Read Across America-My Many Colored Days

I do this lesson in observation of Read Across America on March 2, to recognize Dr. Seuss, and to demonstrate the power of the element of color in our world.


SUBJECT: The Element of Color / My Many Colored Days


OBJECTIVES: The student will learn that colors can be used by each individual in a unique way to express his feelings and emotions.

SET: Ask students to generate a list of what they know about color. Then tell them that “today I am feeling ‘blue’ (or green or yellow or purple, etc.) Can anyone tell me in another way how I might be feeling? How else has color entered our language? (sing the blues, acting ‘yellow’, turn beet red, green with envy) How are colors important in everyday things? (gang colors, sports teams, uniforms, etc.)

STATE OBJECTIVES: Colors can be used to express feelings. When your are expressing feelings what are you doing? (This is one of the forms of COMMUNICATION.) Each person uses colors in his own way to communicate his feelings. You each see colors in your own special way.

ACTIVITIES:
1. Read My Many Colored Days, by Dr. Seuss
2. Make a student generated list of feelings associated with the colors used in the book.
3. Show the video Notes Alive!, narrated by Holly Hunter, featuring the Minnesota Orchestra. What element has been added to the story to enhance and emphasize the emotions?

For this lesson for our blog, the students chose three colors from the list of colors described in the book and wrote about their feelings about each color.

BLUE makes things come true
RED makes me feel love
PURPLE makes me feel down
JJ

YELLOW I feel hot
BLUE I feel loose.
RED I feel dead
BR

RED makes me feel like I’m loved
BLUE is whole like the moon
GRAY makes me happy
HS

RED makes me feel angry
BLACK makes me feel upset
BROWN makes me feel confused
GM

RED It makes me feel like a rose always for someone
BLUE makes things come true
BLACK It’s Black History Month so I got to get love
NL

I feel BLUE when I am upset
When I am RED I AM VERY HAPPY THAT DAY
When I use BLACK I feel depressed and all alone
GD

RED makes me feel like people love and care for me a lot
BLACK makes me angry and I am gonna flip out and not have a good day
BLUE makes me feel relaxed and I am having a good time
KL

GRAY makes me feel old
RED mad as hell
BLUE happy as ever
JN

GREEN I think of money and something exciting
RED Makes me think of angriness and disappointment
YELLOW things slow down/tired and boring
AB

YELLOW bright, happy, energetic
RED happy, embarrassed
BLUE sad, relaxed and laid back
MW

RED bruised, embarrassed, shy
PINK loveable, happy, healthy
BLUE sad, down, hurt, stressed
HG


2007/02/27

GREEN makes me feel energetic and hyper
YELLOW makes me feel weird
BLACK makes me feel evil
MP

GREEN I see money
PINK I see girls
BLACK I see home
MM

GREEN when I see this color it gets me hyped and I do without thinking
BLACK when I see black I think of death or something bad happening
BLUE when I see this I feel calm and relaxed and my day goes with the flow
ME

GREEN Fresh, relaxed and tranquil
BLUE calm, a time to think
BROWN drowsy, lazy, ready to sleep
JR

RED I feel angry
BLACK I feel bored
PINK I feel happy
AV

PINK makes me feel happy
BLACK is a real dark color. That’s when you are down and out
GREEN is for when you feel sick
PO

GREEN gets me mad and really mean
BLUE makes me feel true and real
YELLOW makes me feel happy and joyful
DD

RED is sad
BLACK is mad some time
YELLOW is joy or sometimes nice
TW

YELLOW me being happy playing ball
BLACK being depressed when someone dies in my family
BROWN me just want to sleep all day and night
TD

3/1/2007

RED happy
BLUE glad
GREEN feel good
MR

RED happy
BLACK mad
YELLOW very happy
BJ

RED is when I’m mad
BLACK is when I feel down
BLUE is when I’m thinking something good
MS

BROWN tired
RED mad
YELLOW normal
HD

Black History in Rap and Prose

Each year during Black History Month students in the library classes read and write about different people. They work on these reports for a period of two weeks. Several reports are chosen to be read to the other students in class.

