LOOKING AT FAMILY DIVERSITY USING TEXT TO-SELF TEXT TO
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WELCOMING SCHOOLS www.welcomingschools.org G-6 LOOKING AT FAMILY DIVERSITY USING TEXT-TO-SELF, TEXT-TO-TEXT AND TEXT-TO-WORLD CONNECTIONS SUGGESTED GRADE LEVEL: K – 2 LENGTH OF TIME: As a unit of four sessions of 45 minutes each (or individual 45 minute sessions.) GOAL • To provide a look at family diversity through literature while developing reading comprehension strategies. OBJECTIVES • Students will develop skills to make connections to literature. • Students will be able to identify common characteristics within all families. • Students will learn that families have some similarities and some differences. ACADEMIC STANDARDS • CCSS RL 1.1: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text. Also RL K.1 and RL 2.1. • CCSS SL K.1, 1.1, 2.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten, grade 1 or grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups. • CCSS SL 1.2: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media. Also SL K.2 and SL 2.2. EDUCATORS’ NOTES The skill of making connections to and between pieces of literature is a critical skill for students to acquire as they progress through the grades. The early grades are an important time for students to develop this skill in a focused exercise with a familiar topic to students such as families. This mini- unit introduces the concept and allows the students to practice this skill while reading books that feature family diversity. The ideas for each day could be done individually instead of as a set of lessons. MATERIALS NEEDED: Books featuring diverse families — 3 books for reading aloud and 5–7 for smaller reading circles, pencils, coloring tools (crayons, markers, colored pencils, computer drawing program), copies of the handouts Making Connections to Myself and Making Connections. SUGGESTED BOOKS Choose three books that feature different family configurations and race or ethnicity. • And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell (K – 1) Two dad family • Antonio’s Card by Rigoberto Gonzales (K – 2) Two mom family • The Family Book by Todd Parr (Pre-K – K) Many diverse families
LOOKING AT FAMILY DIVERSITY USING TEXT TO-SELF TEXT TO
Microsoft Word - Inside cover.docxSUGGESTED GRADE LEVEL: K –
2
LENGTH OF TIME: As a unit of four sessions of 45 minutes each (or
individual 45 minute sessions.)
GOAL • To provide a look at family diversity through literature
while developing reading
comprehension strategies.
OBJECTIVES • Students will develop skills to make connections to
literature.
• Students will be able to identify common characteristics within
all families.
• Students will learn that families have some similarities and some
differences.
ACADEMIC STANDARDS • CCSS RL 1.1: Ask and answer questions about
key details in a text. Also RL K.1 and RL 2.1.
• CCSS SL K.1, 1.1, 2.1: Participate in collaborative conversations
with diverse partners about kindergarten, grade 1 or grade 2 topics
and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
• CCSS SL 1.2: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text
read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
Also SL K.2 and SL 2.2.
EDUCATORS’ NOTES The skill of making connections to and between
pieces of literature is a critical skill for students to acquire as
they progress through the grades. The early grades are an important
time for students to develop this skill in a focused exercise with
a familiar topic to students such as families. This mini- unit
introduces the concept and allows the students to practice this
skill while reading books that feature family diversity. The ideas
for each day could be done individually instead of as a set of
lessons.
MATERIALS NEEDED: Books featuring diverse families — 3 books for
reading aloud and 5–7 for smaller reading circles, pencils,
coloring tools (crayons, markers, colored pencils, computer drawing
program), copies of the handouts Making Connections to Myself and
Making Connections.
SUGGESTED BOOKS Choose three books that feature different family
configurations and race or ethnicity.
• And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell (K –
1) Two dad family
• Antonio’s Card by Rigoberto Gonzales (K – 2) Two mom family
• The Family Book by Todd Parr (Pre-K – K) Many diverse
families
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• The Great Big Book of Families by Mary Hoffman (1 – 3) Many
diverse families
• All Families Are Special by Norma Simon (1 – 3) Many diverse
families
• We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past by Jacqueline Woodson (K – 2)
Extended family
• Dear Child by John Farrell (Pre-K – K) Three families with a
single dad, two moms, and a mom and dad
• I Love You Like Crazy Cakes by Rose Lewis (Pre-K –1) Adoption,
single mom
• I Love Saturdays y Domingos, by Alma Flor Ada (K – 2)
Multi-ethnic family
DAY ONE: TEXT-TO-SELF CONNECTIONS • Introduce the lesson by telling
students we are going to read a book about something everyone
has. Everyone’s may look very different, but everyone in the
classroom has one of these. Have students think, then share with a
partner, and then brainstorm some ideas as a class for what the
topic might be. (5 minutes)
• Read And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter
Parnell. This book tells the true story of two male penguins at the
Central Park Zoo who want to build a family. (15 minutes)
• Ask the class to describe the family in the book. (Prompt your
students to go beyond “there are two dads and a child.” Ask about
qualities that they see in Roy and Silo as parents – caring,
loving. Ask about things Roy and Silo do for Tango – feed her, kept
her warm when she was in the egg.) (5 minutes)
• Ask the class to identify who lives with them or cares for them.
