Lesson Overview:

This lesson offers students a contrast in belief systems. Although many countries and cultures value literacy and the literary tradition, wartime poses threats.  The text and lesson introduce students to one brave librarian in Iraq who heroically tried, and succeeded, in salvaging a library in her war-torn country.

Lesson Plan:

Suggested Grades:

4-5

Objective:

Have students experience a specific point in time in which books were threatened due to war.  Understand how and why a few people responded to this danger.  (Contrast with lesson about how cultures around the world value books).

AASL 2.3.2:  Consider diverse and global perspectives in drawing conclusions.

AASL 4.4.4:  Interpret new information based on cultural and social context.

Suggested Time:

30-40 minutes

Success Criteria:

Students will answer a few short questions about the true story of Alia Mohammad Baqer and how she saved a library collection from destruction.

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduction:

Review last week’s lesson:  My Librarian is a Camel.  Today continues our inquiry into how different cultures and societies value, or in this case do NOT value, books.

2. Main:

Read and discuss text with class.  Have them take a few notes to capture their ideas and the discussion.

Have a map, atlas, or globe handy so that you can show the children where this story took place.

3. Conclusion:

Emphasize that books and the information and ideas in them help us learn and make a better world.  People in most places value books and what they can do for us.  Wars can destroy much that we value.

additional Resources:

1. The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winters.
2. Student Handout (see attached).
3. Article about Alia Baqer, the real librarian of Basra. This article is within the grasp of older elementary students and was published around the 10^th anniversary of Alia Baqer’s heroic rescue of the library.  http://english.alarabiya.net/en/life-style/2013/03/17/Basra-librarian-saved-30-000-books-during-2003-invasion.html

Notes:

Sometimes I use an image of burning books on the screen as the children enter the classroom.  It is quite a provocation since the first lesson in this unit focused so heavily on valuing books.  This book burning image should elicit a response from them!

Be careful.  Some students may have witnessed war or come from war-torn countries.  The text is quite gentle, but use caution.  Refer all questions about why soldiers came or why bombs were dropped to the children’s parents if there is concern about the historical or political context.

Key Terms:

Librarians, Libraries, Iraq War, Iraq, Alia Muhammad Baqer, Conflict

student handout:

Student Handout, The Librarian of Basra

Recommended Texts: 

1. The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winters

 

Lesson Overview:

This is a beautiful lesson about choices based on values.  Essentially, it asks the children to think about whether they would rather do work to earn money or have a long day exploring the natural world.  D.B. Johnson’s adaptation of the work of Henry David Thoreau is brilliant!  Students who have had a lot of outdoor experiences will have much to share in this lesson.  The lesson is also a great one for giving children the chance to make a decision and defend or explain their choice with evidence from the text.

Lesson Plan:

Suggested Grades:

1-5

Objective:

Identify personal values and beliefs of characters in a story using both textual and visual clues.

Suggested Time:

35-45 minutes

Success Criteria:

Each student will complete a T-Chart that will help them draw conclusions about the characters.  The T-Chart will also give them material to structure their thinking and reflect on a few of their own values.

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduction:

Every day when I come to school I have to decide whether to come by a) car b) bicycle or c)  train.  I have choices.  Sometimes my choice depends on the weather or how I am feeling.  But, most of the time the choice I make depends on my values.

In today’s story, two characters have to make a choice and they choose very different ways of accomplishing the same thing.  Listen carefully.  Keep track of what the characters do.  See if you can figure out what each character values based on his actions.

2. Main:

Show the text.  Pass out the assignment.  Go over the instructions together.

Teach the story, allowing kids to fill in the T-Chart and take simple notes.  Scribe for them on a flipchart so that they do not get hung up on spellings

Down one side, list the chores done by Henry’s friend.  Down the other side, list the adventures Henry has on his hike.

3. Conclusion:

Ask the students if they think each of the friends was satisfied with his choices.  Then complete the first two questions together:  What did Henry’s friend value?  What did Henry value?  Talk about it and give the kids a moment to answer these questions.

Finally, ask the students to think about what they would choose if faced with the same decision.  Would they work to earn money for a ticket or would they walk?  Have them write their answers (or discuss their answer with an elbow partner if you are running short on time).  This is a great reflection/thinking question.  After the story, the children should have enough ideas and evidence to form a convincing opinion.

additional Resources:

1. Henry Hikes to Fitchburg by D.B. Johnson.
2. Flipchart
3. Markers
4. Copies of the student handout
5. Pencils
6. Clipboards

Notes:

Johnson’s book is a children’s adaptation of some of the work of Henry David Thoreau.  Johnson’s other books in the Henry series evoke the ideas in Walden beautifully and effectively.   I am a huge fan of the Henry series and find that the texts adapt for many purposes.  For example, I use Henry Hikes to Fitchburg for lessons on:

• Beliefs and values
• Transportation
• Business/Economics

Also note that a lot of today’s children do not have experience completing these simple chores.  I am often shocked at how few of them have swept out a room.  Be careful with parts like “cleaning the henhouse.”  Most kids think that that means collecting eggs!

