The Talking Crayon Box

The Crayon Box that Talked Video

Click on the Video tab view this fantastic clip of the book.

The Talking Crayon Box is a classic story that highlights the importance of placing value on diversity.  Read the book to your students and ask them to write about their thoughts.  Younger students can even create an illustration on a crayon template.

Quotes from Wilma Rudolph

Students:  Write on paper/pencil or post a comment in the blog comment section.

How does this quote from Wilma Rudolph relate to your every day life?  Explain connections and expand on why she would be a positive role model.  Link your response to one of C.A.R.E.S traits.

"Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit.  We are all the same in this notion:  The potential for greatness lives within each of us."

"Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose.  Nobody goes undefeated all the time.  If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday."

Quotes from Fridah

Students may make connections and reflect on Fridah's words.  Responses may be in the form of blog comments or paper pencil.  Check out the quotes below.

"Painting completes my life..."

"Feet what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?"

5 tools for your Culturally Responsive Writing Centers

The purpose of a Culturally Responsive Writing Center is to increase the level of engagement for your students.  You can set up a little nook in your classroom where students go to write narratives and responses to culturally responsive images.

Include the following items:

1) Teacher-Student exchange journals

2) Family photos that students can use to create stories

3) Cultural Objects that represent the students ( You may send a letter home and ask students to collect items that represent traditions and family values.)

4) Quotes from famous minority figures

Using a Multicultural Text as a Springboard for Goal Setting

Mrs. Jasper and her teaching assistant wanted to use a space theme for their classroom this year.  So, I suggested reading one of my favorite books called, Ron's Big Mission.  It's about a young African-American boy who decides to make an important risk in an effort to educate himself.  This book is a must read for goal setting during the first few months of school.

The students created mission badges to represent their long term goals and special qualities.

Two Books to Empower Your Students

Click below for detailed activities and templates.
scholastic lesson plan STAND TALL
I AM Poem Electronic Template

Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon is a great self-empowerment tool to help your students understand and appreciate their own special contributions and uniqueness in the world.

Me I AM is simply a classic.  It places an esteemed value on each individual child!  The illustrations are  remarkable examples of multicultural detail.

The Power of Memoir and Film Narratives

I am thrilled about starting my first year in fourth grade.  I am continuously planning with the "Culturally Responsive" framework in mine.  During the first three weeks of schools, our fourth grade team will be guiding students through the writing process for producing a narrative based on an influential life event.  After moving through the writing process, each student will be producing an iMovie.  The students' work will be shown a local film festival.  This activity not only reflects the diverse experiences of students, but it also weaves in critical technology skills.  In addition, the students are analyzing, synthesizing, and creating knowledge through both a writing and technology medium.  Students will be given a wide range of choices to create their film narratives which include: a comic strip with scanned documents, personal family photos, and audio of the "Where I'm From" poem template.  Choice will be a deeply embedded Culturally Responsive Teaching strategy to keep students engaged.

I would like to give Janelle Catlett a special thank you for exposing us to a dynamic mentor text that can be used to teach narrative writing and bio poems.  Check out Mama, Where Are You From?  She also walked us through the entire IMovie process.

Increasing Reading Growth Over the Summer

I am in the process of creating summer packets to mail to my students to motivate daily reading, writing, and math problem solving.  A significant portion of my students don't necessarily have a large selection of books at home, but I discovered that every one of my students has access to the internet at home.  Research indicates that students can lose up to two levels of growth over the summer.  On my quest to find the answer to this complex problem, I stumbled across another teacher's blog.  She's truly incredible, and I found out about the "We Give Books" site from one of her posts.  The "We Give Books" website allows students to read books online for free.  This site is a twenty-first century example of using technology to promote equity in education.  "We Give Books" gives every student with internet access the gift of reading.  Click on the link below to browse the site.
Online Books Link
Check out the "Panicked Teacher" blog for more amazing resources.
Panicked Teacher Blog Link