Dear Teachers,
The reading ladder that I have designed combines picture books, novels, non-fiction and a graphic novel which all share a common theme of diversity. We see diversity inside our classrooms every day. Teaching children about diversity makes them aware of the world around them. Knowing that we love in a diverse culture teaching diversity inside the classroom is a great place way to start. With these books diversity is presented in a way that they are able to grasp the concepts and understand it. What better way to help students make connections than books?
One of the picture books that I included the reading ladder is I’m Special, I’m Me by Ann Meek. This book presents diversity in a very simple form. The main character in the book struggles with his looks and thinks he’s not good enough to play with his friends. Until his mother points out that he is special and can be anything he wants to be. This is a valuable lesson to teach inside the classroom with all children. Yes, we all look different, come from different backgrounds and believe different things but in some ways we are alike and because we are different this does not mean that one person is better that the other. The absolutely true diary of a true Indian is a novel that I chose to be apart of my reading ladder. This tells the story of an Indian boy who wants to escape the life that he is expected to live because he lives on in Indian reservation. Stereotypes are still very relevant in today’s society and is something that children should not be exposed to.
As teacher we must help our students understand things that they don’t realize yet. Our society is a place where you are allowed to live anywhere in the world that you like so having this privilege makes our society diverse. We must teach children to be diverse, respectful and not to be judgmental. There are many stereotypes in or society we must teach them that it is okay to accept all people regardless of their race, nationality, ethnicity etc. We are all human and that should be a valuable lesson to teach regarding diversity.
All of the books that I chose to put in my reading ladder displays diversity in different ways. These text will show students how to accept all people regardless of their race. We may be different but no person is superior over another.