his bike and pedalled around the country, travelling approximately four hundred miles in ten days. In the Author’s Note students will learn that Emmanuel went on to compete in events, win awards, carry the Olympic torch, and star in a documentary. He influenced the Ghanaian Parliament’s decision to pass the Persons with Disability Act in 2006, which entitles people with physical disabilities to the same rights as those without. He continues to advocate for people with physical disabilities.

Teaching Tips:

• The website mentioned in the Author’s Note is currently down. Instead, Emmanuel blogs here.

You can buy Emmanuel’s Dream here.

 

Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation by Andrea Davis Pinkney and illustrated by Brian Pinkney

Black Residents Walking, Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955
Image: Public Domain

You can buy Boycott Blues here.

Citation: 
Pinkney, A.D. & Pinkney, B. (Illustrator). (2008). Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation. New York: New York, Greenwillow Books.

To Use or Not to Use:
Definitely use.
I used this book during Black History Month and, even though it’s not Canadian, I am glad I did. A lot of my students knew about Rosa Park’s stand, but none of them knew about the consequent Montgomery Bus Boycott. I paired this book with some Civil Rights-era blues as recommended in the teacher’s guide, and found the lesson very powerful.

Themes:
Racism, injustice, civil rights, human rights, Black history, segregation, integration, justice, standing up for others, solidarity, nonviolent protest.

Genre:
Non-fiction (historical)

Type:
Picture book

Grade Range:
Grades 4+
This is a pretty long text with lots of metaphors, so I have recommended it for older readers.

Curricular Connections:
Content:
-Grade 2 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “rights and responsibilities of individuals regionally and globally”
Talk about what rights students have as global citizens. Do they only have an obligation to fight for justice when they are being treated unjustly?
-Grade 5 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “past discriminatory government policies and actions, such as the Head Tax, the Komagata Maru incident, residential schools, and internments”
-Grade 5 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “human rights and responses to discrimination in Canadian society”
-Grade 6 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “global poverty and inequality issues, including class structure and gender”
-Grade 4 (ART) “visual arts: elements of design: line, shape, space, texture, colour, form; principles of design: pattern, repetition, balance, contrast, emphasis, rhythm, unity, variety”
This book certainly is full of careful, meaningful, symbol-laden illustrations.
-Grades 4-7 (ART) “Symbolism and metaphor to explore ideas and perspective”

Curricular Competencies:
-Grade 4-7 (ART) “Interpret and communicate ideas using symbolism to express meaning through the arts”
-Grade 4 (ENGLISH) “Listening carefully helps us learn.”
Emphasize this as you listen to the music if you choose to use Josh White’s songs.
-Grade 4 (ENGLISH) “Use a variety of comprehension strategies before, during, and after reading, listening, or viewing to construct meaning from text”
-Grade 4 (ENGLISH) “Apply a variety of age-appropriate thinking skills to gain meaning from texts”
-Grade 4 (ENGLISH) “Respond to text in personal and creative ways”
-Grade 4 (ENGLISH) “Recognize/Understand how literary elements, techniques, and devices enhance meaning in texts”

Core Competencies:
-Social Responsibility

Summary:
          Written in verse, full of metaphors and meaningful colour choices, this book is narrated by a blues-singing dog named Dog Tired who strums away at his guitar on the sidewalk, on rooftops, and in the corners of pages. The Jim Crow segregation laws are described as an ominous black crow that pecks away at African American people and their rights. They/he is depicted as a messy, black blob.
          The story begins on December 1^st, 1955 when Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, decided she would not give her seat on the bus to a white passenger. The bus driver and Jim Crow team up to peck away at Rosa, but she courageously refuses to move. Rosa is arrested, but her friends raise money for bail. The Black community decides they are going to stand together and protest racism by boycotting the buses until they are allowed to sit in any seat they wish. Martin Luther King Jr. gathers a crowd in a local church and encourages people to fight non-violently against racism in Montgomery. They walk for ninety days. One-hundred and eighty. Three hundred. It rains. It boils. The dust blows. Black and white people band together, choosing to boycott the bus and to work together to help people get where they need to go. But Jim Crow keeps working too; he is doing his best to keep discrimination strong. Some people begin to lose hope, and the bus seems awfully tempting “[e]ven if it means riding in the back. Even if Jim Crow sits in [their] lap[s]” (25). That’s when Dog Tired steps in and plays his songs loud enough to drown out Jim Crow.
          On November 13^th 1956, the Jim Crow laws are struck down and all the people of Montgomery are allowed to sit anywhere they want on the city buses. Segregation is no longer legal. By December 21^st, 1956 the law was official; after three-hundred and eighty-two days of walking, Rosa Parks and other African American people could finally return to the buses with dignity. Dog Tired credits the blues with inspiring people to persevere, and he explains how blue can symbolize promise and hope. Suddenly, the people’s “low-down tune” was exchanged for a song of celebration (32).
          The book closes with a brief author’s note about the Montgomery bus boycott.

