When I heard that the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to its youngest recipient, I thought my students would be interested to read about a young person receiving this award. I wrote a (free) story that tells a little about the prize and one of this year's recipients, Malala Yousafzai. I tried to make the story as non-political as possible, focusing instead on the idea of peace and what we can do to make our world more peaceful. You can download the book for free at this link, and preview it below.
I am also using the WONDERFUL curriculum, Stress Free Kids, for teaching my students to use relaxation techniques and breathing to help them remain calm in situations where they feel frustrated or angry. We are on the lesson about using these techniques to manage angry feelings, and I plan on using the book to lead into this lesson. The book opens a discussion about things that we can do to help make the world more peaceful, and I plan to discuss the idea with students that "peace begins with you" and learning to manage your feelings in a peaceful way (finding peace within yourself) is the first step toward making your community and the world more peaceful.