Hair
Teacher: Ms. Erin
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Subject Area: Social Studies – Beauty - Literacy, and Writing Workshop
Time Needed: 1 hour to 1 hour, 30 minutes
Materials:
Teacher: Ms. Erin
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Subject Area: Social Studies – Beauty - Literacy, and Writing Workshop
Time Needed: 1 hour to 1 hour, 30 minutes
Materials:
- White board and marker
- I Love My Hair by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley (1998)
- Hairs = Pelitos by Sandra Cisneros (1994)
- Large chart paper and markers
- White paper with lines on the bottom
- Crayons, colored pencils, markers
- Pencils
Prep:
· The only preparation necessary is to put enough blank papers and lined papers on each of the tables for all of the students.
MMSD Elementary Social Studies Standards Connections for Kindergarten:
· SWBAT describe characteristics of hair.
· SWBAT explain what the young girl in the story Hair = Pelitos (Cisneros) tells the reader about the types of hair found in her family.
· SWBAT understand that all hair styles are important and are considered beautiful to African Americans because each style sends a message to other people about that person.
· SWBAT use their understanding of why hair is important in the African American culture and apply it to a story about their own beautiful hair.
Lesson Context:
· We began a mini-unit on beauty a couple days ago that is part of a larger unit about culture and individuality that encompasses the entire school year. We already discussed what we each think is beautiful in the world and the previous day the students learned about “wabi sabi”, which is a Japanese belief that beauty is found in the simple things in life. We will now be exploring more about another aspect of beauty – hair. Hair is a very important component of African American culture, and it is something that is beautiful and special to each of us. During this lesson we will talk about hair in general and why it is deemed especially important and beautiful in the African American culture.
Lesson Procedure: (approximately 30 minutes)
· The lesson will begin when all of the students are gathered on the carpet.
· I will stand up next to the white board and ask the students to tell me anything about hair. I will allow them to shout out any answer that comes to mind when they think about hair. I will write all of their answers on the white board. If the students need prompting to help them think about hair, I will ask them questions such as, “What color can hair be?”, “What shape can hair come in?”, etc. I will let the students shout out answers for a couple minutes.
· After we finish generating our list of characteristics of hair, I will sit down on the chair and tell the students that I am going to read them the book Hair = Pelitos by Sandra Cisneros. This is a story about a young Spanish-speaking girl who tells us about the many different types of hair that are found just in her own family. She compares her family members’ hair to things such as brooms or fur, and uses words such as “lazy” and “slippery” to describe other people’s hair. Hair = Pelitos is a bilingual book with the English words on the top of the page and the Spanish words on the bottom. Regardless of whether there are Spanish-speakers in my classroom, I will read both versions of the text on each page because I believe that it is important for all children to have an awareness and appreciation for other languages.
· I will read Hair = Pelitos to the class. It is a relatively short story.
· After reading the story, I will ask the students what the young girl told us about the types of hair found in her family. As students are answering this question, I will add their responses to the list that we generated about hair before reading the story.
· After our quick discussion about what we found out about hair while listening to this story, I will explain to the students that our hair styles are unique to us, and hair may tell stories about us. I will tell them that in the African American culture, hair style is extremely important to people. I will ask the students why they may think this is. After the students provide some answers for why they think that African Americans believe that hair style is very important, I will tell them that it is because each hair style means something different for them. For example, when people first started wearing their hair in an afro, it meant that they were proud of their culture and of who they were and they were proud of everything that they have achieved.
· I will then tell the students that I am going to read another story to them. This story is called I Love My Hair by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley. This story is about a young African American girl who has her hair combed and styled every night. Even though it is sometimes a painful process, she loves the way her hair looks afterwards. Every day her hair is styled in a different way. For example, her mom spins her hair, parts it into straight lines of braids, puts beads on the ends, styles it into an afro, or puts it into straight pigtails. This young girl comes to appreciate how special it is that she can style her hair in so many ways and she recognizes how truly beautiful her hair is.
· After reading I Love My Hair, I will explain to the students that we are going to write our own stories about our hair. Everyone’s hair style is special to them. Long hair, curly hair, short hair, no hair – everyone’s style is special and beautiful.
