UEN Lesson Plan idea: The Black Snowman

Interdisciplinary units always seem to catch my eye when I am searching on UEN.org. I found an intriguing lesson idea to be taught during Black History Month (February). It claims to cover seven standards from the Utah State Core Curriculum for 6th grade Language Arts.

"The Black Snowman, An Interdisciplinary Unit" is the lesson plan title.
The link is http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=13696 .

I like this lesson because it has ideas for teaching oral language, concepts of print, spelling, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing as well as the main curriculum tie: Develop language through listening and speaking. The focus book, The Black Snowman, is written by Phil Mendez and illustrated by Carole Byard. It is about an African-American boy and his family, a dirty snowman, and a magic Kente cloth from Africa. The lesson suggests students create a PowerPoint presentation about a famous African American, but I also think some of the writing prompts that become essays could be generated on electronic student journals I'd call student blogs. I also found some very interesting and colorful websites about the Kente cloth, such as http://art-smart.ci.manchester.ct.us/fiber-kente/kente.html , and other creative winter weaving lesson ideas at http://kids-learn.org/winterwonderland/central.htm.

This lesson emphasizes a multicultural perspective and is more complex than just teaching about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. during Black History Month. It also touches on family history and self-esteem. I admit I've never read this book but I plan to check it out!