Mention to the class that this could be family members, extended
family like grandparents or aunts and uncles, other caregivers such
as guardians, or close family friends. Ask students to compare
their family to Roy, Silo, and Tango. Again ask your students to
not just focus on concrete aspects of family such as
smaller/larger, one mom or a mom and dad but also on qualities of
families such as your family takes care of you or a family member
plays with you. See attached Making Connections to Myself handout.
(10 minutes)
• Introduce the term “text-to-self” connection and explain that all
good readers are able to make these. Tell students they will be
able to practice this skill throughout the week as you read more
books about different kinds of families. (10 minutes)
DAY TWO: TEXT-TO-TEXT CONNECTIONS • Ask students to recall the
story of And Tango Makes Three. Have students share their
responses with a partner. (5 minutes)
• Tell students that today we are going to read another book about
families. Choose another book that includes a family who cares for
their children. See suggested ideas above or for more ideas check
out the All Kinds of Families Bibliography at
www.welcomingschools.org. (15 minutes)
• Students can draw the family in the book (see attached Making
Connections handout). (5 minutes)
w w w . w e l c o m i n g s c h o o l s . o r g G-8
• Have students review their personal family descriptions from the
previous lesson to make comparisons between the family in the book
that you just read and their own. Review the term “text-to-self”
connection. (10 minutes)
• Ask students to compare how the family in the book that you just
read is similar or different from Roy, Silo, and Tango. Tell
students that these are called “text-to-text” connections and they
are also part of our job as good readers. (10 minutes)
DAY THREE: TEXT-TO-WORLD CONNECTIONS • Ask students to recall the
two books that you have read about families, in small groups.
(10
minutes)
• Ask students to identify and describe the two jobs that we
learned that readers have (making text-to-self connections and
making text-to-text connections). (5 minutes)
• Read a book that looks at many kinds of diverse families such as
The Family Book by Todd Parr, The Great Big Book of Families by
Mary Hoffman or All Families Are Special by Norma Simon. As you
read or afterwards, ask the students what kinds of families they
noticed in the book.
• Ask students about different kinds of families that they have
seen in their community or on television.
o Be prepared to mention different kinds of family configurations
if the students don’t bring them up. For example, you could include
families with two moms or two dads, grandparent headed families,
parents that live in different homes, multi-racial families.
o Have examples in mind such as a family with parents of two
different races such as Barack Obama’s parents; a family with two
dads such as Elton John and his partner, David Furnish; a family
with two moms such as Sheryl Swoopes, the WNBA player and her
partner; or former Vice-president Dick Cheney’s daughter, Mary
Cheney, and her partner.
DAY FOUR OR EXTENSION: MAKING CONNECTIONS – READING GROUPS • In a
whole group discussion, review the concepts of text-to-self,
text-to-text and text-to-world
connections. (5 minutes)
• In literature groups, students will read another book about
families (15 minutes)
• Students should independently complete the Making Connections
worksheet. (20 minutes)
• Students will return to the whole group o Ask one student
from each group to say who was in the family or families in the
book
they just read.
o Each student can share one of the connections that they made on
their Making Connections handout.
o Have students hand in their Making Connections worksheet
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ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION On the fourth day, the students will
independently complete the Making Connections handout to be used as
an assessment of their connection-making skills.
• Students will be considered above grade level if they
independently complete the activity and provide more than one
example of a text-to-self connection and more than one example of a
text-to-text connection.
• Students will be considered at grade level if they independently
complete the activity by providing one example of a text-to-self
connection and one example of a text-to-text connection.
• Students will be considered approaching grade level if they
require adult assistance to provide one example of a text-to-self
connection and one example of a text-to-text connection.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FROM WELCOMING SCHOOLS • Books to Engage
Students: Many bibliographies on family diversity, gender
stereotyping and
identity, and bullying.
• All Kinds of Families: Picture Books
• Books For Students Inclusive of Gay Family Members and
Characters: A Short List of Recommendations
• Using LGBT-Inclusive Children’s Books and Looking at Gender
Through Books