Talking about books on Tuesday

Hello there!

I’m sure many teachers are talking about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. this week and I wanted to share with you a few books I love to read to teach about equality, understanding, and peace in my classroom.

Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  is an excellent  elementary school biography. It’s illustration come alive and young students are able to learn about the influential Dr. King. It is a great introduction to start conversation on segregation, racism, equality, boycotts, and how our world has changed today. My students enjoyed listening to me read about his life and had many questions about the Civil Rights movement.

A book I like to use to teach my students about equality and understanding the world around them is For Every Child a Better World This book is currently out of publication but you can still find it at used book stores and Amazon.

This book explains in simple sentences how some children are fortunate enough to have their needs met and others are not. For example it states some kids have books, a classroom, and a teacher…others do not. I then ask my students what we could do to help others and remind them of how lucky we are to have all our resources in our classroom. 

After reading the stories I have my kids write using a example from the book how we could help people in our own community. Some examples:

Some kids don’t have toys or games to play with. We should donate our toys to others so they can play with them.

I think this book helps them realize how they can help others and take a stand like Dr. King.

That’s all for talking about books! What are some books you love to use this time of year?