I am a white woman. I’ve had privileges and built in advantages. I have not been profiled nor stereotyped. I can walk into a store and not be singled out. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have biases. One bias I have is that I would cross the street if I saw a group of young black men. (Honestly, I have worked to overcome this bias). Another bias also showed up in the texts I selected for my students. For over thirty three years, I’ve selected picture books for my classroom based on the content, the illustrations, and if the story won a Newbery Award for the storyline or Caldecott Award for the pictures. Illustrations are very important in picture books because young students look to the pictures for the meaning of the text. If I liked the message or the accompanying pretty pictures, I figured it would be a good fit for my students, even though it didn’t represent the diversity in my classroom. Because I was not enlightened, I did a disservice to all races of children in my classroom. My students did not see themselves in the texts I selected. They did not see themselves reflected back, like a mirror. They probably only saw white characters… What kind of biases would that create with my pupils?! Biases that I now know can be dispelled for me and my students through quality authentic children’s literature. In other words and for example, a book written by an Asian author has Asian characters. This would make the Asian book more authentic.

The purpose of my “Culturally Authentic Picture Books: How To Dispel the Single Story” unit is for students to hear and see picture books that are about a certain culture written by a person of that same culture – a more accurate and authentic approach to writing because the author has experienced the subject matter first hand (Brooks, 2025). Authentic Picture Books depict realistic stories and illustrations that reflect current ideology, customs, and everyday life ( Wee, 2014). They have culturally accurate text and illustrations. They comprise not only the absence of stereotypes but also the presence of values consistent with a particular culture and the accuracy of cultural details in text and illustrations (Yoo-Lee, Fowler, Adkins, Kim, and Davis 2014). Students may have encountered different cultures. Some may have even misinterpreted that specific culture, have a single story, have had only one experience with that culture, and/or seen negative images of a culture in the media and created a single story about a specific culture which could be negative (Brooks, 2025). I want to dismiss the belief that one story represents and defines an entire culture. Therefore, I will use two Picture Books to study each of the three cultures in my unit curriculum . My unit seeks to dispel the single story and present accurate information about a particular culture in multiple picture books – authenticity. I now need to be highly selective and intentional in the Picture Books I select for  my class.

My first goal is for all of my current second graders to see themselves in the Picture Books we read, like a mirror. My second goal is to dispel the Single Story – only hearing one thing about a particular culture that can be positive or negative. My third goal is to give my students the opportunity to understand others of diverse backgrounds and create a deeper understanding of cultural values (Wee, 2014). This unit will help students to develop a positive appreciation for other groups of people as well as to hear authentic or accurate portrals of specific cultures. These picture books will be informative for my students because they will be exposed to cultures other than their own, like a window where they can see into another culture, and they can identify with the characters, like a mirror reflecting back their own image or culture. The illustrations are just as important as the text in picture books because the students can see the culture for themselves. The illustrations and the text will work together for the reader. By reading literary texts, students will acquire the necessary skills to learn how to respect, accept, and appreciate diversity as something positive for the collective development of the group.” (Tomé-Fernández,  Senís-Fernández, Ruiz-Martín, 2019)

Authentic picturebooks act not only as a mirror in which students are reflected but also as a window through which they can see other cultural experiences especially because text and images are intertwined in picture books (Tomé-Fernández,  Senís-Fernández, Ruiz-Martín, 2019). Children put a lot of emphasis on the pictures to help comprehend the text. For every child in my class, I want them to be able to see themselves in our literature – mirrors to see themselves and create a feeling of importance. The books for this curriculum unit are representative of my current students. My search for culturally diverse literature began with looking at the cultures in my own classroom. We are African American, White, Muslim, Jewish, and Protestant/Catholic. Yet, not every child in my class is familiar with other cultures of their fellow students. In particular, the students in my class know about the dominant White culture and Protestant/Catholic religion (from holidays), therefore, I decided not to read a book about White culture or Protestant/Catholic beliefs.  They can view other cultures through read alouds to look through windows to view other societies and ways of life (Brooks 2025). My students can look through a window to see other cultures represented in our classroom, as well as see themselves in the Picture Books like looking in a mirror.

Reading intercultural books “…allows students to empathize with the characters presented in those books. It also allows them to indirectly explore their thoughts

and emotions, develop important ideas, and increase awareness, knowledge, understanding, and acceptance of oneself and others” (Tomé-Fernández, Senís-Fernández, Ruiz-Martín, pages 205 – 213, 2019).                                                  Isn’t that a big goal of education?