Teaching Tips:
          As mentioned above, this book would tie in beautifully with Black History month. It also provides students with a fantastic female role model. Connections could easily be made between Viola Desmond and Rosa Parks. This book would also tie in with anti-bullying as students can use terms like “ally” to describe white people who joined in on the bus boycott.
The publisher has released a very good teacher’s guide that can be found here. 

You can buy Boycott Blues here.

   Lesson Plan:

Social Studies	Black History Month – Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged!	Length	~50 minutes
Big Ideas     Essential Questions	Canada’s policies and treatment of minority peoples have negative and positive legacies (although this story is American). Dance, drama, music, and visual arts are each unique languages for creating and communicating. How can I stand up against injustice?
Learning Intentions	Students should see how racism impacted people similarly in Canada and the United States. They will learn about boycotts and non-violent protests through an example of a successful bus boycott.
Curricular Competencies	Ask questions, corroborate inferences, and draw conclusions about the content of different sources (musical analysis) Explore connections to identity, place, culture, and belonging through creative expression Observe, listen, describe, inquire and predict how artists (dancers, actors, musicians, and visual artists) use processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, techniques, and environments to create and communicate Describe and respond to works of art and explore artists’ intent
Components	-Definitions and debrief of terms -Josh White’s “Jim Crow” – listen and discuss -Reading and discussion of Boycott Blues -Josh White’s “Freedom Road” -listen and discuss -Pictures of individual activists -Exit slips “What’s one thing you learned or found interesting about the Montgomery Bus Boycott?”
Sequence:	5 minutes – Set tone Explain to students that we will be reading a real story and they need to act respectfully).10 minutes – Define terms and set historical context. Terms: racism, segregation, Jim Crow, boycott, and Blues (music). Put dates on the board: 1834, 1865, 1955. These are the dates that slavery was outlawed in the British Empire (and, consequently, Canada), the date it was outlawed in the U.S. (where our story takes place today), and the date that this story takes place. Some students may need an explanation of what slavery is and how it pertains to African peoples. Tell students that racism did not end immediately after slavery was outlawed. Viola Desmond was kicked out of the theatre 112 years after slavery was outlawed in Canada, and in the story we will read today, we will see that there was still a lot of racism in 1955: ninety years after slavery was outlawed in the United States.18 minutes – Play Josh White’s  “Jim Crow” Be sure to explain first that there are terms in this song we would not use today (negro). Discuss. What did you hear? How did that sound? Did any words jump out at you? How did that make you feel?35 minutes – Boycott Blues             Stop intermittently for discussion. 42 minutes –Play Josh White’s “Freedom Road”             Discuss. What did you hear? How did that sound? Did any words jump out at you? How did that make you feel?50+ minutes – Share activist stories Interviews and videos of those involved in the boycott  can be found here: http://www.montgomeryboycott.com/voices-of-the-boycott/ Closing – Exit slips Share one thing you found interesting about the Montgomery Bus Boycott or one thing you did not know before.
Materials Needed	Boycott Blues Youtube & speakers for music Powerpoint with pictures of activists if you choose not to play videos Exit slips
Assessment	Anecdotal (discussion) Exit slips

 

Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged! by Jody Nyasha Warner & Richard Rudnicki

This image is taken from Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged!, text copyright © 2010 by Jody Nyasha Warner, illustrations copyright © 2010 by Richard Rudnicki. Reproduced with permission from Groundwood Books, Toronto. www.groundwoodbooks.com

You can buy Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged! here.

Citation: 
Warner, J.N. & Rudnicki, R. (Illustrator). (2010). Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged! Toronto: Ontario, Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press.

To Use or Not to Use:
Definitely use.
I had a very difficult time looking for books that could be used during Black History Month that focused on distinctly Canadian people and events. This book about Viola Desmond, who is sometimes called ‘The Canadian Rosa Parks’ (even though her act of resistance happened years before Parks’) fit the bill perfectly. This book would work great during Black History month, but really can (and should) be read at anytime of the year. It tells an inspiring story of a brave woman who stood up to injustice and inspired others to do the same.

Themes:
Racism, injustice, civil rights, human rights, Black history, segregation, integration, justice, standing up for others.

Genre:
Non-Fiction

Type:
Picture book

Grade Range:
Grades 2-6
I have chosen this grade range based on reading level and subject material rather than curricular ties; I believe this is a story that should be told whether or not it clearly ties to prescribed curriculum.