One Saturday morning this year I saw a TV program on ‘Flocabulary’ [Harrison, Blake, and Alexander Rappaport. Flocabulary. Kennebunkport: Cider Mill P Book, 2006.] www.flocabulary.com where students learned SAT words by rapping and rhyming so they won’t forget them. I decided to try this with my classes to help them learn in a different way about the people they wrote about for Black History. After 3 days writing their rap/poems they then read them to the other students.

I made arrangements with N. Wertz, LYDC computer teacher, to have the students type their raps in her class. The typed copies were sent to the Art room to be put on our school blog. LYDC Librarian, H. Boose ☺




Jack Johnson


1870 something 1870 something/
When Jack Johnson was born /
growing up in the hard knocks of Texas /
while his dad wasn’t driving /
No Lexis. /
He became one of the greatest boxers of them all. /
He died in a car crash/
and that was the end .

CR



Shirley Chisholm


Shirley Chisholm’s her name/
She was born 1924/
In Brooklyn, New York/
She teached half of her life/
Never had a husband present in her life/
She earned a majors degree/
In education you see/
Getting money was the object/
She still is alive today/
She returned to her first love/
Education in 1983/
Today she teaches at Mount Holyoke,
College in Massachusetts/
Shirley Chisholm is still here on earth TODAY!

[Chisholm died in 2005]

DD




Harriet Tubman




H- Harriet Tubman was born
A- And
R- Raised a slave
R- Rescued enough slaves
I- In the South to be rewarded.
E- Ended off still being
T- Tubman

HZ




James Weldon Johnson




James Weldon Johnson/
Was a well known man/
He was born next to another black man/
As he got older he became a teacher/
An don’t let me forget he was a civil rights leader /
He was the first black lawyer,/
He had his bachelors degree, an after he finished school he was a principal /
At Stanton elementary /
In the 1900s he wrote the national anthem/
This gave blacks hope/
And yes that includes the ones who was shooting dope/
He wrote Sleeping Beauty and other great songs/
Like Humpty Dumpty an Hey Man You’re Wrong/
On June 26, 1938 he died by a train when it/
Struck his car so I guess that’s it.

JJ





James Jessie Owens




James Jessie Owens

Born in Ohio
Nineteen –n- thirteen
Ran the track for his black power team

Won four gold medals
Track n field
But he lost ‘em
Said black power and it cost ‘em

Nineteen thirty six
Berlin Olympics
He got tight
Adolf Hitler talking bout races and he thought he was right

Nine teen fifty five
Flew to India
As a good will
Did it for a reason
Not for a dollar bill

JM




George W. Carver

C - creative
A - awesome
R - responsible
V - very special person to certain people
E - easy to get along with
R - ready to create something

W – was known as the greatest



C - creative
A - awesome
R - responsible
V - very special person to certain people
E - easy to get along with
R - ready to create something


LW






Malcolm X




Malcolm X grew up poor,
Holes in his shoes no carpet on the floor,
No mom or dad,
No money bags,
Drop out in 8th grade so he didn’t grad,
It sounds bad, but it turned out good,
Later on in his life like the man knew he would,
So he moved to Boston,
Then later on to Harlem,
At the age of 16 he got in some problems,
He did a burglary and caught a charge,
In jail he rewrote the dictionary,
And found Allah

MM





John R. Michell JR




Born Richmond Virginia
1880 gold medal speaker.

Reporter for New York globe
1884 bought the Richmond paper.

1890 president of Afro American press association
Formed groups that boycotted Richmond buses

He wrote stories of the army’s abuse to black soldiers
Died at home on December 3, 1929

He was a man of success
He was not afraid of death.

He did whatever helped the people
By using the newspaper

The pen is mightier than the sword
He proved that among many things.

