What is Justice?
Students begin to explore African American history and the civil rights movement, serving as a launch for further discussions around discrimination, justice, and valuing individuals.
Unit Summary
As part of the upgrade to Fishtank Plus, this unit was revised in January 2021. See which texts and materials have changed as part of the revision in this guide to our Kindergarten text adjustments.
In this unit, students begin to explore African American history and the civil rights movement. Students will begin the unit by thinking about the ways in which people are similar and different, including skin color, and how those differences should not define who we are or how we are treated. In the second part of the unit, students will learn about the discrimination and injustices faced by African Americans leading up to and during the civil rights movement and why it was necessary to fight for change. They will learn about how communities came together to organize and stand up to injustice. Students will also explore how Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr.’s influential leadership influenced and inspired others to fight for change. It is our hope that this unit will help instill the values of diversity, justice, and action, and that it will serve as a launch for further discussions around discrimination, justice, and valuing individuals.
Texts and Materials
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Core Materials
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Book: All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold (Knopf Books for Young Readers; Illustrated edition, 2018) — AD370L
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Book: Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester (HarperCollins; Illustrated edition, 2008)
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Book: All the Colors of the Earth by Sheila Hamanaka (HarperCollins, 2020) — AD540L
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Book: Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor (Philomel Books; Illustrated edition, 2019)
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Book: This Is the Dream by Diane Z. Shore and Jessica Alexander (Amistad; 1 edition, 2009)
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Book: The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson (G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, 2001) — AD490L
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Book: Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles (Aladdin; Reprint edition, 2005) — AD600L
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Book: Rosa by Nikki Giovanni (Square Fish; Reprint edition, 2007) — 800L
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Book: Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport (Hyperion Book CH; Reprint edition, 2007) — 410L
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Book: We March by Shane W. Evans (Square Fish; Reprint edition, 2016) — 290L
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Book: A Sweet Smell of Roses by Angela Johnson (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition, 2007) — AD480L
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Book: I Have a Dream by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Kadir Nelson (Schwartz & Wade; Har/Com Re edition, 2012) — 1030L
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Book: Be A King: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream and You by Carole Boston Weatherford (Bloomsbury USA Childrens; Illustrated edition, 2018) — 360L
Supporting Materials
Assessment
This assessment accompanies this unit and should be given on the suggested assessment day or after completing the unit.
Unit Prep
Essential Questions
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- What makes us different? What makes us the same?
- Why was the civil rights movement important?
Writing Focus Areas
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Sentence-Level Focus Areas
- Produce simple sentences orally or in writing.
- Use the conjunctions “because” and “so” orally.
- Use correct ending punctuation.
- Use statements, questions, and exclamations orally or in writing.
Informational Writing Focus Areas
- Name the topic they are writing about.
- Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to include some information about the topic.
Vocabulary
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Text-based
boycott brave courageous custom deny diversity dream enforce freedom hopeful inspire injustice justice neutral nonviolent racism race segregation similarity threaten unequal unique vicious
To see all the vocabulary for this course, view our Kindergarten Vocabulary Glossary.
Content Knowledge and Connections
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This unit builds a deeper understanding of the following Social Justice Standards: The Teaching Tolerance Anti-bias Framework (Learning for Justice):
- Identity 1: I know and like who I am and can talk about my family and myself and name some of my group identities.
- Identity 2: I can talk about interesting and healthy ways that some people who share my group identities live their lives.
- Diversity 7: I can describe some ways that I am similar to and different from people who share my identities and those who have other identities.
- Diversity 8: I want to know about other people and how our lives and experiences are the same and different.
- Justice 12: I know when people are treated unfairly.
- Justice 13: I know some true stories about how people have been treated badly because of their group identities, and I do not like it.
- Justice 14: I know that life is easier for some people and harder for others and the reasons for that are not always fair.
- Justice 15: I know about people who helped stop unfairness and worked to make life better for many people.
- Action 17: I can and will do something when I see unfairness; this includes telling an adult.
- Action 20: I will join with classmates to make our classroom fair for everyone.
To prepare for this unit, we recommend reading the following resources.
Future Fishtank ELA Connections
- Grade 1 English Language Arts Unit 3: Inspiring Artists and Musicians
- Grade 1 English Language Arts Unit 4: Movements for Equality
- Grade 2 English Language Arts Unit 4: People Who Changed the World
- Grade 4 English Language Arts Unit 5: Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans
- Grade 5 English Language Arts Unit 3: Young Heroes: Children of the Civil Rights Movement
Lesson Map
Common Core Standards
Core Standards
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Supporting Standards
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