Read alouds are a great way to teach diversity and acceptance in your classroom. Whether you want to expose your students to cultural differences or help them understand differences within their classroom community, books can help you do that. This week we are spotlighting the book The Proudest Blue. We love this diverse story because it is a great way to start a discussion about discrimination and acceptance. - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
SUMMARY
Faizah is very excited for the first day of school because her sister, Asiya, is wearing a hijab to school for the first time. The hijab is a beautiful shade of blue and Faizah is so excited for her sister. However, when a girl in her class questions what is on her sister’s head, Faizah begins to worry about her sister. A boy in Asiya’s class makes mean comments to her throughout the school day. Faizah can’t understand why he acts that way, she thinks the hijab is beautiful and a sign of strength. Faizah learns that Asiya is not upset by the boy in her class, she continues to wear her hijab with pride.
This is an inspiring story that exposes children to cultural differences. Students will love the descriptive writing and figurative language used to describe the hijabs beauty.
USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
Not only is The Proudest Blue a great social emotional learning book, it is a great mentor text. It is beautifully written lending itself to so many language arts lessons. Here are some ideas we’ve included in our Starts With a Story resource.
- Discuss the various examples of figurative language throughout the book.
- Analyze the illustrations and discuss how they add meaning for the reader.
- Engage students in their own descriptive writing, using the book as an example.
- Practice “how to” writing with your class.
- Teach the class about homophones using examples from the story.
- Review pronouns and contractions.
- Lead a class discussion on bullying.
- Teach students the importance of self esteem.
NO-PREP PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES:
If you are looking for “ready to go” activities for the first day of school, be sure to check out the book companion. With it you’ll receive all of the following resources to align with this specific book:
- comprehension questions
- 30 writing prompts with themed paper
- vocabulary activities
- word study print & go activities
- ideas for grammar lessons with focus sentence printables
- social emotional learning discussion topics
- graphic organizers to target specific comprehension skills and strategies
If you’re planning to read The Proudest Blue to your class, you will love our Starts With a Story book companion. It has everything you need to start using this book right away plus additional resources your students will love. You will be able to select from a huge variety of our comprehension questions and writing prompts based on the needs of your class. We also provide you with ideas for grammar and social emotional learning so you can further engage your students. Simply choose what you want to use, print, and go!
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will also love these similar books:
- All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
- Hair Love by Matthew Cherry
- Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall
- The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
TRY OUT A SAMPLE COMPANION
It's hard to explain how amazing the Starts with a Story book companions are because there is just so much goodness included in each one. It's best if you experience using one for yourself. Sign up below & we'll send you an entire book companion to try out for FREE!
