TE 402 Literacy Lesson-Diverse Literature

For my TE 402 literacy class, we had to create and implement a literacy lesson that was all done by discussion. We were to read a book to the class or a small group of students and then guide them into a discussion with guidance questions related to the story. I did my lesson in March and decided to pick a book that related to a lot of the things they learned during Black History Month and on Martin Luther King Day. I read a book called, Riding to Washington and it was about a white little girl and her dad taking a bus to Washington to hear Martin Luther King's speech. She did not understand why they were going there and were surrounded by all kind of people that were different from her on the bus. The story takes place as they travel to Washington on this bus and encounter a few different problems. She becomes really good friends with her neighbor, Mrs. Taylor and learns a lot about the struggles that African Americans had to go through. The first problem they encounter is when they stop at a restaurant to eat and the African American people got turned away. She decided to not eat at the restaurant because her dad and her decided they were not going to eat at a place that didn't accept anybody. Another encounter they faced was when they stopped at a rest area to use the bathrooms. Mrs. Taylor (African American) was refused the batheroom key because of the color of her skin. The little girl stood up for her and they were both able to use the bathroom. The boy didn't look or talk to them when they went to leave. When they arrived to hear Martin Luther King's speech, the little girl learned that the speech was for everybody, not just for African Americans because she thought back on the problems they encountered on the bus ride. I bought this book to my lesson because I thought it is a great book to have in a diverse library or to at least read to my class to talk about issues in history with African Americans and also a great way to introduce Martin Luther King. The book seemed like it would be a very good book to put into a library that is diverse literature. I recommend this book to anyone for their libraries. The problems are accurate and show true struggles that African Americans had to go through in history. It also showed how important Martin Luther King's speech was and why is was important.