As someone who has a last name that no one can pronounce, I feel a deep connection with Unhei from the book "The Name Jar". The Amazon description reads, "Being the new kid in school is hard enough, but what about when nobody can pronounce your name? Having just moved from Korea, Unhei is anxious that American kids will like her. So instead of introducing herself on the first day of school, she tells the class that she will choose a name by the following week. Her new classmates are fascinated by this no-name girl and decide to help out by filling a glass jar with names for her to pick from. But while Unhei practices being a Suzy, Laura, or Amanda, one of her classmates comes to her neighborhood and discovers her real name and its special meaning. On the day of her name choosing, the name jar has mysteriously disappeared. Encouraged by her new friends, Unhei chooses her own Korean name and helps everyone pronounce it". This book is a wonderful way to teach children that our differences are to be celebrated and not changed. It's also a great reminder to teachers that it is our responsibility to learn our student's names and not try to change them.
If you use this book during shared reading it's a wonderful opportunity to teach students to ask questions about key details. We practice this a lot in the beginning of the year while the kids are mastering their reading stamina and questioning. It's important to keep the questions simple like seen below until the students are ready to move on. As the year progresses we will add on to the questions and even learn how to ask higher order questions. Thanks so much for stopping by!
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