Monday, February 27, 2012

What Wonderful Skin You Live In!

6-B's current discovery unit celebrates Black History Month.  Today we read the story, "The Skin You Live In" written by Michael Tyler and illustrated by David Lee Csicsko.  I love the vibrant, engaging illustrations in the story paired with the positive, cheerful look it takes on diversity.  Below see a small excerpt from the story:
This story allowed us to revisit age appropriate topics regarding diversity.  We discussed human skin and enjoyed a fun kinesthetic experience.  We felt our skin and described it to one another.  Did you know that our skin feels different in different areas? Ask your child to describe how their forearm feels compared to their elbow.  We also felt our skin with our eyes closed.  I asked the class if you could tell the color of someones skin by the way that it feels.  The answer is no! Our skin is actually quite similar in many ways.  Drawing on our prior knowledge from celebrating MLK day we had a wonderful discussion about how everyone should be treated equally. Afterwards I introduced our new poem to the class. It is prominently featured on our white wall written in marker. After practicing, a few 6-B students asked me to place it on the blog so that they can share the poem with you at home. Please feel free to read this poem with your child:


Unity Poem
I have a dream, said Martin Luther King
We're gonna make that dream come true.
Let freedom ring, said Martin Luther King,
It's up to me and you.
It's not the color of your ha
ir,
It's not the color of your skin,
It doesn't matter what you wear,
It's the character within.

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