MP





Jackie Robinson




In Cairo Georgia January 31
a lady name Robinson gave birth
soon the baby became a freak
played basketball every day of the week.
Later he went to the university of California
there he played more baseball than all of us.
soon the baseballs became into bullets
and the only thing he could think of
is how he going to do this!
He thought about it and realized
that he had to run but 4 bases
became 4 years he later got married
and died being a great baseball star




OL




















Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman a.k.a.
Mother of her people
Ya that’s ha name.
She was a slave for many years
But still went down in fame.
All her masters would abuse her,
But she was a strong dame.
She had a dream to be free,
But her husband a free man
Didn’t really agree.
He straight told her ma
You must be crazy!
Her brothers were down,
But when it was time to put in work
They didn’t bother sticking around.
So she just grabbed the shottie,
And headed for town.
But that wasn’t enough,
So she went back around.
Freed a thousand slaves by using the underground
Railroad without making a sound.
She loved doing good for her people so in 1863
This brave black woman led the union army.
She was a spy, a scout, and a nurse,
Who would of thought in 1913
This strong black sista ended up in a hearse?

PO




Barney Ford



Barney Ford didn’t go to school.
Because he thought it wasn’t cool
He went to mine for gold
So he could be bold
He wasn’t allowed to have any land
He thought that wasn’t grand
He liked to build hotels
So you could check into a motel
He had over $250,000
So he was worth a hefty price
He used his money to help blacks
So he wasn’t wack

RR




Malcom X



Growing up it was a struggle

Just cause of my skin color

So I chose to make the hustle

It was hard with all the racists

They treated me like a rapist/ an outcast

But I knew from the beginning that I would outlast

The time came for me and my people to come up

Cause I was tired of always being a f@*! Up

Me and my Muslim brothers spread the word

And I tried to do the right thing

But there were a bunch of haters and back stabbers

That’s when I heard the gun clatter

And it was all over.

SS



Matthew Henson



Matthew Henson was the best in the world, he even sailed to the top of the world. He believed in the god and the quest to haven opposing his belief he carried weapons. He met commander Robert E parry and was proud of the crew that he carried. Matthew Henson was the best.



IH








Harriet Tubman

[Chorus] 4 xs
She was a slave she led them out

[Verse]
She wasn’t afraid so she freed the slaves/
he underground railroad that’s what freed the slaves/
she led the union army that’s what started the riot/.



AF









Marry Church Terrel



Marry Church Terrel rhymes With Jegnrell Or Fairy Tell
She was a woman of great importance
For instance she spoke three languages
And spoke out against people who discriminated
against black people
She was born in Memphis Tennessee which rhymes with tea
She died in 1891
After accomplishing all she did
Her name therefore went down in history.

JM




Jack Johnson



First black heavyweight boxer
Living life and living large
Dated a white chick and caught a charge
Started small and made his way
In 1910 he was fighting every day
He messed up and fled the state and cried
Came back, fought, lost and died.

JT





Ellen Craft



There was a once a women name Ellen Craft
She escaped from slavery with her man.
She went to Boston with a plan
At first she was feared because her name is Ellen Craft
She made it to Boston with her man
A couple years later she skip to England and
Made a book talking about slavery in the past
She had five children and went back to her old homeland
Made a school for the blacks on how to learn a trade
She then passed in 1897.

DC



Elijah McCoy



Elijah McCoy
Worked on trains

He invented the automatic
Lubricating machine

He lived in Detroit
Up in Michigan

He spoke with young black
Children

To work hard and stay strong

Elijah invented all kinds of unusual
Toys

Today he’s still known as the “Real McCoy”

DP




John Sweet Rock

John Sweet Rock
Had the dentist on lock
It was 1850 when he open up shop
It was located in Philly on da block
In 1860 John Sweet stopped
He became a recruiter for da troops top notch
From his activities
In law he got a degree
Da first black judge in da Supreme to be
Even though he was a Negro part of the Black race
When Taney the judge died John took his place
It was unheard of whites couldn’t focus
After two years of being a judge he died from Tuberculosis
He couldn’t even celebrate for doing something he loved
But still he became the first black Supreme Court judge.

