Family Reunión
Chad and Dad Richardson
In this contemporary tale, a boy is reluctant to go to this family reunión, which he’s sure Will be boring. Vivid, poetic language and rich illustrations bring readers along for the boy’s emotional journey, as he ultimately finds himself enjoying the large and joyous gathering in spite of himself. This modern kid’s-eye view depiction of a Black American extended family celebrates the importance of kinship and intergenerational ties.
✍Brief Summary:
Family Reunion is a vibrant, culturally rich picture book celebrating Black family traditions, storytelling, and intergenerational connections. Chad and Dad Richardson wrote it. In this contemporary tale, a boy is reluctant to attend this family reunion, which he’s sure Will be boring. Vivid, poetic language and rich illustrations bring readers along for the boy’s emotional journey, as he ultimately finds himself enjoying the large and joyous gathering despite himself. This modern kid’s-eye depiction of a Black American extended family celebrates the importance of kinship and intergenerational ties.
📚Here’s how the book meaningfully supports the program:
The book “Family Reunion” by Chad and Dan Richardson aligns closely with our NYC P.S. 54 Title II Program goals by focusing on supporting English /language Learners (ELLs) and New New Yorkers in achieving English Language Proficiency and academic success and maintaining strong cultural identity. Title III of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) also emphasizes the importance of family engagement and culturally responsive learning environments. Here’s how the book supports explicitly these goals:
- The book enhances English Language Development (ELD)
- The book uses accessible, rhythmical language and relatable content, making it a practical resource for vocabulary development (father, mother, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, grandfather, grandmother, cousins, etc.), sentence structure, and reading comprehension.
- Provides rich opportunities for oral language practice through discussions, retelling, and interactive read-alouds.
- Encourages language acquisition in context, which is key for MLLs.
- It can be used to teach academic and social language, including terms related to family roles, emotions, and descriptions.
- It also promotes Culturally Responsive and Inclusive Instruction.
- Reflects diverse family structures and cultural identities, affirming the lived experiences of MLLs
- It helps build a school and classroom environment where MLLs feel seen and valued, increasing their confidence and engagement.
- Encourages intercultural understanding among students, which promotes inclusivity.
- It aids in Academic Achievement in Core Subjects.
- Supports early literacy instruction that aligns with grade-level standards.
- Encourages higher-order thinking through discussion prompts and comprehension questions aligned to learning standards.
- It promotes critical thinking and helps address relevant questions like why learning about each other’s cultures and languages is essential.
- Additionally, it supports Family and Community Engagement.
- The theme of the book centers around family, making it ideal for home-school connections and for making students feel safe and connected, which is especially important for Title III Programs.
- It offers an opportunity for students to share about their own families, promoting family pride and storytelling in English and home languages.
- Creates an affirming school environment for MLLs
- Encourages identity development and belonging, key aspects of social-emotional support for newly arrived students.
- It provides students a platform to express their stories in a supportive learning environment.
- It helps build a school that makes all students feel welcome, especially when they speak a different language.
🧩 Activity of Integration: Students fill in the missing parts in English and their home language to build pride and bilingual and bicultural skills.
Reading Comprehension Sentence Frames:
- The main character is ______.
- The problem in the story is ______.
- The teacher helped Kanzi by ______.
- At the end of the story, Kanzi feels ______ because ______.
- The book shows that speaking another language is ______.
- Kanzi felt ______ when her classmates laughed at her food/name/language. I feel ______ when ______.
- If I made a quilt about my culture, I would include ______ because ______.
|
|
|
