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 | Reproductions of self-portraits (photocopied or printed from the Internet); posterboard.
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Self-Portrait Gallery
Designate a corner of the room to be the self-portrait gallery. Hang self-portraits by a variety of artists in that space. (See the Resources section at the end of the guide for images in recommended websites and books).
Create empty “frames” from pieces of 9”x12” posterboard, cutting out 8”x10” rectangles from the center of each sheet. Create one frame for each child in the classroom and hang the empty frames in the portrait gallery areas. Tell students that these are the spaces for their own masterpieces.
As your students create self-portraits of their own, add their work to the gallery.
Autobiography
Students identify the elements of an autobiography and understand what makes their own life stories unique.
45 min.
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whole class and pairs
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| Blackboard and chalk or flipchart and markers.
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If necessary, begin by introducing the class to the concept of an autobiography. Explain that it means a story you write (“graph”) about your life (“bio”) yourself (“auto”).
Ask the class to brainstorm a list of questions they think an autobiography should answer. Record the group's ideas on the blackboard or flipchart.
Divide the class into pairs. Ask the students to use the list of questions on the board to tell their own life stories to their partners. Let them know that they'll have to be brief; each narrator has only three minutes. After the first three minutes, let the pairs know that it's time to switch roles.
In a large group, have the students share their reactions to the exercise. Was it hard to tell their stories in such a brief amount of time? What parts of their lives seemed to be the most important?
Show the students a copy of Just Like Me. Tell them that it's a collection of artist's self-portraits and stories about their lives. Show them how short each piece of writing is. Tell the students that these stories are similar to the three-minute autobiographies they just told. Ask them to make predictions about the writing.
Self-Portraits
Students respond to and compare self-portraits by well-known artists of color.
30 min.
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large group
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CA Visual Arts Standard 4.0: Students analyze, assess, and derive meaning from works of art, according to the elements of art, principles of design, and aesthetic qualities.
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| Reproductions of “Self-Portrait with Monkey,” by Frida Kahlo, “Self-Portrait as a Heel, Part Two,” by Jean Michel Basquiat, and “Self-Portrait,” by Jacob Lawrence (see Resources section for websites with these images); blackboard and chalk or flipchart and markers.
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Show the students the self-portraits, one at a time. Ask them to brainstorm words that each image inspires. Explain that these words should respond to the art: How does the art make them feel? What does it make them think about? How would they describe the style of the picture? List the words they brainstorm on your flipchart or blackboard.
Once you have repeated the exercise with all three images, compare the lists. What do they have in common? How are they different? Students may suggest, for example, that while both the Kahlo portrait and the Lawrence portrait are calm, one seems happy and one seems sad.
Using the students' comments as a springboard, guide the students into a discussion about different ways that artists communicate their ideas and feelings. What kinds of colors might they use to show an emotion? How did the colors in the portraits affect the students? Why were the three lists different?
Diving In
20 min.
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large or small group
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Introduce the book to students in a large or small group. The focus of this first reading should be reading for pleasure – encouraging students to enjoy the beauty of the book and the story it tells. In order to foster this enjoyment, try some of the following activities:
 | Discuss the cover, the title, and the illustrations. Look at the structure of the book, how it is set up in two-page spreads made up of self-portraits and personal statements. Ask students what they think the book is about. What do they think will be more important, the words or the images? List these predictions and ask students to check them after the reading is complete.
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| Read sections aloud to the group, or have students read the book on their own, in pairs, or in small groups.
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| Encourage students to further explore the book actively by finding their favorite picture and reading the story next to it. Ask them to compare favorites and discuss why they chose the piece they did.
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Words of Art
Students learn words they can use in their descriptions of and responses to visual art.
20 min.
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whole class
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CA Visual Arts Standard 1.0: Students perceive and respond to works of art. They use the vocabulary of the visual arts to express their observations.
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| Flipchart or butcher paper and markers
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Ask students to look carefully at the self-portrait by Daryl Wells on page 25 of Just Like Me. Talk with them about the differences between the four pictures. How can they express what makes each picture distinct? If students struggle for words, read Daryl's statement on page 24 with the class. Explain to the students that the material an artist uses is called a “medium.”
Start a list on the board of different kinds of media. Begin with those that Wells uses: oil paints, watercolors, colored pencils, colored inks, oil pastels. Ask students to add more types of media that they are familiar with (e.g., crayons, clay, pencil drawings, pen and ink).
Explain to students that art has its own vocabulary. In the same way that special words are used to talk about math, there are special words for art. The list of media offers examples of this vocabulary.
Tell students that color is very important in talking about art. It's important to use words that communicate specifically what colors are. For example, to describe red, you can use the words crimson or scarlet or blood-red or cherry-red. Start a list titled color next to your list of media, and ask students to brainstorm good color words.
Another important type of art vocabulary describes its subject. Explain to the students that subject refers to what the art is depicting. Some common subject words include: portraits, still lifes, landscapes, and abstract works. Make a subject list next to your other lists.
Post these lists in your classroom for students to reference as they discuss the art in Just Like Me. As you use new words, add them to the lists.
20 min.
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individual
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CA Reading Standard 2.0: Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. They draw upon a variety of comprehension strategies as needed (e.g., generating and responding to essential questions, making predictions, comparing information from several sources).
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| butcher or chart paper; magic markers
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Ask students to pick one artist from the book, using either the artwork or the writing as the criterion for their choice.
Show students the handout with the Venn diagram. Explain that the diagram is a way to compare two different things. Venn diagrams demonstrate which qualities are unique and which are shared in common between the two things you are comparing. 
Have the students carefully read their chosen artist's statement and look closely at the self-portrait. Ask them to complete a Venn diagram that compares the artist to themselves. Remind them to use clues from both the words and the pictures as they make comparisons.
Images and Words
Students analyze the self-portraits and artists' statements and share their insights with the rest of the class.
40 min.
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small group
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CA Reading Standard 3.0: Students read and respond to a wide variety of significant works of children's literature. They distinguish between the structural features of the text and literary terms or elements (e.g., theme, plot, setting, and characters).
CA Visual Arts Standard 4.0: Students analyze, assess, and derive meaning from works of art.
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Divide the class into reading groups of four students each. Assign or let each group choose several focus artists, in a way that divides the book evenly among the groups.
Tell the groups that it will be their job to be the expert on their assigned artists. As a group, they will look carefully at each self-portrait and read each artist's statement. How do the two go together? What do the images and words make them think and feel? What do they think the artist wants them to know about him- or herself? Does the artist tell them these things directly, or are these things they have to search to find? What's the most important thing to remember about this artist? Would they like to hang this picture in their house? Why or why not?
Let the groups know that they'll be sharing their conclusions with the rest of the class. Make sure they assign a note-taker and a reporter for the discussion of each artist. If there are differences of opinion, encourage the group to explain them.
Bring the class back together. Ask each group of experts to present their artists and their conclusions to the whole class.
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