Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Happy May! Teachers (and students!), you are so close to the end of the school year.

Before the school year ends, it is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! This year, more than ever, it is important to uplift and share AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) voices as we are facing a huge increase in hate crimes and anti-Asian sentiment. The Library of Congress hosts this site with lots of teacher resources, both historical and current. Another helpful resource is Standing Together from the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center which addresses the need to stand together against rising racism, hate, and violence. This site also provides facts and resources.

Newsela has a lot of articles and text sets that would work for AAPI Heritage Month depending on what you want to focus on. Also, make sure you look at a map! It’s always helpful to talk about what “Asian” actually means, learn about the different regions in Asia, and think about population, religion, languages, food (my personal favorite) and more. I often find students are confused about terminology and appreciate the clarification. For example, I share how I identify (American, Asian American, Indian American, South Asian American, etc.) and how these terms all work for me and they are just more or less specific. We look at different maps to make sure we understand exactly what these terms mean, and I explain my preferences and emphasize that how I chose to identify is unique to me, and you should always ask or let people share with you before you assume. 

Last year,  Gabby shared this post with some book suggestions for everyone from babies to adults. Here are a few more (new-ish) books that I couldn’t resist sharing that would work for so many purposes. There are so many wonderful books out there, but I challenge you to make sure your AAPI protagonists aren’t all immigrants or focusing on their immigration experience. 

Picture books:

Bilal Cooks Dal (cover photo) by Aisha Saeed and Anoosha Syed (illustrator): this one isn’t that new (from 2019), but it is such a wonderful book on multiple levels! First of all, it is very important that everyone knows about dal, it’s eaten by over a billion people and is delicious and so versatile. Also, I love this relatable story about a child who wants to share his favorite food with his friends (and is confused that they don’t already know about it and later scared that they might not like it). And there is a recipe at the back of the book! 

What I Am by Divya Srinivasan is a thoughtful and colorful response from a young girl to someone asking her “What are you?” Those of us who’ve gotten that question before and those of us who might have asked someone that question (and just all of us) could benefit from reading about her answers. This would be a great book to start a discussion or exploration about the complex facets of identify and how we can all adapt and change in varied settings.

Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Yas Imamura (illustrator). This new release is on my “to read” list. It’s based on a true story about love blooming in the library at the Minidoka prison camp during World War II (where Americans of Japanese descent where incarcerated). 

Drawn Together: also not that new, but such a gorgeous book! I’ve been waiting to read this book for Grandparents and Special Friends Day at our school for years now, but it keeps being canceled due to the pandemic. But you can use this book in so many ways, the theme of togetherness is not limited to language barriers and students really relate to the drawings and the idea of using your imagination. 

Middle Grade/Young Adult:

Finding Junie Kim by Ellen Oh: while there is so much to admire in this book, I loved the element of students fighting back against racism with actions and organization. Parts of the story are dark (mental health struggles, the protagonist learns about her grandparents’ experiences during the Korean War), but it fits with the current times in an honest, realistic, but still hopeful way. Also, it tells an immigration story, but is really a story about someone who is a third generation American, but not always perceived that way, which is an important distinction to share with students.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo: set in 1950’s San Francisco, I learned so much from reading this! And couldn't put it down. While this is historical fiction, the injustices in the book really happened. Chinatown is a legacy of days when Chinese and Chinese-American people were not welcome in any other neighborhoods. The “Red Scare” and the discrimination and intimidation that went along with it did involve threats of deportation and taking away citizenship. This is all the backdrop to Lily, the main character, coming of age, grappling with her identities and opposing loyalties, and discovering lesbian culture in San Franciso

Almost American Girl by Robin Ha: this is a fun memoir graphic novel that I read in one day. It is an immigration story, also touches on gender norms and expectations in different cultures. 

Adult:

The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh: I read this book as an eARC from NetGalley and LOVED it. From my review: There is an amazing cast of characters and we hear from all of them. The shifting narrative is really well done as each character has their own voice which is impressive as there are so many characters. Also, so many funny/relatable moments. I'm not Vietnamese-American, but as the child of immigrants, so many details rang true for me. And I loved all the descriptions of food. There was nothing predictable about this story, but so many things to enjoy: a curse, fortune tellers, lots of family and relationship drama, and other surprises I won't mention because of spoilers. Some of the family reunion scenes made me laugh out loud. 

The Verifiers: this is on my “to read” list and has so many things going for it: identity, family expectations, detective agency, potential romance, and a technology twist with a Chinese-American queer protagonist.

Happy Reading and almost summer!

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Earth Day Read Alouds

April is flying by, which means it is almost Earth Day! I’m a proponent of including conservation and environmental responsibility in our learning as naturally as possible (shout out to the Science teachers at my school who do some amazing work with students covering water testing, erosion, soil analysis, invasive plants, and more). However, it’s always worth acknowledging Earth Day and joining in the celebration. We wrote a post last year with some  Earth Day picture book favorites, and here are a few more options for this year.

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney: I’ve had this book since I was a child and now have a t-shirt to match! It’s worth a read for the gorgeous illustrations alone and is also a great goal setting/resolutions read too. However, make sure you address the “Indians” her grandfather was carving to put in front of cigar shops. It’s a stereotypical image of American Indians. There is such little representation of American Indians in children’s literature so we don’t want to reinforce a stereotype with one of the few images students might see. You can read more from Debbie Reese on her invaluable blog, American Indians in Children’s Literature, here.

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown: I met Peter Brown at an author visit at Books Are Magic and have visited the High Line (in NYC) which is the inspiration for the book. Those are both fun anecdotes to share with students, but really this book is such a great read for so many reasons! It appeals to city kids in particular as many Earth Day books do not take place in urban settings. I’ve used it for so many purposes and students love finding Liam, the gardener and main character, on each page. 

Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay by Susan Hood and Sally Wern Comport: this is a true story! While this book is on my “to read” list, I love the opportunity to learn about Paraguay and find it on a map, as well as think about socio-economic concerns and how not everyone can afford to take music lessons on top of the clear environmental message of recycling and turning trash into treasures.

One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia by Miranda Paul and Elizabeth Zunon. Another true story that is still on my “to read” list, this book shares the story of Isatou Ceesay in Njau, Gambia. She fought against the idea that young women can’t be leaders and created an amazing movement focused around reusing plastic bags to benefit her community. 

Rebel Girls Climate Warriors: 25 Tales of Women Who Protect the Earth by Rebel Girls. Another Rebel Girls series, this one focuses on sharing stories of women all over the world fighting for climate justice.

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. (I included this as well as the next book in our National Poetry Month post as they work on both fronts!)

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 sense of being aware of the earth as well as grateful for the changes each season bring make this a lovely Earth Day read aloud. The author is of  Anishinaabe descent and the illustrator is of Ojibwe descent.

A New Green Day by Antoinette Portis is a book full of nature riddles! Gabby recommended it as something fun and a great potential mentor text.

If You Come to Earth by Sophie Blackall is a gorgeous book celebrating our planet and our shared humanity. Perfect for Earth Day and for little ones, it reminds us to take care of each other and our planet.

Happy Earth Day!

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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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Learning & Teaching about Ramadan

It is hard to believe, but Friday is April 1st (get ready for April Fool’s Day!) and Saturday is the beginning of Ramadan! Of course, it depends on the sighting of the new moon, but it seems likely that will occur on Saturday, April 2nd.

Even if you think you don’t have any students who observe Ramadan, it is still something to teach and learn about as over two billion people participate all over the world! Also, you don’t always know how people identify or who they might have in their life. At my current school, I’ve had one student who shared with me that they were Muslim and appreciated when I shared a book with the class that felt relevant for them (which of course happened before Ramadan because we learn about the world and everyone who lives in it every single day). 

