“Black is beautiful”
Teacher: Ms. Erin
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Subject Area: Social Studies – Beauty – Literacy, and Art
Time Needed: 1 hour
Teacher: Ms. Erin
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Subject Area: Social Studies – Beauty – Literacy, and Art
Time Needed: 1 hour
Materials:
- Beautiful Blackbird by Ashley Bryan (2003)
- The Colors of Us by Karen Katz (1999)
- Paper plates
- Skin color paints and paintbrushes
- Crayons, colored pencils, markers, pencils
- Strips of white paper
- Tape
Prep:
· Make sure that paints are all ready to use and there are sufficient materials at each table.
MMSD Elementary Social Studies Standards Connections for Kindergarten:
· SWBAT recount what we learned about the day before in regard to hair and the African American culture.
· SWBAT understand that even though the book Beautiful Blackbird is about birds, these birds also symbolize people and that the Ila people of Africa believe that black is beautiful.
· SWBAT apply their understanding of the books Beautiful Blackbird and The Colors of Us when painting using the color of their skin and describing the color of their skin.
Lesson Context:
· During the previous day for our unit on beauty, we talked about the beauty of hair and the message that hair relays about people. Everyone has a unique hairstyle that tells a story about us. Today we are going to learn about how our skin color is also a unique and beautiful aspect of ourselves. We are going to read one story about how black is considered to be extremely beautiful to a certain group of people in Africa and we are going to do an activity in which we explore each of our beautiful skin colors.
Lesson Procedure: (approximately 45 minutes)
· The lesson will begin when all of the students are gathered on the carpet. I will show the students the two books that we read yesterday – I Love My Hair (Tarpley, 1998) and Hair = Pelitos (Cisneros, 1994). I will ask them if they can remind the class what we talked about with these books. We will have a short discussion about what we learned about what hair means to people of the African American culture and how we learned that all types of hair styles tell stories about us.
· I will then explain to the students that today we are going to do an activity that is kind of similar to the one that we did yesterday. Yesterday we learned that hair is very important in the African American culture, and now today we’re going to learn about something else that is considered beautiful in the African culture, specifically that of the Ila people of Africa. I will hold up the book Beautiful Blackbird and ask the students what they think we might learn about in this book. The students may say something to the extent of how the Ila people believe that blackbird are beautiful. This is correct, but I will encourage the students to decide if the book is only talking about birds while they are listening to me read the story.
· I will begin reading Beautiful Blackbird. This is a story from the Ila people of Africa who believe that black is the most beautiful color of all. Among all of the many multi-colored birds that exist in this area of the world, the one bird that is all black is considered the most beautiful bird of all. All of the other birds want the blackbird to give them some black on their wings also, but the blackbird makes sure to tell them that “Color on the outside is not what’s on the inside.” The story is written all in poem, and at many points throughout the story, the line “Black is beautiful, uh-huh!” is repeated.
· After reading the story, I will ask the students to tell me what the story was about. It is possible that some students will still believe that the book is only talking about how blackbirds are considered the most beautiful bird in Africa. If students are still set on this theory after listening to the story, I will guide their thinking to be broader. I will ask them if black is only the color of birds. I imagine that some students will answer saying that black can also be the color of people. I will then ask the students if this story may also be talking about skin color of people in Africa, and how the Ila people may be saying that they believe that black skin is beautiful also? We will agree as a group that the Ila people are using blackbirds to show that all colors are beautiful, but they believe that black is especially beautiful.
· I will then remind the students about the activity that we did the day before in which we all drew pictures of ourselves and described our unique hairstyles and how each one is beautiful. I will tell them that today we are again going to be drawing a picture of ourselves, but we are also going to use paints. I will show them the paints that we are going to use. These are paints that were made to match all skin colors. Everyone will have a chance to test all of the paints and possibly mix some together to match our skin color as best as possible, and then we are going to use that color and paint a paper plate which will represent our faces. At this time, I will also show the students the book The Colors of Us (Katz, 1999). This book is about a young girl who realizes that her friends and family members are all different shades of brown, and she describes each color by comparing it to food and objects. For example, she says that her mom’s skin is the color of French toast.