Curricular Connections:
Big Ideas:
-Grade 5 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “Canada’s policies and treatment of minority peoples have negative and positive legacies.”
-Grade 6 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “Systems of government vary in their respect for human rights and freedoms.”

Content:
-Grade 2 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “rights and responsibilities of individuals regionally and globally”
-Grade 5 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “past discriminatory government policies and actions, such as the Head Tax, the Komagata Maru incident, residential schools, and internments”
-Grade 5 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “human rights and responses to discrimination in Canadian society”
-Grade 6 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “global poverty and inequality issues, including class structure and gender”

Core Competencies:
-(SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY) “I can initiate positive, sustainable change for others”
-(SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY) “I can take thoughtful actions to influence positive, sustainable change.”
–(SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY) “I take action to support diversity and defend human rights, and can identify how diversity is beneficial for my community”
-(POSITIVE PERSONAL & CULTURAL IDENTITY) “I can identify my potential as a leader in the communities I belong to.”
-(PERSONAL AWARENESS AND RESPONSIBILITY) “I take responsibility for making ethical decisions.”
-(PERSONAL AWARENESS AND RESPONSIBILITY) “I can advocate for myself in stressful situations”

Summary: 
          Viola Desmond owns a beauty parlor Nova Scotia. She is heading off to a business meeting when her car breaks down and leaves her stranded in New Glasgow. While she waits for her car to be fixed at the garage, Viola decides to watch a movie. and buys what she believes to be a floor ticket. Soon after she is seated, an usher taps her on the shoulder and tells her she needs to move to the balcony. Viola tells the usher she will pay for the upgrade. “No,” the usher tells her, “[y]ou people have to sit in the upstairs section” (13). Viola realizes that the theatre is segregated, and she knows that segregation is wrong. She tells she will not move to the balcony (as you reach this part of the story, several of your students will probably whisper excitedly – “She won’t be budged…..”).
          The usher gets the manager, and the manager gets the police. They all try to get Viola to move to the balcony…but Viola won’t budge! The manager and the police officer drag her out of the theatre and send her to spend the night in jail. The next day, Viola is sent to court and charged with not paying for the right kind of ticket. The judge refuses to listen to her side of the story, and Viola is slapped with a fine.
          When Viola returns to her home, she tells people what happened to her in the New Glasgow theatre. The people she talks to get very angry about the injustice Viola faced. With the help of Black community groups, Viola decides to appeal the judge’s charge. By 1947, the case reaches the provincial Supreme Court, where Viola insists the matter was an issue of race. The judges disagree, and they shoot down her appeal.
         Despite her losses in the courtroom, Viola’s courage inspired people to fight for desegregation…and within four years of the incident in the theatre, it was made illegal.
The book ends with a historical note titled “A Glimpse of African Canadian History”.

Teaching Tips:
As mentioned above, this book would tie in beautifully with Black History month. It also provides students with a fantastic female role model.

Connections could easily be made between Viola Desmond and Rosa Parks (I followed it with a lesson that used Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney’s Boycott Blues). 

Older students can look into movements and groups who were inspired by Desmond or investigate how the fight to end segregation in Nova Scotia unfolded.

You can buy Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged! here.

Find my free lesson plan here.

Llama Llama Holiday Drama, written and illustrated by Anne Dewdney

You can buy Llama Llama Holiday Drama here.

Citation: 
Dewdney, A. (2010). Llama Llama Holiday Drama. New York, New York: Viking.

To Use or Not to Use:
A decent addition to your classroom library AND/OR a cute read-aloud.
          I feel like this is a book people will either find adorable or exceedingly annoying. I will admit I found it to be the latter the first time I read it silently to myself, but after giving it a second chance and reading it aloud I decided it wasn’t so bad.
The rhymes are kind of cute, I can see them working well in a primary classroom. The pictures are bright and colourful, and measuring at 26 by 26.5 cm, this book is the perfect size for a read aloud. The rhyming text reads nice and smoothly, the pictures are bright and colourful, and I love how a couple words on each page are written in big, bold, colour.

          Holiday books are always tricky material in classrooms, because students all celebrate different things and it’s hard to gauge what families opinions are in different things. Even among people who celebrate Christmas there are differing opinions about Santa Claus. Like with any book, be sure you know your audience before you bring this into the classroom. However…. this book does not overtly name a winter holiday or talk about figures associated with particular holidays.

  Themes:
Christmas, Hanukah, holidays, waiting, feeling overwhelmed, family, taking time to rest.

