A Bad Case of Stripes
So many children are worried about what others think of them. They limit themselves and become who they are not, because they are not sure others will like who they are! Not cool. As a teacher, it is part of our jobs to make sure that students feel included and brave to be themselves too! This is a great book to use in the classroom at the beginning of the year to express to children how important it is that a classroom is a community, a family of sorts that supports one another and the differences within. This is crucial to a classroom that is diverse, to explain that diversity is to be celebrated!
A Bad Case of Stripes would be a good choice of book to read to prompt elementary students to write about a time that they did not want to go to school or some other place and what that felt like.
grade level equivalent: 3.5
