Transcript The Colors of Us - Central Connecticut State University

“The Colors of Us”
A Cyberlesson
By: Kinga Decsy
Introduction
We are all alike, we are all people . . . but
we are also all different. Join Lena on her
walking adventure around town as she
discovers “the colors of us”.
Resources & Materials
*A copy of the book The Colors of Us by Karen Katz
*A copy of the book All The Colors We Are by Katie Kissinger
*Computer with Internet access
*Pencil
*Reading Journal
BEFORE Reading Activity #1
Before you have the story The Colors of Us read to you, Lena
wants to know if you have ever seen the colors of. . .
Cinnamon
French Toast
Peanut Butter
Chocolate
Cupcake
Peach
Honey
Reddish Brown
Leaves
Light Cocoa
Butterscotch
Pizza Crust
Bronze
Amber
Ginger
Chili Powder
Click on the star
Coconut
Coffee
Toffee
to learn more about some of these objects.
Did you know that . . .
Cinnamon comes from
the bark of a tree.
French Toast was first
made over 2,000 years
ago.
By the time most American
children are 18 years old,
they eat about 1,500
peanut butter sandwiches.
The flavor of honey
depends on the flowers
that the nectar came
from.
Bright sunlight is
needed for leaves to
turn red. If there is
little or no sunlight,
the leaves will turn
yellow instead.
Butterscotch is
made from
butter and
brown sugar.
Bronze is a
metal that
was used to
make swords,
shields and
spears.
Amber is the
resin or sap of
ancient pine
trees and
comes in many
different
colors.
Ginger comes
from a root
and helps to
soothe a
stomach ache.
Chili powder comes
from a chili pepper
and is very, very
spicy hot. The
Mayan people used
to rub chili powder
on their gums to
relieve toothaches.
Coconuts are
the largest
known seeds in
the world.
Toffee is a sticky
candy made from
molasses, sugar,
butter and milk.
Before Reading Activity #2
1. What you think makes people different
colors? Write your ideas in your Reading Journal.
Now click on the
to visit a website about
what makes people different colors.
2. Write some of the new information that you
have learned in your Reading Journal.
DURING Reading Activity
While you are listening to The Colors of Us,
help Lena map her way around her
neighborhood by creating a Story Map.
Click the
to print the Story Map.
Then click on the
to start the story.
AFTER Reading Activity
Think about all of the different ways which Lena thought of to
describe the color of the skin of her friends and family. Click on the
to go back to the different foods.
Decide which food comes closest to your own skin color.
Now click on the
to print out a bar graph. Interview your
classmates and teacher. Then graph the different skin colors in our
classroom. (Remember, color in only one box for each person!)
These are the “colors of us”!
What is the “color of you”?
Cinnamon
Reddish
Brown Leaves
Ginger
French
Toast
Light Cocoa
Chili Powder
Peanut
Butter
Butterscotch
Coconut
Chocolate
Peach
Honey
Cup Cake
Pizza Crust
Bronze
Coffee
Amber
Toffee
Go
Back
“The Colors of Us”
By: ______________________
Cinnamon French Toast Peanut Chocolate Peach Honey Reddish Light Butterscotch Pizza Bronze Amber Ginger Chili
Butter Cup Cake
Leaves Cocoa
Crust
Powder
Coconut Coffee Toffee
BEYOND Reading Activity
Click on the
to listen to All the Colors We Are, a picture
book about the differences in people’s skin color.
1. How is All The Colors We Are the same as the book The Colors of Us?
2. How is it different?
We will be creating a Venn Diagram as a whole class. If you
would like to start your own Venn Diagram, click on the
to
print one, otherwise, you can answer the questions in your
Reading Journal.
Rubric
Before Reading
4
Student reads all of the informational sentences about the various colors.
3
Student reads most of the informational sentences about the various colors.
2
Student reads a few of the informational sentences about the various colors.
1
Student does not read any of the informational sentences about the various colors.
During Reading
4
Student completes
3
Student completes
2
Student completes
1
Student completes
all 8 parts of the Story Map.
5-7 parts of the Story Map.
2-4 parts of the Story Map.
0-1 parts of the Story Map.
After Reading
4
Student interviews
3
Student interviews
2
Student interviews
1
Student interviews
and
and
and
and
records the
records the
records the
records the
skin color of all his/her classmates and the teacher.
skin color of most of his/her classmates and the teacher.
skin color of some of his/her classmates and the teacher.
skin color of 1 or 2 or none of his/her classmates and the teacher.
Beyond Reading
4
Student answered both questions with a lot of supporting detail.
3
Student answered both questions with some supporting detail.
2
Student answered one question with some supporting detail
1
Student answered one question with little or no detail.
TOTAL SCORE:
_____
Credit Page
Katz, Karen. (1999). The Colors of Us. NY: Henry Holt and Company.
Kissinger, Katie. (1994). All The Colors We Are: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color.
Minnesota: Redleaf Press.
http://www.cosmicchile.com/xdpy/kb/chile-pepper-facts.html
Cinnamon
http://www.mistupid.com/facts/page034.htm
http://www.childrensrecipes.com/fun__french_toast_facts.htm
http://www.peanutbutter.com/funfacts.asp
Chili Powder
French Toast
Peanut Butter
http://www.foodfunandfacts.com/honeyfacts.htm
Honey
Red Leaves
http://ncnatural.com/wildflwr/fall/fallfact.html
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/ButterscotchVsCaramel.htm
Butterscotch
http://library.thinkquest.org/23492/data/bronze.htm?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0318
http://www.geonord.org/shows/amber.html#anchor1895817
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/ginger.htm
Ginger
http://www.crk.umn.edu/library/MCG/fact.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toffee
Toffee
Coconut
Amber
Bronze
Story Map
Go Back
Please print this Story Map. Fill in the setting and the people Lena meets at each place she visits.
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2.
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3.
4.
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2.
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