When I taught in New York City, many of my students followed Islam and often had to miss school for Eid or other important holidays which I know sometimes felt stressful for them. However, after I moved on, New York Public Schools added both Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr to the school holidays list. Later, Lunar New Year was added as well. It’s great to see a public school system respecting the holidays that many of their students celebrate, but in my experience, this is unusual, even in districts with large numbers of families that observe Ramadan or celebrate Lunar New Year. Hopefully this will continue to change!

I always start by asking my students what they know about Ramadan and going from there. It’s important to dispel the myth that Ramadan is something that only happens in other countries as many Americans observe Ramadan as well. As always, it’s a good time to look at a map! This interactive map shows the Muslim population by country and students love interacting with it. I also found this graphic showing the different fasting hours based on location interesting and very clear. It’s also another opportunity to practice our map skills! My next step would be to have students read something to learn more information (or multiple things) and my go to is always a read aloud followed by a Newsela article. Providing a bin of books for students to continue learning more on their own is always helpful as well. Brainpop also has a movie about Ramadan, which is a good way for students to build some background knowledge before moving on to learn more on their own.

Resources to Highlight and Bookmark:

• I found this letter for educators from Dr. Sawsan Jaber, a high school English teacher in Illinois, very helpful and informative. It includes some great resources. Please read it and share it. 

• I also discovered a great new blog: Notes from an Islamic School Librarian. There are so many wonderful book recommendations! Again, please read and share. Remember that everyday is a good day to read books with varied representations. 

Books!

A Party in Ramadan by Asma Mobin-Uddin: I have this one in my classroom! The characters are very relatable and students often find both windows and mirrors in this story as they have friends who follow different traditions. The book includes an author’s note at the end that shares more information about Ramandan.

Rashad's Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr by Lisa Bullard: I haven’t had the pleasure of reading this book yet, but it comes highly recommended and has a glossary and information boxes sprinkled throughout for more learning. It also seems to be appropriate for younger learners (K-2).

All books by Rukshana Khan! I have to give Big Red Lollipop a shout out as we used it as a mentor text when writing our own stories, but also because my students connected with it on so many levels. They had so much to say and didn’t require any questions or prompts to think deeply about the characters and text. Her books are beautifully written and illustrated and while many of the characters are Muslim, their stories are bigger than a sole focus on identity..

A Sari for Ammi by Mamta Nainy: this book is full of bright, gorgeous illustrations and saris. It always makes me happy to see saris in a book because I remember both of my grandmothers wearing them. I also appreciate how this story disrupts the single story about India and teaches us all about a mostly female and Muslim artisan community. The book includes a glossary and an information page about Kota Doria sari weaving in Kaithun, Rajasthan. There is a reference to Eid, but this book is not specifically about Ramadan.

Another author to check out is Reem Faruqi for both Lailah’s Lunchbox: a Ramadan Story  (cover photo) and Amira’s Picture Day. Both books address Ramadan directly and the main characters’ simultaneous excitement and trepidation about managing at school. They both include a glossary and address the challenge of a home/school balance when your classmates might not share many of your traditions or customs.

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Disability Awareness Month

Happy Spring! Before we move on to April, don’t forget that March is Disability Awareness Month. I also saw that both Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month and Students with Disabilities Awareness Month are in March as well. I recently discovered that March is National Noodle Month, too, so lots to cover this month. Disability Awareness Month has been celebrated since 1987, and like all awareness or heritage/history months, it really is just a reminder that disabilities are part of life and our teachings, materials, and classrooms should reflect that. So while we are close to the end of the month, the reminders and materials below are really for every single day. 

This year, I have been thinking a lot about people who are immunocompromised, at high risk for COVID and/or can’t safely get vaccinated and how mask mandates are ending and many people seem ready to move on. My child is not yet vaccinated and his daycare is closed today, again, because someone in the center has COVID. So while others are moving on (whatever that means), it is still real for us (even though this is, of course, only a minor inconvenience) and for so many other people. It really demonstrates who we value as a society. I won’t start talking about all of the related ageism because then this post will never end. 

Reminders for Disability Awareness Month:

• Disability should not be something you “study” once, but rather part of everyday life and teaching students about the world and everyone in it. We make choices with the people, books, videos, and language we use with students everyday. Some of those choices may be unconscious or mostly out of our realm (for example, materials you are provided with from the district etc), but they are still choices.

• Person first language vs. identity first language: the language we use often reflects our choices, attitudes, biases, and more. Different individuals and communities have different preferences. As much as you can, ask people how they like to be identified. I prefer person first language with children as I find it more humanizing and they do better with clarity instead of nuance, but there is no hard and fast rule.

• Representation matters. Make sure students see people with disabilities going about their lives through your guest speakers, media, books, and more. We invited a brilliant storyteller to our school to introduce our storytelling unit: Anne Thomas. She happened to use a wheelchair and it featured in her story. She also talked to the students about how strangers sometimes perceived her and then treated her as voiceless and only saw her wheelchair. Our students made connections to the stories she shared for months afterward. Children understand what it is like to be denied a voice or only seen a certain way. Anne visited us as an expert storyteller, not as someone with a disability to “teach” us about what it is like and we intentionally framed her visit this way. She shared an anecdote about how at restaurants, wait staff often ask someone else what she would like to eat or ignore her. It’s as if the wheelchair is all people see about her, to the point that they do not register when she is speaking. One aspect of her visit that was challenging was that our school is not wheelchair accessible. We talked to students openly about this and had to make alternate arrangements. They were frustrated we could not host Anne in our own classroom as it was on the second floor and felt that the lack of accessibility was unwelcoming.

• Make sure the books and media you share with students are humanizing stories and not ableist framing or representation. Think carefully about who is telling the story and if it is their story to tell. The Disability in Kidlit blog is a really great place to start and to find more books. I recently learned about this amazing database of young adult and middle grade books featuring disability representation. You can find it here: http://yadisabilitydatabase.com. Huge thanks to Julie (@StruckbyStories) for compiling it!

• Ask students (and yourself) to answer the question: What is a disability? You can look up a dictionary or legal definition or try something more creative or investigative. We asked our students and they worked in groups to come up with a list of disabilities and an overall definition. It led to some very interesting discussions and realizations. They had reflections on who and what skills or abilities we as a society value.

A Few Book Recommendations (but make sure you peruse the sites I shared above):

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper: this is such a good book! It is one of my favorite book club books and would also make a great read aloud. It’s consistently popular with students as an independent reading book. One student said this book changed the way he thought about disabilities. Also, as an added bonus, a sequel came out recently. It’s titled Out of My Heart. The main character, Melody, has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair and a communication device. 

The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin by Julia Finley Mosca. There is so much to learn from Dr. Grandin and this lovely picture book gets that process started. The book also includes a timeline which is such a great tool for young (but really all) learners.

King For a Day by Rukhsana Khan. I haven’t actually read this one, but it is on my list! It is set in Lahore and features a child who is determined to win a kite fighting battle during Basant, the festival of Spring. He also happens to be in a wheelchair, but the story is about his quest to become the King of Basant as a kite fighting champion and how he tries to defend another child from a bully along the way.

All the Way to the Top: How One Girl's Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything by Annette Bay Pimentel. This is a true story from Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins’s life (she is the author of the foreword to the book) and her activism in support of the Americans with Disabilities Act. My students loved it, especially the suspense and identified strongly with the injustice of being denied rights or access. The book includes a glossary and a timeline, which are always helpful tools.

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Deaf History Month

Happy (almost) spring! It definitely feels like spring here in DC, and with that, comes Deaf History Month! I actually had never heard of Deaf History Month (March 13- April 15) until very recently, so wanted to write and spread the word as well as share some ideas and resources. You can read more about the origins of Deaf History Month here. It dates back to 1997, with other holidays and recognition before that.

