Inviting, Engaging, Relateable, Touching, Gratifying | Reviews: |
Bibliography:
House, S., & Vaswani, N. (2012). Same sun here. Somerville, Mass.: Candlewick Press.
House, S., & Vaswani, N. (2012). Same sun here. Somerville, Mass.: Candlewick Press.
Reading Level: An AR reading level of 5.9 (5th grade) with an interest level of middle grades (4th grade through 8th grade).
Suggested Delivery: Independent
Summary:
Meena lives in New York City's Chinatown. River lives in Kentucky. They are complete strangers, until the day they become pen pals. Through their letters a story unfolds of friendship, strength, and courage. This book opens their eyes to the experiences of other living under the same bright sun.
Meena lives in New York City's Chinatown. River lives in Kentucky. They are complete strangers, until the day they become pen pals. Through their letters a story unfolds of friendship, strength, and courage. This book opens their eyes to the experiences of other living under the same bright sun.
Key Vocabulary:
Nanny (page 6): a person who takes care of a child in his/her home
Pen Pal (page 11): people who exchange letters that have never met
Stereotype (page 12): a widely held belief about someone or something that may not be true
Activist (page 15): a person who is involved in trying to bring about a change
Bindi (page 47): a decorative mark worn on the forehead of an Indian woman
Mountain Top Removal (page 57): a form of mining that involves the removal of the top of the mountain (summit)
Civil Disobedience (page 109): the refusal to obey certain laws as a form of protest
Rent Controlled (page 115): set amount of how much people bay for housing as stated by the government
Defiance (page 235): openly opposing someone or something
Perspective (page 249): point of view
Nanny (page 6): a person who takes care of a child in his/her home
Pen Pal (page 11): people who exchange letters that have never met
Stereotype (page 12): a widely held belief about someone or something that may not be true
Activist (page 15): a person who is involved in trying to bring about a change
Bindi (page 47): a decorative mark worn on the forehead of an Indian woman
Mountain Top Removal (page 57): a form of mining that involves the removal of the top of the mountain (summit)
Civil Disobedience (page 109): the refusal to obey certain laws as a form of protest
Rent Controlled (page 115): set amount of how much people bay for housing as stated by the government
Defiance (page 235): openly opposing someone or something
Perspective (page 249): point of view
Before Reading Strategy:
Introduce the text structure to assist students in understanding that there are two different voices and main characters. This will also help them to keep track of the events in the story.
Take a copy of some of the citizenship questions for the students to complete. After completion of the questions have a discussion on what the questions are used for (i.e. the citizenship test for immigrants who want to be U.S. citizenship).
Introduce the text structure to assist students in understanding that there are two different voices and main characters. This will also help them to keep track of the events in the story.
Take a copy of some of the citizenship questions for the students to complete. After completion of the questions have a discussion on what the questions are used for (i.e. the citizenship test for immigrants who want to be U.S. citizenship).
During Reading Strategy:
Have a class discussion on what students think is going to happen next.
Have a class discussion on what students think is going to happen next.
After Reading Strategy:
Have students compare and contrast River and Meena in terms of personality and lifestyle (i.e. where they live, who they live with).
Have students compare and contrast River and Meena in terms of personality and lifestyle (i.e. where they live, who they live with).
Electronic Resources:
This audio tape can be used as an introduction to the book. It will help generate interest and engage the students.
http://www.teachingbooks.net/book_reading.cgi?id=7794&a=1
This audio tape can be used as an introduction to the book. It will help generate interest and engage the students.
http://www.teachingbooks.net/book_reading.cgi?id=7794&a=1
This is a great lesson plan for teachers who are looking for discussion questions to prompts a discussion about the book.http://www.candlewick.com/book_files/0763656844.bdg.1.pdf
Students can complete sample questions of the citizenship test to see if they would pass. This would create a connection to the book.http://www.history.com/interactives/citizenship-quiz