Author: Pat Thomas
Illustrator: Lesley Harker
Grade Level: K-2
Summary:
Everyone Matters
by Pat Thomas is a story that introduces children to the concept of respect and
how important it is to treat everyone with respect. In the very beginning of
the story respect is defined and explained as valuing and understanding other
people just as you would value your own self. This creates a focus on the
positive traits that people have more so than the negative. There is a
distinction made between the respect that everyone deserves and the respect that is
earned. This story does an excellent job in describing how respect is earned
because it is not something that can be forced. Overall, this book focuses on
the equality of every person and provides excellent examples of how to achieve
that equality.
Element 2:
Element Two: Respect
for Others discusses the importance of creating an atmosphere that respects the
diversity of students and listening to others with kindness and respect when a
classmate is explaining their own experiences or ideas. I feel that this book
does an excellent job in supporting this element. The author explains how
everyone is different and the various ways that respect is deserved as well as
earned. Respect is deserved among all people and the author explains this as
treating someone as your equal. By believing someone is just as good as you
are, you are more likely to form better relationships, seeing your similarities
rather than your differences. The author also explains how respected is earned.
Respect is earned by keeping promises, treating others the way you want to be
treated, and being honest with others. The author does an excellent job in
explaining that being afraid of someone does not show respect. When this
happens you feel intimidated or scared to confront that person and feel as if
they are better than you. Respect is the exact opposite, making you feel as if
you are just as important as that person. This story displays excellent
illustrations where someone may look upset or scared and how those facial
expressions change from fear into happiness. The gestures also change from
pointing at someone into hugging, or giving them a pat on the shoulder.
Activity:
An activity that I would do would focus on the part of the
book that discusses how it is okay to disagree with someone as long as you are
able to respect them in the process. For children at a young age this may be a
difficult concept. It may be hard for a student to gain the confidence to
disagree with someone, or they may not know how to go about it in a respectful
way so instead they shy away from voicing their opinions. To help students with
this I would have children bring in a picture of themselves from home. I would
then have the children glue this picture of them onto a piece of construction
paper and around the picture would be five to ten statements or pictures of how they view respect. The finished product would be displayed on the
classroom wall as a point of reference to see how their peers view respect. This can be referred back to when students are forming opinions and need
a reminder on how to respectfully disagree without hurting someone’s feelings.
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