JR




Marcus Garvey



Marcus Garvey was a hero
He made a light for a black man
Born and raised in the ghetto //with//
Hopes bigger than Shaq’s hands

In 1887 he dropped from his mom’s womb
The youngest of 8 kids
That was poorer than 8 pigs

He didn’t get discouraged instead he fought for change
To take it back to Africa where we would all be the same
In the end he didn't succeed
But will always be remembered.


NH





George was one of a kind but little did people know how fast he would grow. He was born in 1849 and died 1891. He was one of the best in the army, but not just that he was a very nice man who didn’t like to kill so he got out of the army and became a lawyer. He was from the US. But when he really found out what freedom meant to him he published a group of books about Negro troops and rebellion. As he got older he started to travel because of the black people. When he died in 1891 his dream was that the sea air would ease his tuberculosis.



TW









Jackie Robinson



We all know Jackie Robinson
He’s known as a sportsman and a scholar.
He broke the color barrier.

MF




Ellen Craft



Ellen Craft
Married a William Craft
Born a slave
To her father
A master
She was given
As a present
Her father
Sold her mother
When she was only
Eleven years old
She stole away
With her husband
She dressed as a master
Just as her father
They went to Canada
Then over seas to England
Later came back to the U.S.
And opened a school.

WL





W.E.B. DuBois



Du bois web
Fed up with all the pain
Tired of all the games
Both parents split
Left him in the mix

His mother passed away
He plays like its ok
Graduated from school
Where he learned all the rules
And they treated him like a foul
His soul wouldn’t break

He was serious looked into
Education to curious in 88
Down in Nashville Tennessee
Is where he would be received
A player hater degree first Black
It’s a fact started a magazine for
Black needs it was the nicest he
Named it The Crisis he started a
Group from the N.A.A.C.P.
What’s it gonna be fight or flee
come and join me

ME

A Hard Straight Continued . . .

I think the people were victims and at the same time not victims because they were trying to change then they kept doing things they were not supposed to.

I think the people in the documentary will be successful because there is always another chance in life and they have a family to look after.

My experience was getting locked up. It was not cool because you miss your family and then you realize everything you are missing.

To be successful I have to stay out of trouble and stay away from the people I used to chill with and remember where I was and where I could end up. AF
I do not think the people were victims because some didn’t do anything that bad, but they did mad time. Yes, however, they are victims because they kept getting chances and they messed up. AF
============
The people will never be successful because they want too much excitement in their lives.

My experiences were shown because I would get out of placement and say I changed, but get locked up again.

If I want to be successful, I have to be more responsible with my behavior. HG
=====
Yes, the people in the documentary were victims because once you are in the system you stay in it. It’s hard to follow the rules but it’s easy to break them. Some people change when they come home and some don’t and everything depends on the person or where you are from and the people you are around.

Once you are from the streets it’s hard to be successful. It’s hard to come out and that’s not cool for a person to do anywhere. Sometimes your friends are still in gangs and selling drugs and that’s something that’s going to bring you back to jail or death.

I never went through the experiences of the people in the documentary because whenever I did what ever I did it was around younger people and they gave me more chances for me to do in life.

To be successful when I am released, I’ll have to be away from the people that I used to chill with even though it’s not easy, but I have kids to take care of and a new life to go to and follow my dreams. CA
=====
I don’t think the people in the documentary were victims because they were given a chance and messed it up. Some did more than once. I think they made their own decisions and they are a victim of their own choices.

I think some of the people will be successful, if they think of others and not themselves. Although the recidivism rate is against them, they could easily prove statistics wrong if they are committed to changing their lifestyle.

