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Unit  Community-Building for Elementary Classrooms
Lesson Name  Seeking to Understand Perspective
Grade Band  Elementary (3-5)
Required Materials

  • I Walk with Vanessa by Kerascoët (If the teacher does not have the book or prefers the author read aloud, you may show this read aloud
    video     instead.)

  • Paper

  • Pencils
Standards / Competencies 

SEL Core Competencies: 

  • Self-Awareness: identifying emotions, experiencing self-efficacy, linking feelings, values and thoughts, demonstrating honesty and integrity 

  • Self-Management: managing one’s emotions, exhibiting self-discipline 

  • Social Awareness: taking others’ perspectives, recognizing strengths in others, demonstrating empathy and compassion, identifying diverse social norms, showing concern for the feelings of others 

  • Relationship Skills: communicating effectively, developing positive relationships, showing leadership in groups, resolving conflicts constructively, seeking or offering support when needed 

ELA Standards: Listening and Speaking, Reading, Writing 

Social Studies Theme: Individual Development and Identity 
Recommended Time  45 mins 
Essential Question  Why should we learn to understand others’ perspectives?
Learning Objectives  Students will engage in a literacy strategy developed to encourage
them to see the power of perspective in reading. Students will craft
their own stories based on their background knowledge and
experiences.
Activating Prior Knowledge 

Invite students to reflect about prior learning and reinforce previously learning terms and concepts:

  • Dignity

Redefine human dignity or encourage students to craft their understanding of the word as a whole group. 

  • The value each human being has simply because they are human.

Seek students’ prior knowledge and understanding on the term “perspective.”

Students may share “point of view” connecting to prior learning in literacy.

Define perspective.

  • the way individuals see the world.

Posing question:

If we are all unique individuals with different backgrounds and life experiences, do we all see the world the same? 

Suggested Dialogue:

The world would be a boring place if we all thought the same. Our
unique minds, experiences, values allow us to come together and think
creative ideas. We wouldn’t be able to do that if we were all the same.
Each person brings a unique understanding of the world around us, we can
be kind and try to understand and learn more about them.
Core Instruction 

Begin by introducing the picture book and a new reading strategy. This reading strategy is called “Give Me Back My Words”. The purpose of this instructional strategy is four-fold: 

  1. Help students see reading as a tool to create meaning

  2. Help students understand that “reading illustrations” are an important part of the reading process

  3. Help students see the power of perspective in reading 

  4. Help students understand what it means to infer

Display the book on the document camera.

Dialogue for this strategy may look like:

Readers, you know how much I love books, but today I have a
problem. Look at my book! (hold up the book and slowly flip through the
pages). Somebody, and I don’t know who it is YET, has taken all the
words out of my book. They’re just gone! I would like them back and I
need your help. I want you to give me back my words. Here’s how you can
help me. We’re going to “read” the illustrations in my book page by
page. At your desk, I want you to take a piece of paper and write down
the words that you think were on each page before somebody took them.
When we’re done, I will have my words back and we’ll be able to read the
story again, words and pictures.

  • Flip through the book, one page at a time, allowing students to jot down what words they think were originally on that page; 

  • Afterwards, invite students, one at a time, to read the story aloud to the class using their “reclaimed” words.

Reflection:

Bring to students’ attention that there are no two stories that are the same. Each individual in the classroom read the pictures of the same book, yet there are (insert number of students) different stories.

Connection:

Circle around to perspective. Do each one of you have a unique perspective to share? Do your personal experiences and backgrounds help you create a unique meaning? Just like dignity and having human worth and value, you each also have a unique perspective or understanding of the world. It is important to share our understanding and just as important to seek to understand other perspectives.

Allow time for students to share their stories in a small group with peers with the following presented questions on the board:

  • What is one example of honoring or not honoring human dignity in this story?

  • What similarities or differences did you notice amongst your stories?

  • What is one wondering you are wondering about? (I wonder…)
Wrap-up  Share in the whole group and reinforce the learned concepts of
recognizing human dignity, community and diverse perspectives.
Learning Beyond Classroom Walls  Students will reflect on concepts of kindness and human dignity
while gaining an appreciation for the unique contributions and
perspectives of their peers. Encourage students to actively seek
opportunities to share, learn and honor from others.
Supplementary Resources 
Instructional Content Adaptations 

Mini Lesson (15 mins):

All students are unique. Our students are interconnected through shared similarities and learn from differences. Through acknowledging these similarities and differences, a classroom community of learners is strengthened. Students begin to strengthen their understanding of self/identity while gaining an understanding that they have inherent human value, known as dignity. Through classroom discussion, revisiting these previously learned allow for repeated learning, boost in self-esteem, increased self-awareness and contributions to whole group learning.

  • The teacher acts as a facilitator while discussing the term perspective. Begin by seeking students’ prior understanding of the term. If possible, connect this learning to literacy “point of view”. 

  • Define perspective: the way individuals see the world.

  • Posing question: If we are all unique individuals with different backgrounds and life experiences, do we all see the world the same? 

Teachable Moment (7 mins):

All humans have inherent dignity simply because they are human. Just like human dignity, each individual student has a unique perspective to share and learn. The teacher introduces students to a wordless picture book with a strategy “Give Me Back My Words”. Students are encouraged to share their understanding of a wordless picture book and listen to the stories their peers crafted. 

  • Students will gain an understanding that although each student experienced the same wordless picture book, no two stories in the classroom were the same. This is due to each student having a unique perspective and understanding of the world around them. 

  • Students will reflect on previously learned experiences and make connections to the text, self and the world around them to conclude the unit.

Diverse Learning Profiles

  • This activity is naturally differentiated for students to craft a story at their ability while bringing in their prior understanding of the world. For emerging readers, I would encourage writing from their heart and reassure them that there is no right, wrong because this story is for them. Taking the pressure off of grammatical structures and spelling will allow students the opportunity to write from their hearts and note their thoughts down quickly. While English Language Learners are typically encouraged to primarily use English, this may be a good opportunity to think outside of the box. English Language Learners are welcome to integrate their native language as this will allow for an opportunity to reinforce individuality and perspective of multilingualism. In a small group, this writing can be translated and shared with the classroom in both languages. Since this picture book has no words, the talented child can add vocabulary, dialogue, and detail as the learning experience allows ample opportunity for higher order thinking.

  • For an extension opportunity in a language arts class, a teacher may introduce the “Give Me Back My Words” strategy with another wordless picture book. Allowing students to choose a wordless picture and craft a story, or even collaboratively and using intentional peer groups to craft a story. There are many wordless picture books that can be interdisciplinary and provide an engaging, language centered learning experience for all students.