Tag Archives: tolerance

Nov. 12 – 16, 2012 Read-a-Louds

Posted on November 20, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Bullying…everyone is talking about it. The recent tragic suicide of a Lower Mainland high school student has put the issue back in the news. This week, grades 1 and up will be reading Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship by Edward Hemingway. Mac, an apple, wakes up after a rain shower to find that he has a new friend, Will. Will is a worm. The two friends are inseparable (literally and figuratively!), until Mac is bullied by his apple friends at the orchard, and is called a “rotten” and “bad” apple because of his worm friend. How does Mac deal with the bullying? Find out this week. This story is an accessible but powerful narrative dealing with friendship and the repercussions of bullying.

Leave a comment

Posted in Weekly Read-a-Louds

Tagged , , , ,

Six Men Reader’s Response (War)

Posted on November 7, 2012 by | Leave a comment

This week, Division 2 had the powerful book Six Men by David McKee read to them. Students were asked to write down powerful words from the story, or words that caused a picture to appear in their minds. Students then chose 7 words from their lists and arranged them into a Word-List Poem. A Word-List Poem is simply a collection of words arranged in an order that makes sense and is powerful. The results were impressive! Here are a few of the poems:

Clashing
Peace
Fear
Farmers
Soldiers
River
Watchtower
Fight

War Beginning to End
Guard
Trained
Soldiers
Armies
Killed
Battle
Ended

Rich and Powerful
Peaceful
Power
War
Began
Army
Soldiers
Death

The War
Peace
Rich
Worried
Soldier
Battle
Attack
Killed

Dark Horrible War
Soldiers
Fight
Fear
Army
Battle
Power
Ruled

The Battle of the Guards
Peaceful
Fortunate
Defending
Battle
Guarding
Power
War

The Castle
Build
River
Powerful
Greed
Army
Battle
Mighty

Powerful, Together
World
Peace
Captured
Killed
Battle
Ended
Quiet

Greedy War
Peace
Riches
Soldiers
Greed
Power
Battle
Killed

The Beginning of War
Rich
Worries
Defending
Greed
Killing
Dying
Destroyed

In the Midst of Battle
Plan
Fear
Killed
Power
Capture
Traveled
Peace

The Power
Peace
Fear
Strong
Battle
Enemy
Killed
Unhappy

Leave a comment

Posted in Reader's Response

Tagged , , , ,

Nov. 5 – 9, 2012 Read-a-Louds

Posted on November 7, 2012 by | Leave a comment

 

Since Remembrance Day is this coming weekend, we will be reading stories about war and tolerance. The Kindergarteners and Grade 1’s will be reading a wordless picture book called NO! by David McPhail. “Wordless, but speaking volumes, No! dramatizes conflict and its alternatives in a language that’s accessible to everyone, young or old.” (From the book jacket)

Grades 2 and up will be reading Six Men by David McKee. This is a powerful story about a group of men who become greedy and the consequences that occur when one group of people takes over another’s land. The story is accompanied by simplistic black and white drawings that really pack a punch!

Leave a comment

Posted in Weekly Read-a-Louds

Tagged , , ,

Feb. 27 – Mar. 2, 2012 Read-a-Louds

Posted on February 23, 2012 by | Leave a comment

This week is all about friendship and preventing bullying. Wednesday, Feb. 29th is Pink Shirt Day, when people will be wearing pink to support the message of “Bullying Stops Here!” To go along with anti-bullying week, all classes will be reading a story about friendship. The Kindergarteners will be reading The Crayon Box That Talked by Shane DeRolf, a story about working together and accepting differences.

The primary classes will be reading One of Us by Peggy Moss. Roberta goes to her first day at a new school and tries to fit in with many different groups of children. 

 

 

Finally, the intermediate classes will be reading Bird Child by Nan Forler. This is a story about being a bystander and watching someone get bullied.

Leave a comment

Posted in Weekly Read-a-Louds

Tagged , , , , , ,

Feb. 20 – 24, 2012 Read-a-Louds

Posted on February 20, 2012 by | Leave a comment

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.

Leave a comment

Posted in Weekly Read-a-Louds

Tagged , , , , ,

May 2 – May 6 Read-a-Louds

Posted on May 4, 2011 by | Leave a comment

This week, all primary students will be reading Rukhsana Khan’s Big Red Lollipop, a story about birthday parties and including family. The characters in the story came from Pakistan, and their mother is not familiar with North American birthday celebrations and customs, such as inviting classmates to a party. This book is based on a true story that happened when the author was younger. Big Red Lollipop is also an example of a “circular” story that ends in the same way that it started.

The intermediate classes will be listening to and discussing Janet Wilson’s nonfiction book, One Peace: True Stories of Young Activists. This book has been nominated for a Red Cedar Award.

Leave a comment

Posted in Weekly Read-a-Louds

Tagged , , , ,

Apr 18 – Apr 22 Read-a-Louds

Posted on April 24, 2011 by | Leave a comment

This week the grade 7’s will be reading Making the Moose Out of Life by Nicholas Oldland. Moose, who is usually mild-mannered, is stranded on a deserted island and must overcome his fears about trying new things. Students will then draft a speech to present the Moose with an award for bravery.

Also this week, several classes will be reading Willow’s Whispers by Lana Button. Both Lana Button and illustrator Tania Howells are Canadian. Willow is a shy and quiet girl and needs to gain the confidence to have her voice heard.

Both stories this week deal with gaining confidence and becoming a stronger person.

Leave a comment

Posted in Weekly Read-a-Louds

Tagged , , ,

Mar 7 – Mar 11 Read-a-Louds

Posted on March 9, 2011 by | Leave a comment

For this week, all classes will be reading The Sandwich Swap by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan. This is a story about 2 girls who both eat the same sandwich for lunch every day – Lily eats peanut butter and jam sandwiches, and Salma eats hummus sandwiches. One day, Lily decides to tell Salma that her sandwich looks “yucky”, and thus begins a tale of tolerance and celebrating diversity.

Have you ever tried hummus? It’s a very tasty dip/spread made of chickpeas. Many middle eastern countries, such as Israel, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria eat it regularly. For a kid-friendly recipe to make hummus, click here.

Leave a comment

Posted in Weekly Read-a-Louds

Tagged , , ,