Professional Resource: Mrs. Katz and Tush

Vivian Morris, Satomi Taylor, and Jeanne Wilson wrote an article called, "Using Children's Stories to Promote Peace in Classrooms". The tell how a teacher uses the book, "Mrs. Katz and Tush" to teach friendship and compassion skills to children in the classroom. She allows the children to make assumptions and stereotypes about Mrs. Katz and Larnel based on the cover alone. She then reads the story to them and lets them analyze the characters again. The teacher thought that the book could, "foster the children's understanding of diversity of race, religion and age, as well as friendship and mutual respect" (Morris et al 6). The article also describes how the teacher uses a Venn diagram to show the similarities and differences between Larnel and Mrs. Katz. The diagram showed that the two actually had a lot similar of key points in their lives. This type of lesson shows that not only do different races have something in common, but different ages, genders and cultures. Mrs. Katz and Larnel are from opposite sides of the spectrum but have come together and appreciated each other for their traditions and differences. This book could easily be used to transpire these notions of acceptance and embrace into elementary school students.

Citation:
Morris, Vivian. Taylor, Satomi. Wilson, Jeanne. Using Children's Stories to Promote Peace in Classrooms. 1 Nov. 2001. Early Childhood Education Journal. 2 Dec 2008.