· I will show the students an example of what they can do on their own papers. I will take a piece of chart paper and draw a quick picture of myself on the top of the paper, making sure that I draw my hair the way that it actually looks. Underneath it, I will write a couple sentence story about my hair and why it is special. For example, I would write something such as, “My hair is long, straight, and blonde, like the color of the morning sun. It shows that I am a strong and bright person. My hair is beautiful.” I will emphasize that everyone can write anything that they want about their own hair, but I want everyone to finish their story by saying “My hair is beautiful” because everyone’s hair (or lack of hair) is beautiful.
Lesson Closure: (approximately 20-30 minutes)
· The students will all go to their desks and they will take a piece of paper and begin by drawing a picture of them on the top of the page. They will use the crayons, colored pencils, and markers to draw their hair as realistically as possible.
· The students will then write a couple sentences describing their hair and why it is unique or what their hair reveals about them. I will help the students generate their sentences if need be, but I will encourage them to try their hardest to sound out the words and work independently or ask for help from their peers.
· When the students complete this activity, they can choose a book and read it independently on the carpet.
Assessment Strategies:
· I will informally assess the students’ understanding of why hair is considered important and especially beautiful in the African American culture during our discussion after reading the book I Love My Hair.
· I will also formally assess the students when I observe what they are writing about their hair during the final activity. I will conference with them individually to see if they understand why hair is beautiful and important and how people believe that our hair styles send messages about ourselves.
Differentiation:
· The final activity of drawing a picture of ourselves and writing a short story about our hair allows for differentiation for everyone. The only requirement is that the students must end their stories by saying “My hair is beautiful”, but other than this, they are allowed to write anything they want about what their hair looks like and what their hair says about them. Although I will have high expectations for all students, I will know which students are at which levels of writing, so I will know what to expect in each students’ stories.
Cultural Relevance:
· Although this lesson focuses primarily on African American culture, and a little bit on Hispanic culture, it also allows for everyone to express their own cultural values when writing about their hair and what it means to them.
· The only preparation necessary is to put enough blank papers and lined papers on each of the tables for all of the students.
MMSD Elementary Social Studies Standards Connections for Kindergarten:
- Behavioral:
- Describe different ways of expressing emotions and feelings
- Identify customs, traditions, and celebrations that have special meanings for their family
- Culture
- We will be reading two books, one from the Hispanic culture and one from the African American culture. We will be talking about why hair is especially important for African Americans.
- Individual Development and Identity
- We will explore how identity is revealed through hair styles.
-
Standard 5: Explains and Justifies Educational Choices
-
I chose to focus on hair alone during one lesson because it is a very important part of African-American culture. Also, because there are many African-American students in my classroom, I want to show appreciation and respect for their culture.
-
I chose to focus on hair alone during one lesson because it is a very important part of African-American culture. Also, because there are many African-American students in my classroom, I want to show appreciation and respect for their culture.
· SWBAT describe characteristics of hair.
· SWBAT explain what the young girl in the story Hair = Pelitos (Cisneros) tells the reader about the types of hair found in her family.
· SWBAT understand that all hair styles are important and are considered beautiful to African Americans because each style sends a message to other people about that person.
· SWBAT use their understanding of why hair is important in the African American culture and apply it to a story about their own beautiful hair.
Lesson Context:
· We began a mini-unit on beauty a couple days ago that is part of a larger unit about culture and individuality that encompasses the entire school year. We already discussed what we each think is beautiful in the world and the previous day the students learned about “wabi sabi”, which is a Japanese belief that beauty is found in the simple things in life. We will now be exploring more about another aspect of beauty – hair. Hair is a very important component of African American culture, and it is something that is beautiful and special to each of us. During this lesson we will talk about hair in general and why it is deemed especially important and beautiful in the African American culture.
Lesson Procedure: (approximately 30 minutes)
· The lesson will begin when all of the students are gathered on the carpet.
· I will stand up next to the white board and ask the students to tell me anything about hair. I will allow them to shout out any answer that comes to mind when they think about hair. I will write all of their answers on the white board. If the students need prompting to help them think about hair, I will ask them questions such as, “What color can hair be?”, “What shape can hair come in?”, etc. I will let the students shout out answers for a couple minutes.