I’ve included some books below, but sadly, there weren’t as many as I had hoped. Also, it is important to make sure we are showing students how there are a wide variety of people who are Deaf, deaf, or hard of hearing. Make sure you understand the difference in terminology before talking about it with students. I found this resource from the NAD (National Association of the Deaf) very helpful. Another great resource and significant institution to teach students about is Gallaudet University which is right here in Washington DC! Gallaudet is the only university in the world that is a signing community. Many students and staff members speak English as well, but everyone signs or learns American Sign Language (ASL). 

I remember reading a chapter book as part of a series as a child and there was one character who was deaf. She was able to sign, but also lip read, and speak English, and the plan was for her to go to high school and lip read when teachers were speaking. However, her teachers often forgot that she needed to see their faces to lip read and kept turning around to write on the board so it wasn’t working out. Then, another student revealed that both of her parents were Deaf and she knew ASL, so she signed what the teachers were saying while they were talking, and everything was solved. While this is the only Deaf representation I remember from all of the reading I did in my childhood (which was a lot!), many of the details in this story are wildly inaccurate. This story also portrayed Deafness as something that you try to “fix” instead of delving into the complexity and richness of Deaf culture. 

ASL interpretation (like all simultaneous interpretation) is hard, requires special training, and is tiring. In graduate school, one of my classmates was Deaf, and would have two ASL interpreters come to class with her. The two interpreters took turns as it was a 2 hour class and too long for someone to simultaneously interpret without a break. I loved watching the interpreters sign. So many things about ASL are intuitive and part of the way we communicate as human beings. For example, you use your face to show tone or if you are asking a question. Often, you conjugate by pointing. These examples are based on my limited understanding and exposure to ASL (I took an evening class in college, but it was only a basic introduction), so apologies if I’m not explaining it correctly or oversimplifying. 

I find children also find basic ASL intuitive. We taught our baby some signs when he was very young and he used the sign for “more” and “all done” frequently until he started talking a lot. For more information on teaching babies ASL, see resources from Michigan State University here. I also use sign language in my elementary school classroom as a communication tool that can help with classroom management, collaboration, communication, and more. Sign language also is a great tool for literacy instruction with hearing students. I learned a little about this when I student taught in a first grade classroom, but wish I had explored it more!

In all of my years teaching, I have had one student who was deaf and used a cochlear implant. I learned so much being her teacher. She was a brilliant student with so many ideas and so much to share. Teaching her was also a valuable reminder about how minor accommodations can go a long way and help others. For example, we watched videos with subtitles on, but this benefited everyone so much that we continue to do so in my classroom to this day! It really helps with new vocabulary and spelling, among other things. As a hearing person, most of my interactions with the Deaf community have been with people who are deaf and use a hearing aid or cochlear implant. I try to make sure I’m not only sharing that one aspect and an ableist narrative with my students, but it is challenging as that is overwhelmingly the message reflected in the media as well. 

The good news is that children often love learning about ASL as they find it intuitive and exciting. They are so often told to be quiet so being able to communicate silently is like a superpower! One way to introduce students to a snippet of Deaf culture is through ASL poetry. I would suggest starting with Clayton Valli, the renowned ASL poet (and linguistics scholar). He describes how ASL poetry is more visual and can be a more vibrant form of communication than simply speaking, as you have two hands instead of just one mouth. I’ve used ASL poetry as part of a storytelling unit and a poetry unit, but there are many other ways to incorporate it into your classes. Plus, it is beautiful to watch and will hold your students spellbound. 

Newsela does not have a text set for Deaf History Month, but they do have a text set called “Exploring Deafness” which could be another great place to start.

Here are some books to share with students or read aloud for Deaf History Month:

Hands & Hearts by Donna Jo Napoli - picture book about a mom and daughter at the beach, includes words in ASL (American Sign Language) and instructions on how to sign them. I haven’t read it, but it’s on my list.

Dina the Deaf Dinosaur by Carole Addabbo is a picture book that is somewhat autobiographical. The author has been Deaf since birth and is an ASL teacher. Again, I am not familiar with this book myself, but it sounds promising.

Charlie & Frog by Karen Kane is a middle grade mystery and the first book in the series! It features two spirited young detectives, one of which happens to be Deaf. The mystery involves a message in American Sign Language and there is a school for the Deaf which sounds delightful and many other introductions to Deaf culture.

Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson is a middle grade novel with a signing character who is Deaf. I was thrilled to discover a new Jacqueline Woodson book and have already requested it from my library! It sounds like the character is written thoughtfully and sensitively and that Jacqueline Woodson did extensive research before writing this book (which is what I’d expect after reading many of her other books!).

El Deafo by Cece Bell is an amazing graphic memoir that will make you laugh out loud and a Newbery Honor book. It is impossible to keep it on the shelf in our classroom library and the themes of the book like starting a new school, being nervous about making new friends, and worrying about being different are highly relatable. Every time I recommend it to someone, it is a huge hit.

Hello Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly, winner of the 2018 Newbery Medal, is a beloved read aloud with so many great themes for our classroom and the end of 3rd grade. One of the main characters happens to be deaf. She uses a cochlear implant and in one part of her story describes the difficulties she has with communicating with others and what she needs to make sure she understands what someone is saying and how this impacts her socially. It’s just one aspect of her story and many of my students empathized with struggling to explain to friends or teachers exactly what you need.

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick is two stories happening at once (fifty years apart) one in pictures and one in words. One of the main characters was born deaf in one ear. This is a long, big book so some younger middle grade readers find it intimidating at first and others love that they are reading such a long book, but either way, the dual stories and the illustrations pull them in.

Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte is one I haven’t read yet, but hope to read soon! It’s historical fiction middle grade set in Martha’s Vineyard in the early 19th century. I have heard about the Deaf community in Martha’s Vineyard and would love to learn more! The author is Deaf and the story is based on true events.

Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly is another one I haven’t read yet, but it looks like a very promising middle grade realistic fiction novel. The main character is the only deaf person at her school and feels overlooked often. She learns about a whale who cannot sing to others whales and decides to create a song for him.

This is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kacen Callender is a young adult romance novel with queer, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, and brown representation and a cute, fun love story!

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker is a graphic novel that could be late middle grade or early young adult, also with lots of representation (queer, non-binary, Chinese, and hearing aid). Definitely worth putting into the hands of some middle schoolers!

Please comment below if you have other books or resources you’d recommend. We’d love to add to our list!

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International Women's Day & Women's History Month

Happy International Women’s Day! There are so many ways to celebrate! We love showing our students how this is an international holiday that has been celebrated for over 100 years (starting in 1911). It’s also fitting that this holiday takes place during Women’s History Month.

We wrote about different ways we recognized and celebrated Women’s History Month in our classroom a few years ago. Here are some new ideas we have either already started or hope to try soon:

• We attended a virtual event at Politics & Prose with Michelle Duster and Laura Freeman for the new book Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth (pictured above). Michelle Duster, the author, is actually Ida B. Wells’s great-granddaughter which added an extra level of excitement for students as well as helped them understand the time frame for when Ida B. Wells was alive a bit better. I’m a huge fan of author and bookstore events! We are still only able to attend virtually, but my students were still excited about it, especially when we could submit their questions over chat. We also paired this event with reading a Newsela article about the new Ida B. Wells barbie, and one of my students actually owns that barbie, so she brought hers in to show everyone. There are so many things to admire about Ida B. Wells and this gorgeous picture book, but I especially appreciate how she is portrayed in a way that makes it clear how multifaceted (and talented) she was, instead of being reduced to one aspect of her life like a journalist or an activist.