Yes, I have had experiences like in the documentary, not directly with all of them, but I have gone back to drinking. My main things were getting out and going right back to the same things, just as some of them did.

To be successful when I am released I am going to have to realize that I will not get anywhere if I go to the same thing. I have to want to change and take actions (positive) to work towards a successful life. DW

A HARD STRAIGHT

A HARD STRAIGHT
A documentary about doing time on the outside
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/hardstraight/
Director: Goro Toshima

Your blog entry for this week is to watch the documentary and write comments on how you feel the topic was handled.

Do you think the people in the documentary were victims of the prison/parole system? Explain why you think they were or weren’t.

Do you think the people in the documentary will ever be successful on the outside and not get locked up again? Why will the people in the film be successful or return to prison?

Do you think some of the experiences you have had were shown in this documentary? Describe your experiences

If you want to be successful when you are released from Loysville, what are you going to have to do?


People weren’t victims because they did what they did to get parole or prison, but they were a victim because they did their sentence and when they came home they had to worry about everything they did because of people [parole officer] wanting them to slip up.

If the people do or do not get locked back up again, that is all on them. Every person in this world has a choice and chance to change. It’s just up to them if they want to.

The experiences in the documentary are not necessarily similar to mine because I never got a parole or probation violation. But I did get locked up so it is a little similar.

I am going to have to watch who I hang out with and not be around negative situations. If I know something is going to happen I should just leave. HZ
==========
The people in the documentary were not victims because they got more chances than I ever got and they don’t even do what they are told to so it’s their fault when they get locked up.

Most likely they will be back in cause they try to do what they are told to and they don’t change their ways. The Mexican dude is doing ok, but he may get killed living the gang life.

My experiences are similar because every time I get back out I come right back in. I am going to have to feed my mind right and chill with a different crowd. SS
==========
Yes and no about the victims because it is your ption to take what they give you or not.

The people will or will not be successful if they want to change or don’t want to try to change.

My experiences are similar because I’ve been locked up.

I’m going to have to take care of my family and my daughter and get a real job if I want to be successful when I’m released from Loysville. HG
==========
The people in the documentary were not victims. The reason they were punished was because of their actions and addictions.

The woman that was living with her daughter I think will not make positive decisions to set herself up for success. The man with the tattoos got a head on his shoulders and knows how to play his cards.

Yes, I have experiences like those shown in the documentary. I got in trouble for getting a dirty urine.

If I want to be successful when I am released from Loysville, I have to stay away from the negative part of my community and keep a positive outlook on things. JP

Cultural History Month

This week’s blog topic was prompted by the comment on Black History Month in Munirah Chronicle.

What are your ideas and opinions about designating one month to a specific culture? Should there be a Black History Month? An Asian American History Month? A Hispanic American History Month?

* Munirah Chronicle
* Today in Black History

**********************************************************************

* "Once a year we go through the charade of February being 'Black
History Month.' Black History Month needs to be a 12-MONTH THING. When we all learn about our history, about how much we've accomplished while being handicapped with RACISM, it can only inspire us to greater heights, knowing we're on the giant shoulders of our ANCESTORS."

* Subscribe to the Munirah Chronicle and receive Black Facts every day of the year.

* To SUBSCRIBE send E-mail to:
In the E-mail body place: Subscribe Munirah Your FULL Name

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Yes, I think it is important for those races to have their own holiday. I think it is for the best that it is one month at a time so we can recognize that specific race. I don’t know why they don’t have a white month, but it doesn’t matter. HZ

I think they should keep it like that because that month will be a time to remember things that happen years and years ago. These months, Black History, Hispanic, are all months that have something to do in the future. AF

2/9/2007
I think a month to every culture will make everybody feel special having their own day. Like the Black History day means like when they give them the rights to vote or their freedom and also a day to make them feel like they have to feel or to have a day of celebration that day. And the Hispanic because if we get an amnesty day for illegal immigration so some of the Hispanics are allowed in America, that will be an unforgettable day. CA