Peace

Outcomes pertaining to Remembrance Day are found at every grade level, in the Manitoba social studies curriculum.  In my primary classroom, my focus is generally on the aspect of "peace".  I have collected several great mentor texts that I've started using to introduce our "peace" discussions and lessons.
Below are brief descriptions of the books (according to Amazon) and how I've used them.

 Peace begins with You

 Explains, in simple terms, the concept of peace, why conflicts occur, how they can be resolved in positive ways, and how to protect peace.

The Peace Book

  Peace is making new friends.

Peace is helping your neighbor.
Peace is a growing a garden.
Peace is being who you are.

The Peace Book delivers positive and hopeful messages of peace in an accessible, child-friendly format featuring Todd Parr's trademark bold, bright colors and silly scenes. Perfect for the youngest readers, this book delivers a timely and timeless message about the importance of friendship, caring, and acceptance.

We created a chart on how we can be peacemakers in our homes, school and community.  Next, each students created his/her personal peace dove by tracing his/her hands and feet.   I found the idea here, however, we turned ours into mobiles, rather than gluing it to a background paper.  They wrote one of their "peacemaker" thoughts on each side of their doves' body.  

Sensing Peace

What does peace smell like? What does it taste like? Feel, sound or look like? Through Sensing Peace, children ages 4 to 7 are encouraged to see what peace looks, sounds, feels, tastes and smells like their everyday moments things like laughing, cooking, gardening, singing or sharing ice cream.

Through this encouraging and delightful story, children will realize that peace isn't something big out there that only adults can know about they already experience and create peace in meaningful ways each day.

On alternate years my five senses unit coincides with our "peace" unit, so it works out really well for my students to write their own "Five Senses Peace Stories" using this story.
 

 Can You Say peace?

International Peace Day is September 21st. On this day and every day throughout the year, children all over the world wish for peace. Karen Katz takes readers on a bright and colorful journey around the globe to meet some of these children and learn about the many ways to say peace!
Karen Katz's bright and childlike illustrations are the perfect way to introduce the very young to the concept of peace and this annual day to celebrate it.

After reading this book, we copied "peace" in all the languages mentioned in the book on coloured paper.  We found the countries where the languages are spoken on a large world map and labled them with "peace" in their language. 

Somewhere Today

Somewhere in the world each day, people just like you are acting in kind, peaceful, loving ways. Perhaps they are visiting someone who is old, teaching a little sister to ride a bike, or sharing an experience with a friend from a different culture.




We wrote our own rendition of "Somewhere Today" after reading this book.  It was wonderful to see that the children could, with a few prompts, identify the peaceful happenings in their everyday life.

Ish Art

One of the first art projects of this school year began with the reading of Ish by Peter H Reynolds.  Amazon writes that"A creative spirit learns that thinking "ish-ly" is far more wonderful than "getting it right" in this book. " 

My students were delighted with this concept and we find the suffix "ish" creeping into almost every subject area now.  

We created "ish" paintings by crumpling up 4" x 5" rectangles into balls and dabbing liquid water colours all over it.  We flattened them out and recrumpled them, then repeated this with two other colours.  We discovered some interesting ishly shapes and colour combination, some were sping-ish, others Christmas-ish and a whole bunch of other ish ones!

Grandparents Day Cards

During the next art class, my grades 6 - 8 class transformed their paintings into "ish" Grandparents Day cards.  I know that at least one gradma was "ishfully" pleased with the cards she received.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Support Staff Appreciation Cards

My grades 1 & 2 students designed thank you cards to present to our EA for all he hard work at our Support Staff Appreciation party.









 

  Christmas Cards

 Finally, just before Christmas, my grades 3 - 5 class turned their ish paintings into Christmas cards for parents, grandparents and other family members and friends.

I'm sure all who received these cards were absolutely, ishfully delighted with them.