Skills Building: Our American Dream (PK-5)

Written by Fiona McEntee and illustrated by Srimalie Bassani

Pre- Reading Questions

What do you think this book is about?
What do you notice about the people on the cover?
What is one thing that you are personally proud of this year?
Reflecting on this whole year, what is one thing that you learned this year about SEL that you didn’t know before?

Post- Reading Questions

What is one thing you learned from this book?
How did you feel after reading this book?
We are all different and beautiful in our own ways. We bring our different experiences, dreams, and cultures together to make the United States of America. How could we celebrate ourselves and our differences?
What is one way that we could celebrate ourselves as a group? What are we proud that we achieved this year as a group?

Creative Enrichment Activity: We Are All Together Mural (PK-5)

Overview

In the book Our American Dream, we read about all the different types of people in the United States. We are all different and all of our differences should be appreciated and celebrated. In this activity, we will work on a mural that celebrates our group and everything that makes us unique! Reflect on what we have done and learned this year and work to incorporate it into our group mural.

Materials

Large pieces of butcher paper (preferably white), each group of 10 students should have one 6 foot piece of butcher paper.
Paint
Paintbrushes
Markers

Duration: 40 minutes (for staff: 5 pre-activity set up and 5 minute prep)

5 minutes: Introduce the activity using the book
20 minutes: Students in groups of 10 paint their mural
10 minutes: Clean up
5 minutes: Reflect and share

Instructions

Introduce the activity using the book.
Have a group discussion to reflect on what they have learned as a group this year about SEL and what they might have learned or want to celebrate about themselves.
In groups of 10, students should decorate their piece of the mural. Each student can paint or draw in a space at the same time so they are all continuously collaborating and adding their own pieces. Students can draw or paint anything that they want that celebrates them or their learning and can continue painting until the time is up or their mural is filled.
Clean up the materials.
Reflect and share.

Reflection Questions

What did you decide to paint on your mural?
How are all of our murals and pieces similar and different?
What can we celebrate this year?
What have you learned?
How can we celebrate our differences?

Skills Building: Our American Dream (PK-5)

Pre- Reading Questions

Post- Reading Questions

Creative Enrichment Activity: We Are All Together Mural (PK-5)

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