2. Rationale:
Sharing our stories helps us to understand our common
humanity. Whether there is a picture book to peer into or a voice
that brings the action to life, children of all ages long for a story
vividly told.
The week before Thanksgiving 2011, I had the pleasure of
visiting the Macedonia Family Resource Center (MFRC) in High
Point, NC which helps underserved refugee parents in the area
improve their literacy and life skills while also assisting their
children for success in school through structured tutoring
sessions.
During that tour of the MFRC, I met four children ages 7 – 11
who came to America from war-torn countries in Africa and the
Middle East. I chose these books with those youngsters in mind
with the hope of sharing the stories with them upon a future visit
to the Community Center.
However, High Point, NC is not an isolated area where families
such as these are in need of assimilation skills and support. The
lessons I am including here are for students in Grade 3.
5. Whoever You Are
Author: Mem Fox
Illustrator: Leslie Staub
Publisher: HMH Books,
Copyright: 2007
ISBN-10: 0152060308
Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and
up | Series: Reading Rainbow Books
Summary: This book represents what is common among us all: our humanity.
Despite our differences we share pain, joy, and love. The book’s illustrations are
bold and brightly colored making their way from culture to culture and across
generations to depict our similarities.
6. Response: A book for its simple message: Our skin may be different colors, our religions, our
cultures different too, but we are all the same: human beings on the planet Earth. I have found
in my work with teens that they get so wrapped up in their social scenes that they forget a
whole world exists outside of their immediate circle. I strive to take off their blinders and open
their view to the world we live in, presenting basic philosophical questions so they may develop
their own philosophy of life. Not some rappers view or of their peers, but their own.
This book is just that widely loved. It can be used in a high school class, or it can be used in a
third grade class.
Use in class: In order to have a conversation about themes in literature, students must
understand that the author is conveying a message about the human condition- telling
something about humans and life. This book can open a Grand Conversation about some of
those conditions.
For this collection, I begin with this book to highlight the Big Idea I will be refering to constantly:
communities are made and influenced by diverse cultures.
Finally, students will create a collage of their own from images either hand-rendered,
magazines, or digital photos that depicts their own definition of diversity. These will be
displayed around the classroom.
7. Brothers in Hope:
The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan
Mary Williams (Author)
R. Gregory Christie (Illustrator)
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Copyright: 2005
Reading Level : Ages 7 and Up
ISBN-10: 1584302321
Coretta Scott King Award Winner
8. Summary: This is a fictional story about Garang, an eight year old boy who tends cattle
for his father in Southern Sudan. One day while tending the herd, Civil War breaks out
and Garang’s village is pummeled with bullets. He runs to hide under the cover of the
forest. After the shooting stops, Garang returns to his village and finds everyone gone.
He begins to wander the road away from his home and meets other boys who could not
find their families. Many, many boys were on the road; the oldest were fifiteen. They
had to learn to care for one another as they left Sudan and crossed into Ethiopia for
safety. Many boys did not survive the journey. They were lucky to find a refugee camp to
stay for a while, but then war broke out in Ethopia and they were forced to walk into
Kenya. The boys grew older in the camp in Kenya, but life was hard there too. Finally,
the United States offered the 3800 Sudanese Lost Boys a home.
Response: The fact that we have so many displaced families who have fled wartorn
countries in our own communities is enough reason to share this book with students.
The author is careful to word the facts of death in such a way that will not scare the
young, but will open a discussion about the trials and suffering those in the situations
face. Some students may feel compelled to share their own stories. But as the title says,
this is a story of hope; it is also a story of faith, courage, and love. In Garang’s father’s
words: “Your heart and mind are strong. There is nothing you cannot do.” This story will
open opportunities to talk about how education, faith, determination, and hope in the
future are a part of all our lives.
9. Suggested Use in the Classroom: This book fits nicely as an
interdisciplinary lesson in social studies and language arts as illustrated
below:
10. In the Small, Small Night
Jane Kurtz (Author)
Rachel Isadora (Illustrator)
Publisher: Amistad
Copyright: 2005
Reading Level: Ages 5 and Up
ISBN-10: 0066238137
Washington Post: One of Top Five Best
Picture Books (2005
11. Summary: “What if a lizard crawled in my suitcase? What if the people
in my new school laugh at me? What if Grandmother back in Ghana
forgets me?” These are questions Kofi sits up worrying about on his first
night in America. But his sister, Abena knows a secret to help calm
them and bring them closer to “home.” She begins telling her brother
folktales from their homeland.
