Diverse Learners Text Set: Religion K-2
Summary of Text:
Be Kind is the story of a young girl who learns what it means to be kind: giving, helping, and paying attention. She travels through her thought process of what kindness looks like and how she can use kindness in her everyday activities. She makes the connection that one act of kindness can ripple effect and help others to want to do the same. She comes to the conclusion that whatever the size, big or small, any act of kindness makes a different in someone's life.
Critical Review:
Strengths: This book is simply wonderful. The illustrations are eye catching and exciting to look at. The text is not overwhelming on each page. The book seems to cover a lot of information without using a lot of words. I think that is a great strength when reading aloud to younger students who have a shorter attention span. The story travels and moves with the thoughts of the main character, making it a great tool for helping students develop a healthy thought process when learning a new idea.
Weaknesses: There is nothing that sticks out to me as a weakness. I really think the text and the message is wonderful!
The author's perspective and expertise is unique because she is writing about children as a mother of two. I think mothers have a special bond with the growing of their child's mind and heart. They have a front row seat to their child's life, therefore they can write with detail about some of the stages a child may go through. Every child desires to learn how to function in this big world, and the special ones learn to be kind. Miller writes about a young girl who learns that kindness can be the difference between a friend and a stranger, as well as one of the best things to spread in this world. She writes as a mother, most likely with experience raising children and teaching them about kindness.
I believe the author found a wonderful way to include varying cultures, without it being the main theme of the story. She found a way to include dark skinned people on the pages with a crowd, as well as the young girl who is being bullied. She does not stereotype anyone and does not associate a behavior with a race or culture.
Jen Hill illustrated the novel in a way that captures the eyes and the heart of the reader from the first page. The visuals of the main character showing her emotions and acting on them is so important for young children to see. When she felt like something was wrong, she made a change and made a difference in that moment. Hill drew an empathetic character that comes off the page.
The storyline does bring diverse characters together through the acts of kindness. The young girl who is being bullied and made fun of has dark skin. The main character has light skin, She shows kindness and mentions nothing of race or cultural differences. The characters come together and respect and love, paying no attention to whether they have the same background or not. This is important for students to recognize when they are learning about respecting others, no matter your differences.
Classroom Connections:
Main Themes: The main themes of this text is that kindness knows no boundaries and people can always show kindness to others. It is a choice to respect others, and they deserve your respect. Differences of race, gender, SES, or cultural background should not stand in between strangers. Kindness can ripple effect and change the lives of those around you.
Possible Activities: An activity the students could participate in after reading this book would be to create a calendar of kindness activities they can complete for one month. The calendar will have one activity per day, and will be something like "sharpen your shoulder buddy's pencils" or "say thank you 3 times today". The students will spend the month completing this calendar, and eventually see what can come from being kind.
Additional Resources:
1. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/3518505939707827/
This link connects to a pinterest page with a Kindness Calendar for a teacher to guide the students with an act of kindness for each day of the month.
2. https://www.iu1.org/services/bullying/elementary
The link above takes you to a website with lots of lesson plans about reasons why teasing and making fun of peers is not a healthy way to treat others.
3. https://classroom.kidshealth.org/prekto2/personal/growing/self_esteem.pdf
The link above takes you to a website with lesson plans about how to encourage your students to build self esteem and be confident in who they are. This is so important with children and should definitely be taught to children of all ages.
Be Kind is the story of a young girl who learns what it means to be kind: giving, helping, and paying attention. She travels through her thought process of what kindness looks like and how she can use kindness in her everyday activities. She makes the connection that one act of kindness can ripple effect and help others to want to do the same. She comes to the conclusion that whatever the size, big or small, any act of kindness makes a different in someone's life.
Critical Review:
Strengths: This book is simply wonderful. The illustrations are eye catching and exciting to look at. The text is not overwhelming on each page. The book seems to cover a lot of information without using a lot of words. I think that is a great strength when reading aloud to younger students who have a shorter attention span. The story travels and moves with the thoughts of the main character, making it a great tool for helping students develop a healthy thought process when learning a new idea.
Weaknesses: There is nothing that sticks out to me as a weakness. I really think the text and the message is wonderful!
The author's perspective and expertise is unique because she is writing about children as a mother of two. I think mothers have a special bond with the growing of their child's mind and heart. They have a front row seat to their child's life, therefore they can write with detail about some of the stages a child may go through. Every child desires to learn how to function in this big world, and the special ones learn to be kind. Miller writes about a young girl who learns that kindness can be the difference between a friend and a stranger, as well as one of the best things to spread in this world. She writes as a mother, most likely with experience raising children and teaching them about kindness.
I believe the author found a wonderful way to include varying cultures, without it being the main theme of the story. She found a way to include dark skinned people on the pages with a crowd, as well as the young girl who is being bullied. She does not stereotype anyone and does not associate a behavior with a race or culture.
Jen Hill illustrated the novel in a way that captures the eyes and the heart of the reader from the first page. The visuals of the main character showing her emotions and acting on them is so important for young children to see. When she felt like something was wrong, she made a change and made a difference in that moment. Hill drew an empathetic character that comes off the page.
The storyline does bring diverse characters together through the acts of kindness. The young girl who is being bullied and made fun of has dark skin. The main character has light skin, She shows kindness and mentions nothing of race or cultural differences. The characters come together and respect and love, paying no attention to whether they have the same background or not. This is important for students to recognize when they are learning about respecting others, no matter your differences.
Classroom Connections:
Main Themes: The main themes of this text is that kindness knows no boundaries and people can always show kindness to others. It is a choice to respect others, and they deserve your respect. Differences of race, gender, SES, or cultural background should not stand in between strangers. Kindness can ripple effect and change the lives of those around you.
Possible Activities: An activity the students could participate in after reading this book would be to create a calendar of kindness activities they can complete for one month. The calendar will have one activity per day, and will be something like "sharpen your shoulder buddy's pencils" or "say thank you 3 times today". The students will spend the month completing this calendar, and eventually see what can come from being kind.
Additional Resources:
1. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/3518505939707827/
This link connects to a pinterest page with a Kindness Calendar for a teacher to guide the students with an act of kindness for each day of the month.
2. https://www.iu1.org/services/bullying/elementary
The link above takes you to a website with lots of lesson plans about reasons why teasing and making fun of peers is not a healthy way to treat others.
3. https://classroom.kidshealth.org/prekto2/personal/growing/self_esteem.pdf
The link above takes you to a website with lesson plans about how to encourage your students to build self esteem and be confident in who they are. This is so important with children and should definitely be taught to children of all ages.