These Hands

I'm linking up with Andrea from Reading Toward the Stars for Book Talk Thursday.  

This week I am reviewing a book recommended by my mentor teacher, These Hands by Margaret Mason and Floyd Cooper.

  I used this book in January to teach civil rights in connection with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  This story is told from Joseph's grandpa's point-of-view.  He speaks of all the things he can do with his hands.  And then, he speaks of all the things that he couldn't do with his hands.  The message is powerful.  Yes, we can!

My students were spell bound.  They couldn't understand why those brown hands weren't allowed to mix bread dough in the factory.  Hmmm... it was real food for thought, brown hands?  In my classroom, they all have brown hands - many of my students are Native Hawaiian or Asian American, they all have brown skin.  Could it be that their hands might not be able to mix bread dough?

The students had very serious discussions with their friends about this topic.  We used our schema to think about all that we do with our hands.  We used our schema to think about things we can't do, or wouldn't be allowed to do with our hands.  Then we talked about how we might feel if we weren't allowed to do something just because of the color of our skin.  Then we wrote.

I'm not ready to post cute worksheets and lessons.  I'm so in awe of all of you who do that!  When I gather my confidence and feel like I can come close to what I see out there, I will share as well.