Choosing Nonfiction Resources Critically

As I said in this post, choosing nonfiction (or any) resources critically is SO IMPORTANT, so here are some do’s and don’ts when looking for mentor texts or any type of media for students to consume.

• Look at publication dates.  In general, older (sometimes “classic”) books tend to have stereotypical portrayals of people of color and gender roles (and more). Also, sometimes “classic” books are viewed with nostalgia and problematic and/or factually incorrect depictions are excused by saying “it was a different time.”

  • Some examples: Little House on the Prairie, George and Martha (George dresses up as an “Indian”).  

  • We are not saying you cannot use these books, but be prepared to address the problematic images, language, or events.

• Avoid anything stereotypical, overly simplistic, or cartoonish (think of the Cleveland Indians logo).

• Look at IMAGES closely in the media. Does every African person look the same? Are they hanging out with animals or somehow depicted as less “modern” than white people? What messages are the images sending?

• Ask yourself these questions (as applicable):

  1. Who wrote this piece? (Even Encyclopedia Britannica articles can be used as examples of problematic language/bias). Use the resources list and look FIRST for own voices on the topic. 

  2. What is the time period? 

  3. Is the history accurate? How do I know? 

  4. How does the author/illustrator present gender?

  5. What does the author's word choice indicate?

  6. (Some of these questions are from Tips for Choosing Culturally Appropriate Books & Resources About Native Americans).

• Be mindful of the language used (by the resource and by you).

  1.  If you aren’t sure what language to use or what word is best when referring to a particular identity or community, do some research! Or present multiple options to students and make it clear that people choose how they like to be represented and how they want to be addressed or what they would like to be called. 

  2. Watch out for evasive language or euphemisms (for example, enslaved people went on a trip). 

  3. Be mindful of false equivalencies (my personal pet peeve when reading the news). 

  4. Look out for passive voice that is used to obscure the actor. For example, “African-Americas were attacked when they tried to register to vote” instead of “white people attacked African-Americans when they tried to register to vote.” 

  5. Read and listen closely for normalization or assuming that a dominant identity is the default. “It’s okay to be a different color” assumes that there is a default color, instead of saying that all or any colors are okay.

• Think about how the historical context is presented and if it is tied to the present at all. This is a little more abstract, but ask yourself, what message is this text sending (or potentially reinforcing) about the world today? For example, Native Americans are still here - they should not only be spoken of in past tense. Resistance movements should not be idealized as “fixing” the problem. Always watch out for white savior figures!

*These are general recommendations and guidelines to help frame your thinking as you choose new resources or look for mentor texts, not hard and fast rules. When in doubt, ask for help! There are so many wonderful book lists out there (we have complied so many so this blog is one place to start).

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April is National Poetry Month

Happy April or National Poetry Month! Poetry is something to infuse into your classroom (and life) everyday, but if you don’t have time to teach a standalone poetry unit, you can use it as a morning greeting, introduction to a topic or subject, or a way to share information. There are so many different types of poems. We don’t have a poetry unit as part of our 3rd grade curriculum, but we make sure to have plenty of poetry books in our classroom. I’ve learned that students who read one novel in verse often want to try others, so I always include them on my “teacher recommendations” shelf. Novels in verse also make wonderful read alouds, too. They sound beautiful when read aloud and are relatively quick reads.

Here are some ideas for teaching poetry that we shared in 2019. Many of these could be standalone lessons or part of a larger poetry unit.

In the past, Gabby read This is a Poem That Heals Fish by Jean-Pierre Siméon (translated from French) to our 3rd graders and asked them to write their own poem starting with, “A poem is..” as many characters in the book do. She played music while they were writing, and when the music stopped, students rotated to a different desk and continued that poem. The results were lovely, hilarious, and sometimes surprisingly dark (see the cover photo for an example). It was a fun activity that would work for an introduction to a poetry unit, National Poetry Month, and building collaboration or thinking about different writing voices. You can read more about the book and see some of the beautiful illustrations here.

