BIBLIOTHERAPY LESSON “Feathers Like a Rainbow” An Amazon Indian Tale by Flora Dianne Potdevin SPED 620 Education in a Diverse Society

Goals and Objectives Main Goal: Students will develop awareness of and respect for cultural, racial, and ethnic differences. Objectives: 1. Improving students’ self-confidence and self- acceptance by making connections between the selection and themselves. 2. Appreciating and respecting other cultures by discussing facts and fables about people. 3. Providing the opportunity for students to research about rainforest animals and develop their own animal tales (using facts and fable like the selection).

Grade Level and Classroom Setting Grades 3-4 This is an integrated Language arts, science and social studies lesson where students study about rainforest life in science and/or social studies class. 3-4 sessions of 45 minutes each.

Themes explored in the story Appreciating and respecting others: Each one of us is unique and different; it is impossible for all people in a group to have the same qualities. Judgments cannot be made about whole groups of people unless every single member of the group is known Developing self-identity by building self-esteem and self-acceptance: The more confident a person is in his own sense of identity and competence, the lower that person’s degree of prejudice.

Themes explored in the story Stereotyping and prejudice: People spend a considerable amount of time and energy learning the norms of the groups to which they wish to belong. One consequence of this tendency is that individuals begin to think that the familiar behaviors of their group are good and natural and that those of others are less good and natural. Birds and folklore of the Amazon River Valley.

Synopsis of Story “Feathers like a Rainbow” is an Amazon Indian tale that recalls the time when the birds of the rainforest had dark feathers. Jacamin, a gray-winged trumpeter swan, asks his mother for colorful feathers, so his mother sets off to find colors for him. She wanders through the rainforest and is joined by other birds. Soon they see a beautifully colored hummingbird who explains that he kisses the flowers, drops the colors into his bowl and uses them to color his feathers. Jacamin’s mother steals the bowl of colors, and all the birds use it to color their feathers. Only one drop is left for Jacamin, who uses it to make a purple dot on his breast. To this day, all the birds have some colors, but only the hummingbird has all of them.

Introductory Activities Tell students that they will read “Feathers like a Rainbow”, an Amazon Indian tale. Tell them that some parts of the story are true and some is made up from the author’s imagination. True information is called a fact, while information that is not true is known as a tale (or fable). Ask volunteers to name stories they have read that are true and some that are made up from the author’s imagination.

Introductory Activities Make a chart on a large sheet of paper similar to the following (see next slide). Poll students to see how many believe each statement is fact and how many believe is a tale or fable. Then have children brainstorm their own ideas about animals. Leave poster up while story is read.

Introductory Activities BeliefFactFable Ostriches hide by burying their heads. Cats are difficult to train Porcupines shoot quills at their enemy. Hummingbirds kiss the flowers.

Introductory Activities Some of the animals (birds) mentioned in the story may be unfamiliar to children. Provide pictures of hummingbirds, gray-winged trumpeters, toucans, macaws and other rainforest birds and animals along with information about each.

Discussion Questions Jacamin notices his dark feathers. Why was Jacamin worried about the color of his feathers? What color did he want for his feathers? How does the first page of the story introduce you to the idea that we are all different? Jacamin’s mother sets off to find the colors for her son. What steps did Jacamin’s mother use to find the colors for her son? What were her feelings at this moment? The other birds want colors for their feathers. Why were the other birds worried about finding colors for their feathers? The birds see a colorful hummingbird hovering in the air flitting from flower to flower. Recall the way Hummingbird gets his beautiful feathers. Re-read the following passage with students and discuss the beauty and meaning of it: “Everyday I kiss the flowers of the rainforest. From each I take a dab of color and drop into my bowl. Then I splash a little of each color on my feathers.” The other birds could hardly wait for the next day. They all wanted to copy Hummingbird!

Discussion Questions Most of the birds are too heavy to hover in the air, and their beaks are too big to reach inside the flowers. Why couldn’t the birds copy Hummingbird? Jacamin’s mother steals Hummingbird’s bowl of colors. What are your thoughts about this? Why was Jacamin’s mother lead to do this? Do you agree or disagree with her decision? Why? The birds snatch away the bowl from Jacamin and bathe themselves in Hummingbird’s colors. There is only a a dot of purple left which Jacamin rubs on his breast. What kind of ending does the story have? How does Jacamin feel at the end of the story? What did you learn? What would you have done differently? How did the illustrations help you understand how Jacamin and the other birds felt throughout the story? What part of the story might happen in real life? What part of the story could never really happen?

Discussion Questions Refer back to the fact/tale chart. Ask students what are some common misconceptions they have about groups of people. Are there any groups of people you have feelings or thoughts about? Through the discussion, lead students to see that any ideas about whole groups of people are not true. Are there times when your self-confidence and self-esteem is low? Have you ever wished to be like others, as Jacamin did in the story? Did you ask anybody to help you? How did you feel at the end of your experience? Can you think of another way of explaining how the birds got their colors?

Follow-up Activities After making sure that students have some familiarity with rainforest life, ask them which of the animals they might like to tell a story about and why. Have students work in groups of three to develop animal tales with animal characters based on real rainforest animals. Their tale may address physical traits of animals or behavioral characteristics. Have them decide upon the setting and the characters for their stories. Guide them in dividing the responsibilty for the story beginning, middle, and ending. Have students work together for at least two sessions, refining their stories as they go along. Help them use writing process steps to create a written version of the story. Encourage students to add pictures to each page of their book.

Follow-up Activities  Students will read aloud their stories during the last session.  Encourage each group to point out curious or interesting facts they have discovered, share any fictional stories about the animal, and compare and contrast their books with Jacamin’s story and stories of other groups.  Have students evaluate the group’s performance. Have them talk about how working in a group made the results of their project better. Ask them whether they think their books would have been as special if they each worked separately.

Resources Ferreira, Flora C. (1989). Feathers like a Rainbow. New York: Harper and Row Publishers. Cushner, K., McClelland, & Safford, P. (2003). Human diversity in education: An integrative approach, 4th ed. Boston: Mc Graw Hill.