Sadly, the world is filled with so much hate. In some ways, this is due to having different interests. However, there are many times that people do not even know the interests of others. Instead, judgments are made based upon skin color or where one lives. Thus, people grow up holding inaccurate beliefs on others when an effort to have an understanding was never made. In order to help reduce the hate, it is essential that students see the importance of having empathy, compassion, and understanding for others. In order to do this, the Brown Boy Joy Picture Book Companion is a great resource to use!
Brown Boy Joy by Thomishia Booker
This open, honest book is about changing the picture on how people view Black children. Sadly, many grow up learning to fear boys who happen to have black skin. Thus, Brown Boy Joy was purposely written for Black children. The hope is that it builds empathy and understanding among all children when realizing that people are all different. To show this, Brown Boy Joy will show happy Black boys doing things they enjoy! Thus, it will show readers that while people may have different interests, it does not mean something is wrong. Everyone can be true to themselves and happy being who they are.
Brown Boy Joy Picture Book Companion
This resource has two key goals for the classroom. First, it aims to help shift the narrative of being fearful of black males. Instead of being fearful, it helps students understand that skin color does not dictate who a person is. For instance, the book will show how happy black boys are the same ones who others fear. However, this fear is unwarranted when people do not actually know each other. Second, it helps build empathy and understanding among students. Black Boy Joy includes so many realistic situations and interests in order to help students build text-to-world connections. Ultimately, they may be fearful of others, but the story works to show how important it is to give everyone a chance.
In order to accomplish these two goals, the book companion is filled with engaging, easy-to-implement activities. Truly, students will work on gaining compassion while working on important content standards.
Comprehension: In order to ensure students understand the meaning behind Brown Boy Joy, there are multiple comprehension activities. For instance, there are discussion questions that can be printed or placed on sticky notes. Additionally, there are multiple text connections where students relate themselves to characters in the book. Here, they will focus on what characters are doing and feeling. Thus, they will pay close attention to the illustrations. Furthermore, there are compare and contrast activities where students use themselves and the characters in the book. Ultimately, these activities will help students understand the book in addition to gaining empathy and understanding for others.
Writing: It is so important to offer continuous practice at writing. Thus, there are multiple writing activities included. For example, students will have simple, open-ended writing prompts. Here, they can open up and share different opinions with the class. Thankfully, this also means they are learning to be empathetic and understanding of others. Additionally, students will also work on picture writing by explaining the different senses. Furthermore, students will work on predictable sentences, which will help them learn how to develop properly written thoughts.
Social-Awareness and Positive Self-Talk: In reality, people may spread animosity and hatred without even realizing it. Therefore, it is so important to incorporate social awareness into lessons. To do this, students will work on understanding their emotions and feelings. This also means learning how to properly channel tough emotions. In order to understand their feelings, students will focus on their strengths and weaknesses. Thus, they will work on gaining awareness for their current opinion on others and what they can work on.
Students will love the fun rhymes and colorful illustrations when reading Brown Boy Joy! Between all of the reading, writing, and SEL activities, students will have a well-rounded unit to focus on academics and real-life. Honestly, the Brown Boy Joy Picture Book Companion will be one students never forget as it creates eye-opening lessons.
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