Here are some other new (ish) books for National Poetry Month:

Kiyoshi's Walk by Mark Karlins is another beautiful resource for introducing poetry or thinking about where to find writing inspiration. A child asks his grandfather where poems come from, and his grandfather helps him find out by taking him on a walk around the city!

Unsettled by Reem Faruqi (yes, I can’t stop recommending books by Reem Faruqi!) is a must for the classroom. Nurah moves to Georgia, USA with her family from Pakistan and the novel follows the ups and downs of their big move. Nurah loves her family, swimming, and art. She’s thoughtful, determined, and brave, an excellent MC. Through her eyes we see the ups and downs of other characters’ lives too from colorism/xenophobia/racism, relationship physical abuse/ bullying, miscarriages, and mental health( depression, Alzheimer’s). All of these pieces are included in a way that felt both real enough, but still light enough for middle grade— which is a true feat in itself. (I’m quoting from Gabby’s Goodreads review as this book is still on my “to read” list!).

My Thoughts Are Clouds: Poems for Mindfulness by Georgia Heard is another book on my “to read” list, but it looks beautiful and very helpful for everything we are all managing in the classroom right now! 

Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know by Brittany Luby and illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley is a bilingual Anishinaabemowin and English book showing how a young girl and her grandmother know when a new season is starting. This book is also on my “to read” list, but seems like it has potential to be a wonderful mentor text. The author is of  Anishinaabe descent and the illustrator is of Ojibwe descent.

Samira Surfs by Rukhsanna Guidroz is another middle grade novel in verse on my “to read” list. Samira is a twelve-year-old girl who is a Rohingya refugee. She and her family had to flee their home and are now living in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Samira starts learning to surf, but has to overcome many obstacles to do so. The book includes an author’s note explaining the situation in Myanmar. I want to read it myself as it sounds like it has so much potential for a read aloud and something to recommend to my students. 

The Last Straw: Kids vs. Plastics by Susan Hood is yet another book I still want to read, but the excerpts I’ve seen include lovely nonfiction poems about kid activists fighting to protect the environment. Plus, the book includes a timeline, author’s note, further resources, and more to encourage students to keep learning. Seems like a great book for Earth Day or everyday.

Happy reading and writing!

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Book Review (and read-aloud plug): Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech is our read aloud for the last few months of the school year. Aside from being an incredibly captivating story with beautiful writing, it also fits perfectly with our curriculum as we are studying storytelling (and Sal, the main character, is telling a story) and American Indian studies (Sal has Indigenous ancestors and visits sacred Native sites). We also study Health & Wellness so the budding young romance is perfect for our class to experience as well. There are also many other relevant and significant issues skillfully woven into this story (mental illness and the related stigma, family dynamics, and gender equality, to name a few).

We have a bin full of books by Sharon Creech that we only bring out of the closet (with a lot of fanfare) when we start reading Walk Two Moons. Soon, the books are fought over (especially Absolutely Normal Chaos as it features a character from Walk Two Moons) and students are excitedly announcing book “shout outs” with lots of reminders from their classmates that spoilers are not allowed!

We use Walk Two Moons as a mentor text during Writing instruction, finding examples of how Sharon Creech communicates context without explicitly saying where, when something is taking place. We also find a lot of meaning, action, and character development and dialogue.

It is also a wonderful read aloud with lots of emotions! We felt happy, sad, cried, laughed, and more as we read it together. Many chapters end in cliff hangers, and students have ample opportunities to make predictions, connections, find meaning and theme and more. It’s also a reminder that not all stories have happy endings and events don’t always work out perfectly, and that’s life. But life is also beautiful, unexpected, and hilarious as well.

We always say we don’t have time to do a chapter book read aloud, but somehow we always find the time because reading aloud and experiencing a book together is so powerful. Even our reluctant readers would get excited when it was time for read aloud, and beg us to keep reading even if we were running out of time. We finished the book on the last day of school, which felt appropriately final and anticipatory. Many of us were teary after a sad part (teachers included, to the delight and amazement of our students), and some students had questions about what happened next (to which we replied, what do you think?), but it was best described by one of our students, who said (with a huge smile), “That was so good! And sad. But so good!”

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