Dear Teacher,
Diversity is often an awkward subject to discuss in the classroom. However, with students of different ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, home lives, and different abilities all in the same classroom, understanding and accepting diversity is key for a successful learning environment. Students need to understand that their differences make each one of them unique and that should be celebrated. They should also understand that their differences do not separate them and each person deserves to be treated equally. The following info graphic displays books that could be used to give students a wide overview of different kinds of diversity. These books range in reading ability, literature genre, and the type of diversity discussed.
The four picture books chosen for this unit are; Mostly Monster by Tammi Sauer, The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi, What I like About Me by Allia Zobel Nolan, and The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss. Each of these books focus on a different aspect of diversity, but used together, they can create a lot of insight into diversity and its effects. Mostly Monster is about a monster who has different interests than her classmates, she is only mostly monster on the inside. I think this book would help address accepting those with different interests and hobbies. The Namer Jar is about a young girl who moves to America from Korea. It would be a good tool to use to teach students about immigrants who are joining their classes. What I like About Me is a book celebrating differences between the characters and recognizing the confidence in loving your differences. The Sneetches and Other Stories contains the story of the Sneetches, who think they are better than everyone else. Throughout the story, the sneetches learn that they are equal to the others in the story.
The three young adult novels chosen are; Wonder by R.J. Palacio, Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan, and The Absolute True Dairy of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Wonder is about Auggie, a boy with a severe facial abnormality, who when entering middle school has to face bullying and isolation by his classmates. However, after some of the students get to know Auggie, attitudes towards him start to change. This book would be a great tool in helping to explain that children with disabilities should be and want to be accepted by their peers. Esperanze Rising is a great way to introduce Hispanic culture and the lives of field workers. This would be a good tool to help teach students about Mexican immigrants and all they do just to be in this country. The Absolute True Dairy of a Part-Time Indian is about Junior who lives on a reservation and makes a decision to go to school off the reservation at an all-white school. This book has a good bit of content that would not be appropriate for younger readers, so it should be used with caution. However, it does offer an insight into the mind of a native American child who is entering a new world. These three books are good examples of different characters who often, despite their differences, share the same struggles, separation and bullying, and could be a good tool to use to help with acceptance of those who are different.
The nofiction book that was chosen is Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World by Sy Montgomery. This book is the biography of Temple Grandin, a woman with autism that overcame her disability and is known a respected professor of animal science and world-renowned spokesperson for autism. This book shows that those with disabilities can move past their disability to achieve their dreams.
The graphic novel chosen for this info graphic is American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. This book tells the story of three different Chinese characters, each show different aspects of American Chinese.
Although all of these books focus on different types and aspects of diversity, they can be used together because the topic of diversity is well diverse. These options also given you the opportunity to pick book that tailor to the lesson or topic you want to focus on, whether it be disabilities or acceptance of other races.
