Focus: Equity
Social Studies Skills - Uses critical reasoning skills to analyze and evaluate claims.
SSS1.1.1 Distinguish different points of view on one event.
SSS1.1.2 Use questioning strategies.
SSS1.1.3 Retell the sequence of events that have happened over time.
Civics - Understands key ideals and principles of the United States, including those in the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and other foundational documents.
C1.1.1 Recognize the key ideal of public or common good within the context of the school community. Why do we need rules in the classroom?
C1.1.3 Explore and give examples of services a government provides (e.g., teachers, police and fire protection, maintenance of roads, snow removal, etc.).
Economics - E3: Understands the governement's role in the economy. E4: Understands the economic issues and problems that all societies face.
E1.Understand that people have to make choices between wants and needs and evaluate the outcomes of those choices.
E1.1.1 Identify differences between natural, human, and capital resources.
E1.1.2 Explain how and why families make choices between wants and needs
Assignments:
See the workbook: Wants and Needs
E1.1.4 Explore the different resources that families use to access what they want and need.
E2.Understands the components of an economic system.
E2.1.1 Demonstrate how sharing and bartering are basic economic systems.
E3.1.2 Explain the purpose for public and private providers of goods and services
Geography - Understands the physical characteristics, cultural characteristics, and the location of places, regions, and spatial patterns on the Earth's surface.
History - Understands historical chronology.
H1.1.1 Create a family timeline to show events in a sequential manner.
In what ways might what I do today affect what happens in the future for myself and my community?
Assignments:
Flipgrid Community Panel Discussion on Race, Equity and Justice
Anti-racist Books (list from Sarah Gillett)
Dear Families of these wonderful children,
In reflecting on how to talk to children about the current events taking place around us, I started looking at books I have collected that help me talk about racism and history and identity with kids. This was related to the plan I had this Spring as our class curriculum- looking at who we are as a community, as a country and what are the elements that are important to building our communities. My plan was to talk about the difficult issues of the history of our country. I want to share with students about the unfairness that exists, and what inequity looks like today for BIPOC (Black, Indegineous, and People of Color - BIPOC) in our nation.
Then when this pandemic happened and we ended up closing school, I felt like it would be too hard to try and do this over zoom when we can’t talk about these books and subjects as a community of learners together. But, difficult as it is - it still needs to be talked about. Part of White privilege is being able to not bring it up because it is inconvenient. This pandemic has laid bare the inequity in our society and part of my job as a public school teacher is to help build the democracy I hope our children will one day live in.
So, here are some pieces to start with or work with wherever you are on this learning. For parents and families that are already well experienced in this, if you have resources to share and want to, I welcome your input. The Teaching Tolerance organization (an arm of the Southern Poverty Law Center) has been a great resource in understanding how to teach difficult history at young ages.
There are many resources I am learning about as I look at the racism that is imbedded in our social structure, in myself, and in the world around us. I have made a small list here but there are many more out there. Some of these touch on gender, class and disability as well.
Here is the Kirkus Review of Books booklist of anti-racist books for kids https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-lists/antiracist-books-kids/#a-good-kind-of-trouble
Here is a link to the National Museum of African American History and Culture resource about talking to children about our racial history https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race
These below are some of the books I have collected that I use to help children understand who we are as people- whether it is part of history, a biography, a story that shows what we have in common and how we are also different.
Frederick Douglass:The Lion Who Wrote History by Walter Dean Myers This tells the life history of an African American born in 1818 who lived a life of amazing courage and intelligence to help change and shape some of the people and laws of our country. And here is a link to a read aloud of it: https://justbooksreadaloud.com/ReadToMe_AutoPlay.php?vid=FrederickDoulasLionHistory&iP=IndexCategory.php&t=Author&p1=Floyd&p2=Cooper&r=1114&x=0
The Undefeated, by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson. This is a poem and a love letter to black America about facing some of the hard truths about black experience in America. This looks at leaders in writing, sports, community and everyday lives- celebrating the courage, beauty and the cultural gifts that African Americans have brought us all. I also have put this up on Seesaw. You can follow another version of a read aloud here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBJSSQ-k3VA
No Truth Without Ruth, The Life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. By Kathleen Krull, Illustrated by Nancy Zhang. This is a great example of how some people work to change laws that are unfair in our country.
Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say. This is a story about Allen Say’s grandfather, a Japanese American experience and encountering prejudice and the struggles of bi-cultural experience.
Celebrating Families by Rosemarie Hausherr. In this book on each page you meet a real kid, see their writing of their name, and read about their family mostly described in kid language and there are a couple of photographs of each family. There is a great diversity of families portrayed in this book- stretching across class, race, housing status, gender, ability. This is a great book to have conversations with kids about how families and people live.
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson and illustrated by James Ransome. This is a story about a young slave who finds a way to freedom by making a quilt, which eventually connects her to the underground railroad, and helps others find the path to freedom during the time of slavery in our country.
Radio Man by Arthur Dorros. This is a story about a boy who is a migrant farm worker and how he tries to keep connected to his friend as the workers travel from crop to crop through the harvest seasons.
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. This is a chapter book and is a good family read aloud for 7 and older. A story of three sisters who go and spend the Summer with their mother who had abandoned them in Oakland, California in 1968.
Desmond and the Very Mean Word. By Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams. A young South African boy processes the experience of hatred and the work of forgiveness.
The Power Book, What is it, Who has it, and Why? By Clair Saunders, Hazel Songhurst, Georgia AMson-Bradshaw, Minna Salami and Mik Scarlet. This is a book about the social construction of power and probably is more understandable for kids 7 and up.
These books are not so much illustrating inequity as just giving voice and light to the diversity of human experience.
My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood by Tameka Fryer Brown. A boy going through his day with an artistic colorful lens to describe his moods.
Big Mama’s by Donald Crews. A family heading down South for a Summer visit to their Grandmother’s farm.
The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin. A Chinese American girl learning about Spring garden growing and what to love about the ugly vegetables in her garden.
Family by Isabell Monk and Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. Multi-racial family gathering and celebration of food and love.
A Chair For My Mother by Vera B. Williams. A tale of a family recovering from an apartment fire and the search for the perfect comfy chair to rest in at the end of the day.
The Undefeated
What's Wrong with Saying We're All Equal
Harcourt Brace Suggestions for Children
Brainpop
For Kindergarten–Grade 3Profiles in Activism
Harriet Tubman
Learn about this courageous abolitionist’s life and her work on the Underground Railroad.
Jackie Robinson
Explore the story of a barrier-breaking ballplayer who brought his message of equality to America.
Martin Luther King Jr.
He had a dream! Watch to discover what it was and how this Civil Rights leader paved the way for generations to come.
Rosa Parks
Discover the story of this courageous activist who sat down in order to stand up for equal rights.
Ruby Bridges
Imagine the bravery it took to integrate an all-white school. That’s just what this young activist did when she was only 6 years old!
For Grades 4+Institutionalized Racism and the Fight Against It
Slavery
Explore the rise and abolition of the African slave trade, and its lasting effect on the United States.
Discussion Prompts
Reconstruction
Learn how Reconstruction policies affected people in the South, including liberated slaves.
Discussion Prompts
Jim Crow
Slavery may have ended with the Civil War, but the Confederacy’s defeat marked the beginning of a new kind of oppression.
Discussion Prompts
Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka
“Separate but equal?” Explore where this phrase comes from and learn about segregation, civil rights, and the famous trial case, Brown vs. Board of Education.
Discussion Prompts
Civil Rights
Learn about the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s—what it is, why it’s important, and how its legacy continues.
Discussion Prompts
Profiles in Activism
Fannie Lou Hamer
This activist’s courage and persistence helped secure passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, an important victory in the fight for equal rights.
Discussion Prompts
Jackie Robinson
Discover #42—the great athlete and pioneer for social justice who led the way to ending segregation in baseball.
Discussion Prompts
Malcolm X
While Martin Luther King Jr. championed nonviolent protest and equality for all, Malcolm X took a more forceful approach.
Discussion Prompts
Martin Luther King Jr.