· I will explain to the students that after we paint the color of our skin onto the paper plate, we can draw the rest of our face onto the paper plate. We will then choose a name to give to our skin color, just like the young girl does in The Colors of Us. I will emphasize that this is your own skin color, no one else’s, so you can choose whatever name you want for your skin. For example, for my own skin, I would choose the name “Sand on the Beach”. After I find the color paint that matches my skin the best, I will paint this onto my paper plate and I will decorate it with crayons and markers to make it look like my face. I will then tell the students that after our faces are finished, we will take the strips of white paper and write the name of the skin color that we chose for ourselves, and write “Sand on the Beach Is Beautiful!” just like the author says in the book Beautiful Blackbird.
Lesson Closure: (approximately 10 minutes)
· As students are finishing with this activity, I will start hanging up everyone’s paper plate faces outside in the hallway. I will put everyone’s paper plate in a row outside of our classroom. I want everyone else in the school to be able to experience the same joy that we experienced in the beauty of each of our skin colors. I want everyone to be able to see that even though we each have a different color skin, we are all beautiful.
Assessment Strategies:
· I will informally assess the students’ understanding of the book Beautiful Blackbird by observing the responses that they give about the true meaning of the story. I will not be assessing any other part of the lesson because the rest of it focuses on individuality, so I want my students to feel free to express themselves however they want.
Differentiation:
· Although the point of this lesson is for students to choose the paint color that matches their skin most closely, this also takes into account differentiation because most likely none of the students’ colors will be the exact same.
Cultural Relevance:
· This lesson revolves around cultural relevance because we will be learning about a specific culture in Africa and we will be exploring our own uniqueness and individuality when we paint a picture of ourselves that reveals the beauty of all of our skin colors.
· Make sure that paints are all ready to use and there are sufficient materials at each table.
MMSD Elementary Social Studies Standards Connections for Kindergarten:
- Behavioral:
- Identify similarities, differences in the people around them.
- Describe themselves as unique individuals with both capabilities and limitations and demonstrate acceptance of others’ uniqueness.
- Identify similarities, differences in the people around them.
- Culture
- We will be reading a book that tells of the beliefs of the Ila people of Africa in regard to beauty.
- Individual Development and Identity
- We will be doing an activity in which we explore our unique, and beautiful, skin colors.
- Standard 4: Understands and Practices Learning in Particular Domains
- The book that I will be reading to the students during this lesson, Beautiful Blackbird, seems as if it is only talking about birds found in Africa. However, there is a deeper meaning about the color black that can be inferred while reading this book. Because the students are only five to six-years-old, it may be difficult for them to understand the metaphor in this story, so I will help to lead them to this understanding through the discussion that we have after reading the book.
· SWBAT recount what we learned about the day before in regard to hair and the African American culture.
· SWBAT understand that even though the book Beautiful Blackbird is about birds, these birds also symbolize people and that the Ila people of Africa believe that black is beautiful.
· SWBAT apply their understanding of the books Beautiful Blackbird and The Colors of Us when painting using the color of their skin and describing the color of their skin.
Lesson Context:
· During the previous day for our unit on beauty, we talked about the beauty of hair and the message that hair relays about people. Everyone has a unique hairstyle that tells a story about us. Today we are going to learn about how our skin color is also a unique and beautiful aspect of ourselves. We are going to read one story about how black is considered to be extremely beautiful to a certain group of people in Africa and we are going to do an activity in which we explore each of our beautiful skin colors.
Lesson Procedure: (approximately 45 minutes)
· The lesson will begin when all of the students are gathered on the carpet. I will show the students the two books that we read yesterday – I Love My Hair (Tarpley, 1998) and Hair = Pelitos (Cisneros, 1994). I will ask them if they can remind the class what we talked about with these books. We will have a short discussion about what we learned about what hair means to people of the African American culture and how we learned that all types of hair styles tell stories about us.