Thanks to the work of Dr. Wanda Brooks, I am becoming more well-informed and awakened to give children a genuine look at the kaleidoscope of races and cultures through authentic texts. I want to teach the multitude of different races and cultures in my class by utilizing Picture Books to create mirrors, windows, and dispel the single story. My goal is to create a curriculum that contains numerous authentic resources for teachers to build into their own curriculum and use in their classrooms.

To design effective instruction I will need to focus on multiple areas: including student engagement or how well students participate, active learning or the extent students participate in the learning, collaborative learning or working together in teams, assessment or grading students, and differentiation or adjusting a student’s work to make it easier or more difficult for the student to experience success.

Student engagement or commitment is key. If students aren’t interested in what I am teaching, they will not participate nor learn or internalize anything. I want to spark my students’ curiosities and have them wonder ‘Why?’ I hope my students will literally be leaning forward in their seats with interest!  Because I will present multicultural learning, my lessons will have clear and authentic real-world connections right to my students. I planned my lessons with the cultural make-up of my students in the forefront of my mind. I desire for my students to be seen in our Picture Books (like in the reflection of a mirror) and to learn about other cultures (like in a window to other things).  Class discussions, or talking about the topic, are an integral part of my unit, varying from partner talk with two students, to small groups with a few students, to whole class discussions.

Active learning is creating, making connections, and building upon prior knowledge. This requires students to be creative and use critical thinking. Students are not to be passive (and just sit there) but are to be innovative and deliberate when creating a project. I strive to have my students use kinesthetic skills or tactile abilities to develop and design a culminating or final project to demonstrate their learning. Using kinesthetic skills will help to keep my students engaged and excited. Active learning will occur when the students create their own family shield and also during the online learning game Blooket.

Collaborative learning or working and communicating together creates a community of learners. Collaborative learning will happen in small groups that work to respond to the Picture Books as Read Alouds. This is vital because it brings students together in a joint venture, whether creating, understanding, or accruing meaning. Students are more likely to take an active role in peer-peer learning in order to learn from each other when working cooperatively. During our classroom discussions, students can absorb and discuss what other students are thinking and expressing about their own ideas. Different perspectives will arise and challenge students to think critically about the others’ positions. Students will also learn to agree or disagree respectfully. Building a strong sense of community is important for students to learn and take into adulthood.

Assessment enables teachers to differentiate and design personalized learning for students while collecting data. Teachers can monitor students and stylize instruction to meet student needs. Formative, or ongoing, assessments can range from participation, to written and technological work, to test scores and become an ongoing process. The purpose of formative assessments is to guide students to mastery of the current content with a final project or even a test. Summative assessment occurs at the end of a unit, chapter, or term. It evaluates what a student has learned and how much they understand. I will incorporate narrative and opinion writings and creating a family shield as summative assessments. Differentiation is meeting a child where they are academically, and designing instruction to help them grow to mastery. This is vital because every classroom has students with different needs and ability levels. Differentiation recognizes and embraces differences in learning needs and abilities, as well as increases motivation and achievement. I will also use differentiation when we break up into teacher led groups to discuss a picture book. During writing assessments, I will meet with groups of students to help with a needed writing skill, such as grammar, phonics (letters to their sounds), organization, or content (what they wrote).

1. 1. Students will be able to (SWBAT) gain a quick understanding of many cultures that are in their classroom.

Materials:

1. “One Classroom, Many Cultures” by Elizabeth Massie
2. One Classroom, Many Cultures

Lesson Plan for “One Classroom, Many Cultures”.

Background: As a whole group, ask the students to share out about their own cultures and traditions. After a few students have shared, the teacher shares about their own culture. Explain the specific purpose of this unit – To read culturally authentic picture books about different cultures in order to become familiar with the different races and cultures in the classroom. Culturally authentic means the author is of the same culture as the characters in the picture book. But it could also mean an authentic book written by an outsider, as long as their writing is accurate. I prefer culturally authentic to be written by an author who is of the same race or ethnicity as the story.  I feel the stories will be more realistic.

