Unit 9 Skills Building: Sulwe

Skills Building: Sulwe (PK-5)

Written by Lupita Nyong’o and illustrated by Vashti Harrison

Pre Reading Questions

Have you ever felt self-conscious or uncomfortable with how you look?
What can you do to feel more confident when you are self-conscious?
Who makes you feel better when you are feeling self-conscious?
Have you heard someone make fun of the color of someone’s skin, hair or weight? What can you do if you see that happen?

Post Reading Questions

People at Sulwe’s school made fun of her for the color of her skin. How did this make Sulwe feel? How did it affect her self-confidence?
Sulwe’s mom tells Sulwe, “Real beauty comes from your mind and your heart. It begins with how you see yourself, not how others see you.” Did Sulwe see herself as beautiful? How did that change?
You are beautiful just the way you are. What about you makes you beautiful inside and out?
How do you celebrate your beauty?

Creative Enrichment Activity: Self Affirmation Mirror (PK-5)

Overview: In Sulwe, Sulwe l earned to love herself for who she is and l earned to love how she looks. People of all colors and shades are beautiful and needed i n this world. In this activity, you will make a Self Affirmation Mirror so you can always remind yourself that you are enough and beautiful the way you are.

Materials
● Aluminum foil ( pre-cut for younger students , one approximately 6”x7” piece per student)
● Black construction paper
● White color pencils
● Glue
● Affirmation template with “The world needs me exactly as I am! ”
● Printouts of 101 Affirmations for Kids
● Scissors (3-5)

Duration: 35 minutes (for staff: 5 pre-activity set up, 10-minute prep)

● 5 minutes: Introduce the activity using the book and examples
● 5 minutes: (Older students cut) glue foil to black paper and smooth out
● 2 minutes: Cut out and glue affirmation template to border
● 10 minutes: Decorate the border
● 5 minutes: clean up
● 5 minutes: Reflect

Instructions

Prior to the activity, staff should cut pieces of aluminum foil for each of the younger students. The pieces should be about 6” x 7” to give students enough space to write on the boarders of the mirror.
Older students can be given a piece of aluminum foil and cut it how they want.
Introduce the activity using the book. Talk about affirmations and why it is important to give ourselves pep-talks (self-confidence, improve self-esteem, improve mood, etc.)
Students glue aluminum foil to the black construction paper and smooth it out as much as possible to make it more reflective.
Writers can add their own self-affirmations on the mirror, non-writers can decorate the border to their
choosing.
Clean up the materials.
Reflect.

Reflection Questions

Why might self-affirmations make us feel better?
Do you ever say negative things to yourself?
How might you feel if you started every day by looking at yourself in the mirror and saying positive affirmations to yourself?
Share some of the positive affirmations that you wrote on your mirror.

Skills Building: Sulwe (PK-5)

Creative Enrichment Activity: Self Affirmation Mirror (PK-5)

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