• Why isn’t there a men’s history month? This is a question students have brought up in the past (less and less recently though, interestingly enough). We asked students what they thought and they came up with a lot of ideas! One idea they felt strongly about was that there has never been a female president and how that shows that women “don’t always get a turn.” Another student remarked about how you often hear about men and learn about men, but less about women because sometimes people forget “that women were helping too.” One student noted that in our class, we seemed to hear from more women (we only had female guest speakers that year), and we asked them why they thought their teachers made that choice. We felt that addressing this question directly helped make it clear we were focused on representation and equity instead of thinking about men vs. women. 

• Newsela is always a great resource so just a reminder to share articles with students! They have different text sets (a collection of articles) available for Women’s History Month. There are so many great articles and they are not just about famous women but also about kids and women who are doing inspiring work today. We’ve had students read Newsela articles individually so we can tailor articles to their interests and have them practice some nonfiction reading skills and in pairs or small groups to continue practicing those skills, build fluency by taking turns reading out loud, and discuss and share their reactions and questions.

• Brainpop and Brainpop Jr. also have some lots of informative and kid friendly videos that can help students establish some background knowledge before reading which boosts comprehension or just teach them about someone new and inspiring. They have an entire Women’s History Month unit.

• Student shares are always an excellent place to start. Our students loved writing letters to women who they admired or just sharing relevant news or updates. Sometimes they would read about someone and then want to tell the class just how amazing that person was/is and why as well as put in a plug for why others should read that book/article. It truly was an authentic use of literacy in action.

Below are some picture book biographies we love.

Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating. We saw the author at Politics and Prose (pre-COVID)! Also there is a movie about her (preview here).

Jump at the Sun: The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston by Alicia D. Williams and Jacqueline Alcántara (illustrator). We virtually attended a Politics & Prose event for this book and Jacqueline Alcántara shared some of her sketches and preliminary plans with us.

Shirley Chisholm: two great books published recently (in 2020)! You can find them here and here. I couldn’t choose one so had to include them both. As we slowly gain more representation of women in government, it’s important to remember Shirley Chisholm who was a trailblazer in every way. We also shared how Kamala Harris wore a white suit in homage to Shirley Chisholm when she accepted the vice-presidential nomination and talked about what she might mean when she said, “I stand on their shoulders” to credit the women before her.

The Girl Who Thought in Pictures by Julia Finley Mosca. This book is about Temple Grandin and is always a favorite in our classroom.

Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer by Traci Sorell and Natasha Donovan (illustrator). This is a relatively new book that my co-teacher discovered at a bookstore. The author specifically addresses how Mary Golda Ross makes choices influenced by Cherokee values. 

Latinitas: Celebrating 40 Big Dreamers by Juliet Menendez. This is another relatively new book that I have not gotten to read yet, but I’ve heard great things and definitely hope to get my hands on a copy of it soon. Anthologies are always popular in the classroom and often when reading them I learn more about people or learn about people I hadn’t heard about before.

Also, my third graders love the Who Was series and that series seems to keep expanding to add more people for kids to learn about. Apparently, they have surpassed 250 titles at this point and plan to keep going.

Happy reading and learning!

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March Book Madness

Happy March! I usually find there is so much to look forward to this month: spring, Women’s History Month, spring break (at my school at least), more sun, and MARCH BOOK MADNESS! March Book Madness is exactly what it sounds like. It is March Madness, but for books! There are 3 categories: picture books, middle grade books, and young adult books. Each gets its own bracket and anyone can vote on the website for each round. They start with 16 books (“Sweet 16”) and have “games” between two books and slowly go through rounds until we reach the championship. 

When I taught 5th grade, we followed the middle grade bracket, and in 3rd we follow the picture book bracket. It is so much fun and gets students excited about reading in so many ways. Often, students who are resistant to trying out a new genre are happy to expand their reading horizons when they get to vote on books. Also, it encourages social reading habits and joy around reading. Students love to explain why you should vote for a certain book and often get into passionate debates about which book(s) should win. So much critical thinking about comparing literature is fun and also essential practice for being a lifelong, thoughtful reader. 

We have collaborated with younger classes in the past. One year when we had Kindergarten reading buddies (we haven’t been able to reinstate this due to the pandemic), we introduced March Book Madness (MBM) altogether and buddies had the option to read MBM books when they read together. We’ve also worked with 1st grade and shared our predictions and books. We usually start by explaining the contest, looking at the map of participants on the website and adding a pin for our school. Students love that this is an international activity. We always take time to go over what a bracket is and how it works. There are usually a few March (basketball) Madness fans who are happy to share their knowledge!

Last year, we gave our students their own copies of the bracket so they could make their own predictions or follow along as they wished. They loved having their own copies and took each round of voting very seriously. We also used MBM as an opportunity to review genres of books as we worked together to figure out what genre each book fit into and explain why. Some students even asked to write book reviews to include in the book or to share when voting came around again. 

The wonderful thing about MBM is that it can be as big or small of a deal as you want! If you can’t buy the books you can get them from the library or just watch video read alouds of them and put up photos of the covers if you want a display. Our former school librarian would make a MBM bulletin board recreating the bracket and students loved seeing it in the hall and sharing what was happening with other classes. 

This year (as always), the books look wonderful. There are many I already like under picture books, but some that I am excited to discover. MBM always ends up being an opportunity for me to genuinely model and share my love of books and constant quest for new books I love to my students. They love hearing about how I am torn and can’t decide what book to vote for and sometimes even suggest ways to help me make up my mind. Everything about this activity makes reading (even more) fun and exciting. If you are interested in participating, 1st round voting is open today (March 2nd) and closes on March 8th at 7PM. We usually vote as a class, but students could also vote individually. Happy reading!

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Talking to students about Ukraine

If your household is anything like mine, the news has been on A LOT lately. Or you’ve been reading on your phone. Or both. I have a toddler so I try to watch the news when he is asleep and he can’t read what I’m looking at on my phone (and doesn’t let me look at my phone when he is around!), but I imagine it’s harder with older kids. One thing I’ve learned from teaching elementary school is that kids are aware of much more than we think and pick up everything we are thinking and feeling. So they know something is happening in Ukraine and it’s something that adults have been talking about a lot. They might come to school with facts to share, unanswered questions, misconceptions or incomplete information, or a combination of all of these. It’s hard to know where to begin and how to approach such a complex topic especially with younger students.

It’s pretty much always a good idea to start with a read aloud. Ask students what connections they can make to the story. Can they make text to self connections? Model by thinking of a time you yourself were homesick or scared or missed someone. What about text to world connections? How does the story connect to events happening in the world today?

I had a hard time finding read alouds about Ukraine or set in Ukraine (although The Mitten by Jan Brett is set in Ukraine!). There are some very compelling picture books about war here. You can also learn more about Ukraine with your class here.

The Journey by Francesca Sanna is about a family who must leave their home and country to escape war and hopefully find safety. After you read it (warning, it is emotional!), talk about what the word “refugee” means. You can find more ideas for relevant picture books here. Naturally, there are many more out there- please comment below with your suggestions!

Discussion Ideas

Make sure you start with a map (or multiple maps!) so students know where you are discussing. The example above might help students with clear reference points, but I would start with a world map and go from there. Then, talk about the news. I like to start with an image and a table for responses with two columns: "I think"and "I wonder." You can do this on a large whiteboard or piece of chart paper, or individually (or in small groups) with handouts. It helps less confident students feel ready to share their thoughts and provides you with a way to find out what misconceptions versus accurate information students have and understand. The "I wonder" column also gives you a better sense of where to go to answer all of their questions and prompts them to ASK questions, which is always an excellent place to begin. You know best what image might be most impactful and appropriate for your students, but here is one of a teacher and her students (something kids can relate to on some level) or here is an article with images from protests around the world (including one in New York City). Students often respond well to images of other children.

Newsela articles are also a great way to give students a chance to learn more about a situation on their own time and inclination. This way, they can read and re-read, underline, ask questions, or just take time to process without having to hear it from you. It’s also an excellent way for students to practice media literacy and read an article to understand a situation in the world better. I’ve offered articles as an option and had most students choose to read them or given one to each student with choices to read in small groups, pairs, or independently, and come together again for questions or share at the end.