Instruction:

1. Show the students the cover and share the gist of the text – ‘Every student in Mr. Tucker’s class has a family from a different culture. They share with each other and they learn from each other.’
2. Read the entire book without stopping.
3. Ask: “I’m thinking about…” “I have a question about…” “This reminds me of…”
4. Lead a class discussion.
5. Ask: “What makes you proud to be you?”
6. Lead a whole group discussion.
7. Watch the video,  One Classroom, Many Cultures
8. Discuss with a partner, ‘Did you identify your own culture in this video? How did it make you feel?’
9. Discuss ‘Why do you think it is important to know about the multitude of cultures in our classroom?’
10. Share that in this unit, we will learn about African American culture, Muslim religion/culture, and Jewish religion/culture. (I selected these three because none are the dominant culture or religion in our class).

2.Students will be able to (SWBAT) discover how African Americans get their haircut and/or braided in order to (IOT) learn about African American culture.

Materials:

1. “Crown: An Ode To The Fresh Cut” by Derrick Barnes – Newbery Honor Book, Caldecott Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Award Book
2. “Hair Love” by Matthew Cherry.
3. HAIRCUT TUTORIAL: AFRO TAPER | EASY FOR BEGINNERS12:19 in length.
4. The history and significance of Black hair 1:27 – 2:19
5. Hair Love | Oscar®-Winning Short Film (Full) | Sony Pictures Animation

Lesson Plan for “Crown: An Ode To The Fresh Cut” and “Hair Love”:

Background: Ask the students what it’s like when they get a haircut or hair braiding. Tell the students to ‘turn and talk’ to their partner to compare experiences. Bring the students back to whole group and ask for volunteers to share out their hair experiences. Ask the whole group if there ever was a time when they felt ‘on top of the world’ after your hair has been worked on, like you could do anything.

Instruction:

1. Read the summary of “Crown: An Ode To The Fresh Cut”. ‘This is a book that celebrates that feeling of confidence and joy when you get a new haircut. When you feel like you’re looking your best and everyone will notice and you can conquer the world, you can do anything you want to do. This text walks you through a boy’s visit to his local barber shop, describes the visit, and the feelings that go along with it.’  (Abby The Librarian, November 2017)
2. Read aloud “Crown: An Ode To The Fresh Cut”. Read straight through without stopping to discuss.
3. Watch: HAIRCUT TUTORIAL: AFRO TAPER | EASY FOR BEGINNERS 12:19 in length
4. Lead a discussion about the hair cutting tools and cutting technique of 360Jeezy. Ask if anyone’s had an experience like Wavy Kid.
5. After viewing, present the  Exit ticket (the final assignment of this part of the unit) – I used to think ________, now I know ____________.
6. Ask the students if this is what they expected for a barber shop haircut. What is your reaction?
7. Assessment – students will write a two paragraph narrative about their own hair cutting experience, whether it is positive or negative or somewhere in between. If a student is struggling to write about a hair experience, they can write about feeling joy and/or being confident.
8. Read the summary of “Hair Love”.  ‘Dad and 5 year old Zuri, learn to help each other through challenges presented when their regular routines are interrupted. They must learn to communicate and support each other through the very real and stressful challenges of everyday life. A touching portrayal of love and communication, woven like a braid into an everyday family moment.’
9. Read aloud “Hair Love”. Read straight through without stopping to discuss.
10. Ask, what is the setting, main characters, problem, and was the problem resolved?
11. Like the Dad watched a video for hair styling, have you ever watched a video to help you learn something? If so, what was it? Was it as easy as the video showed? Why or why not?
12. Introduce the next video, “The History And Significance of Black Hair”. Explain that this is a snippet of the history of Black Hair and that Black Hair is a big part of Black peoples’ identities. Their hair identities are based on cultural and spiritual values. During slavery, slave owners would shave their slaves’ hair in an attempt to take away their identity.
13. Watch: The history and significance of Black hair 1.29 – 2.19
14. After viewing, ask for their reactions – ‘What are you thinking?’
15. Watch: Hair Love | Oscar®-Winning Short Film (Full) | Sony Pictures Animation
16. Follow-up with some questions. In the “battle” scene, why do you think Zuri’s hair becomes a character? If you were going to name the character and give it some dialogue, what would its name be, and what would it say to Dad? What would Dad say back to it? (ssfilm.org, 2019)
17. “Embracing the curls of life” can be a quote that talks about hair, and also the twisty and bendy parts that can be challenges in your day. What are some of the curls of your morning routine that make it challenging for you? What can you do in order to help yourself be more prepared so that your morning is not stressful before you head off to school? (ssfilm.org, 2019)
18. Formative Assessment: Draw and label a picture of the ‘battle’ scene with Zuri’s hair. Name your character, give it dialogue, and describe the battle.

