Diverse Titles Not Social Justice Themed

So much going on in the world right now. I am infuriated by the way protesters are being treated, and inspired by the dedication of particularly the young people to make a change. In my Kindergarten class we don't shy away from big ideas-in fact, I encourage those discussions in my class often. This past year we talked about themes of social justice and read about famous people like Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman. And those are important discussions.

However, I also think it's important to include diverse titles in your classroom libraries and read-alouds that portray diverse families doing every day regular things as well. The past few years we are thankfully seeing more and more books featuring more diverse characters. It's important for our students to see themselves in the books we share-not just protesters and slaves.

Here are some of my favorites:

A new baby is expected and she isn't sure she wants a sibling.

An adorable story about how the library works.

A great story when you are using the theme of families.

A common game of peek-a-boo-the students often relate to playing with their baby siblings.

A self explanatory title-I love to share this one the first week of school

Jabari is nervous about jumping off the diving board and dad is very understanding.

Ezra Jack Keats wrote a number of books but this one is my favorite.

Also about a new brother that is not entirely welcomed at first. He messes up the toys and insists on watching his own shows. But his brother soon warms up to him.

D & C Frames to Sum Up Kindergarten

Frames are a great way to sum up what students have learned about a topic. These are from previous years but I plan to post one for my students to complete as their last online assignment this year. They are writing Unanswered Questions about Kindergarten, write from the Perspective of a Kindergartener, Rules-what is always true about Kindergarten and the Big Idea of Kinder.

Books To End the School Year

Usually the end of the school year is emotional but even more so this year. I am grateful that our principal is having a time for us to see our students one last time before their summer vacation officially begins but it is going to be hard to stay stoic with them. I did get some good news-I am going to be looping up to 1st Grade with my kiddos next year! What a perfect year to be able to start off knowing exactly where they are academically and already having a relationship with parents.

So as we wind down our online learning I have several last read-alouds that I will be doing with my students. I wanted to share the titles because you may be looking for a good way to end the year as well:

Everything I Learned About Teaching I Learned From My Dog

Ok maybe not EVERYTHING. But I did learn a lot.

So 11 years ago I was looking for a puppy and came across this bundle of ears at a rescue event. She had been at the shelter a month but they couldn't tell me anything else about how she had gotten there.

I asked my mom if she thought I should buy a carrier for the car to take her home and she said they always just carried their puppies in their laps. I decided to name her Ruby and brought her home. She bit and scratched me the whole way. I was like-aren't rescue dogs supposed to be grateful-did you not get that memo? :) The next few days she paced constantly. She had so much anxiety-she just wouldn't lay down and relax. I actually would put her in a crate several times a day just to give her some peace. She was also very mouthy (she would nip whenever she felt stressed which was basically all the time).

Signed up with a trainer who came to our house and observed her. They said "she's always like this? she never jumps up in your lap and cuddles". Yes she's always like this. "Well, I think you should return her to the shelter because she will never be the kind of dog you want her to be". What?! I even said to this woman-I'm a teacher. Imagine first meeting a student and telling the parents-he's never going to be the kid you want him to be. I was so offended. We had paid for 5 sessions up front and never let them back into our house.

Trainer #2 called her his little alligator because she keep untying his shoelaces with her teeth. He was all about giving her enough exercise and teaching her how to heel. We practiced and practiced but it didn't make her behavior any better. She was still nipping and still pacing. He suggested putting her on a treadmill to release all that energy. Yeah, not going to happen.

Trainer #3 called himself the Dog Whisperer for our city. He took out a prong collar and said you need to be tougher with her. You need to show her who is boss.

Trainer #4: A friend of my mom's suggested a dog trainer in her area that worked with challenging dogs. From the moment we met her I knew she was different. She understood Ruby. She channeled that nervous energy into agility training. She gave me permission to let Ruby be who she was. Maybe she was just never going to walk behind me in a perfect heel. Why not put her on a long lead at the park and let her roam in front of us? If she's nipping at you on walks-then don't take her for walks right now-you are just reinforcing that behavior. This trainer saved us.

It took a lot of work, but Ruby became a great companion. She wouldn't always listen and there were some behaviors-like barking at EVERY SINGLE PERSON who walked down our street that we could never get rid of. But when I let her be who she was and accepted that, she blossomed. 

The same goes in our classrooms. Sometimes we have ideas of what we think kids should be, how they should act. Not every child is capable of conforming to that. We have to let little things go and meet them where they are. 

Ruby was diagnosed with leukemia and I had to put her down today. I was thankful the vet let me go in with her because with all the distancing right now that is not usually the policy. That stubborn girl fought until the end. I am so thankful to have been home with her these past few months. I would joke that she was getting spoiled but I believe things happen for a reason. If we were at school right now there would be activities I couldn't miss-I couldn't take off for a vet visit or even just to grieve.

I am loving the messages from the families of former students who looked at Ruby like our class mascot. She even jumped up and took over class a few times during online learning. It's so hard to say good-bye but heartening to me that she will be remembered.

Anyway, remember one size does not fit all. We have to face every student with a different set of tools and do what works for them. I hear teachers all the time say things like "he does that on purpose" or "this kid won't obey". Every behavior is a need. We have to figure out what that need is and fill it. And any preconceived notions we have about how students should act need to be tossed out the window. Be flexible.

Books About Feelings

Our kiddos are going through a lot right now. I was in an online lesson, took a sip of water-it went down the wrong pipe and I started coughing. One of my students said "are you alright Miss Trayers, do you have the Coronavirus?" This is a 5 year old! I just can't imagine how they are trying to process all this. They take on the feelings of the adults around them and many adults are feeling scared right now. Plus, they are having to deal with social isolation and not being able to play in the park, etc. It's a lot for their little minds to process.

As we return in the fall, I think it's really important to include social-emotional strategies in our plans. I wanted to share my favorite books for talking about feelings with the little ones.

I LOVE Mr. Rogers. He was such a beautiful human being. His whole purpose in life was to give kids permission to  feel their feelings and be able to articulate them.

A great story about grief and how to deal with it. Little by little until you start to feel better.

One of my pet peeves is that people don't know how to just listen. They either want to tell you how to fix your problem or they want to tell you about their experiences. I hate when I share something with someone and they just turn it back around about themselves. This story shows how different animals react to a child who is upset. The rabbit just listens and that's what they needed.

I explicitly teach my students how to calm down. I model it for them myself when I get frustrated. Love being able to use stories to help give them strategies.

Lots of ways to calm down and Sophie tries all of them.

A cute story that I know many students can relate too. I mean everyone gets grumpy every once in a while right?

Different animals represent different feelings.

You have to let it in.

I thought this story was heartbreaking the first time I read it. How often do students feel invisible? I want my students to know how to include everyone.

Backward Writing Prompts

So often when we give students a writing prompt, we give them the beginning and ask them to write the rest. One of my favorite activities is to give them the ending and ask them to come up with the beginning.  

Some of my favorite endings to use:

* and then your teacher went home.

* and then the cookies were gone.

* and then the zoo closed.

* and then the doorbell rang.

* and then we closed the fridge.

* and then he scored a goal.

* and then they screamed.

* and then the power went out.

* then he took off his mask

To add another element of rigor you can give them the phrase and ask them to decide to use it in the beginning or the end of their story.