Notable Trade Book Lesson Plan The Colors of Us Written by Karen Katz and Illustrated by Henry Holt

This lesson should be used with students in grades pre-K-2 as they develop an understanding of cultural diversity. This lesson involves students making comparisons between their skin tones and comparisons of skin tones to those of different foods found in their everyday environment. The book is a starting point for these comparisons as it displays bright images through an artist’s perspective. The book includes fictional characters from several nations that have different colors of skin as Lena and her mother notice on their walk around the neighborhood. Students also will make comparisons between their skin color and the skin color of the characters from the book. The lesson further includes students identifying their own skin tone through the mixing of paints and digital photo use.