12. Response: We all can relate to the stories passed on to us around
a fire, a family table, or before bedtime. They live in us and we tell
them to the next generation in our care. Stories are our common
thread in the larger human tapestry. The short tales in this book do
the same. Children will love the messages, “Listen with your ears
open, and “ Hand come, hand go.”
13. Classroom Use: Looking at the illustrations: children will easily
recognize the pictures that correspond to the folktales and the ones
that relate to the actual story and be able to compare their qualities
(folktales: vibrant and warm, like Ghana; in America: cool and dark).
They should be able to write theme sentences that deal with the
overcoming fears of a new place, going to a new school, and the
importance of family. This is a good jumping off place to share
folktales from other cultures represented in the class. Perhaps La
Llorona from the Latin community, or Coyote the Trickster of the
Native Americans. Students could ask their parents to tell them a
story from their youth to illustrate and retell to the class.
14. Activities:
Address prior knowledge with an interview before reading these
books:
In pairs: Interview your partner like a reporter and write down their answers to your
questions. You will report to the class how your partner answered the questions:
•Did you ever take a long trip with your family? Where?
•What did you do to plan for the trip? What kinds of things did you take with you?
•How long did it take to reach your destination?
•Have you ever been lost? How did you feel? What did you do? Who helped you?
•Is there a story that someone in your family tells a lot that you like to hear? What is that
story?
•What does it mean to have courage?
•Can you tell about a time when you had to be really brave?
15. Rationale: We learn about each other through story. This activity will serve as an
introduction to the three stories Whoever You Are by Mem Fox, Brothers in Hope
by Mary Williams, and In the Small, Small Night by Jane Kurtz. Students will have
a chance to learn more about each other and the class will learn about each
student as their partner tells the stories they have heard.
16. In Pictures and In Words: Inside the stories
Reexamine the illustrations from each book to direct your students’ attention to
decisions the artist made
Discuss and chart:
Color choices and how they set mood and tone
Perspective of the drawing/ point of view
Layout
Style
Details
Technique
17. Make the connection with your
students that illustrating is the same
as composing.
Rationale: By helping children
examine illustrations with an artist’s
viewpoint, you are encouraging
them to infer how writers use
similar techniques in composition.
These discussions will act as a
springboard for building future
bridges of understanding, whether
children are physically drawing
images then writing or writing
imagery so their readers may create
pictures in their mind’s eye.
18. Interdisciplinary Study: After Reading the stories
Social Studies:
•Display a map of Africa: label Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya , and Ghana .
•Research these countries
•Set up an ePals.com account so classes can connect with students in these
countries for projects
•Comparison Chart : On a map, find Sudan and chart each country and
continents on that same latitude around the globe.
19. Language Arts:
•Wikipages : In groups, students take on roles as
•Use Cause and Effect graphic editor, copy writer, illustrator, and fact checker to
organizers so students can create a wikipage for a country in Africa that
chart the relationships of describes the culture, natural resources, significant
events in the stories. historical events. Collaboration with your ePal class
could take place here as well. This could be used
•Vocabulary: Word Webs as a place to report on your project other than just
from vocabulary words a country report (See References for how to set up
provided from each story a wiki).
•Write an allegory: a story that teaches a moral
lesson using the major subjects of any of the
stories (we are all the same, be brave when times
are hard, etc) . GT Students may want to draw their
own illustrations. Another option would be to use
VOKI.com where the children choose an animal
avatar to tell their recorded story.
20. References:
Classroom Guide for Brothers in Hope
ePals.com/ Africa for classroom connections to whole classes in
Africa
How to set up a wiki
In Pictures and In Words by Katie Wood plus study guide
Mem Fox, the author
More information about the Lost Boys
Multicultural Children’s Literature
Voki.com
Whoever You Are Lesson Plans
