Assignment 3
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Assignment 3: Book Share
Assignment 3: Book Share
Department of Early childhood Education
Toronto Metropolitan University CLD 314: Literacy in Early Years
November 12
th
, 2023 Part 1: Finding a Book
Book: Where Butterflies fill the Sky: A story of immigration, family and finding homes
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Assignment 3: Book Share
Part 2: Introduction The book I chose is Where Butterflies fill the Sky: A story of immigration, family and finding homes
Author and Illustrator: Zahra Marwan
Publisher and Date of Publication: Bloomsbury Children's Books, March 29, 2022
Genre: Biography picture book: A story about immigration, family and finding homes
Age group: Ages 7-8, Grade 2
Rationale and Goals
The book I chose is Where Butterflies fill the Sky: A story of immigration, family and finding homes by Zahra Marwan, the book is about Zahra who lived in a beautiful city before she
had to leave to a whole new place because her family and her were not welcomed anymore. I chose this book because I feel like it is an important topic for children to be taught about, it is also important for children who are immigrants to feel that sense of belonging aswell as see themselves in these books and activities in their classroom environment. Immigrant children need to feel that sense of belonging to help them build their new life in a new unknown place or else they will find it difficult to make it a home, Ontario’s educations system must respect diversity in the classroom and promote inclusive education as mentioned in the Ontario Language Curriculum (2023). With this picture book, educators can use it as a way of providing opportunities in promoting an inclusive education, learning about immigrant children's lives and supporting children’s developing self-identities. This book does not have many words on each page making it easy to read and to understand for children. The illustrations in this book are detailed and have meaning which allow for deeper understanding of the story.
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Assignment 3: Book Share
Discuss the Genre of the Book
The genre of the book I chose is Non-fiction, more specifically a Biography because the author is telling the story based off her experiences. Non-fiction books are a way for children to relate to the story because it is based on true events, specifically biography’s make children feel more of a connection with the author. This book is a good example of a biography, a biography is
a story of someone’s life experiences as an immigrant which is easy for children to relate to. At the age of 7-9 children start to understand more complex topics like diversity and inclusion, introducing genres like nonfiction and biography is a great way to promote diversity and inclusion. Non-fiction is great for children in grade 2 because they are ages 7-9, non-fiction books are appropriate for children ages 7-9 as mentioned in Jalongo, 2014. Children are able to understand non-fiction books better at this age because they are more interested in abstract ideas,
also because at this age children begin to understand themselves and the people around them. Non-fictions books are an easier way to introduce topics like diversity, inclusion and belonging because it is based on true stories/events.
Retell the book
The book Where Butterflies fill the Sky: A story of immigration, family and finding homes
by Zahra Marwan is about a little girl Zahra telling her story of how she goes from living happily
in a place where she knows everything and everyone to a place where she knows nothing. Zahra lives in a beautiful place where she sees everything as happy, calm and peaceful, the illustrations are colourful but with calming colours to represent how she feels and uses the expression of many butterflies filling the sky. There is one colour that is very prominent and that is orange. Zahra then starts to explain how she notices that her aunties have to protect her and that where they live, they are not welcomed anymore, causing them to leave their home to an unknown
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Assignment 3: Book Share
place where her father promised magic. Zahra had to say her goodbyes to all her family she was leaving behind, in the illustration it shows how they are getting thrown off the dock into the sky and the colour orange is still being represented in every page. Zahra finally made it to the new place where her father promised there would be magic, but it does not look like there is magic.
