Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for The Proudest Blue

Use The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad to strengthen your students' comprehension skills, build their vocabulary, and help them understand how words work.

The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family by Olympic medalist, Ibtihaj Humammad, combines the excitement of the first day of school, the strength of sisterhood, and the importance of embracing who you are. It serves as a gorgeous beginning of the school year read for any upper-grade elementary classroom or home. The resource packet includes grade appropriate lessons about identifying the author's purpose, making connections and inferences, retelling and summarizing, and synthesizing. Additionally, the resource packet contains a lesson focusing on reading, spelling, and defining the meanings of compound words.

Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with The Proudest Blue in the drop down below.

The first page of Asking Questions with A Bad Case of Stripes

Identifying the Author's Purpose with The Proudest Blue

In The Proudest Blue, the author, Ibtihaj Muhammad, tells a story about two sisters, Faizah and Asiya. On the first day of school, Asiya wears her new blue hijab for the first time. Faizah, her younger sister, admires how beautiful and strong her sister looks. Students will think deeply about the author's purpose in this lesson by noticing the descriptive language, mother's words of wisdom, and the illustrations.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.3.2,RL.3.4,RL.3.6,RL.3.10,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7E,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.10F,3.10D,3.10C,3.10B,3.10A,3.8C,3.7G,3.7F,3.1A,3.7D,3.7C,3.7B,3.7A,3.6I,3.6B,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Making Connections with The Proudest Blue

The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad offers many opportunities for students to make connections to deepen their understanding of the story. This lesson plan prompts students to notice the character's emotions and times they have been in similar situations. The lesson also asks students to make connections to the world around them.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.3.1,RL.3.3,RL.3.10,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7C,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.8C,3.7G,3.7F,3.7E,3.7D,3.1A,3.7B,3.7A,3.6I,3.6E,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Making Inferences with The Proudest Blue

The Proudest Blue provides many opportunities for readers to make inferences. In this lesson, students will practice making inferences about characters' emotions, motivations, and how characters change throughout the story. Students will also reflect on how making inferences helps them understand the characters and the story on a deeper level.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.3.1,RL.3.4,RL.3.7,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7B,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.8C,3.7G,3.7F,3.7E,3.7D,3.7C,3.1A,3.7A,3.6I,3.6F,3.6B,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Retelling and Summarizing with The Proudest Blue

In this lesson about The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad, students will have many opportunities to practice retelling and summarizing the text at key points in the story. They will also be prompted to reflect on the importance of retelling to understand the story's message and meaning.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.3.1,RL.3.2,RL.3.4,RL.3.7,RL.3.10,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7D,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.8D,3.8C,3.8B,3.7G,3.7F,3.7E,3.1A,3.7C,3.7B,3.6I,3.6G,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Synthesizing with The Proudest Blue

In this lesson, students will practice the strategy of synthesizing by tracking the events and characters' journeys in The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad. The rhythmic structure of the text allows students to follow the story easily and analyze what's happened at key points in the book. By the end of the story, students will glean the deeper meaning of the story through synthesizing.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.3.1,RL.3.2,RL.3.3,RL.3.4,RL.3.5,RL.3.6,RL.3.7,RL.3.10,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1c,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7C,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.8D,3.8C,3.7G,3.7F,3.7E,3.7D,3.1A,3.7B,3.6I,3.6H,3.6G,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Compound Words with The Proudest Blue

This word work lesson plan and set of teaching resources use The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad as a springboard for instruction focused on compound words.

By anchoring word study to the text, students will benefit from seeing how compound words are used inside of the text before engaging in both guided and independent practice with words.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
RF.3.3
TEKS Alignment
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Vocabulary Connections with The Proudest Blue

This set of vocabulary development resources for The Proudest Blue highlights the words that are most important for students to know and understand while reading the book. Through engaging in fun word games, matching words to definitions and pictures, and practicing how to categorize words, students will develop the vocabulary necessary to comprehend this story and many others.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
L.3.4a,L.3.5b,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7E,3.7F,3.3A,3.3B
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Comprehension Assessment with The Proudest Blue

Use this Common Core aligned comprehension assessment to evaluate students' comprehension of The Proudest Blue.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment
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Running Record with The Proudest Blue

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with The Proudest Blue. Track meaning, structure, and visual accuracy using the first 100 words of the text to determine whether or not this book is a good fit for the readers in your classroom.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment
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Cause and Effect Sentence Stems with The Proudest Blue

Understanding cause and effect is a key comprehension and language skill. The text structure of The Proudest Blue includes several examples of cause and effect relationships, making it easy to use as a springboard for modeling or independent practice.

This simple resource includes four sentence stems. Each sentence stem presents an effect. Students will use what they know about the book to fill in the cause of the effect.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment
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Cause and Effect Matching with The Proudest Blue

Read The Proudest Blue then have some fun matching cause and effect sentences from the book. By using these cause and effect cards, students will demonstrate both their comprehension of the text and their understanding of cause and effect relationships in a hands-on and interactive way.

This resource includes matching/sorting cards and a sorting mat for four cause and effect sentences in The Proudest Blue. Each cause card is marked with a square and each effect card is marked with a circle, making it easy to support students who struggle with matching cause and effect relationships.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment
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Writing with The Proudest Blue

The BookPagez extension activities are a great way to push student engagement beyond the pages of the text. Try using this activity with early finishers, with students who show a deeper connection with the text, or as a center activity.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Identifying the Author's Purpose with The Proudest Blue (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer

Making Connections with The Proudest Blue (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer

Making Inferences with The Proudest Blue (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer

Retelling and Summarizing with The Proudest Blue (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer

Synthesizing with The Proudest Blue (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer

Writing with The Proudest Blue (Spanish)

Worksheet

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About the Book

The cover for the book The Proudest Blue
Title: The Proudest Blue
Author: Ibtihaj Muhammad
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Themes: Social Awareness, Self Management, Family, Cultural Diversity, Bullying, Back to School
ISBN: 9781783449729
Publisher's Summary:
Faizah is excited for a new school year, but this first day is extra special: her older sister Asiya is wearing her hijab to school for the very first time. Asiya's hijab is a brilliant, proud blue—shimmering like the ocean and the sky—filling Faizah with admiration and awe for her big sister. However, the sisters soon encounter stares and unkind words from classmates who don't understand the meaning or beauty behind Asiya's hijab. Guided by the caring wisdom of their mother, and inspired by Asiya's quiet courage and dignity, Faizah learns what it means to stand tall in the face of prejudice and to celebrate her family's traditions with pride.

Written by Olympic medalist Ibtihaj Muhammad and co-author S.K. Ali, and brought to life with Hatem Aly's vibrant illustrations, The Proudest Blue is a moving picture book about the bond between siblings, the richness of Muslim identity, and the strength found in being yourself. This story offers an accessible introduction to hijab and its significance, while fostering empathy and respect for diversity. Ideal for classroom read-alouds and discussions about identity, resilience, and inclusion, The Proudest Blue is a valuable resource for teachers seeking to support representation and foster respect in their classrooms.
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