Yo Soy Muslim: A Father’s

Letter to His Daughter

Sabrina Osman and Addison Schmidt

Summary
● The author Mark Gonzales and illustrated Mehrdokht Amini of Yo Soy Muslim
dives into a story of a young girl finding her identity in the world. Her father
shares to be brave and proud of who she represents. There will be times, where
people will not understand and question your identity. This is when to
intervened and let the people around you hear who you are, “Yo soy Muslim. I
am from Allah, angels, and a place almost as old as time. I speak Spanish, Arabic,
and dreams” (Gonzales, 2017, p.13-14). It doesn’t matter what others may think
because we are who we are in this world. The young girl’s father reminds her to
be conscious when God speaks and to smile, dance, pray, everyday that she is
“Yo soy Muslim” (Gonzales, 2017, p.26).
Anti-Discrimination
Lesson Objectives

● SWBAT… understand the difference between discrimination and acceptance.

● SWBAT… list what they can do to not discriminate and accept everyone.

Social Justice Standards

● DI.K-2.6: I like being around people who are like me and different from me, and I can be friendly to
everyone.
● DI.K-2.9 I: I know everyone has feelings, and I want to get along with people who are similar to and
different from me.
● JU.K-2.11: I know my friends have many identities, but they are always still just themselves.
● AC.K-2.19: I will speak up or do something if people are being unfair, even if my friends do not.
ELA Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1: With prompting and support, ask and answer

questions about key details in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with

diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in
small and larger groups.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.5: Add drawings or other visual displays to

descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.
Math Standards
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4: Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect
counting to cardinality.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4.A: When counting objects, say the number names in the standard order,
pairing each object with one and only one number name and each number name with one and only one
object.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4.B: Understand that the last number name said tells the number of
objects counted. The number of objects is the same regardless of their arrangement or the order in
which they were counted.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.5: Count to answer "how many?" questions about as many as 20 things

arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration;
given a number from 1-20, count out that many objects.
Assessment of Student Learning

Acceptance Worksheet

● Students will be ask to draw a picture of how they can be accept others in and
out of the classroom.
Empowering Students
● Our action/ hope for the lesson is that students are accepting of each other, no
matter what differences everyone has.
● We will be able to help students towards social justice by introducing a book of
a young girl that is Muslim and is proud of who she represents.
● The story shows empathy for students who are different and that it’s okay to
embrace our authentic self.
● There will be times where others may point or whisper, but don’t let it get you
down. Sometimes people in the world may not know they are being rude or
mean and it can be an opportunity to show them who you are.
● Students should be able to know what discrimination looks like and to be able to
tell an adult when it does happen at school or outside of school.
Classroom Observation

● There is a classroom rug centered around a smartboard for students to look at.
● Students in the classroom vary in what assistance they need. For example, there
are students who will need an adult/para next to them to rephrase what the
teacher is explaining for a class activity.
● Students range from autism, sensory issues, and communication disorder.
● This information will help us for our 1 hour lesson by making sure students that
need a para or an adult will be next to them during the lesson and to place
students closer to the book to see the pictures in it.
Lesson Plan
Introduction: We will go over the goals of the lesson at the carpet

Introduce the lesson topic: Sometime people can be mean or hurtful to other because how how they look or what they believe in. People might not
know that what they are doing or saying can be hurtful to others. Today, we are going to talk about discrimination and what we can do to accept
everyone and make them feel loved.

Introduce the Vocabulary Words: Discrimination and Acceptance

-We will define the vocabulary words while giving examples that students can relate to
-We will then ask students “is it okay to discriminate?” and “why should we accept others?”

Read Aloud: We will then transition to reading Yo Soy Muslim

-Through out the book we will be defining words that they might not understand while asking them questions
-Are these people discriminating against our main character or are they accepting her?
-Are the dad and daughter discriminating against or accepting each other?

Brainstorm: As a class we will brainstorm how we can be accepting of others while reminding student we want to make sure we accept
everyone in the world no matter their skin color, if they are a girl or boy, or what their religion is.

Assessment: Acceptance Worksheet

-Students will be ask to draw a picture of how they can be accept others in and out of the classroom
 Works Cited

● Gonzales, M. (2017). Yo soy Muslim (1st ed.). New York, NY: Salaam Read/Simon and
Schuster Books for Young Readers.
● “Yo soy Muslim”: A k-2 anti-discrimination lesson plan. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Yo-Soy-Muslim-A-K-2-Anti-Discrimination-Lesson-Plan-4461
871.