3. 3. SWBAT discover what a Hijab is and learn about a Muslim storyteller IOT gain an appreciation for the Muslim culture and religion.

Materials:

1. ‘The Proudest Blue’, by Ibtihaj Muhammad.
2. “Juha, The Funny and Wise Muslim Storyteller”, collected and translated by Amr Alhehwa
3. Story Elements and central message graphic organizer
4. THE PROUDEST BLUE read by Ibtihaj Muhammad
5. Learn About The Olympic Games With Ozzie
6. What Is Hanukkah?
7. Blooket

Lesson Plan for “The Proudest Blue” and “Juha, The Funny and Wise Muslim Storyteller”. Folktales and Fables are part of the district’s curriculum, therefore, I included this in my curriculum unit.

Background: Ask the students if they have ever seen a head scarf on a woman or a girl? Why do you think they would wear this? If there is a Muslim girl in the class, ask her if she wishes to share out about her headscarf. Gather information about how many students are familiar with the Muslim culture by asking, “What do you know about the Muslim culture?” Call on a few students to share out their experiences.

Instruction:

1. Ask the students what they know about folktales and Muslim Culture. Ask for whole group participation and be sure the students know that Folklore is a collection of traditional stories, beliefs, and customs that are passed down through a culture, and that Muslim is a religion and a culture.
2. Read a summary of “Juha, The Funny and Wise Muslim Storyteller” from the back of the book. ‘Meet Juha, the funniest and wisest storyteller from Muslim and Middle Eastern folklore! This collection is full of his exciting adventures, silly mistakes, and clever tricks that always teach an important lesson. Juha’s stories will make you laugh, think, and see how problems can be solved in the smartest ways.’
3. Read aloud the folktale“Juha and His Son’s Journey”.
4. Discuss the relatable moral – if you try to make everyone happy, you’ll just get confused.
5. Summative Assessment: Direct the students to complete the ‘Story Elements and Central Message’ chart.
6. Read aloud the folktale“The Candle And The Soup”.
7. Discuss the relatable moral – It’s what’s inside a person that matters, not how they look.
8. Assign the summative assessment – Choose the one folktale that speaks to you. Draw and write a response to the folktale. Use at least three colors in the picture and write at least ten lines of text.
9. Read a summary of “The Proudest Blue” – With her new backpack and light-up shoes, Faizah knows the first day of school is going to be special. It’s the start of a brand new year and, best of all, it’s her older sister Asiya’s first day of hijab–a hijab of beautiful blue fabric, like the ocean waving to the sky. But not everyone sees hijab as beautiful, and in the face of hurtful, confusing words, Faizah will find new ways to be strong.
10. Say: Did you know that the author, Ibtihaj Muhammad, is a 2016 Olympic Medalist in fencing? Continue and introduce the biggest sporting event in the world – The Olympics with this video: Learn About The Olympics With Ozzie
11. Show: San Antonio Fencing Girl
12. Read aloud without stopping, “The Proudest Blue”.
13. ViewTHE PROUDEST BLUE read by Ibtihaj Muhammad.
14.  Tell the students: Did you know that some muslim athletes have faced situations where they were asked to remove their hijab to compete, and if they didn’t, it led to being disqualified? Other Muslim women have fought for the right to wear it while participating in sports.
    1. In some cases, Muslim athletes have been disqualified from races or matches for wearing a hijab or head covering, as it may not be permitted under certain sports rules or regulations (no headgear).
    2. In 2019, Noor Abukaram, a high school athlete in Ohio, was disqualified from a cross-country race for wearing her hijab, despite it being a religious practice.
    3. In 2020, a Muslim athlete was disqualified from a high school volleyball match for wearing a hijab.
15. Direct the students to turn and talk with their partner. Students are to share what they are thinking about wearing Hijabs in sports.
16. Formative Assessment: Exit ticket (the final assignment of this part of the unit) – I used to think ________, now I know ____________;

4.SWBAT discover what a Yidish Folktale is and learn about Jewish art and Judaica (objects that hold significance in Jewish history or Jewish culture)artifacts IOT gain an appreciation for the Jewish culture and religion.