Type:
Fiction

Grade Range: 
K-1

Curricular Connections:
Big Ideas:
-Kindergarten – Grade 3 (ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS) “Language and stories can be a source of creativity and joy.”

Competency Profiles:
-SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY “I can identify problems and compare potential problem-solving strategies.”
Ask students what they can do when they feel overwhelmed?
-SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY “I can identify when others need support and provide it.”
Talk with students about how Llama Llama’s mother was able to offer him support when he got overwhelmed with holiday excitement.
-PERSONAL AWARENESS AND RESPONSIBILITY “I can use strategies that help me manage my feelings and emotions.”
See above.
–PERSONAL AWARENESS AND RESPONSIBILITY “I can use strategies to find peace in stressful times.”
See above.

Summary:
          Llama Llama can’t wait for the holidays. Every time he goes shopping with his mother, bakes holiday cookies at home, or does classroom calendar routines in school, Llama Llama can’t help but ask how many more days are left until the holidays. He shops for gifts with his mother and wonders what he might get. He eats too many Christmas cookies and gets a stomach ache. He does holiday crafts and activities at school, decorates at home, and “waits, waits, waits” (17). When the special day arrives, Llama Llama is overwhelmed by “[t]oo much everything” (21). He falls on the floor, eyes wide and mouth agape – “Llama Llama, HOLIDRAMA!” (23) the text declares dramatically. Llama Llama’s mother cuddles her son close and reminds him to “take a rest and hold the ones [he loves] the best” (25). She tells him that while gifts are exciting, the best gift we have is one another.

This book never names a holiday, but it does feature images of menorahs, dreidels, Santas, elves, stars, stockings, and Christmas trees.

Teaching Tips:
          Teachers can use this book to discuss strategies that students can use when they feel overwhelmed by excitement.

You can buy Llama Llama Holiday Drama here.

Terry Fox: “Dreams are made if people try” by Meguido and Melanie Zola

Citation: 
Zola, M., Zola. M. 1984. Terry Fox: “Dreams are made if people try.” Grolier Limited.

To Use or Not to Use:
Not worth using.
This book is one of what seems to be very few books about Terry Fox. Unfortunately, it’s a hot mess. The pictures match poorly (when they match at all) with the text. Some pages have no pictures at all. The text reads awkwardly and there is far too much of it.

 Themes:
Determination, Terry Fox, fundraising, goals, activism, awareness, altruism

Genre:
Biography

Type:
More of an early reader than a picture book.

Grade Range: 
Kindergarten + if read by a teacher with very good read-aloud skills.
Grade 4 + if read alone.

Curricular Connections:
Big Ideas:
-Grade 2 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “Local actions have global consequences, and global actions have local consequences.”
Money from Terry’s Marathon of Hope has funded medical   advancements that help people with cancer all over the world.

 Curricular Competencies:
– Kindergarten-Grade 1(SOCIAL STUDIES) “Explain the significance of personal or local events, objects, people, and places.” And Grades 2-3 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “Explain why people, events, and places are significant to various individuals and groups.” And Grade 7 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “Assess the significance of people, places, events, and developments at particular times and places.”
-Kindergarten-Grade 6 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “Sequence objects, images, and events, and recognize the positive and negative aspects of continuities and changes in the past and present (continuity and change)”
If used in conjunction with a timeline activity.

Summary:
          Terry Fox: “Dreams are made if people try” tells the story of Terry Fox`s life. Beginning with Terry as a two-year-old and finishing with his death, the story is relatively comprehensive. It focuses heavily on Terry’s determination in everything he did.

Teaching Tips:
          The first time I taught a Terry Fox lesson I realized a number of the students did not understand why it was important to raise money for cancer research. I was surprised; this was a grade 4/5 class and most all of them would have done Terry Fox runs before. It seems they had been unable to make the connection between ‘research’ and its practical. I had to explain that the money we were raising was going to pay scientists to work on medicines for people who have cancer.

Teachers can tie Terry Fox lessons in with the Social Studies curriculum by having students make timelines or label maps with Terry’s route.

A number of lesson plans are available on the Terry Fox Foundation’s website. http://www.terryfox.org/SchoolRun/Terry_Fox_Lesson_Plans.html

Other Notes:
Other books about Terry Fox include:
Terry Fox: A Story of Hope by Maxine Trottier
This book is full of photographs and pictures of documents. It is a little text-heavy for a classroom read-aloud, but may be useful for a picture walk.

Value of Facing a Challenge: The Story of Terry Fox  by Anne Donegan Johnson and illustrated by Steve Pileggi
I have never seen this book, it may be out of print.

You can purchase Terry Fox: “Dreams are made if people try” here.