Rationale
This unit topic is well-suited for my third graders at Cardinal Elementary School in Richmond, Virginia because the vast majority of them are 1.5 and second-generation immigrants from Central and South America. Third grade is a time when students are learning more about who they are in order to position themselves in relation to others and build their own self-confidence. That relationship is being built at home, school, and even in the bigger landscape of the country. Because so many of my students experience differing cultures outside of school, I would like to use this unit to help them develop a multicultural identity. Due to the political climate in the United States right now, I believe it is essential for students to develop their ethnic identity, so that they do not shrink away from their culture but learn to embrace it. Once finished with the unit, they will learn that they are a piece of the multicultural United Stew of America as well.
Front Desk will serve as an accessible text with which to branch into conversations about immigration, identity, and community. Many of my students in previous years have shied away from reading chapter books as they feel they are too difficult or boring to read. This is a chance to introduce them to chapter books in a controlled way that will heighten their interest to read them, while allowing me to teach reading strategies effectively. Besides that, my other academic objective for the reading of this novel is to increase their reading fluency by introducing a fluency routine to be followed each day. Front Desk is also a book rife with material to teach character traits, which is a skill my students struggle with yearly because of lack of vocabulary and real-world application.
Additionally, the combination of the text and understanding of the stew metaphor will help instill skills in the students to absorb and carry with them throughout their lives. Not only will they be learning about how our main character solves problems with the help of others, but they will also learn how Asian Americans worked with their communities to persevere in their fight for justice. The defining of their own identities will allow them to recognize and appreciate the uniqueness of their classmates as well.
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