Second Grade
The Symbol that Separates Us!
ENDURING UNDERSTANDING: Students will understand that symbols only have power if you attach meaning to them.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
What does the fence symbolize?
Is there a message that the girls are trying to send to others?
How does sitting on the fence change the girls’ perspective?
Vocabulary:
Courage
Segregation
Integration
Determination
Compassion
Empathy
Bravery
Separate
Supplies:
*8.5 x 11 paper
*The students will be completing a trifold at the end of the lesson.
*Pictures of symbols pre-made and laminated by the teacher for student use.
Colored pencils
Separate your students into table groups. Have a set (you can determine the amount) of pre-made cards with pictures of symbols on them. Some examples of symbols can be, but are not limited to; a flag, a crosswalk pedestrian symbol, airport, hashtag, Roblox symbol, restroom symbol,poison symbol....
**Create cards that you know your students will enjoy figuring out and understand. Distribute the cards face down at each table group- do not allow the students to see the pictures.
Set the timer for 8 minutes. Tell the students to flip their cards over and begin figuring out what the symbols are. Allow the students to have conversations with their table groups as they work through each picture.
When time is up, as a class, have the students share out and discuss what they talked about at their tables. The students will name the symbols and most likely offer some detailed background information about them.
Write the word SYMBOL on the board. Ask the students to consider what they know about symbols and that you need their help generating a definition of what a symbol is (I have written the basic definition of what a symbol is below.) You should allow the students to generate the definition- you will be the facilitator. When you have all come to a consensus as a group and are satisfied with the definition, display a few pictures on your board. You should display a picture of a:
-key
-window
-graduation hat
-cupcake
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Ask the students if they can view these pictures (using their perspective) as symbols with multiple meanings. For example, a cupcake can be celebratory- yet it signals temptation to someone else who may be on a diet. A key can keep someone in, lock them out, or open a door. A graduation hat could symbolize a new beginning, or an ending to school. A window can protect from the elements, allow someone to see out, or block someone from seeing in. Go through the pictures with the class- you will be surprised when you see the interesting connections that the students make with each picture.
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Before you read the story, read the inside flap of the book to the students. It begins with a quote from the book.
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“That summer, the fence that stretched through our town seemed bigger. We lived in a yellow house on one side of it. White people lived on the other. And mama said, ‘Don’t climb over that fence when you play.’ She said it wasn’t safe.”
Read this passage twice to allow the students time to process. Ask them to share their thoughts. Allow for time to share, you may find that the students have a lot to say, and some may not say anything at all. That is alright. Read the author's note to the students.
Turn to the third page in the book. Show the students the picture located on this page. It should be the picture of five African American girls in a field, two with jump ropes in their hands, and one Caucasian girl that is climbing on the fence. You will use a strategy to promote student engagement called, See-Think-Wonder. This strategy begins with you asking the students what they See-Think-Wonder as you display this picture under the document camera or in a way that all students can see it.
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Students will analyze the illustration and identify:
1. What they see
2. What they think
3. What they wonder about the picture
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*This thinking routine was developed as part of the Visible Thinking project at Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education. Explore more Thinking Routines at pz.harvard.edu/thinking-routines
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**Definition of a Symbol
A symbol is an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning.
Day 1: continued: Begin reading the entire book aloud. - only stopping to show the pictures- no discussion. Allow the students to, as Lester Laminack says, “Marinate” with the book and visit it the next day.
Day 2: Review the idea of what a symbol is with the students. Begin reading the book again. This time, as you read each page, pause again and show the students the pictures. Remind the students that they should observe the picture carefully. When you get to page 15/16, stop- Do not read that page. (As you come to stopping points, record on the board, or on chart paper, what the students are saying about the pages.) On this page you will see both girls looking at each other through the fence. Show this picture to the students and ask them what they see, think, and wonder is going on now. Continue reading, until you get to pages 21/22 pause and show the students the picture. Give them time to process the pages and make note of what they are seeing. Continue to pages 27/28 to ask the students what they notice is going on in the pictures. Ask the students if something has changed? What has changed? When you have finished the story, pause for a moment and give the students a minute to reflect.
Return your focus back to symbols. Ask the students to have a discussion with their table group on whether they noticed any objects that could be perceived as symbols throughout the book. If necessary, give the examples of the key, graduation hat, cupcake, and window. The idea of the fence being a symbol should come up among the students, if it does not, prompt them.
Spend some time focusing on the fence (Refer to how this can be used as a barrier to keep in things/ or to keep people out.) Ask the students what symbol the fence represents in the story. You may even hear students make note about yellow that is used throughout the story. If students do not make a reference to the color yellow, do not elaborate on it. They may make a connection as they complete the summarizing activity below.
Day 3: To complete a summarizing activity for the book students will create a culminating performance task titled: “Color, Symbol, Image”. Fold a piece of computer paper into thirds.
See the example below.
On the left side of the tri-fold write the word color at the top. Students will select a color that they feel best represents/captures the essence of the book and explain why.
On the middle of the tri-fold, students will select a symbol that they feel best represents/capture the essence of the book and explain why.
On the third part of the tri-fold old on the right students will select an image that they feel best represents/captures the essence of the book. Allow the students to present their projects to the class and explain why their selected colors, symbols, and images were chosen.
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