#Rosa parks kindergarten activities free

was, they had a good grasp of what fair and unfair meant, and they had solid visual literacy skills that enabled them to analyze the photos and the videos that we were using. They understood who Martin Luther King Jr.

I noticed that these children came to the unit with background knowledge that Laurie previously built by reading.

As I conferred with writers about their work, they used each in different contexts, connecting the words to their photos and the text they were producing. As they did, they used a choral response to define each of these terms. Then, they brought their hands together and clasped them tight, modeling what integration looked like. Children spread their arms wide and wiggled their fingers as they modeled what segregation was.

We also explored a variety of powerful vocabulary words during our study, using imagery and movement to build meaning. Then, they began choosing which page they wanted to contribute to a class book. Students drafted four pages of information writing on days 4 and 5. She was such a good girl, that Ruby Bridges! But here, she’s grown now.” In the bottom left corner, the speech bubble indicates where one of the characters in her story is practicing resistance, just as Rosa Parks did. Many of these additional facts showed up in the details of their drawings, their drafts, and their conversations with one another.įor instance: when I asked Evelyn to tell me about the writing sample above, she explained that she drew a photo of Ruby Bridges “as a grown up lady.” She pointed to the podium, and then she explained, “She’s making speeches, just like Martin Luther King Jr. They learned about Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and other heroes of the civil rights movement. Throughout this process, Laurie was reading other rich texts with her students. Writers gathered facts, and then they applied them to the third page of their books. On the third day, we used this Sesame Street video to begin exploring religious diversity and freedom. They used these facts to write another page of their personal books.

#Rosa parks kindergarten activities free

This also provided ample opportunity for us to revisit the right to free speech. On the second day, writers gathered facts about the right to vote by watching The Berenstein Bears Big Election. Writers wrote about one of the two civil rights that we explored through our mini-lesson: the right to free speech, and the right to an equal education. I also told the story of Ruby Bridges, and the narrative provided greater context for these images. They used this lens to explore the images in these slides, zooming in on small but meaningful details that helped them interpret what was happening in each. On the first day, students talked about personal experiences that were fair and others that were unfair. They were also invited to write across multiple pages, and we hoped that some would be able to conceptualize integration and segregation in the process. Students were invited to study multiple civil rights, share their thinking about several, and add facts and details that revealed their understanding of what they were. Doing so would not create unrealistic expectations or result in unproductive levels of frustration, either. We directed our instruction toward the second grade standards, hopeful that at least a few students might be able reach them. Our plan was written at the kindergarten level, but these targets established a mere foundation for our learning. Our work together focused on research and information writing, with the intention to deepen students’ knowledge of civil rights in the process. Another important shift: I taught to the highest targets each day while providing plenty of scaffolding and support for those who needed it. I explained that all of the students in the class would be able to meet the grade level standard for kindergarten by the end of each of our lessons, while some would be able to meet the first grade targets, and just a few would be able to meet the second grade standards. Each came from the same standard, but they scaffolds across grade levels. I began by sharing not one, but three learning targets. It informs my instructional approach each time I teach, ensuring that I don’t allow my assumptions about what students can or cannot do to drive the lesson. When we met to discuss the mini-unit that I would be teaching, I introduced the concept of differentiated learning targets.

She also maintains a high bar for her students, regardless of any label that’s been imposed on them. Her energy is incredible, and she sustains her compassion for even the most challenging kids in her care.

Two weeks ago, Laurie Schultz invited me to coach in her kindergarten writing workshop at John T.