ABSTRACT
“Why am I me?” may be the most profound question we ask ourselves throughout our entire lives. It’s also the eponymous question in Paige Britt’s picture book collaboration with illustrators Sean Qualls and Selina Alko. In this spare, yet illuminating book, two children see each other on a train and wonder to themselves: “Why am I me. and not you? Why are you, you. and not me?” The thinking strategy I see, I think, I wonder has incredible versatility and is a way for students to express their noticings and wonderings about illustrations, other images, multimedia, and print text. It’s also a way for students to start noticing and wondering to ask bigger questions where there is no singular or certain answer about who we are, where we’re from, and why we are here. Use this lesson as a pathway to continued conversations about identity, community, and humanity throughout the year.
