With Our Orange Hearts
Book Summary:
With Our Orange Hearts explains the meaning of Orange Shirt Day and why people wear orange to honor Indigenous children who were forced to attend residential schools. The book connects past injustices to present-day acts of remembrance and healing. It emphasizes collective responsibility, respect, and reconciliation. With its light text and less detailed storyline, it is especially appropriate for the youngest learners.
Recommended Questions:
Why do people wear orange shirts, and what does that show about their values?
How does remembering the past help communities today?
How the community in the book working together towards healing?
Why do you think sharing her story of her orange shirt and how it made her feel helped Phyllis heal?
Read the inside cover of the book to learn more about the history of orange shirt day. Create a proposal explaining why your class wants to invite your school to participate in orange shirt day.
***Teachers may want to learn more about Orange Shirt Day to build stronger background knowledge before reading this book. Additional educator resources and materials are available at: https://orangeshirtday.org/
NCSS Theme 10: Civic Ideals and Practices
This book highlights how communities remember history and take collective action to promote justice. Wearing orange is presented as a civic act that honors truth and supports reconciliation. Students learn that civic participation includes remembering, acknowledging harm, and working toward change.
Social Justice Anchor Standard 17: Responsibility to stand up to injustice
The book demonstrates civic involvement by showing how individuals and communities participate in Orange Shirt Day. Wearing orange shirts allows students to see themselves as part of a community that remembers and acts together, showing how collective action can promote awareness, reconciliation and justice. The book fosters a sense of shared responsibility.
WA Civics 4: Understands civic involvement
The book shows how individuals and communities participate in Orange Shirt Day. Students learn that civic action can include symbolic acts that raise awareness and honor others. The story reinforces that participation in civic life helps build more just and inclusive communities.
