Submitted by Zohara Barzilai - zoharabr@yifat.org.il

Work in pairs for two English lessons - for the first of the year (Grades 8 & 9)

1. Read the poem silently and follow the instructions:

No difference / Shel Silverstein Small as a peanut Big as a giant, We're all the same size When we turn off the light. Red black or orange, Yellow or white We all look the same When we turn off the light. So maybe the way To make everything right Is for God to just reach out And turn off the light!

2. Open New Word document, copy the poem and answer in short:

• Why are colors mentioned in the song?
• Why has the poet used these specific colors?

3. Enter the following site:
http://www.freedomphoto.bc.ca/nodiff/nodiffront.shtm

• What is the paragraph above talking about?
• How is it related to the poem?
• Choose one line you liked the most and copy it to your document
• Copy the poem to your document except the last 4 lines. Add your own ending and give it a new name.

4. Visit the photograph site:
http://www.altavista.com/cgibin/query?pg=q&imgset=1&stype=simage&q=black+and+white+children&ipht=1&igrph=1&iclr=1&ibw=1&mmW=1&micat=0

• Choose 2 matched photos and copy them into your new poem.
• Why did you choose these photos?

5. Answer the following questions and be prepared for discussion In class:

• What do you think about, when you hear the word "different"?
• What does the writer want to teach us?
• What does the writer suggest to make us respect others?
• What do you suggest?

6. Read the song Black or White by Michael Jackson.
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Lounge/2129/bow.html

• How is it related to the theme of our poem: No difference
• Choose one line that matches best the "No difference" theme and copy it to your Word Document.

7. Heal the world is another song of Michael Jackson.
Listen to the song here:
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Lounge/2129/HTW.html

Read the words here: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Lounge/2129/mjsounds.html

• Find one line from the song "Heal the World" that seems most related to your new poem and copy it to your Word Document.

8. Group Activity
(Remark for the teacher - Divide the class to 3 groups:

• dark skin (Indians)
• white skin (Italians)
• yellow skin (Chinese)

Find information about your skin group's food in the following site:
http://www2.actden.com/writ_den/f02/brief.htm

• Copy the chart to your document.
• Find more information in the Internet about your skin color's customs and culture.

(Remark for the teacher - Regroup the class again with representatives from each previous group in the new groups)

• Present your findings for activity 8 to your new group.

9. Save your personal document in your own directory.