Explore the inspiring life of this Civil Rights activist, and discover how his non-violent protests led to Supreme Court decisions banning segregation.
Discussion Prompts
Motown
At a time of deep racial segregation in America, Detroit songwriter Berry Gordy had a vision of bringing Black musicians into the mainstream. So, he founded Motown Records!
Discussion Prompts
Muhammad Ali
Discover the story of this champion boxer and beloved activist who grew up in the shadow of the Jim Crow South, and was shaped by its injustices.
Discussion Prompts
Tuskegee Airmen
As the first Black military pilots, these true American heroes battled Nazis abroad and discrimination back home.
Discussion Prompts
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Getting Kids to Talk
Fun Questions for Writing / Meetings / Zoom
1. What do you like daydreaming about?
2. Tell me something about you that you think I might not know.
3. What have your friends been up to?
4. What's a memory that makes you happy?
5. What do you look forward to when you wake up?
6. You're at the beach. What's the first thing you do?
7. What makes you feel brave?
8. What makes you feel loved?
9. How do you show people you care?
10. If you could give $100 to a charity, which would you choose?
11. How would you design a treehouse?
12. If you wrote a book, what would it be about?
13. If you designed clothes, what would they look like?
14. How do you best like helping others?
15. What makes you feel thankful?
16. If you made a cave in the woods, what would be inside it?
17. What makes you feel energized?
18. If you were in a play, what would your character be like?
19. What makes your friends so awesome?
20. What makes you so awesome?
21. What are three things you want to do this summer?
22. If you had friends all over the world, how would you keep in touch?
23. If you joined the circus, what would your circus act be?
24. If you were a teacher and could teach your students anything at all, what would you teach them?
25. If a friend asks you to keep a secret that you don’t feel comfortable keeping, what would you do?
Questions for Even Younger Kids
1. If your stuffed animals could talk, what would they say?
2. What does it feel like when I hug you?
3. If you drew everything that came to your head, what would you be drawing right now?
4. What do you think you're going to dream about tonight?
5. What sounds do you like?
6. You're outside for a whole day: what would you do?
7. What makes the best fort?
8. How do you think animals communicate?
9. Describe a great day. What are you doing that makes it special?
10. What animal would make a great driver?
11. Do you like it when other people share with you? Why?
12. Who is your favorite storybook character?
13. What one thing do you do now that you need an adult for but would like to try to do all by yourself?
14. If you had to give everyone in the family new names, what would they be?
15. What makes you happy?
16. If you could do anything right now, what would you do?
17. If you had a pet dragon, what would you name it?
18. What would you do together?
Questions to Ask Younger Students
1. Do you ever think about renaming the colors of your crayons?
2. What character makes you laugh the most?
3. If you opened a store, what would you sell?
4. What's your superhero name and what powers do you have?
5. If you could grow anything in the yard, what would it be?
6. What do you enjoy giving people?
7. Did you smile or laugh extra today?
8. Pretend you're a chef, and tell me about your restaurant. What foods do you serve?
9. Where would you like to travel? How would you get there?
10. If you could ask a wild animal any question, what would you ask?
11. What are some of the best things about nature?
12. You're a photographer for a day, what would you take pictures of?
13. What bugs you?
14. Do you have any inventions in your brain?
15. Do you think it'd be fun to learn another language?
16. If you could make up a new holiday, what would it be?
17. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever eaten?