Materials:

“Olive Loves Being Jewish” by Natalie goldman

“It Could Always Be Worse’ by Margot Zemach – Caldecott Honor Book

A shield pattern on paper

Lesson Plan for “Olive Loves Being Jewish” and “It Could Always Be Worse”. Folktales and Fables are part of the district’s curriculum, therefore, I included this in my curriculum unit.

1. Ask the students what they know about folktales and Jewish Culture. Be sure they know that a folktale is a traditional story, beliefs, and customs that are passed down through a culture, and that Judaism (Jewish) is a religion and a culture.
2. Read a summary: In this Yiddish Folktale, once upon a time, a poor unfortunate man lived with his mother, his wife, and his six children in a one-room hut. Because they were so crowded, the children often fought and the man and his wife argued. When the poor man was unable to stand it any longer, he ran to the Rabbi for help. As he follows the Rabbi’s unlikely advice, the poor man’s life goes from bad to worse, with increasingly uproarious results. In his little hut, silly calamity follows foolish catastrophe, all memorably depicted in full-color illustrations that are both funnier and lovelier than this distinguished artist has done in the past.
3. Tell the students that this Picture Book won a Caldecott Honor Award for distinguished illustrations or pictures and show them the medallion on the front cover.
4. Read the folktale, “It Could Always Be Worse”
5. Discuss the relatable moral – .in spite of things going badly, be thankful for all that is still good.
6. Summative assessment: Direct students to fill out the ‘Story Elements and Central Message’ chart
7. Practice drawing a Jewish Star on the back of the ‘Story Elements and Central Message’ chart. Tell the children that a Jewish star is two triangles overlaid and inverted on each other.
8. Summative Assessment: Exit ticket (the final assignment of this part of the unit) – I used to think ________, now I know ____________.
9. Read the summary of “Olive Loves Being Jewish”. Olive Loves Being Jewish is the story of a 10-year-old Jewish girl growing up in Kansas, where there aren’t a lot of other Jewish kids. Olive uses the art and artifacts at the museum in her synagogue to teach other kids a little bit about growing up Jewish in America. The museum is a real-life collection that lives in Overland Park, Kansas. It is called the Klein Collection, and the author of the book gave tours of the art as a part of her Girl Scout Gold Award project.
10. Introduce Hanukkah and explain that Hanukkah is a celebration lasting eight days that recognizes that the same oil burned in the lamps for an incredible eight days.
11. Watch this video: What Is Hanukkah?
12. Read aloud, “Olive Loves Being Jewish” without interruption.
13. Formative Assessment: Exit ticket (the final assignment of this part of the unit) – I used to think ________, now I know ____________.
14. Summative Assessment: Create an educational game with the on-line game, Blooket  Possible ideas for questions include – connecting the books (what do they have in common or how are they different), connecting all about hair to hair coverings, connecting “It Could Always Be Worse to “Embracing the Curls of Life”.
15. Summative Assessment: Students will create a family shield depicting their family traditions, religion (if they have one), identity, ethnicity, and culture. Shields will be placed in a gallery setting and students will tour around the gallery.

Activity Sheets

Story Elements and Central Message:

file:///C:/Users/dkami/OneDrive/Desktop/250418%20DKM%20SCAN%201%20PDF.pdf

Family Shield:

file:///C:/Users/dkami/OneDrive/Desktop/250418%20DKM%20SCAN%202%20PDF.pdf

Abby. (2017). Crown: An ode to the fresh cut. Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut. https://www.abbythelibrarian.com/2017/11/crown-ode-to-fresh-cut.html

Aronson, Krista Maywalt, et al. “Messages matter: Investigating the thematic content of picture books portraying underrepresented racial and cultural groups.” Sociological Forum, vol. 33, no. 1, 29 (Dec. 2017), pp. 165–185, https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12404.

Brooks, W. (2025). T.I.P.

Cherry, Matthew. “The Story behind ‘Hair Love.’” The Story Behind Hair Love, 2019, sffilm.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/SFFILM_EDU_StudyGuide_Hair-Love.pdf

. Mendoza, J. (2001). Examining Multicultural Picture Books for the Early Childhood Classroom: Possibilities and Pitfalls. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 3(2).

Roethler, Jacque. “Reading in color: Children’s book illustrations and Identity Formation for black children in the United States.” African American Review, vol. 32, no. 1, 1998, p. 95, https://doi.org/10.2307/3042272.

