“The Colors of Us” A Cyberlesson By: Kinga Decsy

Introduction We are all alike, we are all people . . . but we are also all different. Join Lena on her walking adventure around town as she discovers “the colors of us”.

Resources & Materials *A copy of the book The Colors of Us by Karen Katz *A copy of the book All The Colors We Are by Katie Kissinger *Computer with Internet access *Pencil *Reading Journal

BEFORE Reading Activity #1 Before you have the story The Colors of Us read to you, Lena wants to know if you have ever seen the colors of. . . French Toast Cinnamon Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcake Peach Honey Reddish Brown Leaves Amber Light Cocoa Butterscotch Pizza Crust Bronze Toffee Ginger Chili Powder Coconut Coffee Click on the star to learn more about some of these objects.

Did you know that . . . Ginger comes from a root and helps to soothe a stomach ache. Bright sunlight is needed for leaves to turn red. If there is little or no sunlight, the leaves will turn yellow instead. Cinnamon comes from the bark of a tree. Chili powder comes from a chili pepper and is very, very spicy hot. The Mayan people used to rub chili powder on their gums to relieve toothaches. Butterscotch is made from butter and brown sugar. French Toast was first made over 2,000 years ago. Bronze is a metal that was used to make swords, shields and spears. By the time most American children are 18 years old, they eat about 1,500 peanut butter sandwiches. Coconuts are the largest known seeds in the world. Amber is the resin or sap of ancient pine trees and comes in many different colors. The flavor of honey depends on the flowers that the nectar came from. Toffee is a sticky candy made from molasses, sugar, butter and milk.

Before Reading Activity #2 1. What you think makes people different colors? Write your ideas in your Reading Journal. Now click on the to visit a website about what makes people different colors. 2. Write some of the new information that you have learned in your Reading Journal.

DURING Reading Activity While you are listening to The Colors of Us, help Lena map her way around her neighborhood by creating a Story Map. Click the to print the Story Map. Then click on the to start the story.

These are the “colors of us”! AFTER Reading Activity Think about all of the different ways which Lena thought of to describe the color of the skin of her friends and family. Click on the to go back to the different foods. Decide which food comes closest to your own skin color. Now click on the to print out a bar graph. Interview your classmates and teacher. Then graph the different skin colors in our classroom. (Remember, color in only one box for each person!) These are the “colors of us”!

What is the “color of you”? French Toast Peanut Butter Chocolate Cup Cake Peach Honey Cinnamon Reddish Brown Leaves Light Cocoa Butterscotch Amber Pizza Crust Bronze Chili Powder Coconut Ginger Coffee Toffee Go Back

By: ______________________ “The Colors of Us” By: ______________________ Cinnamon French Toast Peanut Chocolate Peach Honey Reddish Light Butterscotch Pizza Bronze Amber Ginger Chili Coconut Coffee Toffee Butter Cup Cake Leaves Cocoa Crust Powder

BEYOND Reading Activity Click on the to listen to All the Colors We Are, a picture book about the differences in people’s skin color. 1. How is All The Colors We Are the same as the book The Colors of Us? 2. How is it different? We will be creating a Venn Diagram as a whole class. If you would like to start your own Venn Diagram, click on the to print one, otherwise, you can answer the questions in your Reading Journal.

Rubric Before Reading 4 Student reads all of the informational sentences about the various colors. 3 Student reads most of the informational sentences about the various colors. 2 Student reads a few of the informational sentences about the various colors. 1 Student does not read any of the informational sentences about the various colors. During Reading 4 Student completes all 8 parts of the Story Map. 3 Student completes 5-7 parts of the Story Map. 2 Student completes 2-4 parts of the Story Map. 1 Student completes 0-1 parts of the Story Map. After Reading 4 Student interviews and records the skin color of all his/her classmates and the teacher. 3 Student interviews and records the skin color of most of his/her classmates and the teacher. 2 Student interviews and records the skin color of some of his/her classmates and the teacher. 1 Student interviews and records the skin color of 1 or 2 or none of his/her classmates and the teacher. Beyond Reading 4 Student answered both questions with a lot of supporting detail. 3 Student answered both questions with some supporting detail. 2 Student answered one question with some supporting detail 1 Student answered one question with little or no detail. TOTAL SCORE: _____

Credit Page Katz, Karen. (1999). The Colors of Us. NY: Henry Holt and Company. Kissinger, Katie. (1994). All The Colors We Are: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color. Minnesota: Redleaf Press. http://www.cosmicchile.com/xdpy/kb/chile-pepper-facts.html Chili Powder http://www.mistupid.com/facts/page034.htm Cinnamon http://www.childrensrecipes.com/fun__french_toast_facts.htm French Toast http://www.peanutbutter.com/funfacts.asp Peanut Butter http://www.foodfunandfacts.com/honeyfacts.htm Honey http://ncnatural.com/wildflwr/fall/fallfact.html Red Leaves http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/ButterscotchVsCaramel.htm Butterscotch http://library.thinkquest.org/23492/data/bronze.htm?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0318 Bronze http://www.geonord.org/shows/amber.html#anchor1895817 Amber http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/ginger.htm Ginger http://www.crk.umn.edu/library/MCG/fact.htm Coconut http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toffee Toffee

Story Map Go Back Please print this Story Map. Fill in the setting and the people Lena meets at each place she visits. _______________ 1. 2. 3. 4. _______________ 1. _______________ 1. 2. _______________ _______________ 1. 2. _______________ 1. _______________ _______________ 1.