Web of Respect

Contents
Lesson Plans
Anti-Bias Books
Resources
Weblinks
Evaluation
Student Work

The power of

Community

to stop hate crimes

 Grade Level : 4

Objectives

  • To learn what a bully, victim, and ally are and how and why they act as they do.
  • To learn how families and a community stand together against bigotry and acts of hatred.

Vocabulary

Hanukkah - a Jewish festival which celebrates the Jewish people's fight for religious freedom

anti-Semitism - prejudice against Jews

reluctantly - unwillingly

bullies - people who find strength in hurting or frightening others

solution - an answer to a problem

prejudice - dislike of people just because they are of another race or religion

Menorah - a candlestick with eight branches and a center candle holder; a symbol of the Jewish religion and the Hanukkah Festival of Lights

bigotry - stubborn prejudice

Billings, Montana- the place where this story takes place

violence - force used to cause injury or damage

 

ally - an individual who stands by a friend in need

Pre-assessment

Use the K-W-L chart to find out what children already know about prejudice, bigotry, bullying, anti-Semitism, and knowledge about the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Do a vocabulary preview. Write the vocabulary words on sentence strips. Preview each word by asking students to suggest their own ideas for definitions. Use vocabulary cards throughout the lessons as visual aids for discussion.

Follow up vocabulary work in the library or computer lab. Have students work in pairs to locate definitions and synonyms for vocabulary terms. Use an electronic thesaurus to complete these worksheets (Worksheet 1, Worksheet 2).

Reading

The Christmas Menorahs: How a Town Fought Hate by Janice Cohn

Describes how residents of Billings, Montana united to fight a series of hate crimes committed against a Jewish family.

 

 

 

Suggested Comprehension Questions

  1. What was the loud noise that Isaac and Mrs. Davis heard? Describe what they saw.
  2. When Isaac's parents came home, what did they decide to do? Do you agree or disagree with their decision? Explain your answer.
  3. What was the reason Chief Inman gave as to why someone threw a rock at Isaac's window?
  4. What did Chief Inman want the whole town to do?
  5. Why did Isaac want to put away his Menorahs? If you were Isaac, what would you have done?
  6. What did Isaac's mother decide to do?
  7. What was Ms. MacDonald's idea?
  8. In your own words, retell the story of King Christian and the Danish.
  9. Why does a Menorah have nine candles?
  10. What did Teresa and her family decide to do to support Isaac and his family?
  11. As Isaac and his mother drove through the neighborhood at night, what did they see in house after house.
  12. What did you think of the Hanley family's picture window display?
  13. Who made a difference in this story?

Activities

 

#1 Retell a part in a skit!
In small groups, dramatize part of the story. Use costumes and props.

Materials:

  • props
  • costumes (simple or elaborate)

Procedure:

  1. In a large group, story map each part of the book. Be sure to include descriptions of the characters and setting.
  2. Make small groups of children and assign (or let groups choose) parts to enact in a play.
  3. Practice each scene and perform play for another class.
  4. Optional: Ask children to show their posters at the end of the play.

If possible, enlist support of music and/or drama teacher to plan and perform the play.
 

 

#2 Write a Letter to Isaac
Children can write a letter to Isaac telling him how they felt while listening to this story.

Materials: 

  • letter writing paper
  • pencils

Procedure:

  1. Elicit from children favorite or most memorable parts of the story. Ask children to state why a part stood out in their minds.
  2. Tell aloud favorite and/or most memorable parts to a partner.
  3. Model friendly letter writing format.
  4. Write, edit, share, and revise letters.

#3 Create an anti-hate poster
Decorate a "picture window" to show support of Isaac.

Materials:

  • crayons
  • magic markers  
  • colored pencils  
  • colored paper, mural paper, poster board
  • letter writing paper and pencils/pens

Procedure:

  1. With a partner, children plan a discussion they would have with their family to show their support of Isaac.
  2. Sketch, brainstorm, and plan a poster that shows support and anti-hate sentiments.
  3. Use poster board, large construction paper or other materials to make the poster.
  4. Share with the class. Ask children to evaluate the effectiveness of the poster in terms of its anti-hate messages and support of Isaac's family.
  5. Post in the halls of the school or hang in a classroom window.

