In Be Proud by Olivia Xu, Mei Ling, a young girl who has recently moved from Beijing to New Zealand, struggles to fit in at her new school. Feeling different because of her appearance, language, and culture, she initially wishes she could change parts of herself to be more “normal.” With the gentle guidance of her grandmother, Mei Ling learns to embrace her Chinese identity and share her culture with confidence. By explaining traditions, offering her classmates dumplings, and drawing on her martial arts training during cricket, she discovers that being proud of who she is earns respect and friendship. The story celebrates cultural identity, resilience, and the importance of staying true to yourself.

This pack contains wide range of response activities including:

• A guided reading plan exploring key literacy elements including inference and deduction, language use, making connection and text organisation, along with key questioning to promote emotional intelligence, metacognition and compassionate inquiry. 
• An independent learning contract complete with explainer videos for activity clarity
  

Curriculum Phase: Phase 2

English: Reading for meaning and critical thinking; analysing author voice and perspective; exploring descriptive language and personal recount structure.

Health and Physical Education: Wellbeing, resilience, emotional regulation, identity, and building self-confidence.

Social Sciences: Identity and belonging in contemporary Aotearoa; personal stories within social contexts; inclusion and cultural diversity.

Values Education: Exploring respect, empathy, inclusion, and understanding difference.

Text type: Fictional narrative, personal recount style, contemporary realistic fiction, culturally responsive storytelling.

Key words include: identity, belonging, migration, culture, pride, resilience, school, relationships, whānau, inclusion, confidence, diversity, self-acceptance