Literature and Information

Content Objectives

The dualism of my unit addresses peace builders in literature and information. “Peace building” is a term we use at our school referring to our Peace Builder pledge and all the ways to build character together. Now through this unit we can select great quality literature to shape a wider foundation for academic and social understandings needed for developing a mindset of building peace. I look forward to my students discovering their own peace builder qualities, and then forming aspirations for how they envision contributing to our community.

I would like the students to learn about specific people who have built peace in our community and our country such as Cesar Chavez and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The reasons why we celebrate these heroes with national holidays will unfold in the study of these figures of social justice. Students will be able to learn about heroes and heroines, and different types of influential peace builders by studying these global inspirational role models as well: Mahatma Gandhi, Florence Nightingale, Mother Teresa, and Wangari Maathai.

The type of literature and information that I plan to use includes picture books, photographs, and videos, which are all visually important for teaching young children, especially second language learners. I look forward to the rich discussions sparked by observations, disseminating meaning and purpose set forth by the illustrator and author together. The clarity and truth observed in photographs, poetry, and biographies imprint images that either invite readers into the text to look more closely for meaning or they jump off the page to engage readers.

I plan to use a variety of literature, and have students produce their own stories in each genre that we study. The majority of read alouds will be in the form of picture books as

Hourihan explains, “They are vivid, enjoyable, easily understood, memorable and compelling. They appeal to people of all ages, but for children who have not yet achieved the ability to reason abstractly they provide images to think with.”⁴ I am looking forward to using fictional literature without feeling like a rebel against the Common Core shift to nonfiction literature. In this unit, we will explore folklore and fairytales along with other categories. I am encouraged in the deeper levels of my teaching with this reminder that, “Our most basic concepts, such as time and causation, are embedded in the stories told to children from infancy onwards, and for this reason we feel there is truth in the shape of stories even when we know their content is fantasy.”⁵

 Along with literature, students can apply their learning by participating in a “100 Acts of Kindness” project, stepping beyond what they can do at home and reaching further out to the community. A culminating project will be for students to find their voice in writing their own self-stories as peace builders and their dreams for their future selves. Creating this learning environment for sharing unique life experiences will hopefully foster the idea that every person has an important life story to share, to hear, and to respect.

My hope is for scholars to develop a deeper connection and understanding of building peace from literature, information, and application. Furthermore, through the process of discovering and sharing their own unique stories and hopes for the future, the seeds of peace will be planted to help them better address larger social issues they will encounter living in our community that require tolerance and compassion, such as bullying, gangs, and even racism.