Stephens , D., & Darri Stephens  Darri Stephens is a dedicated LX (learning experience) designer. (2025, March 13). 7 essential strategies for designing effective instruction. Nearpod Blog. https://nearpod.com/blog/effective-instruction/,

Su-Jeong Wee, Kanae Kura, & Sohyun Meacham. “Half and Half: Racial Identity Development of Multiracial Asian American Children Portrayed in Children’s Picture Books.” Journal of Children’s Literature,  Vol. 47, Iss. 1,  (Spring 2021): 21-35.

“Ted Talks: Chimamanda Adichie–the Danger of a Single Story.” TED, 2009. (http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en)

Tomé‐Fernández, M., Senís‐Fernández, J., & Ruiz‐Martín, D. (2019). Values and intercultural experiences through picture books. The Reading Teacher, 73(2), 205–213. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1813

Wee, Su-Jeong, et al. “Korean culture as portrayed in young children’s picture books: The pursuit of cultural authenticity.” Children’s Literature in Education, vol. 46, no. 1, 15 June 2014, pp. 70–87, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-014-9224-0.

Yoo-Lee, E., Fowler, L., Adkins, D., Kim, K.-S., & Davis, H. N. (2014). Evaluating cultural authenticity in multicultural picture books: A collaborative analysis for diversity education. The Library Quarterly, 84(3), 324–347. https://doi.org/10.1086/676490

Additional authentic multicultural  texts:

1. “Areli Is A Dreamer, A True Story” by Areli Morales
2. “Bracelets For Bina’s Brothers” by Rajani LaRocca
3. “Cao Chong Weighs an Elephant” by Songju Mae Daemicke
4. “Eyes That Kiss In The Corners” by Joanna Ho
5. “Friends Around The World” by Ana Galan
6. “Glory, Magical Visions of Black Beauty” by Kahran and Regis Bethencourt
7. “Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas” by Natasha Yim
8. “Kite Flying” by Grace Lin
9. “The Adventures of Sparrowboy” by Brian Pinkney
10. “The Lizard And The Sun” by Alma Flor Ada
11. “Too Many Tamales” by Gary Soto
12. “Under My Hijab” by Hena Khan

Pennsylvania State Standards

Standard – CC.1.2.2.A

Identify the main idea of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.

Standard – CC.1.2.2.B

Ask and answer questions such as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

Standard – CC.1.2.2.C

Describe the connection between a series of events, concepts, or steps in a procedure within a text.

Standard – CC.1.2.2.H

Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.

Standard – CC.1.2.2.I

Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.

Standard – CC.1.2.2.J

Acquire and use grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases.

Standard – CC.1.3.2.A

Recount stories and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.

Standard – CC.1.3.2.B

Ask and answer questions such as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

Standard – CC.1.3.2.C

Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

Standard – CC.1.3.2.E

Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.

Standard – CC.1.3.2.F

Describe how words and phrases supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.

Standard – CC.1.3.2.G

Use information from illustrations and words, in print or digital text, to demonstrate understanding of characters, setting, or plot.

Standard – CC.1.3.2.J

Acquire and use grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases.

Standard – CC.1.4.2.A

Write informative/ explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

Standard – CC.1.4.2.F

Demonstrate a grade-appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. • Capitalize proper nouns. • Use commas and apostrophes appropriately. • Spell words drawing on common spelling patterns. • Consult reference material as needed

Standard – CC.1.4.2.G

Write opinion pieces on familiar topics or texts.

Standard – CC.1.4.2.H

Identify the topic and state an opinion.

Standard – CC.1.4.2.J

Create an organizational structure that includes reasons and includes a concluding statement.

Standard – CC.1.4.2.L

Demonstrate a grade-appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. • Capitalize proper nouns. • Use commas and apostrophes appropriately. • Spell words drawing on common spelling patterns. • Consult reference material as needed.

Standard – CC.1.4.2.M

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events.

Standard – CC.1.4.2.N

Establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters.

Standard – CC.1.4.2.O

Include thoughts and feelings to describe experiences and events to show the response of characters to situations.

Standard – CC.1.4.2.P

Organize a short sequence of events, using temporal words to signal event order; provide a sense of closure.

Standard – CC.1.4.2.Q

Choose words and phrases for effect

Standard – CC.1.4.2.T

With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing.

Standard – CC.1.5.2.A

Participate in collaborative conversations with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

Standard – CC.1.5.2.B

Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

Standard – 8.4.2.A

Explain why cultures have commemorations and remembrances.

handouts, evaluation rubrics, etc.