Diverse Literature Text Set: Bullying K-2
Summary of Text:
The Recess Queen is about a bully at recess who will not let anyone play because she wants to control the entire playground. One day, a girl named Katie Sue shows up and teaches the bully how to share and be friendly at recess.
Critical Review:
Strengths: A strength of this book is the way the author incorporated rhyme onto the pages. The students will absolutely love to read along and say the sounds with the teacher as they read. This adds a unique touch to the story and keeps the flow of the words smooth and easy for readers.
Weaknesses: A weakness of this book is the lack of personality in the other characters. I think they are all seemingly quiet and timid, but could add so much more to the story if they spoke up and showed bravery too. The bully overpowers the other characters until Katie Sue comes along.
There is respect present for everyone in the book, but not everyone is represented as being a "full" character. It is hard to say if there is stereotyping occurring because bullying can happen with both boys and girls. I would say it is more common with boys, so this book challenges that because the bully is female. The person who stands up to the bully is also female, which challenges the timidity of stereotypical woman.
The illustrations in this novel are really awesome and add to the storyline. The bully is illustrated as being very large and scary, with features that take up the entire page. Katie Sue is illustrated as being very small and brave. This adds a twist to what diversity can mean in a book. It can be more than race, gender, and ethnicity, but can also be how you react to discomfort and how you stand up for yourself.
The main characters are young white girls, and there is little diversity in race or ethnicity displayed in this book. There are students in the classroom who are of different gender, race, and possibly ethnicity, but they are not given significant roles in the story. It is possible they are placed in the classroom to show diverse students that they are present in the book, without giving them a role in the plot. This could be changed by adding an additional main character who is of a different race or ethnicity.
The author does a wonderful job of connecting people through the small acts of asking to play together. This changed Jean's perspective on recess when she had someone to play with. She had never been asked to play before and most likely had negative feelings about being left out at recess. The characters are diverse in their personalities and reactions to limitations, making this a unique twist on diversity.
Classroom Connections:
Main Themes: The main theme of this text is that everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and friendliness. Even though some people may seem mean or scary, they are a person deserving of joy and happiness too.
Possible Activities: An activity the students could participate in after reading this book would be to write down something they do not have a positive opinion about. Once they have done this, they will write down three positive things about that concept, and think over those three points. This helps students build positive attitudes about things they may not feel good about yet.
Additional Resources:
1. http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/tools-for-schools/1252-brain-breaks-instant-recess-and-energizers
This link takes you to a website with brain breaks, recess, and energizing activities for students who need movement inside or outside the classroom.
2. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/10-indoor-recess-ideas/
This link takes you to a website with team building activities for students to build trust with one another.
3. https://www.weareteachers.com/bring-back-old-school-recess-17-games-your-students-should-be-playing-now/
This link takes you to a website with safe, healthy, and inclusive outdoor activities for students.
The Recess Queen is about a bully at recess who will not let anyone play because she wants to control the entire playground. One day, a girl named Katie Sue shows up and teaches the bully how to share and be friendly at recess.
Critical Review:
Strengths: A strength of this book is the way the author incorporated rhyme onto the pages. The students will absolutely love to read along and say the sounds with the teacher as they read. This adds a unique touch to the story and keeps the flow of the words smooth and easy for readers.
Weaknesses: A weakness of this book is the lack of personality in the other characters. I think they are all seemingly quiet and timid, but could add so much more to the story if they spoke up and showed bravery too. The bully overpowers the other characters until Katie Sue comes along.
There is respect present for everyone in the book, but not everyone is represented as being a "full" character. It is hard to say if there is stereotyping occurring because bullying can happen with both boys and girls. I would say it is more common with boys, so this book challenges that because the bully is female. The person who stands up to the bully is also female, which challenges the timidity of stereotypical woman.
The illustrations in this novel are really awesome and add to the storyline. The bully is illustrated as being very large and scary, with features that take up the entire page. Katie Sue is illustrated as being very small and brave. This adds a twist to what diversity can mean in a book. It can be more than race, gender, and ethnicity, but can also be how you react to discomfort and how you stand up for yourself.
The main characters are young white girls, and there is little diversity in race or ethnicity displayed in this book. There are students in the classroom who are of different gender, race, and possibly ethnicity, but they are not given significant roles in the story. It is possible they are placed in the classroom to show diverse students that they are present in the book, without giving them a role in the plot. This could be changed by adding an additional main character who is of a different race or ethnicity.
The author does a wonderful job of connecting people through the small acts of asking to play together. This changed Jean's perspective on recess when she had someone to play with. She had never been asked to play before and most likely had negative feelings about being left out at recess. The characters are diverse in their personalities and reactions to limitations, making this a unique twist on diversity.
Classroom Connections:
Main Themes: The main theme of this text is that everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and friendliness. Even though some people may seem mean or scary, they are a person deserving of joy and happiness too.
Possible Activities: An activity the students could participate in after reading this book would be to write down something they do not have a positive opinion about. Once they have done this, they will write down three positive things about that concept, and think over those three points. This helps students build positive attitudes about things they may not feel good about yet.
Additional Resources:
1. http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/tools-for-schools/1252-brain-breaks-instant-recess-and-energizers
This link takes you to a website with brain breaks, recess, and energizing activities for students who need movement inside or outside the classroom.
2. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/10-indoor-recess-ideas/
This link takes you to a website with team building activities for students to build trust with one another.
3. https://www.weareteachers.com/bring-back-old-school-recess-17-games-your-students-should-be-playing-now/
This link takes you to a website with safe, healthy, and inclusive outdoor activities for students.