All Are Welcome
Apply in the Classroom
Start the school year off right when you welcome students and families with books and reading fun! When you share All Are Welcome, you deliver the important message that school is the place where every child is welcome. Follow the example in this book and host a community-building, back-to-school event that opens opportunities for talking about diversity, how we can learn from each other, and how we can have fun together even if we are different. Include a reading aloud of All Are Welcome at a back-to-school potluck picnic along with:
- students and parents making welcome banners to decorate your school
- a photo booth with props that say “welcome” in all the major languages spoken in your community
- an opportunity for families to sign up for a public library card.
Questions for Discussion or Reflective Writing
What does it mean to feel welcome?
What are some ways you can welcome students to your classroom, school, and community?
What is one thing you can do every day to be welcoming?
Have you ever felt like you weren’t included in something? How did that make you feel?
Tell about a time when you saw someone being welcoming to someone else.
Related Teaching Resources
Brightly Storytime video read aloud of All Are Welcome
Lee & Low: The Right Read Aloud for the Classroom Community You Want This Year
How to Create a Welcoming Classroom Environment for ELLs from Colorin Colorado
Creating Safe and Welcoming Schools For All Children & Families
More Titles to Try
I’m New Here by Anne Sibley O’Brien
Someone New by Anne Sibley O’Brien
School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins
Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
More