Magazine Feature

Toolkit for Gloria and Rosa Make Beautiful Music

Like Rosa and Gloria, your students have surely noticed inequities between different schools. Get them talking about these issues upfront!

The story “Gloria and Rosa Make Beautiful Music” shows how children can come together to fight for causes that are important to them. It also serves as an illustration for adults that children are aware of inequities. This activity piggybacks on the themes of the story by giving students a chance to talk about resource inequities between schools or within their own community. It gives them the opportunity to brainstorm ways they can take an active role in fighting for a more equal distribution of resources.

 

Essential Questions

  1. What is inequity?
  2. Why do children at some schools have more materials and resources than children at other schools?
  3. What steps can children take to fight for more equal distribution of resources?

 

Procedure

  1. Have students read “Gloria and Rosa Make Beautiful Music” and complete the comprehension questions to ensure that they understand the story.
  2. Explain that one of the main themes of the story is that of resource equity:  the fact that children in some schools have access to different materials and resources than children in other schools. Ask your students why they think this is the case.
  3. In journals, have your students list the many resources they rely on over the course of their week at school. Encourage them to consider books, technology, school supplies, art materials and field trips. Have them share their lists with a partner.
  4. Now, ask students to consider this: How might their life at school be better if they had more or better quality of one or more of these resources? How might their life at school be different if they had fewer or worse quality of one or more of these resources? Give students a chance to talk about these questions in partnerships.
  5. Bring students back together and ask them to share examples of resource inequity they have noticed. They might want to talk about friends who go to different schools or family members who live in different towns. Explain that talking about inequity can be uncomfortable, but without talking about it, we can never adequately address it. 
  6. Gloria and Rosa took action to try to resolve the inequity they noticed between their schools. Have your students brainstorm a list of actions they might take to address one or more of the resource inequities they have named. Guide them toward feasible solutions, and give them an opportunity to put their plan into action!
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