Remember, vocabulary instruction is (always) key! Make sure you define any words students might be unfamiliar with or have heard but not completely understand.

*If you are worried about backlash or concern from families: 

My go to response to parents who worry that topics are too “scary” is, “We totally agree this is a complex topic that must be addressed thoughtfully and with intention. Here is a resource to help you as we work together to keep answering your child/student’s questions. Thanks for your partnership in this important work!” I also note how rigorous asking and answering critical questions about the world is and how students are practicing media literacy.

However, I have the backing of my administration and I teach at a school with a social justice mission. I also have an amazing co-teacher so I am not facing these confrontations alone. Many teachers are in very different positions and may have students who do not wish to discuss the war in Ukraine for a variety of reasons. Do what feels right for you and your students. You always know best. If you decide to go ahead with these discussions and do receive pushback, try to make it about the students when you respond. Go back to the questions and concerns they had and how you were trying to answer them (which is your job, after all). The news was and is scary, but ignoring it won’t make it go away or reassure your students.

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Valentine's Day

Congratulations to teachers who have made it halfway through February! It is always a feat of endurance, but even more so this year. Last year, my co-teacher and I decided to find a way for students to exchange cards (no food) despite all of the challenges as we felt that they needed the joy and celebration. We were back in person, but only for half days, and the adults at our school had just started to get vaccinated. So we had the students bring in cards earlier in the week, distribute them in bags they decorated, and then had the bags “quarantine” so we would all feel comfortable touching them. This was before the revelations about how COVID actually spreads and we wanted to bring some connection and fun to a very odd school year. Of course, we said no food, and specified that while bringing cards was optional, you must bring one for everyone if you are going to bring them in. 

Even if exchanging cards doesn’t work for you or your class, there are many different ways you can approach Valentine’s Day. We’ve included some resources below with a list of possible read alouds. We’ve also written cards for seniors (through DC Public Library) and focused on writing cards for people in our school community that might not get a lot of cards on Valentine’s Day as they aren’t part of a class. I’ve had students make cards for someone at home or share appreciations about classmates. 

One of my favorite memories of Valentine’s Day at school, however, is when Gabby and I gave our 5th graders some Valentine’s Day commercials to peruse with a few different lenses. Students worked in groups to investigate and share their observations and questions, and then we shared out as a class. The students had a lot to say about the commercials (this was in 2014 so maybe/hopefully commercials nowadays would have more representation?) and were especially upset that no one in the commercials was wearing glasses. I sometimes wear glasses and my students took the exclusion of glasses from the commercials very personally on my behalf! It was unexpected and very hard not to laugh as you truly never know what students will come up with.

We started by asking students what they think of when they think about Valentine’s Day. Students shared different associations and traditions. Then, we put students into small groups and gave them a tracking table to record observations and questions (pictured above). Each group watched the same 4 commercials, but did an in-depth analysis of one commercial through the lens of gender, sexuality, racial or ethnic representation, and socio-economic status. We taught into some of these terms earlier in the school year and in general, made sure students knew what they were investigating. 

Here are the commercials we used:

1. FTD (flowers) - we weren’t able to find a working link to the commercial we used in the past, so here is another example.

2. Jewelry (Pandora) - again, we weren’t able to find a working link to the original commercial we used, but here is another example. 

3. Chocolate (Russell Stover)

4. Verizon

In addition to the frustration over no one wearing glasses, students had A LOT to say. They felt that the commercials depicted women as “greedy” because they “just wanted people to buy things for them” and that everyone had to have a relationship a certain way even though there are so many ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day or care about someone. Students also noticed that everyone in the commercials was white, straight, and seemed to have a lot of money or at least not be at all worried about money. We also pushed them to think about why this messaging matters or what impact it might have outside of Valentine’s Day. Students had a lot of ideas and reflections and many made personal connections with feeling alienated or not seeing themselves or their families represented.

Read Alouds:

Both of these could be combined with a writing exercise asking students to write/create in answer to the prompt what is love? Or what does love mean to you? 

Love by Sophia by Jim Averbeck

Love by Matt de la Pena

Other Resources:

The Dark Origins of Valentine's Day: NPR (this is definitely a read for adults)

Resources for Learning about Empathy on Valentine's Day: Edutopia

Resources for Teaching About Love: Rethinking Schools

Happy Valentine’s Day (or halfway through February!) to all of you - however you choose to celebrate, or not. We know you show love to students every single day in so many different ways. Please share any other ideas you have for activities, investigations, read alouds, or more.

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Black History Month

Happy February (and Year of the Tiger!)

This week is Black Lives Matter at School week (we interpret the “week” part loosely and will probably spend 2-3 weeks introducing BLM, going through the 13 principles, and crafting our own class statement). You can read some important reminders in our Black History Month past posts here.

As always, try to focus on relating whatever you learn to the present so students can make the connection to their own lives and the current world we live in. And remember that Black history is American history.

Here are two examples of stories that help students to make the connection to now:

Maya Angelou will be first black woman on US quarter: this is the Newsela link, so if you sign up for a (free) account, you can access the article at different reading levels. We had students read this article and then design their own quarter featuring someone inspiring. You can see their quarters above!

We Are Not Asking Politely: How letter writers won the campaign to name the library after Dr. King | District of Columbia Public Library A great, local story about action, persuasive writing, and libraries!

Some book recommendations that will help students think about the present (and are just great books!):

M is for Melanin by Tiffany Rose

Don't Touch My Hair! by Sharee Miller (a huge hit in my 3rd grade classroom!)

Stay tuned as we try out some of these ideas and take part in Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action in our classrooms.

Black Lives Matter.

Anti-Oppressive Education in "Elite" Schools is here!

We wrote about this last spring, but wanted to share that Anti-Oppressive Education in Elite Schools: Promising Practices and Cautionary Tales From the Field is out (Nina received her copy!). We co-authored a chapter and it’s very exciting to see our words in print.

You can read more about the book and enjoy some excerpts (including our chapter and an interview with us) here. We’ve been lucky enough to work with Katy Swalwell in the past and Gabby knows Ayo Magwood who we hope to collaborate with in the future. They are both doing really important work and are definitely worth following, but really the whole book has so much to offer. Please let us know what you think!

MLK Day 2022: Reminders & Ideas

Photo credit: https://www.childrensbookworld.com/book/9781629799391 

Another 3rd grade teacher I know had a colleague forward her a link to an Art of Teaching post I wrote 4 years ago (a slightly modified version of this post on our blog) about teaching MLK day! It was a nice surprise and funny coincidence, as well as a welcome reminder to use primary sources with my 3rd graders.

This year, however, we went with a different approach as my co-teacher (who is new to me this school year!) had the brilliant idea of widening our focus to Dr. King’s legacy and movement and thinking about the people who came before and after him.

I also always remind educators to tie Dr. King’s work back to today and future work. This is not a one lesson or one day reminder, it is something you should think about all year. Two obvious examples of this work continuing are Black Lives Matter at School Week and Black History Month, but you don’t have to stop there.

My co-teacher helped my students (and me) learn about other people who contributed to the movement. The examples are endless, but here are a few with links to related pictures books:

• Lizzie Jennings: I had never heard of Lizzie Jennings, but she fought for her right to ride a streetcar in New York City in 1854 (100 years before Rosa Parks!). This is a wonderful story for so many reasons, but might help students conceptualize that the fight for equal rights on public transport was not limited to the South.

• Claudette Colvin: she was a 15 year old who was arrested and dragged off the bus in Montgomery for refusing to give up her seat nine months before Rosa Parks triggered the bus boycott.