· I will then explain to the students that today we are going to do an activity that is kind of similar to the one that we did yesterday. Yesterday we learned that hair is very important in the African American culture, and now today we’re going to learn about something else that is considered beautiful in the African culture, specifically that of the Ila people of Africa. I will hold up the book Beautiful Blackbird and ask the students what they think we might learn about in this book. The students may say something to the extent of how the Ila people believe that blackbird are beautiful. This is correct, but I will encourage the students to decide if the book is only talking about birds while they are listening to me read the story.
· I will begin reading Beautiful Blackbird. This is a story from the Ila people of Africa who believe that black is the most beautiful color of all. Among all of the many multi-colored birds that exist in this area of the world, the one bird that is all black is considered the most beautiful bird of all. All of the other birds want the blackbird to give them some black on their wings also, but the blackbird makes sure to tell them that “Color on the outside is not what’s on the inside.” The story is written all in poem, and at many points throughout the story, the line “Black is beautiful, uh-huh!” is repeated.
· After reading the story, I will ask the students to tell me what the story was about. It is possible that some students will still believe that the book is only talking about how blackbirds are considered the most beautiful bird in Africa. If students are still set on this theory after listening to the story, I will guide their thinking to be broader. I will ask them if black is only the color of birds. I imagine that some students will answer saying that black can also be the color of people. I will then ask the students if this story may also be talking about skin color of people in Africa, and how the Ila people may be saying that they believe that black skin is beautiful also? We will agree as a group that the Ila people are using blackbirds to show that all colors are beautiful, but they believe that black is especially beautiful.
· I will then remind the students about the activity that we did the day before in which we all drew pictures of ourselves and described our unique hairstyles and how each one is beautiful. I will tell them that today we are again going to be drawing a picture of ourselves, but we are also going to use paints. I will show them the paints that we are going to use. These are paints that were made to match all skin colors. Everyone will have a chance to test all of the paints and possibly mix some together to match our skin color as best as possible, and then we are going to use that color and paint a paper plate which will represent our faces. At this time, I will also show the students the book The Colors of Us (Katz, 1999). This book is about a young girl who realizes that her friends and family members are all different shades of brown, and she describes each color by comparing it to food and objects. For example, she says that her mom’s skin is the color of French toast.
· I will explain to the students that after we paint the color of our skin onto the paper plate, we can draw the rest of our face onto the paper plate. We will then choose a name to give to our skin color, just like the young girl does in The Colors of Us. I will emphasize that this is your own skin color, no one else’s, so you can choose whatever name you want for your skin. For example, for my own skin, I would choose the name “Sand on the Beach”. After I find the color paint that matches my skin the best, I will paint this onto my paper plate and I will decorate it with crayons and markers to make it look like my face. I will then tell the students that after our faces are finished, we will take the strips of white paper and write the name of the skin color that we chose for ourselves, and write “Sand on the Beach Is Beautiful!” just like the author says in the book Beautiful Blackbird.
Lesson Closure: (approximately 10 minutes)
· As students are finishing with this activity, I will start hanging up everyone’s paper plate faces outside in the hallway. I will put everyone’s paper plate in a row outside of our classroom. I want everyone else in the school to be able to experience the same joy that we experienced in the beauty of each of our skin colors. I want everyone to be able to see that even though we each have a different color skin, we are all beautiful.
Assessment Strategies:
· I will informally assess the students’ understanding of the book Beautiful Blackbird by observing the responses that they give about the true meaning of the story. I will not be assessing any other part of the lesson because the rest of it focuses on individuality, so I want my students to feel free to express themselves however they want.
Differentiation:
· Although the point of this lesson is for students to choose the paint color that matches their skin most closely, this also takes into account differentiation because most likely none of the students’ colors will be the exact same.
Cultural Relevance:
· This lesson revolves around cultural relevance because we will be learning about a specific culture in Africa and we will be exploring our own uniqueness and individuality when we paint a picture of ourselves that reveals the beauty of all of our skin colors.