18. Come up with three silly new traditions for the world. Or for aliens on another planet!
19. What would you do if you made the rules at home?
20. What makes someone smart?
Fun Questions for Older Kids
1. What do you like daydreaming about?
2. Tell me something about you that you think I might not know.
3. What have your friends been up to?
4. What's a memory that makes you happy?
5. What do you look forward to when you wake up?
6. You're at the beach. What's the first thing you do?
7. What makes you feel brave?
8. What makes you feel loved?
9. How do you show people you care?
10. If you could give $100 to a charity, which would you choose?
11. How would you design a treehouse?
12. If you wrote a book, what would it be about?
13. If you designed clothes, what would they look like?
14. How do you best like helping others?
15. What makes you feel thankful?
16. If you made a cave in the woods, what would be inside it?
17. What makes you feel energized?
18. If you were in a play, what would your character be like?
19. What makes your friends so awesome?
20. What makes you so awesome?
21. What are three things you want to do this summer?
22. If you had friends all over the world, how would you keep in touch?
23. If you joined the circus, what would your circus act be?
24. If you were a teacher and could teach your students anything at all, what would you teach them?
25. If a friend asks you to keep a secret that you don’t feel comfortable keeping, what would you do?
Social Studies Skills - Uses critical reasoning skills to analyze and evaluate claims.
SSS1.1.1 Distinguish different points of view on one event.
SSS1.1.2 Use questioning strategies.
SSS1.1.3 Retell the sequence of events that have happened over time.
Civics - Understands key ideals and principles of the United States, including those in the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and other foundational documents.
C1.1.1 Recognize the key ideal of public or common good within the context of the school community. Why do we need rules in the classroom?
- Why do we need rules for the classroom?
- Why do we need rules for the playground?
C1.1.3 Explore and give examples of services a government provides (e.g., teachers, police and fire protection, maintenance of roads, snow removal, etc.).
Economics - E3: Understands the governement's role in the economy. E4: Understands the economic issues and problems that all societies face.
E1.Understand that people have to make choices between wants and needs and evaluate the outcomes of those choices.
E1.1.1 Identify differences between natural, human, and capital resources.
E1.1.2 Explain how and why families make choices between wants and needs
Assignments:
See the workbook: Wants and Needs
- Make a collage showing your wants and needs. See Flipgrid: Wants and Needs
E1.1.4 Explore the different resources that families use to access what they want and need.
E2.Understands the components of an economic system.
E2.1.1 Demonstrate how sharing and bartering are basic economic systems.
- What are different jobs in our classroom?
- How do we share the work in our classroom?
- What makes a good trade?
- What are the different ways people earn money?
- Draw pictures showing your family members at work. See Flipgrid: Work and Jobs
- Why do people put their money into banks?
- Why do people save money?
E3.1.2 Explain the purpose for public and private providers of goods and services
- How are public, community-based, and private organizations in a community different?
Geography - Understands the physical characteristics, cultural characteristics, and the location of places, regions, and spatial patterns on the Earth's surface.
- Knows that the use of tools (e.g., maps, globes, charts, graphs) is important to understanding the world around us. Different cultures may use different tools, and have different names and different perspectives, when looking at the world around us.
- What major bodies of water are near me?
- Label a map of Washington State. Be sure to label the important waters that border us: Pacific Ocean, Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Strait of Georgia. What encompasses the Salish Sea? (Puget Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Strait of Georgia) See Flipgrid: Our State
- What are the names of different places around me?
- What are the different native tribes that are near my community?
- What are the names of the continents? Find them on a map or globe.
- What are the major earth oceans?
History - Understands historical chronology.
H1.1.1 Create a family timeline to show events in a sequential manner.
In what ways might what I do today affect what happens in the future for myself and my community?
Assignments:
- Make a timeline to show important events in your life. See Flipgrid: Timeline
Flipgrid Community Panel Discussion on Race, Equity and Justice
- Share yourself with your students.
- Build relationships. Know who your kids are. What is their culture? What is their life experience? Who is in their family?
- Understand the limits of empathy and compassion. You can gain an understanding, but really cannot "walk a mile in someone else's shoes." Default to us an individuals and all of us as a community.
- Mirror - I should see myself reflected in the curriculum in depth. The more I see myself, the more I will develop a deeper understanding of myself. Window - I am exposed to material about people who do not have the same experiences as me. Sliding Glass Door - I can step into another person's culture with (some) understanding and empathy.
- Equity (access and opportunity) - not the same access to technology, etc. due to poverty. Need to understand who the students are and what they have access to - parental support? Technology? Art supplies? Project-based learning - who are the unsung heroes? What systems are in place that require equity? Eliminate the disparate need for equity. Equality, equity and liberation. Remove the systemic barriers that exist.