• Georgia Gilmore: she sustained the Montgomery bus boycott by selling food and collecting donations. She also protected the members of her organization from employer retaliation. We read this book last year as part of work we did during Black Lives Matter at School week

Picture books are a wonderful medium for students of any age, but they are not the only option! Even if a picture book about something doesn’t exist, you can use photos, video clips, Newsela articles (or write your own!). You can always adapt materials that aren’t accessible for your students and explain to them how you did so. 

As always, we would love to hear how other educators (or families) addressed this topic or commemorated the holiday. If you didn’t have a chance due to so many factors complicating our day to day lives, remember it is never too late!

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Remote or Hybrid Learning Resources & Ideas

Sending love to teachers and families as we tackle yet another round of uncertainty and anxiety! I’m trying to take things one day at a time and remember that I’ve done this before when my students and I were not vaccinated. It seems like I will be in school in person with increased mitigation and vigilance. However, it also seems likely that some students and staff will need to stay home due to infection, so we may be teaching some students on Zoom and some in person at the same time. I experienced this set up for most of last year and found it to be the most difficult and least effective set up as it makes teaching and learning harder for everyone, but at least this time around it will be temporary and I have all my experience from last year to draw upon!

For those of you who are finding yourselves unexpectedly teaching online for the immediate future, here are some Remote Learning Ideas that I came up with when this all started in early March of 2020. After I taught online for some time, I came up with these Useful Virtual Tools that we depended upon daily as we made it through last school year.

One high success and meaningful activity that I always try to do with students in January is writing New Year’s Resolutions. This post is from back when I taught 5th grade, but here is a link to a video read aloud with some great ideas for younger students. This activity works well both in person or online (or a mix!) and you can provide an organized planner for your students, have them share orally, have them draw and write, or have them record a video (or more - the options are truly endless).  If your students are worried or anxious about the changing situation, new year’s resolutions could also be a way to address this as you work to brainstorm strategies and share information. There is so much that it is outside our control, but acknowledging uncertainty and students’ potential concerns about it often helps students feel seen and sometimes more secure.

Read alouds are always invaluable classroom tools, but they work really well for helping students talk about or process feelings. Sometimes younger students do better talking about how a character in a book might feel and suggesting strategies for that character. Also, read alouds work when all of your other technology fails and students can always do responses on paper even if they are online. There are some great picture book read alouds and more general tips in this post about Mental Health.

And of course, here are some ideas for Games to Play During Remote or Physically Distanced Learning! Games are a great way to do so many things and being online, distanced, or some combination of the two doesn’t mean that we have to stop having fun, bonding, and working together.

Hoping everyone got some time to relax, catch up on sleep, and feel more like themselves over the winter break.

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Books from 2021

Happy New Year, everyone! 

We made it. Weather, COVID, Winter in general.. Life! Whew, a lot is going on. 

If a good story/book helps invigorate you (or your class, or a lesson, or a book club) we thought we’d share a few we really enjoyed this past year.  These are Gabby specific so if you don’t like the vibe- please blame Gabby’s taste only :).

Board Book:

We Are Little Feminists: Families : I love this book for so many reasons. It has pictures of real people which is fun starting pretty early for littles, and then it is the kind of board book that has longevity for the conversations you get to have while reading it. Also the queer and multigenerational rep in this one just delights my heart and I love it. A great gift if you have any babies in your lives.

Picture Books 

The Tree in Me  - the art alone is wow, the poetic nature of it all is totally Corinna. I know I have shared this one before, I just love her style.

Milo Imagines the World - no surprise he has nailed another one. Matt de la Pena is just excellent at telling a story and creating classroom perfect picture books.

If You come to Earth - so many uses for this one and visually stunning!

Bodies are Cool - so inclusive and great graphics/art/ celebratory!

Someone Builds The Dream - a nice one for communal moments.

Swashby and the Sea - the art and story are perfect for the classroom. So many ways to use this in a mini-lesson and the granddaughter/grandma are simply fabulous.

My Rainbow - so brown, queer and loving. This one likely won’t get the press it deserves but it provides such sweet and important acceptance and rep.

Julian at the Wedding (sequel to Julian is a Mermaid and just as celebratory queer and brown as the first one!) 

Fauja Singh Keeps Going- inspiring, true (!!), and so cool. This one has interviews online with the other and lots of extension activity options. I can see this going with New Year goal setting or upcoming middle of the year assessments or conferences.

MG 

Bad Guys series. “Bad” animals (ie wold, shark piranha etc.) go on adventures together and run amuck. I used this with my early readers and it is funny (we actually laugh a lot!) and can still hold up for slightly older readers who are struggling and doesn’t feel too babyish (a constant struggle to find good fits like this)!! It is also coming out as a movie soon so if you want the buy in that way- this is a quick read that you can start with them, have them take over independently, enjoy some laughs, and then also get excited about watching on TV.

Unsettled, by Reem Faruqi - it’s just excellent!

Any Day With You (great Filipino rep, granddaughter and grandfather relationship) 

From the Front Desk of Zoe Washington, we both loved this one! Great characters, fun story.

Star Fish by Lisa Fipps, body conversations and really sincere, sharp, and well written.

Snapdragon- I just love this graphic novel and I will put it here at least this one last time! Such a quirky queer world!

YA 

Chlorine Sky - STUNNING. Relationship navigations (friendships) and done so well. Perfect young YA, if you ask me.

To Night Owl from Dogfish- this is on the border of old MG or young YA. This would be a read aloud dream of mine. Especially if I could read it aloud co-teaching with Nina and we could be the two different MCs!

Happily Ever Afters - for a teacher MC fun break.

Instructions for Dancing - It’s Nicola Yoon, with some magic surrealism in the mix. There’s dancing and love.

Adult 

Nothing Personal, James Baldwin

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue 

Comfortable with Uncertainty, Pema Chodron 

Piranesi - so bizarre but stuck with me and worth the adventure if you are up for it!

Favorite Audiobooks: 

All the Lonely People (prepare your heart for this one, but the characters are lovely and the reader does all of their voices so well). 

A Swim in the Pond in the Rain (such a great cast reading this one, Russian short stories with musings on how it all works. You’ll feel like you’re in an exclusive lit. class with this one in the best way). 

Favorite adult pandemic time musings: 

The Anthropocene Reviewed, John Greene - he’s so hilarious and sincere. I actually like his writing best this way as opposed to his YA.

Intimations, Zadie Smith - she nailed this anthology, I thought. She’s one smart cookie.

Currently reading (if you’re interested:

We Do This Til We Free Us

A Song of Frutas

Detransition, Baby

Hail Mary (finished this last night, technically :). I liked it better than The Martian and enjoyed a teacher MC.

That’s all from us! Take care of yourselves! May you have a good story companion/ cast of characters with you as you chug along.

Map Exploration

My 3rd graders and I have been learning all about maps! We learned about different features of maps, different kinds of maps, made our own maps (which were so creative) and more. This week, my co-teacher and I asked students to bring in a map from home. We told students it was their “homework” so they took the assignment very seriously, reporting talking to their parents to get permission and reporting back to us that they looked at different maps they found at home and decided not to bring in some that were too large or fragile etc.

Once we all had maps at school (and we of course had some extra ones for students who forgot), we started our map exploration. First, as a class, we watched a Brainpop (not Brainpop Jr.) video about map skills and reviewed features of maps we might look for and reminded ourselves to use the map key or legend to help us understand the information the map was displaying. Then, we projected an image of this map of Washington, D.C. on the board. We let students have a minute to look at the map and see what they notice. Immediately, cries of, “Why is there so much white? It’s ALL white. There are so many white people!” filled the room. Students turned and talked about what they noticed and questions they had. 

