Diversity and unity all at the same time

Students at Pakanasink Elementary are working on a No Place for Hate activity with library specialist Aubrey Zamonsky. Ms. Zamonsky went over with students in each grade the things we see about each other just from looking and the things we can’t see but get to know over time. What we see is just the tip of the iceberg, she said. There is so much more to everyone beneath the surface.

A teacher with long blonde hair stands at a projected image on a screen, which is an iceberg showing what is seen above the water and what's under the water.

The students listened to Ms. Zamonsky read “Our Skin,” a first conversation about race. She explained that we can’t tell what someone is like just from the outside.

A table with three fourth-grade girls working at it. they are coloring and writing on a picture.

The students also watched a video of author Jacqueline Woodson reading her book “The Day You Begin.” That book encourages kids to be who they are. We are all different and we shouldn’t compare ourselves to others.

All students in grades 3-5 then colored a cut-out of themselves, listing on one half their external traits and, more importantly, on the other half listing their internal traits, the things about themselves known only to people who really know them – their personalities, talents, the foods they like and the interests they have. They realized they have so much in common with their classmates!

Two fourth-grade boys work at a table, coloring and writing on paper.

The students in grades kindergarten through two each decorated a cutout of a hand that will be posted in the hallway on the world mural.

A teacher with long blonde hair, wearing a blue and gold shirt, points to a student to answer a questions. There are tables in front of her with fourth-grade students at them.