· After we finish generating our list of characteristics of hair, I will sit down on the chair and tell the students that I am going to read them the book Hair = Pelitos by Sandra Cisneros. This is a story about a young Spanish-speaking girl who tells us about the many different types of hair that are found just in her own family. She compares her family members’ hair to things such as brooms or fur, and uses words such as “lazy” and “slippery” to describe other people’s hair. Hair = Pelitos is a bilingual book with the English words on the top of the page and the Spanish words on the bottom. Regardless of whether there are Spanish-speakers in my classroom, I will read both versions of the text on each page because I believe that it is important for all children to have an awareness and appreciation for other languages.
· I will read Hair = Pelitos to the class. It is a relatively short story.
· After reading the story, I will ask the students what the young girl told us about the types of hair found in her family. As students are answering this question, I will add their responses to the list that we generated about hair before reading the story.
· After our quick discussion about what we found out about hair while listening to this story, I will explain to the students that our hair styles are unique to us, and hair may tell stories about us. I will tell them that in the African American culture, hair style is extremely important to people. I will ask the students why they may think this is. After the students provide some answers for why they think that African Americans believe that hair style is very important, I will tell them that it is because each hair style means something different for them. For example, when people first started wearing their hair in an afro, it meant that they were proud of their culture and of who they were and they were proud of everything that they have achieved.
· I will then tell the students that I am going to read another story to them. This story is called I Love My Hair by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley. This story is about a young African American girl who has her hair combed and styled every night. Even though it is sometimes a painful process, she loves the way her hair looks afterwards. Every day her hair is styled in a different way. For example, her mom spins her hair, parts it into straight lines of braids, puts beads on the ends, styles it into an afro, or puts it into straight pigtails. This young girl comes to appreciate how special it is that she can style her hair in so many ways and she recognizes how truly beautiful her hair is.
· After reading I Love My Hair, I will explain to the students that we are going to write our own stories about our hair. Everyone’s hair style is special to them. Long hair, curly hair, short hair, no hair – everyone’s style is special and beautiful.
· I will show the students an example of what they can do on their own papers. I will take a piece of chart paper and draw a quick picture of myself on the top of the paper, making sure that I draw my hair the way that it actually looks. Underneath it, I will write a couple sentence story about my hair and why it is special. For example, I would write something such as, “My hair is long, straight, and blonde, like the color of the morning sun. It shows that I am a strong and bright person. My hair is beautiful.” I will emphasize that everyone can write anything that they want about their own hair, but I want everyone to finish their story by saying “My hair is beautiful” because everyone’s hair (or lack of hair) is beautiful.
Lesson Closure: (approximately 20-30 minutes)
· The students will all go to their desks and they will take a piece of paper and begin by drawing a picture of them on the top of the page. They will use the crayons, colored pencils, and markers to draw their hair as realistically as possible.
· The students will then write a couple sentences describing their hair and why it is unique or what their hair reveals about them. I will help the students generate their sentences if need be, but I will encourage them to try their hardest to sound out the words and work independently or ask for help from their peers.
· When the students complete this activity, they can choose a book and read it independently on the carpet.
Assessment Strategies:
· I will informally assess the students’ understanding of why hair is considered important and especially beautiful in the African American culture during our discussion after reading the book I Love My Hair.
· I will also formally assess the students when I observe what they are writing about their hair during the final activity. I will conference with them individually to see if they understand why hair is beautiful and important and how people believe that our hair styles send messages about ourselves.
Differentiation:
· The final activity of drawing a picture of ourselves and writing a short story about our hair allows for differentiation for everyone. The only requirement is that the students must end their stories by saying “My hair is beautiful”, but other than this, they are allowed to write anything they want about what their hair looks like and what their hair says about them. Although I will have high expectations for all students, I will know which students are at which levels of writing, so I will know what to expect in each students’ stories.
Cultural Relevance:
· Although this lesson focuses primarily on African American culture, and a little bit on Hispanic culture, it also allows for everyone to express their own cultural values when writing about their hair and what it means to them.