- Any system that creates a hierarchy is wrong. Standardized tests create such a hierarchy and are culturally biased.
- Racist, anti-racist, What is not a racist.
- Justice is about finding our what the problem is and problem solve. Try to go further than just pencil and paper. What can you do? Create a community of problem solvers.
- Student voice (gatekeeper of teacher) vs empowerment (students take charge). Identify challenges and be part of the sustainable solution.
Anti-racist Books (list from Sarah Gillett)
Dear Families of these wonderful children,
In reflecting on how to talk to children about the current events taking place around us, I started looking at books I have collected that help me talk about racism and history and identity with kids. This was related to the plan I had this Spring as our class curriculum- looking at who we are as a community, as a country and what are the elements that are important to building our communities. My plan was to talk about the difficult issues of the history of our country. I want to share with students about the unfairness that exists, and what inequity looks like today for BIPOC (Black, Indegineous, and People of Color - BIPOC) in our nation.
Then when this pandemic happened and we ended up closing school, I felt like it would be too hard to try and do this over zoom when we can’t talk about these books and subjects as a community of learners together. But, difficult as it is - it still needs to be talked about. Part of White privilege is being able to not bring it up because it is inconvenient. This pandemic has laid bare the inequity in our society and part of my job as a public school teacher is to help build the democracy I hope our children will one day live in.
So, here are some pieces to start with or work with wherever you are on this learning. For parents and families that are already well experienced in this, if you have resources to share and want to, I welcome your input. The Teaching Tolerance organization (an arm of the Southern Poverty Law Center) has been a great resource in understanding how to teach difficult history at young ages.
There are many resources I am learning about as I look at the racism that is imbedded in our social structure, in myself, and in the world around us. I have made a small list here but there are many more out there. Some of these touch on gender, class and disability as well.
Here is the Kirkus Review of Books booklist of anti-racist books for kids https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-lists/antiracist-books-kids/#a-good-kind-of-trouble
Here is a link to the National Museum of African American History and Culture resource about talking to children about our racial history https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race
These below are some of the books I have collected that I use to help children understand who we are as people- whether it is part of history, a biography, a story that shows what we have in common and how we are also different.
Frederick Douglass:The Lion Who Wrote History by Walter Dean Myers This tells the life history of an African American born in 1818 who lived a life of amazing courage and intelligence to help change and shape some of the people and laws of our country. And here is a link to a read aloud of it: https://justbooksreadaloud.com/ReadToMe_AutoPlay.php?vid=FrederickDoulasLionHistory&iP=IndexCategory.php&t=Author&p1=Floyd&p2=Cooper&r=1114&x=0
The Undefeated, by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson. This is a poem and a love letter to black America about facing some of the hard truths about black experience in America. This looks at leaders in writing, sports, community and everyday lives- celebrating the courage, beauty and the cultural gifts that African Americans have brought us all. I also have put this up on Seesaw. You can follow another version of a read aloud here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBJSSQ-k3VA
No Truth Without Ruth, The Life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. By Kathleen Krull, Illustrated by Nancy Zhang. This is a great example of how some people work to change laws that are unfair in our country.
Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say. This is a story about Allen Say’s grandfather, a Japanese American experience and encountering prejudice and the struggles of bi-cultural experience.
Celebrating Families by Rosemarie Hausherr. In this book on each page you meet a real kid, see their writing of their name, and read about their family mostly described in kid language and there are a couple of photographs of each family. There is a great diversity of families portrayed in this book- stretching across class, race, housing status, gender, ability. This is a great book to have conversations with kids about how families and people live.
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson and illustrated by James Ransome. This is a story about a young slave who finds a way to freedom by making a quilt, which eventually connects her to the underground railroad, and helps others find the path to freedom during the time of slavery in our country.
Radio Man by Arthur Dorros. This is a story about a boy who is a migrant farm worker and how he tries to keep connected to his friend as the workers travel from crop to crop through the harvest seasons.
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. This is a chapter book and is a good family read aloud for 7 and older. A story of three sisters who go and spend the Summer with their mother who had abandoned them in Oakland, California in 1968.
