Tag Archives: African Americans

Feb. 20 – 24, 2012 Read-a-Louds

Continuing with the theme of Black History Month, and tolerance, all Primary classes with be reading Chocolate Me! by Taye Diggs. In this story, an African-American little boy is teased about the colour of his skin and his hair. He feels like he doesn’t belong, and the other boys say rude things to him. But when he realizes that his skin colour is “like velvet fudge frosting” and his hair is like “cotton candy…soft to the touch”, he begins to accept his appearance.

Still looking at historical fiction, Ms. Hull’s class will be reading 2 books about African-Americans: Underground and We March, both by Shane W. Evans. Underground is about the infamous Underground Railway that helped many slaves escape to freedom, and We March is set in the 1960’s during the Civil Rights Movement in America. It is set during the time of Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech. Listen and watch here.

February 2012 Library Happenings

So far this month, Ms. Lehnert has collaborated with Mme. Vicari, and Ms. Hull. Division 3 (Gr. 6/7 French Immersion) is continuing work on a Readers’ Theatre unit started at the end of January.

What is Readers’ Theatre?

  • a text that is performed orally and dramatically
  • a reading activity that brings characters to life through voices and gestures
  • can be in the form of a story, a poem, a scene from a play, or even song lyrics
  • uses very few (if any) props, as the main focus is on the oral presentation

What is the value of Readers’ Theatre?

  • it focuses on all of the Language Arts: reading, writing, speaking, and listening
  • it enhances development of communication skills such as: voice projection, intonation, inflection and pronunciation
  • it facilitates the development of critical and creative thinking as readers create different interpretations of the same story
  • it is a participatory event – the characters and the audience are engaged
  • it is informal and relaxed – does not require elaborate props, scenery, or costumes, and does not require students to memorize text
  • it stimulates the imagination and creation of visual images
  • it enhances the development of cooperative learning strategies – students work together in groups to discuss, write, and perform a script
  • it helps to develop a strong sense of self-confidence and self-assurance by working within and presenting within a group structure
  • it is a FUN way to learn the Language Arts curriculum!

Students in Division 3 will be performing scripts that have already been written, and will then move on to adapting a picture book story into a Readers’ Theatre script. The final project will be writing and performing an original script. So far, the students have been enjoying the unit and have had lots of fun performing pre-written scripts!

Ms. Hull’s grade 7 class is continuing genre studies this month. We are currently looking at the features of Historical Fiction. With February being Black History Month, it is the perfect time to look at the different types of Historical Fiction. We have read Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine, a powerful true story of a slave who escaped to freedom in the late 1800’s.

Will will be discovering more history in the weeks to come, through picture books and novels.

Coming soon…Division 2 looks at Ancient Greece. Stay tuned!

 

 

Black History Month

February is Black History Month

During this month we recognize the contributions of African-Canadians and African-Americans to North American culture and history. There is a display in the library showcasing stories about African-Americans, or stories written by famous African-American authors. We have nonfiction biographies about Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, President Barack Obama and famous athlete Michael Jordan. Stop by and see the collection.

 

Feb 7 – Feb 11 Read-a-Louds

This week we are celebrating Black History Month. The Kindergarteners and the Grade 1’s will be reading “Peter’s Chair” by famed African American writer Ezra Jack Keats. All other grades will be reading “Back of the Bus” by Aaron Reynolds. “Back of the Bus” is an account of Rosa Parks’ arrest in December 1955, for sitting at the front of a public bus with the white folks. There are also many books on display in the Library relating to African American history, or stories written by African American authors. To learn more about African American history, especially in Canada, visit the following website:

Black History Canada