Lower School Lesson Plans

Author: Janet Costa Bates
This is the story of a relationship between a young girl and her grandmother, who emigrated from Cape Verde 40 years earlier. On the grandmother’s 70^th birthday friends and family come from all over to celebrate, except for her sister Aura who remains in Cape Verde. Cora, the granddaughter, sees the longing in her grandmother’s face for her sister. The grandmother then tells Cora about a mantenha, or message, that might be received from someone far away. That night Cora has a dream about Aura that inspires her birthday gift to Grandma: a jar of shells, sand, and water that perhaps Aura may have touched on her side of the ocean. Cora’s gift inspires her grandmother contemplate flying to Cape Verde to visit her sister and her homeland. This story draws on the importance of family connection and giving from the heart.

Year Released: 2010
Grades K-3

Author: Ann Malaspina
Yasmin and her sister work as brick chippers in the busy city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Everyday as Yasmin, her sister, father, and mother work hard to earn enough money to keep a roof over their heads. Through the long workdays Yasmin dreams of going to school someday and with an education she hopes to become a teacher or even a governor. Eventually she saves up enough money to buy a book that will help her learn how to read. Yasmin shares the excitement of learning to read with her parents and sister. Her parents decide that with a little extra work they will soon send their two daughters to school. Through Yasmin’s passion and determination she finally goes to her first day at school.

Year Released: 2010
Grades K-4

Authors: Lee Bennett Hopkins and Chris Soentpiet
Amazing Faces is a collection of sixteen poems that celebrates the rich diversity of the lives of American children. With beautiful watercolor portraits, this book has a great mix of emotions with Jude Mandell's “I'm the One,” a sad boy is not accepted by the in crowd, and Pat Mora’s “High in the Sky,” in which a child enjoys solitude under the stars. Amazing Faces is truly an enjoyable read.

Year Released: 2010
Grades K-5

Author: Rene Colato Lainez
From North to South is a story of a young boy that misses his mother. Originally from Mexico, Jose’s mother was deported to Tijuana for not having the proper documents to remain in the United States. In this short children’s book, Jose and his father travel to Mexico to visit his mother. Although his mother is not able to return to the US until she has the proper documents, they manage to have a pleasant visit to Mexico and pray for her return to the states. This heartbreaking story reflects the real life situation of families being separated because of immigration issues. The text is written in Spanish and English.

Year Released: 2010
Grades K-3

Grandfather's Journey explores themes of cross cultural experience as well as intergenerational relationships and family history. The award-winning illustrations convey Say's love of family, as well as his love of place. Through a series of reading, writing and reflection activities, students will explore this cross cultural theme and develop a deeper understanding of why immigrants come to the United States.

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Creating Heritage Boxes will allow students to obtain a cross-curricular knowledge using relevant literature and information obtained through family member interviews. Students will understand the value of becoming familiar with their heritage and culture through the research of an ancestor. (NOTE: This is a project-based learning activity that requires several months and the support of families and the school community to implement. The interconnected activities will foster an overall understanding and appreciation for the diversity in your school and our nation.)

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Students will explore an immigrant's journey into the United States and honor his/her accomplishments by interviewing an immigrant, creating decorative placemats and inviting him/her to a banquet to celebrate.

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Students will develop an appreciation of the varied social, cultural, economic, artistic, and political contributions made by immigrants through a research and technological process that culminates in the production of an iMovie.

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The goal of Our Melting Pot is to develop knowledge and appreciation of the diversity of nations from which our students' ancestors came. By creating his/her own Immigration cookbook, students will appreciate their ancestry and learn about how certain foods are incorporated in to life in the United States.

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Students will appreciate the immigration experience through Aliki's Marianthe's Story: Painted Words, Spoken Memories. Through a guided reading and various classroom activities, students will identify with Mari's character as well as improve on reading, geography, art and expressive writing skills.

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