Desmond and the Very Mean Word. By Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams. A young South African boy processes the experience of hatred and the work of forgiveness.
The Power Book, What is it, Who has it, and Why? By Clair Saunders, Hazel Songhurst, Georgia AMson-Bradshaw, Minna Salami and Mik Scarlet. This is a book about the social construction of power and probably is more understandable for kids 7 and up.
These books are not so much illustrating inequity as just giving voice and light to the diversity of human experience.
My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood by Tameka Fryer Brown. A boy going through his day with an artistic colorful lens to describe his moods.
Big Mama’s by Donald Crews. A family heading down South for a Summer visit to their Grandmother’s farm.
The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin. A Chinese American girl learning about Spring garden growing and what to love about the ugly vegetables in her garden.
Family by Isabell Monk and Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. Multi-racial family gathering and celebration of food and love.
A Chair For My Mother by Vera B. Williams. A tale of a family recovering from an apartment fire and the search for the perfect comfy chair to rest in at the end of the day.
The Undefeated
What's Wrong with Saying We're All Equal
Harcourt Brace Suggestions for Children
- The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
- Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson, illustrated by Frank Morrison
- The Fierce 44: Black Americans Who Shook Up the World by The Staff of the Undefeated, illustrated by Robert Ball
- March Forward, Girl by Melba Pattillo Beals
- Remember by Toni Morrison
- Lullaby (For a Black Mother) by Langston Hughes, illustrated by Sean Qualls
- A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson
- A Few Red Drops by Claire Hartfield
- Let It Shine by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Stephen Alcorn
- It All Comes Down to This by Karen English
- I, Too, Sing America: Three Centuries of African American Poetry by Catherine Clinton, illustrated by Stephen Alcorn
Brainpop
For Kindergarten–Grade 3Profiles in Activism
Harriet Tubman
Learn about this courageous abolitionist’s life and her work on the Underground Railroad.
Jackie Robinson
Explore the story of a barrier-breaking ballplayer who brought his message of equality to America.
Martin Luther King Jr.
He had a dream! Watch to discover what it was and how this Civil Rights leader paved the way for generations to come.
Rosa Parks
Discover the story of this courageous activist who sat down in order to stand up for equal rights.
Ruby Bridges
Imagine the bravery it took to integrate an all-white school. That’s just what this young activist did when she was only 6 years old!
For Grades 4+Institutionalized Racism and the Fight Against It
Slavery
Explore the rise and abolition of the African slave trade, and its lasting effect on the United States.
Discussion Prompts
Reconstruction
Learn how Reconstruction policies affected people in the South, including liberated slaves.
Discussion Prompts
Jim Crow
Slavery may have ended with the Civil War, but the Confederacy’s defeat marked the beginning of a new kind of oppression.
Discussion Prompts
Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka
“Separate but equal?” Explore where this phrase comes from and learn about segregation, civil rights, and the famous trial case, Brown vs. Board of Education.
Discussion Prompts
Civil Rights
Learn about the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s—what it is, why it’s important, and how its legacy continues.
Discussion Prompts
Profiles in Activism
Fannie Lou Hamer
This activist’s courage and persistence helped secure passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, an important victory in the fight for equal rights.
Discussion Prompts
Jackie Robinson
Discover #42—the great athlete and pioneer for social justice who led the way to ending segregation in baseball.
Discussion Prompts
Malcolm X
While Martin Luther King Jr. championed nonviolent protest and equality for all, Malcolm X took a more forceful approach.
Discussion Prompts
Martin Luther King Jr.
Explore the inspiring life of this Civil Rights activist, and discover how his non-violent protests led to Supreme Court decisions banning segregation.
Discussion Prompts
Motown
At a time of deep racial segregation in America, Detroit songwriter Berry Gordy had a vision of bringing Black musicians into the mainstream. So, he founded Motown Records!
Discussion Prompts
Muhammad Ali
Discover the story of this champion boxer and beloved activist who grew up in the shadow of the Jim Crow South, and was shaped by its injustices.
