Below is an annotated list of children's literature for the elementary classroom. The books are organized by the Six Elements of Social Justice Curriculum Design (Picower, 2007). It is based on work by pre-service teachers at Montclair State University. They have read and reviewed these books and provided insights into how they can be used in K-5 settings.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Daddy, There's A Noise Outside

Author: Kenneth Braswell

Illustrator: Joe Dent and Julie Anderson

Grade Level: 3rd - 5th

Buy it here!

Resource #1

Resource #2 

Summary: In this story two young children are woken from their sleep because of loud noises coming from the outside. The father then comes in to tell the two children that everything is fine and to go back to sleep. Once morning comes the two children immediately ask questions regarding the incident from the night before. The father explains that the noises they were hearing was protesting and directs them to the computer to learn more. The children continue to ask questions, even asking if kids can protest. They learn that there are different kinds of protests and reasons for protesting. The story concludes with the children going to school having learned all about protesting.

Element #5: This is an exceptional book for students to segue into becoming advocates and raising awareness about any topic they feel strongly about. This book represents element five because it allows students to learn about a very relevant and real issue that is going on today and teach them ways to advocate for the issues they feel strongly about. The father raises the awareness of the children, who may then raise the awareness of classmates, who may then raise the awareness of the teacher which may inspire her to take action and teach the students about protesting or the Black Lives Matter movement. This book was go in so many different directions, from planting the seed to furthering knowledge.

Activity for Classroom use: One activity for the classroom that I think of immediately is incorporating this book into a lesson following Martin Luther King Jr. or any other highly publicized hero during the time of discrimination and segregation. I would first have students read the book then brain storm ideas of how we can help change what is occurring in society; this can be anything from simply sending letters or to incorporating element six and going to an actual protest or having their own protest.

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