We Are Peacemakers ~ Making a Class Anthology

Overview
Books with a peace theme motivate children to talk about how each author uses writing to demonstrate peaceful strategies. Students brainstorm occasions when they are peacemakers. After writing about these times, they make a We Are Peacemakers anthology and share their book with school and community.

For more about Special #2 from Big Hearts, Little Hands Reach for Peace , e-mail Vera Johnson, author and AT&T Teacher Disseminator.
Learning Standards
  • Make connections between what is read, personal experiences and the experiences
        of others.
  • Engage in effective discussions.
  • Use focused, coherent and well organized writing.
  • Make effective presentations.
  • Classroom Activities
    Students continue to contribute to the peace dialogue as they:
  • Read and verbally respond to books with peacemaking themes.
  • Brainstorm instances when they are peacemakers.

  • Arrange ideas into a Graphic Organizer (sun burst, web, etc.).
  • Use Graphic Organizer to write about and illustrate their own peacemaking experiences.
  • Read How A Book Is Made by Aliki.
  • Follow bookmaking directions and include peacemaker stories in a class anthology.
  • Community Activities
    Share collaborative We Are Peacemakers anthology with other classrooms. Display it in the school library and the local library.
    Careers
    Students talk about careers as authors and illustrators of children's books.
    Materials
    Sadako by Eleanor Coerr; For Every Child A Better World by Louise Gikow and Ellen Weiss; The Big Book of Peace by Ann Durrell and Marilyn Sachs; Swimmy by Leo Lionni; Angel Child, Dragon Child by Michele Surat; The Meanest Thing to Say by Bill Cosby; How A Book Is Made by Aliki; Graphic Organizer, bookmaking and illustration materials
    Technology
    Children word process stories with Clarisworks and research the Internet for more peacemaking ideas.
    Assessment
    Teacher checks students as they: use a Graphic Organizer; write about their peacemaking experience; follow bookmaking directions.

    Web Sites
    Martin Luther King Jr. Day at http://www.holidays.net/mlk/
    Ten Web Sites for Exploring Conflict Resolution in the Classroom.