Discussion Prompts
Tuskegee Airmen
As the first Black military pilots, these true American heroes battled Nazis abroad and discrimination back home.
Discussion Prompts
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Getting Kids to Talk
Fun Questions for Writing / Meetings / Zoom
1. What do you like daydreaming about?
2. Tell me something about you that you think I might not know.
3. What have your friends been up to?
4. What's a memory that makes you happy?
5. What do you look forward to when you wake up?
6. You're at the beach. What's the first thing you do?
7. What makes you feel brave?
8. What makes you feel loved?
9. How do you show people you care?
10. If you could give $100 to a charity, which would you choose?
11. How would you design a treehouse?
12. If you wrote a book, what would it be about?
13. If you designed clothes, what would they look like?
14. How do you best like helping others?
15. What makes you feel thankful?
16. If you made a cave in the woods, what would be inside it?
17. What makes you feel energized?
18. If you were in a play, what would your character be like?
19. What makes your friends so awesome?
20. What makes you so awesome?
21. What are three things you want to do this summer?
22. If you had friends all over the world, how would you keep in touch?
23. If you joined the circus, what would your circus act be?
24. If you were a teacher and could teach your students anything at all, what would you teach them?
25. If a friend asks you to keep a secret that you don’t feel comfortable keeping, what would you do?
Questions for Even Younger Kids
1. If your stuffed animals could talk, what would they say?
2. What does it feel like when I hug you?
3. If you drew everything that came to your head, what would you be drawing right now?
4. What do you think you're going to dream about tonight?
5. What sounds do you like?
6. You're outside for a whole day: what would you do?
7. What makes the best fort?
8. How do you think animals communicate?
9. Describe a great day. What are you doing that makes it special?
10. What animal would make a great driver?
11. Do you like it when other people share with you? Why?
12. Who is your favorite storybook character?
13. What one thing do you do now that you need an adult for but would like to try to do all by yourself?
14. If you had to give everyone in the family new names, what would they be?
15. What makes you happy?
16. If you could do anything right now, what would you do?
17. If you had a pet dragon, what would you name it?
18. What would you do together?
Questions to Ask Younger Students
1. Do you ever think about renaming the colors of your crayons?
2. What character makes you laugh the most?
3. If you opened a store, what would you sell?
4. What's your superhero name and what powers do you have?
5. If you could grow anything in the yard, what would it be?
6. What do you enjoy giving people?
7. Did you smile or laugh extra today?
8. Pretend you're a chef, and tell me about your restaurant. What foods do you serve?
9. Where would you like to travel? How would you get there?
10. If you could ask a wild animal any question, what would you ask?
11. What are some of the best things about nature?
12. You're a photographer for a day, what would you take pictures of?
13. What bugs you?
14. Do you have any inventions in your brain?
15. Do you think it'd be fun to learn another language?
16. If you could make up a new holiday, what would it be?
17. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever eaten?
18. Come up with three silly new traditions for the world. Or for aliens on another planet!
19. What would you do if you made the rules at home?
20. What makes someone smart?
Fun Questions for Older Kids
1. What do you like daydreaming about?
2. Tell me something about you that you think I might not know.
3. What have your friends been up to?
4. What's a memory that makes you happy?
5. What do you look forward to when you wake up?
6. You're at the beach. What's the first thing you do?
7. What makes you feel brave?
8. What makes you feel loved?
9. How do you show people you care?
10. If you could give $100 to a charity, which would you choose?
11. How would you design a treehouse?
12. If you wrote a book, what would it be about?
13. If you designed clothes, what would they look like?
14. How do you best like helping others?
15. What makes you feel thankful?
16. If you made a cave in the woods, what would be inside it?
17. What makes you feel energized?
18. If you were in a play, what would your character be like?
19. What makes your friends so awesome?
20. What makes you so awesome?
21. What are three things you want to do this summer?
22. If you had friends all over the world, how would you keep in touch?
23. If you joined the circus, what would your circus act be?
24. If you were a teacher and could teach your students anything at all, what would you teach them?
25. If a friend asks you to keep a secret that you don’t feel comfortable keeping, what would you do?