Involve your art and music teachers for artistic tips and/or musical chants or raps to accompany the messages of these posters.

"A life is not important, except in the impact it has on others."

- Jackie Robinson

#4 What is an "ally"?

Materials:

  • chart paper with matrix shown below
  • markers
  • picture books that have allies: Fat, Fat Rose Marie, Teammates, Thank You Mr. Falker, I Hate English, Passage to Freedom
  • printed copies of the matrix shown below
  • pencils

Procedure:

  1. Draw the matrix shown below on a piece of chart paper.
  2. Do a "pair share" model of what children know about an ally. Share ideas and develop class definition of the term.
  3. Apply this new definition toThe Christmas Menorahs.
  4. Provide vocabulary cards and the book for those children who would need visual assistance in making comments during the discussion.
  5. Summarize the book and complete the matrix.
  6. Divide class into five equal groups with one book per group.
  7. Assign each group member one of the following cooperative roles: reader, recorder, and speaker(s).
  8. Read the book and complete a group matrix.
  9. Each group's speakers report to the class what they have learned using the matrix as their notes

    .

    Type of bullying

    Victim's feelings

    Bully's feelings

    Ally's actions

    Ally's feelings

    Problem

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Rising Action

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Turning Point

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Falling Action

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Conclusion

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    If time allows, plan a skit to show each book's themes to the class.

#5 When I was bullied

Materials:

  • crayons
  • magic markers  
  • colored pencils  
  • chart paper for recording both bullying and "anti-bullying" situations

Procedure:

  1. In pairs, ask the children to share situations in which they were bullied, witnessed bullying, or bullied others. Be sure to describe in detail the cause and effects of bullying and the emotions felt by all participants.
  2. As a whole group share and list these situations on chart paper. Use a few examples to describe scenarios where bullying could have been avoided.
  3. Ask children to pick a scenario and illustrate it in a split-scene cartoon.
  4. Next, ask children to illustrate this situation where bullying could have been avoided.
  5. Have the children write captions or cartoon dialogue bubbles to describe the scenarios.
  6. Tell students to swap cartoons to evaluate each other's success in creating a bullying and anti-bullying cartoon.

Important: Think about how you want your students to discuss controversial situations that involve children in your school. Some suggestions are to eliminate and/or change names, to discuss the situations privately to minimize blame, and to invite children to work together as a class to combat acts of bullying in the school. Work with your school counselor and/or principal for guidance on discussing sensitive issues in the classroom.
Websites

Discussing Hate & Violence with your Children: An article about discussing with your child, violence and hate-crimes that appear in the media. [Anti-Defamation League]

Wellesley College Project on Bullying and Teasing: A project initiated by Wellesley College, this site offers a comprehensive curriculum and thorough research on bullying and teasing. [Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA]

TeacherLink at Utah State University: This site offers many annotated links to lesson plans and other educational resources. This specific link is to a lesson plan on Hanukkah that includes activities for The Christmas Menorahs and Elijah's Angels. [Utah State University, College of Education]

Not in Our Town A PBS television special describing the events in Billings, Montana. This video is available for sale. It is also available from the public library. [Public Television]

Choosing to Participate: Not in Our Town Scenes from the PBS film are online as a quicktime movie. You will need an online computer with quicktime capabilities. [Facing History and Ourselves]

Civil Participation and Community Action Sourcbook An online handbook describing the Billings, Montana communty action and many others [New England Literacy Resource Center]

Books

The Christmas Menorahs: How a Town Fought Hate by Janice Cohn. Describes how people in Billings, Montana joined together to fight a series of hate crimes against a Jewish family. Albert Whitman, 1995. (FIC) 

Elijah's Angel by Michael Rosen. At Christmas-Hanukkah time, a Christian woodcarver gives a carved angel to a young Jewish friend, who struggles with accepting the Christmas gift until he realizes that friendship means the same thing in any religion. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992. (FIC)

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis. Houghton Mifflin, 1989. (FIC)