| Learning for Justice

Essential Question

What are reasons people migrate?
What are the challenges of migrating to a new country?
How can our community welcome migrant children and their families?
How can our class welcome migrant students at our school?

Texts

Julia Moves to the United States

When 10-year-old Julia Alvarez immigrated to New York, she learned the power of words.

Literature

Yaki's Mural

In this Story Corner from Teaching Tolerance Magazine, Yaki is nervous about making friends at her new school but finds a way to share her culture and art with her new class by creating a class mural.

Alexandra Melnick

Grade Level

3-5

Subject

History

Geography

Topic

Race & Ethnicity Immigration

Multimedia

Small Truths: The Immigration Experience Through the Eyes of Children

This film documents English language learners as they write and tell personal stories from their past.

Sarah Yuster

Grade Level

K-2 3-5

Subject

Civics

Economics

Geography

Topic

Race & Ethnicity Immigration

Teaching Strategies

Exploring Texts Through Read Alouds

Realia

Realia are real-life objects that enable children to make connections to their own lives as they try to make sense of new concepts and ideas. This strategy brings the Perspectives central text to life for students by using everyday objects during the read aloud.

Grade Level

K-2

CCSS

RL.K-2.1, RL.K-2.2, RL.K-2.3, RI.K-2.1, RI.K-2.2, RI.K-2.3

Responding to the Read-Aloud Text

Making Connections During Read Aloud

Students make connections to read-aloud texts by relating the text to themselves (lived experiences), to other texts (read in any setting) and to the world (current and historical events)

Grade Level

K-2

CCSS

RL.K-2.9, RI.K-2.9

Student Tasks

Do Something

Collage of Concerns

Students create visual artwork combining various images to convey diversity or social justice issues, concerns or themes related to the central text.

Grade Level

K-2

Do Something

Fairness Fair

Students work in groups to role-play or tell stories about real life situations related to fairness, community, diversity or social justice themes. Students then perform their skits or stories for others as part of a class-wide “fairness fair.”

Grade Level

K-2

Welcome to Learning for Justice—Formerly Teaching Tolerance!

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