Key Terms:

Values, Beliefs, Transportation, Trains, Chores, Walden, Henry David Thoreau, Nature, Industry, Money, Business and Economics

recommended texts:

1. Henry Hikes to Fitchburg by D.B. Johnson.

student handout:

Student Handout. Henry Hikes to Fitchburg

Lesson Overview:

Based on the work of Margriet Ruurs, this is a tremendously powerful lesson for helping children understand the importance of community or school libraries.  Quite often children in developed countries take for granted the many privileges they enjoy.  In this lesson, they get a glimpse of the countless ways communities all over the world receive library books and the dedicated volunteers and librarians who deliver them.

Lesson Plan:

Suggested Grades:

3-5

Objective:

To understand that books are valued in cultures around the world.

AASL 2.3.2:  Consider diverse and global perspectives in drawing conclusions.

AASL 4.4.4:  Interpret new information based on cultural and social context.

Suggested Time:

35-45 minutes

Success Criteria:

Students will identify four different countries and the ways library books are brought to school children in those countries/cultures.

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduction:

Ask which of the children have books at home.  Ask which of the children have libraries in their home country(ies).  Ask why books are so prevalent in homes around the world.  Emphasize that most cultures value education and believe that having access to books is a great way to help children learn and enable them to have fun.

2. Main:

Summarize or paraphrase relevant sections of the text.  The book is too long to read it in its entirety, so I usually choose a few different sections.  The kids respond particularly well to:

• Australia – Trucks (a familiar transport vehicle).
• Finland – Boats (also familiar to most students).
• Thailand – Elephant! Describe the rural northern Thailand terrain and let them guess . . . sometimes they can!
• Kenya – Camel. They love looking at this picture.  Ask if they think you, as a librarian, could organize the mules, camels, or elephants!

I like to start with highlights from the foreword, because in it the author explains that she wondered how kids around the world got their books.  Point out that she had a question, did her own personal inquiry, kept notes, and eventually turned that work into a book.  This is a fabulous example of a grown-up doing inquiry work.  Our students learn through inquiry, and this shows how powerful and effective personal inquiry can be!

Be sure to use a globe so that the children know where in the world the examples come from.

3. Conclusion:

Reiterate that books are brought to kids around the world because people believe that having access to books is important for children.

additional Resources:

1. My Librarian is a Camel: How Books Are Brought to Children Around the World by Margriet Ruurs.
2. Student Handout (see attached.)
3. Map or globe

Notes:

Key Terms:

Libraries, Traveling Libraries, Librarians, Camels

Recommended Texts:

1. My Librarian is a Camel: How Books Are Brought to Children Around the World by Margriet Ruurs.

student handout:

Student Handout, My Librarian is a Camel

Lesson Overview:

Most students have an innate sense of what is fair and unfair.  They can also be quite vocal in expressing their displeasure when they feel that they have been ill-treated.  In this lesson, preference is given to girls.  We purposefully provoke the students then introduce them to a story in which children’s lives were determined, to a large degree, by gender.  The big idea is the value of education, but there will be a lot of discussion about fairness and gender.

Lesson Plan:

Suggested Grades:

3-5

Objective:

To understand how a culture values education for both girls and boys.

AASL 2.3.2 “Consider diverse and global perspectives in drawing conclusions.”

AASL 4.4.4 “Interpret new information based on cultural and social context.”

Suggested Time:

35-45 minutes

Success Criteria:

Students will be able to express an opinion about how Ruby and her brothers and sisters were taught.  Was it fair?  Was it right?  How are our values about education the same or different today?

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduction:

Explain that today we’ll look at one culture’s beliefs and values about education.  Pass out bookmarks to GIRLS.  Let GIRLS sit on cushions and stools.  Explain that GIRLS will get to choose their books first today.  Expect a backlash from the boys!  This is a provocation and we want to see whether:

1. Boys express their thoughts about the conditions not being fair.
2. Girls speak out about the boys’ being treated unfairly

2. Main:

Teach Ruby’s Wish by Shirin Lim Bridges.  Use a “T Chart” and capture on flipchart paper beliefs about education, values about education, and  educational practices in China about 100 years ago.  Contrast that with our own beliefs and values about education.  What is the same?  What is different?  Ask the kids to think about this question:  If you lived in Ruby’s world, would you rather be a boy or a girl?  Why?

Work through the questions on the Student Handout together.

3. Conclusion:

Ask why girls were given special treatment at the beginning of class.  (Answer: Because boys were given special treatment in the story!!)  Pass out bookmarks or treats to the boys, too, and ask the kids how to try to remember how it feels to be treated unfairly or denied something that you deserve.

additional Resources:

1. Book: Ruby’s Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges
2. Flipchart paper (can also use Promethean Board or graphic organizers)
3. Bookmarks, stickers, or cushions
4. Student Handout, Ruby’s Wish

Notes:

Sometimes the group that is not favored does not stick up for themselves.  Sometimes the group that is favored does not stick up for the group that is not favored.   The dynamics of this lesson are quite unpredictable.  I have used this lesson with Grade 3 and above but I would not recommend it for younger students.  Although I have placed it in the Unit of Inquiry on cultural beliefs and values, it also fits nicely in a unit on children’s rights.

Key Terms:

Education, Educational Opportunity, Boys and Girls, Fairness, China, University, Gender Based Stereotype, Access to Education

Recommended Texts:

1. Ruby’s Wish by Shirin Lim Bridges.

student handout:

Student Handout, Ruby’s Wish