Lower School Classroom Chronicle

We ended February by hosting a celebration to Black History and Culture by honoring Black Friendships of past and present.  We highlighted icons such as Martin Luther King and Ralph D. Abernathy and the Williams’ Sisters, Serena and Venus as well as Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and her decades long friendship with Shirley Chisholm that began at Mills College in the late 1960s.

This week we continue with our study on the Civil Rights Movement.  We are currently discussing School Integration after reading and watching documentary footage of the Montgomery Boycott. We enjoy teaching the students about how children similar in age to them stood up to injustice.  For many, it was a way of life.  It is also exciting when the students share what they already know and make connections during class discussions. For example, every year a few students share their knowledge about Claudette Colvin.  We notice perplexed looks and then those aha moments of understanding that, of course others stood up to injustice before Rosa Parks.  The students learn about the Children’s March in Birmingham and pull from it admiration and inspiration.

In addition to studying The Civil Rights Movement we also read between 5-10 of our favorite Civil Rights children’s books to draw inspiration from the craft of the illustrators and authors

Our final project will be a Civil Rights Children’s book that the student will write and illustrate to show everything they have learned through the unit. The books will be shown at the Art Fair as well as will be showcased at the Moving up Ceremony for the 5th graders at the end of the year.