Social Justice for Little Learners

Truth and Reconciliation: “You Hold Me Up” by Monique Gray Smith

Grade Level: PS 4

Topic: Truth and Reconciliation

Book Title: “You Hold Me Up”

Author: Monique Gray Smith

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

Link for Online Read-Aloud : https://youtu.be/Uiuev2fXvRU?si=C7s-upxWCJDlBdy5

Discussion Prompts/Questions:

  • “What does it mean to hold someone up?”
  • “How do we hold each other up in preschool?”
  • “Why is it important to be kind?”
  • “What can we do when other people forget to be kind and hold each other up?”

Follow-Up Activity:

  • Play turn-taking or sharing games as a class. Let students experience winning, and losing, and working together.
  • Choose a large floor puzzle and build it as a class.
  • Remind children of ways to hold each other up during open/free play. Notice and name empathetic acts that you see.

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)
  • 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)
  • 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)


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

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