They noticed so much. They had questions and observations about white neighborhoods taking over, why white and black neighborhoods are so separate, if it is like this everywhere, why there were so few (visible) Asian blocks, and what the gray areas meant (we explained those are areas where people don’t live because it’s Rock Creek Park or it might be a solely commercial district). Some students noted where our school might be and that it was in a white area as well. After giving students time for discussion and reflection, we passed out copies of these See, Think, Wonder sheets and told students to note one thing they discussed with their partner. 

Next, we gave each pair time to look at the maps they brought in and share with their partner. Students were very excited to share their maps! After they finished sharing and reflecting, they were free to walk around the classroom and look at other maps. We have a big world map on the wall and put out different books with maps in them as well such as My Map Book by Sara Fanelli and 50 Cities of the U.S.A.: Explore America’s Cities with 50 Fact-Filled Maps by Gabrielle Balkan. After students had time for (silent) exploration, they met in small groups (2-4 students per group) to discuss what they noticed, what questions they had, and anything they learned or wanted to learn more about next.

Eavesdropping on the discussion was fascinating! Students were surprised by the different types of maps and really wanted to explore more. One student had brought in a map of constellations, which really pushed us to think about maps as applying to everything, not just locations on Earth! Having students bring in the maps really led to strong investment and interest in the exploration as they wanted to share what they brought in and felt a personal role and connection. Starting with a map of DC also really intrigued students, as many of them were born in the area and have always lived here, so looking at DC in a new way really interested them. And of course, the questions and responses discussed (and a few responses included above) show how deeply they were thinking about who lives where and why that might be. Other maps that were really popular (that we provided) were this map showing each state’s favorite Halloween candy, this map showing ice cream consumption by state, and all the maps in My Map Book (linked above).

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Gratitude Activities We Love

Happy almost Thanksgiving! This has been an incredibly long fall, especially for teachers. Even when we are beyond tired, it is always a good time to remind people (including ourselves) to give thanks and reflect on what we are grateful for. We like to share with students that there are many benefits to giving thanks including our own mental and physical health. But first and foremost, it’s important to appreciate the people in our lives who take care of us and keep us safe.

• Make thank you cards. My class will be working on thank you cards for many of the staff in our school building, especially the custodians who clean up after us every single day as well as the kitchen staff who cooks for us. If you don’t know everyone’s name, find time to introduce yourself, learn how their name is spelled, and how they like to be addressed. Most of the people who clean our building prefer to speak in Spanish, so I’ve had one of the Spanish teachers help us get started with some example phrases of appreciation in the past.

• A parent sent in “My First Gratitude Journals” for my entire class this year, which was so kind and generous! The journals have a page per day with some different entry formats. We gave them to the students on Friday and had them fill out one entry and will do so on Monday and Tuesday before sending them home for Thanksgiving break. Students who fill out more pages during the break can bring them in and share. We’re hoping the repeated use will lead to a habit.

• In My Map Book by Sara Fanelli (which is a great book for some many uses and my students LOVE it), the author includes a “Map of My Heart.” We are going to have students make their own maps of their hearts, focusing on who we love and are grateful for. 

• So many writing prompts! If you want to be extra cute you can make a turkey or something Thanksgiving themed (making sure there are NO cartoon Native Americans or anything like that) and have students write one thing they are grateful for on each turkey feather etc. Sometimes, it’s easier for younger students to think about things that have made them happy recently and go from there. Some prompts that I’ve used in the past are: I am thankful for, I am grateful for, Some things that made me happy recently are.. 

• Appreciation webs: we’ve made these in the past for co-workers’ birthdays, going away posters, or just for fun. In the middle of the web, you write something like “I/we appreciate _________ because..” and students fill in reasons. This can be done with writing or drawing for the really little ones. You can also use whatever verb works for you - appreciate, love, am grateful for, admire, will miss, etc. 

• Compliment or appreciation shares: We usually have an appreciation circle when it is someone’s birthday. For our Morning Meeting greeting, we all say what we appreciate about the person whose birthday we are celebrating. I’ve also written all my students’ names on slips of paper and passed them out at random and you write a compliment or appreciation for whomever’s name you receive. This might be a nice activity to end with heading into the break.

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Thanksgiving & Native American Heritage Month Resources & Reminders

Resources & Great Place to Start

American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) 

Teaching for Change 2021 Indigenous Peoples’ Day Curriculum Teach-In (especially the section about Native Voices in Children’s Literature by Dr. Debbie Reese, the creator of AICL)

Native American Heritage Month Resources For Teachers

Our ideas for addressing Thanksgiving in 3rd grade this year

(on top of expressing gratitude to all the people who take care of us at school):

• The word Indigenous - explained l CBC Kids News

• Newsela article: A Native American poet reimagines Thanksgiving and the poem referenced in the article: America, I Sing You Back by Allison Adelle Hedge Coke

•  Read aloud: We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell

• We also just bought two new books that we are VERY excited about:

  • Classified, The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer by Traci Sorell

  • JoJo Makoons by Dawn Quigley (an early middle grade series with a Native American main character!)

General Tips for Choosing Resources about Native Americans

1. Look at publication dates.  In general, older (sometimes “classic”) books tend to have stereotypical portrayals of Native American peoples or kids dressing up as “Indians” or playing “Indian” games.  

   1. 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.

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

3. Look at IMAGES of Native peoples depicted in the books. Does every Indigenous person look exactly the same? Are the characters displayed as 'savage' 'non-human' in some way? Avoid the “how” hand gesture, tomahawks, gratuitous headdresses, dancing around a fire, taking hostages, etc.

4. Ask yourself these questions:

   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 Indigenous voices on the topic. 

   2. Does the author/illustrator specify a tribal nation?

   3. What is the time period? 

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

   5. How does the author/illustrator present gender?

   6. Does the author's word choice indicate bias against Native peoples?

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

5. Be mindful of the language used (by the resource and by you): avoid the words chief, squaw, savage, natives, and remember that “Native Americans” refers to thousands of diverse tribes (which means thousands of different cultures and histories) and not just one group of people. 

6. Make sure to proactively balance historical representation of Native American peoples with contemporary voices so as not to perpetuate the idea that American Indians only existed in the past. If a piece speaks of Indigenous peoples only in the past tense-- double triple check why it does that and why you are using it! 

7. Remember that many Indigenous peoples are Americans and were the first Americans.

8. Avoid resources (or saying yourself) that say "We are all immigrants". Not all of us are. Utilizing that immigrant 'melting pot' rhetoric as the foundational metaphor of the US erases the (long) history of Indigenous Americans. 

For more details and tips, please see Tips for Choosing Culturally Appropriate Books & Resources About Native Americans andUnderstanding Prejudice: Teaching About Native American Issues

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Affinity Groups in Lower School

We ran a Students of Color affinity group for grades 3-5 at our school and hope to be able to meet again later this year. We used to meet during lunch (pre-COVID) which was so lovely, but since that’s currently not possible with all of our protocols, we are trying to find another time and space. We’ve found that many schools have affinity groups for older students, but want to share support and ideas for starting an affinity group with some of the younger ones as well. Our crew really benefited from it and it was a time we all looked forward to as a breather during the week!

What to Prepare 

• A general overview of your proposal/plan to share with administrators so they know and take this endeavor seriously. Everything about this process is easier if you have administrator buy-in. They will be bombarded by at least a few parents as you get going, soon enough. 

• Maps/globe

• Vocabulary: Race, ancestors, minority, majority, POC, BIPOC, see below 

• General ground rules you want to pitch to the students (ie: what is said here stays here, what is learned here leaves here.. Or something that allows them to tell stories and talk freely about what they want and need without becoming too messy or mean of a situation if it is about a classmate or one of your colleagues). It will get messy, FYI. And we wanted students to share whatever was on their mind, but we were careful that we didn’t want all the kids leaving the room at the end of the group dog piling or mad at a certain kid that was talked about during group.

