Social Justice for Little Learners

Grade Level: PS 3

Topic: Racial Identity and Racism

Book Title: “It’s Okay to be Different”

Author: Todd Parr

Link to Purchase: https://a.co/d/hYlagwM

Link for Online Read-Aloud : https://youtu.be/Zrm4dC3Poe0?si=phBrQcdhC-jLovRR

Discussion Prompts/Questions:

• Encourage discussion about the ways that people look different, but are all still important and equal.
• “In this book, the people all look different…and they aren’t ‘people colours’! In our classroom/school/community there are many people who look different, too…but we are all ‘people colours’ and we all have the same hearts inside.”

Follow-Up Activity:

• Pre-cut a variety of circles in all different colours…’people colours’ and ‘not people colours’. Help children to choose two circles, one that is a skin tone and one that isn’t, and encourage them to add eyes, noses, and mouths to a circle of their choosing. You can use loose parts or craft supplies, or just have them draw with crayons/markers. Display the circles in a circle, creating a “circle of friends”.
• Set up play options (dolls, kitchen, sorting, etc) using a variety of diverse dolls/toys/images, and encourage students to play!

BC Core Competency Connections:

Personal and Social

• Positive Personal and Cultural Identity
  • I am aware of myself as different from others.
• Social Awareness and Responsibility
  • I am aware that other people can be different from me.
  • In familiar settings, I can interact with others and my surroundings respectfully.
  • I can identify when something is unfair to me or to others.

Thinking

• Creative Thinking
  • I get ideas when I play.
• Critical Thinking
  • I can explore materials and actions.

Communication

• Communicating
  • In a safe and supported environment, I respond meaningfully to communication from peers and adults.
  • In familiar settings, I communicate with peers and adults.
• Collaborating
  • In familiar situations, I can participate with others.

BC Curricular Connections:

• Understand (Big Ideas):
  • Stories and other texts help us learn about ourselves and our families. (ELA K)
  • Everyone has a unique story to share. (ELA K)
  • Through listening and speaking, we connect with others and share our world. (ELA K)
  • Our communities are diverse and made of individulas who have a lot in common. (SS K)
  • Learning about ourselves and others helps us develop a positive attitude and caring behaviours, which helps us build healthy relationships. (Physical and Health Education K)
  • People create art to express who they are as individuals and community. (Arts Education K)
  • Engagement in the arts creates opportunities for inquiry through purposeful play. (Arts Education K)

• Know (Content):
  • Ways in which individuals and families differ and are the same. (SS K)
  • Rights, roles, and responsibilities of individuals and groups. (SS K)
  • Cultural and social awareness, achieved by exploring self-identity, acknowledging cultural differences, honouring indigenous traditions. (Career Education K)
  • Caring behaviours in groups and families. (Physical and Health Education K)
  • Personal and collective responsibility associated with creating, experiencing, or sharing in a safe learning environment. (Arts Education K)

• Do (Curricular Competency):
  • Comprehend and connect (reading, listening, viewing)
    • Engage actively as listeners, viewers, and readers, as appropriate, to develop understanding of self, identity, and community. (ELA K)
    • Recognize the importance of story in personal, family, and community identity. (ELA K)
    • Use personal experience and knowledge to connect to stories and other texts to make meaning. (ELA K)
  • Create and communicate (writing, speaking, representing)
    • Exchange ideas and perspectives to build shared understanding. (ELA K)
    • Use language to identify, create, and share ideas, feelings, opinions, and preferences. (ELA K)
  • Recognize causes and consequences of events, decisions, or developments in their lives. (SS K)
  • Acknowledge different perspectives on people, places, issues, or events in their lives. (SS K)
  • Identify fair and unfair aspects of events, decisions, or actions in their lives and consider appropriate courses of action. (SS K)
  • Share ideas, information, personal feelings, and knowledge with others. (Career Education K)
  • Develop and demonstrate respectful behaviour when participating in activities with others. (Physical and Health Education K)
  • Create artistic works collaboratively and as an individual, using ideas inspired by imagination, inquiry, experimentation, and purposeful play. (Arts Education K)
  • Express feelings, ideas, stories, observations, and experiences through creative works. (Arts Education K)

FPPL Link:

• Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors.
• Learning involves recognizing the consequences of one’s actions.
• Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story.
• Learning requires exploration of one’s identity.

BC ELF Link:

• Early years spaces are inclusive.
• Play is integral to well-being and learning.
• Relationships are the context for well-being and learning.
• Learning is holistic.

TFT Through-line Link:

• Justice Seeking
• Community Building