Zahra got to the new place where it was supposed to be magical but instead of it being magical, it is somewhere she does not feel at home. she starts to feel like she does not belong there because no one there speaks like her, looks like her or do things like her. She starts to question if her ancestors are watching her because she feels alone, although she is with her immediate family is there with her, she still feels alone because they are in their own world. Zahra starts to feel better about where she lives now and starts to appreciate the differences, on one of the illustrations she says the air is filled with hundreds of balloons which she also used in the beginning when she was still home. the hundred balloons in the sky expression leads to her saying although she is different, the people are showing her she belongs. Zahra still misses her family that she had to leave behind, but she started to feel at home in this new place. Activity Introduction
The name of my activity is Our Meaningful Life Experiences, in this activity the students are to create a drawing using water colours and pencils to portray an emotion or event that was important to them in their life and they will use a word that they feel like best describes the experience to help with creating their painting. Water colours because that is what is used in the illustrations of Where Butterflies fill the Sky: A story of immigration, family and finding homes by Zahra Marwan. The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8 Language (2023) ministry document includes the specific expectations for children in grade 2. One specific expectation is Identity and
Community which means to “demonstrate an understanding of the contributions, lived
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Assignment 3: Book Share
experiences, and perspectives of a diversity of individuals and communities, including those in Canada, by exploring the concepts of identity, self, and sense of belonging in culturally responsive and relevant texts” (Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8 Language, 2023, p.110). This specific expectation is one of my objectives because I feel like it is important for children to be in touch with their feelings, their identity and sense of belonging, this book is good for this expectation because it has to do with identity and Zahra feeling that sense of belonging in a new place. Another specific expectation is Oral and Non-Verbal Communication Strategies which is the ability to use oral and non-verbal communication strategies to convey a meaning as mentioned in Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8 Language (2023). This book is good for this specific expectation because it has many illustrations with meaningful colours, the set of vibrancy in the colour portrays a different vibe in each page like the lighter colours demonstrates calmness. Activity and Course Connections
In my activity students are to create a drawing using water colours and pencils to portray an emotion or event that was important to them in their life, the children will have to also think of a word that resonates with that feelings/experience to help them create the drawing. I chose Water colours because it ties in with the illustrations in the book, since that is what was used
.
The
purpose of this activity is for the children to develop their self-identities and to help them with being in touch with their identity as one of the specific expectations for grade 2 children is Identity and Community. I chose to do a drawing activity because “Recent research indicates that
both verbal and nonverbal means of drawing young children’s attention to print exert a positive influence on children’s emergent literacy skills” (Jalongo, 2014, p. 266). Children being able to express themselves through non-verbal ways is great because it promotes inclusivity to this who
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Assignment 3: Book Share
might be non-verbal, it also leaves room for the children to express themselves in a more hands-
on fun way than just sitting and writing. Children will be more inclined in participating in an activity like drawing than they would in an activity like writing, many children struggle with their writing skills and that makes them feel the pressure of doing well which with drawing it is just free expression. The role of the educator is to be there to answer any questions, doubts they might have during the activity. Although the activity is student led because it is based on their emotions and passed experiences, as an educator it is important to be there supporting the child needs and curiosity. Educators should also be there to help if any feeling come up that the students might have a hard time with the educator can help them express those feelings through the drawing and
show them that it is part of who they are. At the end of the activity the children will leave their artwork where it is, and the children will be able to walk around looking at other classmate’s work. This promotes inclusivity and it gives the classmates a chance to get to know each other better aswell as interpret the drawings in their own way. Personal Connections
This book really resonated with me because I have a similar story, I am an immigrant and came to this country at a young age. Although in my country they did not tell us we did not belong we still had to leave because my parents wanted a better life for us. I came here at a young age knowing no other language than Spanish which made it hard when I went to school, the first year I went to school I felt alone because I would be in separate classes than my other classmates because of the language I spoke. The children did not want to play with me for a
while until two girls decided to help me learn English and become my friends, that is when I started to feel a sense of belonging. I chose this book because younger me would love to hear a
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Assignment 3: Book Share
story that was similar to mine so I know I was not alone; I would have loved for children to understand how I felt and for them to understand to be more inclusive. Therefore, choosing books like Where Butterflies fill the Sky: A story of immigration, family and finding homes Is important to me because I would not want any child to feel like there are not welcomed because of who they are but instead I would like them to feel that sense of belonging, be proud of
who they are and not lose their identity.
References
Jalongo, M. R. (2014). Early childhood language arts (p. 266). Pearson.
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Assignment 3: Book Share
King’s printer for Ontario. (2023). In The Ontario Curriculum, grades 1-8
(p. 110). essay. Marwan, Z. (2022, March 29). Where Butterflies Fill the Sky: A Story of Immigration, Family, and Finding Home
. Retrieved from, Amazon.ca. https://www.amazon.ca/Where-
Butterflies-Fill-Sky-Immigration/dp/1547606517/ref=asc_df_1547606517/?
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20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=578878986415&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3186165652595
168001&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=900
0844&hvtargid=pla-1432845898301&psc=1