  • Along with this, general expectations for how you would like students to behave in the space. For us, teacher-led rules that were non-negotiable were about cleaning up our classroom and respect for one another. We recommend teaching these explicitly like you would in your classroom to set everyone up for success, you are a new group together (from different classrooms!) with new personalities. It is hard for them otherwise to know what part of this get together is casual vs. what part is regular school so be really clear so they can be successful. You can also choose where to make room for them to add in what they want the group to be and expectations/rules they have etc. 

• Games, food, and memories are part of forming a community. Make a plan with the admin to set yourself up for some of these to be expected and supported in your group. 

• At minimum, a second adult. We recommend this for a few reasons, practically speaking, a weekly commitment is hard for anyone to always be able to make (things come up!) and it’s important to not cancel the group as much as possible (the kids will let that be known!). Also, more teachers of color means a fuller community and more connections for everybody :). In addition to this, tough things come up, and it is important to have another adult in the room to balance out how to respond and also to discuss with after if you need to handle a difficult situation in a careful way etc. 

• A space! A time! Where will you meet? When? We had our meetings in our classroom which was great for us (and our crew), but it also meant we had to ensure the rest of our class knew they couldn’t come barging in the room at lunch or stay after to ask a question or manage a meltdown. Think about what space will work best for you all collectively that you can get to. 

Expected Bumps & Pushback 

• We were told that 3rd graders don’t know what race they were.

• Push back from students & families who are not part of the affinity group. We had parents claiming this is segregation and a violation of the Civil Rights Act.

• Teachers who don’t agree, like it, or understand and might pass this feeling on to other students knowingly or unknowingly. Also, teachers pitching a white affinity group. 

• “Tan” students trying to come to our group, or kids trying to bring their friends and explaining why they could or should come who weren’t POC.

• As mentioned above, talk about someone who upset or hurt a student’s feelings. Think about how you want (and need) to navigate this for the students/families and your position. Things will come up. 

• Time! It’s limited! Plan for a little bit of passing time. Kiddos coming from different classrooms and grades will need some wiggling time and they will talk and joke as they see each other and enter the room. Also consider the buffer of clean up (it is their responsibility in our group!). So if you want to plan a discussion topic or specific activity, think with your teacher brain about the realistic amount of time you have to do it and how it can work. 

Useful Explanations & Language 

• Explain affinity group means we share an facet of identity - also we share being in the minority

• This is the one time a week we are in the majority

• Explaining to students that people of color don’t trace their ancestry back to Europe

• A communal event any culture/community might have (going to Temple, celebrating a Quince, going to a Friends meeting) you might need and want space from someone who doesn’t share that cultural background so you can just BE. Be with your community, relax, share, laugh, eat etc. and not feel the gaze of someone outside or answer their questions for what they don’t understand about your community right at that moment! A big part of enjoying affinity is getting to be with your people and relax! 

Activities We Loved & Our Favorite Parts! 

• The joy! The laughs! And selfishly, it was a community for both of us, too! It was also a nice way to check in with POC kiddos from different grades who we had our eyes on in a routine way and make sure they were feeling cared for and doing okay. 

• Weekly share - they loved having the time to share and be unfiltered in ways that felt different from their classroom and school day experience. Any way that we could step our voices off and give their voices and bodies the space to just be, we tried to for the short time they had this space! Even if we wanted to, they never would’ve passed up on their share time (even when we said we’d use the time for games or other fun stuff!) as they really wanted to talk. 

• Sharing positive current events and moments in history!

• Games & food are part of becoming a community! 

• Kids connecting from different groups. 

• Kids from different POC backgrounds learning more about one another and their backgrounds without the white gaze! Just because we’re all some kind of brown, doesn’t mean we suddenly know everything about everyone else. We loved the learning moments that got to happen for and with our students in this smaller setting. 

• Celebrating and being proud. Kids shared a lot of things they did with family, but also other parts of their lives that when we checked in with their teachers they didn’t hear about in class. This group was so excited to cheer or to join in with kids in being proud of themselves for something they accomplished or a way they handled a tough moment. 

• Which segways nicely to the shared knowledge/advice. Students were really thoughtful and supportive about advice and being supportive of how to handle some of the tougher parts of being a minority in our school. They said it in ways only they could have and also heard one another in ways that only could be heard from a peer. We found this really powerful and beautiful. 

• Music! We had some fun/ dancing. 

• Books! Our end of the year gift to our students were books (surely you are shocked!) and it was really nice to write a note to each one of them and give them a book to take with them as they graduated from our division and left our group for the older POC group. 

• A meet up with the older kids! We had some meet ups with the older POC group which was great for both groups. Knowing personalities, thinking about what would be the best use of time, planning something that works for all ages are all things to consider. We found that our kids really just wanted to...talk with one another. 

Other Thoughts 

• It’s worth it! It really is! Our kids told us so, families told us so, and we felt it, too. 

• You also have affinity and are not alone! You can always reach out to others (or us!) for tips or thoughts about what is happening in their affinity groups. 

• Your kids, like always, will guide a lot of what you do so no two affinity groups will be exactly alike. 

• A big part is just jumping in. Our school is now used to the concept and we look back years later and remember a lot of the bumps (we are always and still learning of course) and are grateful to have gotten it off the ground so it can be where it is today for today’s students. Even if we haven’t and won’t ever make it ‘perfect’ they deserve their own space. 

Resources 

Resources from Rosetta Lee's website

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Book Review: From the Desk of Zoe Washington

I just finished From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks and this book has so much potential for classroom use! It is a delightful read and a wonderful middle grade novel to share with kids in many ways. The main character is having both friend and family drama which will be so relatable to many upper elementary students and middle schoolers. Also, she loves to bake and wants to be a pastry chef so the descriptions of cupcakes alone will pull some students in. I’ve always loved books that included letters between characters, and Zoe (the main character) exchanges letters with her biological father, Marcus, who is in prison. Many students (and adults) don’t hear any humanizing stories about people who are incarcerated or the toll our massive incarceration rates has on families and children. 

Zoe’s father, Marcus, says he is innocent, and Zoe talks to her grandmother about how that could even be possible. She connects this new information with what she knows about Black Lives Matter and systemic racism. The connections are clear and not overly simplified, yet also at a kid-friendly level. She also learns about The Innocence Project and grapples with the mystifying fact that innocent people can go to prison. The author doesn’t shy away from the fact that this knowledge is heavy and many parts of what Zoe is learning are scary for her. Her parents and grandma try to shield her and forbid her from following up with what she has learned and the depiction of the frustration of being dismissed as just a kid is very accurate and would strike a chord with many students.

This book could be a wonderful whole class read aloud or book group book, as the chapters are a good length for both of these formats. Students could learn about wrongful conviction, the toll of incarceration on families (at least 5 million children have had a parent behind bars), advocacy and representation, systemic racism, justice system reform, and more. Zoe’s choice to defy her parents’ and grandma’s restrictions would also be a wonderful discussion point with students. At one point, Zoe thinks to herself, “All of the lying was wrong, I knew that. But maybe it was okay to do something wrong if you were doing it for the right reason.” (p.180). I’ve talked to students in the past about when it’s okay to break the rules and how you might still have to accept the consequences of your actions, but you choose to break the rules because of something more important. Zoe models this as she gets in trouble and apologizes for lying and breaking her family’s trust, but her actions end up setting some changes in motion.

While this book ultimately has a happy ending, it still talks about the reality that appealing a wrongful conviction takes years and is very difficult and complicated and that many people who get out of prison (whether they are innocent or not) have trouble finding jobs and struggle financially for a variety of reasons. There are educational resources available through the Equal Justice Initiative to help you give students more background and understanding of the scale and scope of the issues. The Marshall Project is also a great resource. It’s targeted towards adults, but will help you have the background you need to have these important conversations with students. If you haven’t read this book yet, run and get a copy! It belongs in the hands of readers!

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