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Elementary

 

Cover Art

I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes

(Poetry)

 

Awards:

 Coretta Scott King Award

 

The story travels from South to North and from old to new, ending in Harlem, where a contemporary African-American mother rides in a subway car, her son gazing out the window. In the next spread, he’s seen in startling closeup, parting and peering between the stripes of an all-but-invisible American flag. “I, too, am America,” he says. It’s a powerful metaphor for looking at African-American history—and the issue of race in America—from the inside out. 

 

Discussion Questions: 

How does this poem make you think about what it means to be an American?

How is "America" presented in this poem, and how does it make you feel about America?

 

Activity:

I would get a giant piece of paper and make it into the American flag. I then would let each student write their favorite thing about America on a stripe of their choosing. This activity would be great to teach on patriotism. 

or

I would have each student write a short essay about their experience as an American, specifically the highlights of it.

 

  

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi

(Fiction)

 

This book deals with multicultural differences in names. Unhei is a new student that has just moved from Korea. She was afraid that the American kids wouldn't like her and decided to choose a new name instead of giving them her own. She was anxious that they wouldn't be able to pronounce her name. They decide to fill up a glass jar with names for her to choose. However, one of her classmates discovers her real name and the meaning behind it. She then proudly tells the class her real name.

 

Discussion Questions:

  Why do you think Unhei was afraid the American kids wouldn't like her? Would you have been nervous if you were Unhei? What could you have done to make her feel more included in the classroom? 

 

Activity: 

 Coloring and worksheet bundles, short film on immigration's effects on young students.

 

 

La Princesa and the Pea by Susan Middleton Elya

(Fairy Tale, Fiction)

 

This children's book takes a spin on the classic tale of the princess and the pea. While going with the same story line, Elya's version includes guinea pigs, Peruvian textiles, and stone arches. This book and the images by Juana Martinez-Neal, inspired by the Peruvian village of Huilloc and the Colca Canyon, bring these funny characters to life.

 

Discussion Questions: 

 How is this fairy tale different than the one from our culture? Which words in Spanish can you use in the classroom? How do the illustrations in this book differ from ones in the books we normally read? 

 

Activities: 

 Coloring sheets, online Spanish help

 

 

Middle School

 

The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig 

(Autobiography)

 

Esther Hautzig reveals her own experience of living in Siberia as a Jew in this novel. Esther shares her concerns about life’s necessities and trivialities in a way to which I could easily relate in Middle School. 

 

Discussion Questions

• What does Esther have to change when she goes into exile. What aspects of her character remain despite the trials?

From or inspired by the Sonlight curriculum:

• Do you think Esther was right in believing she had not prayed correctly by omitting asking God to protect her from gypsum mines in Siberia?  
•  What do you think of the Soviet bed (a nari), the school newspaper, the Siberian snowstorm, and the public bathhouse? Why does the school not teach about the previous year's tsar?
• Why are the teachers at the wealthier school so excellent, and why is punishment never an issue in the schools?

Considering Characters: 

•      Why was Mankrinin kind? 
•      Do you think Raisa really believed shoes were necessary for speech making?
•      Do you think Uncle Yoria really needed to have items sold for him?
•      Why does Esther claim laughter is as necessary as bread? What is the significance of this statement?

 

• How did Esther come to feel attached to Russia in a sentimental way despite the atrocities she experienced there?

 

Activity

      While reading this book, write down any words whose meaning you do not know (or realize you cannot define). Research the words in a dictionary, and then try to use the words in a sentence out of your own making, outside the context of the book. The Read-Aloud Study Guide of the Sonlight Curriculum suggests vocabulary words for each chapter.)

 

 

High School

 

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

(Historical Fiction)

This is a historical fiction account of a man who lived most of his childhood in Afghanistan, emigrated to America, and then returned and realized truths that were worth fighting for. 

 

Discussion Questions (from the book's guide)

• Why do you think the author chooses to frame the novel with kite scenes?
• Why does Amir test Hasan's loyalty time and time again? Why does Amir not want to be Hasan's friend after the kite tournament? Why is Amir afraid to be a true friend to Hasan? 
• Amir and Hasan have a favorite story. How is this story's meaning different or the same for both of them? 
• When Amir and Baba move to the U.S.A., do you see the changes in their relationship as tragic or positive?How do the ever-changing politics of Afghanistan affect each of the characters in the novel?

 

 

Online Activity

 Watch some of Khaled Hosseini's interviews on YouTube such as the following:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=useqwpkN18E (Talk to Al Jazeera)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oWstZMSMVo (Becoming a writer: Khaled Hosseini's Unique Journey, Sept. 2013)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL6okJjXlOw (Khaled Hosseini Says Refugees Are Essential to America)

Discuss how the interviews and the books shape your understanding of the author.

 

 

 

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

(Historical Fiction)

This is the follows the story of Mariam and Laila who are two women that brought together by war, loss, and fate. The bond they form is not one of friendship but closely resembles mother-daughter or even sisters.  It shows how a woman’s love for her family can move her to perform heroic acts of self-sacrifice. 

Discussion Questions

How does knowing that this book is addressed to beloved women in the author's life shape your understanding of the book.

Does the book show development in the author's writing when it is compared to The Kite Runner which he wrote first? If so, how?

Activity

 The class would not only read this but also the kite runner. This would lead to a class discussion on how the books were similar but also unique in the literary techniques used. 

 

 

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

(Fiction)

The Art of War is a collection of military strategies each devoted to an aspect of warfare. 

 

Activity

  The students would pick out their favorite chapter and discuss how they could use some of the tactics in their own life. 

Discussion Questions

Do you think the author has reasons for addressing these tactics in this particular order?

How does the book reveal Chinese cultural attitudes?