Enriching Literacy Development through Linking a Fictional Story/Text to a Citizenship Learning Context (Week 6)


Welcome parents/carers of 2L! 

In this term, we will enrich our literacy development by linking a fictional story, The Sandwich Swap by Queen Rania of Jordan, Kelly DiPucchio and Tricia Tusa (2010), to a citizenship learning context (i.e., cultural diversity and identity) as the multicultural composition of students in our class and school reflects multiculturalism in Australia (Australian Human Rights Commission, n.d.). 

Figure 1. A photo of students in our class/school (Small Ideas Sydney, n.d.).

Activating Prior Knowledge
As a class, we will discuss what we know about identity and cultural diversity and represent our ideas by creating a mind map.
Figure 2. An example of a mind map.

You are encouraged to discuss your identity/cultural identity with your child at home.

Literature
As a class, we will read The Sandwich Swap, a fictional story that helps us understand the significance of celebrating differences and understanding.  

Figure 3. The front cover of The Sandwich Swap (Al-Abdullah, DiPucchio & Tusa, 2010).

Video 1. The Sandwich Swap (Mrs. St. Germain Reads, 2018).

Before reading, we will refer to the front cover of the storybook to answer the following questions:
  • What do you think the story is about?
  • Why do you think there is a sandwich swap?
  • What can you tell about the characters from the cover (e.g., any similarities/differences between them)?

We will make observations on the similarities and differences between the characters (e.g., their hobbies and appearances) during reading and create a class Venn diagram showing our observations after reading to help us visualise and understand the concepts of identity and cultural diversity (Joyce, 2008). 
Figure 4. Class Venn diagram.

We encourage you to read your child stories about respecting each other’s distinctness and celebrating our differences at home. Please visit these links for a suggested book list:
https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/life/family/article/2018/01/25/six-picture-books-celebrating-diversity
https://www.weareteachers.com/15-great-childrens-books-that-celebrate-diversity/
https://bookriot.com/2018/09/19/childrens-books-about-diversity/

The ‘Why’ and the ‘How’
Relating back to the story and our personal experiences, we will discuss the importance of responding to diversity with respect and create a class list of ways to do so.

Research
In small groups, we will research a specific cultural group evident in our class/school by using the Internet. We will develop questions using 6HSM scaffold to guide our research to develop inquiry skills (Reynolds, 2012). After research, we will share our findings with the class.

Figure 5. 6HSM scaffold.

Active Citizenship in Action
By the end of the unit, we will organise a multicultural event celebrating the cultural diversity prominent in our school. In small groups, we will create a poster displaying our researched cultural group prior to this event. Acting as an advocate for cultural diversity, we will educate other students in the school in the significance of responding to diversity with respect and ways of doing so.

 You can contribute to this event by preparing culture-specific foods, wearing your tradition clothes and helping during the event.

By engaging in this unit, students will be able to attain the intended learning outcomes from the Australian Curriculum (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], n.d.a; ACARA, n.d.b) and Early Years Learning Framework (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations [DEEWR], 2009) below:
Figure 6. Links to the Australian Curriculum.

Figure 7. Links to the Early Years Learning Framework.

Please feel free to contact me to discuss ways to further support your child’s learning due to the importance of establishing a sense of learning together and collaborative relationships (Thornton & Brunton, 2014).

Kind regards,
Miss Lee


References
Al-Abdullah, R., DiPucchio, K., & Tusa, T. (2010). The Sandwich Swap. New York: Disney Publishing Worldwide.
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA]. (n.d.a). Humanities and Social Sciences. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/humanities-and-social-sciences/hass/
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA]. (n.d.b). General capabilities. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/
Australian Human Rights Commission. (n.d.). Face the facts: Cultural diversity. Retrieved from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/face-facts-cultural-diversity
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations [DEEWR]. (2009). The Early Years Learning Framework. Canberra, ACT.
Ellis, D. (2018). 30 children’s books about diversity that celebrate our differences. Retrieved from https://bookriot.com/2018/09/19/childrens-books-about-diversity/
Joyce, C. (2008). Venn diagrams. Retrieved from https://arbs.nzcer.org.nz/venn-diagrams
            Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.
Mrs. St. Germain Reads [Mrs. St. Germain Reads]. (2018, January 5). The Sandwich Swap by Queen Rania Al Abdullah and Kelly DiPucchio [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpGhq4hkYHc
Reynolds, R. (2012). Teaching History, Geography and SOSE in the Primary School (2nd ed.).
SBS. (2018). Six picture books celebrating diversity. Retrieved from https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/life/family/article/2018/01/25/six-picture-books-celebrating-diversity
Small Ideas Sydney. (n.d.). Showing our children how we can enjoy our cultural differences. Retrieved from  https://smallideasnsw.com.au/blog/showing-our-children-how-we-can-enjoy-our-cultural-differences
Thornton, L. & Brunton, P. (2014). Bringing the Reggio approach to your early years practice (3rd ed.). London: Routledge.
WeAreTeachers Staff. (2016). 15 great children’s books that celebrate diversity. Retrieved from https://www.weareteachers.com/15-great-childrens-books-that-celebrate-diversity/

Comments

  1. Tahlia Adams9 April 2019 at 08:04

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  2. Tahlia Adams9 April 2019 at 08:06

    Hi Sue Sean
    Just in your first sentence you have mentioned that this will be the focus of term three then in the second paragraph just referred to it as a unit of work you might just want to make it consistent.
    I think the book you have chosen is great and like how you have included a small sentence outlining what the book is about for parents so they don't have to read the whole book if they don't want to.
    Where you have said to parents to keep reading to their child, if you could find one or two more books as examples for parents to read to their child it would make some parents more comfortable in selecting an appropriate book.
    I think it is great that at the end of the unit having a small event and invite everyone into the classroom it is a great way to make parents feel apart of their students learning.
    As per the unit outline just make sure you have at least 4 references per blog post and don't forget to use italics.

    All the best
    Tahlia

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  3. Eloise10 April 2019 at 00:16

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  4. Eloise10 April 2019 at 03:51

    Hi Sue Sean
    I value your use of mind maps and Venn diagrams as these would be easy for students to read and organise their thoughts. This inclusion also demonstrates your understanding of pedagogy.
    I am not sure if the learning is over a term or is a unit, as you have referred to the learning as a unit of work as well as a term of work, this should be clarified.
    In activating prior knowledge, you have said to parents ‘you are encouraged to share your understanding of identity and cultural diversity with your child at home’. You may want to suggest a website or short reading the parents could do to ensure students are receiving accurate information. Additionally you could suggest the parents helping their child think about their own identity.
    You may want to re-word the first sentence under ‘research’ as this does not quite make sense, specifically ‘interviewing you for your cultural group’ as not all parents would know about the culture your class chooses to investigate. In this section you may also want to consider how would identifying one student's culture in your classroom e.g. Indian make that student feel?
    Review the ‘active citizenship in action’ section’s learning, consider if this is tip of the 'cultural iceberg’ e.g. learning about flags and foods of different places. This can be a good start to obtain student engagement and motivation, but is only surface representations of cultures.
    The book you have chosen seems suitable as it is age appropriate and clearly ties in with your targeted area. Additionally, there are many opportunities presented for parents to participate and contribute to their child's learning, which reinforces student's learning and parents commitment to this.
    Remember to include at least four academic references to address the criteria.
    Best of luck,
    Eloise

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