#MustReadin2020 Spring Update

#MustReadin2020

Hello, readers!

Reading in the time of social distancing has made me realize how much I miss talking with my students face to face about books! Luckily, I finished several of these while we were still in school, so parts were read aloud. I'm really sad that our students don't have access to our classroom library at this time. 

I'd also like to add how wonderful it has been that so many authors have been willing to share virtually with our students and families!

Thank you! 📚 💖

Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds
Finished reading: January 21, 2020

I have reached that critical point in my fangirling of Jason Reynolds where I can proudly say, “Frankly…I’d read your grocery lists” (Thank you SO much for that quote, John Green!). I have seen students who have never finished a book in their entire school career finish Long Way Down and Ghost. I have used parts of pretty much every Jason Reynolds book as a read-aloud. Most recently, that book was Look Both Ways—Chapter 1, Water Booger Bears (disclaimer: it’s a bad idea to eat while you’re reading this chapter). I love this book for so many reasons. It is 10 short stories about students from Latimer Middle School. As a teacher, it’s a wonderful reminder of what our students deal with outside of our walls. My personal favorite chapters were “The Low Cuts Strike Again”, “Call of Duty”, and “Five Things Easier To Do Than Simeon’s and Kenzi’s Secret Handshake”. They each warmed my heart immensely because of the relationships between the kids and the adults in their lives. I believe this book should be required reading for anyone who works with young people.

Side note: The story “How a Boy Can Become a Grease Fire” is an outstanding read aloud option as well!

Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi

Finished reading February 6, 2020

In the first book, Children of Blood and Bone, magic has been stolen violently from Orisha. The maji were rounded up and killed by the monarchy because they were seen as a threat. Maji were made to feel less than and were referred to as maggots. Zelie has the opportunity to participate in a ritual to bring magic back, but at great personal danger. As Children of Virtue and Vengeance begins, the results of the ritual are more powerful than anyone could have imagined. "Roughly 1/8 of the population has magic now. Of those, about a third have the magic of titans." Because of the ritual, titans appeared in the nobility and the military. Unlike the maji, they do not require incantations to perform magic, and their abilities are unbelievably strong. So now the nobility has the same (or even stronger) powers. And yet, they continue to hurt the maji. As Zelie notes, "The monarchy has magic now and they still hate us. It was never about magic at all!" Ms. Adeyemi's books are epic, and there is SO much more to this story than what I have outlined here. The writing is incredible, and the plot pulls you in immediately. Do yourself a favor and check out these books!

For Black Girls Like Me by Mariama J. Lockington

Finished reading February 11, 2020

"People ask me where I’m from, but I know they really mean, ‘Who do you belong to?’” (3)

As I tweeted, I cannot overstate how important this book is! Makeda June Kirkland (Keda) is an eleven-year-old black girl who was adopted by a white family. They are moving from Baltimore to Albuquerque. So, Keda is dealing with moving, leaving behind her best friend, starting a new school, and stress in her family. The first thing Keda comes up against are the new kids at school. In my journal I wrote, “I will never know what it feels like to have random strangers walk up to me and ask me where I’m from or why I’m with the people I’m with. I really wish people would be better about NOT saying every thought that enters their minds.” And it got so much worse AFTER 20 questions! Mariama Lockington is herself a transracial adoptee, according to her Twitter bio. As I read, I wondered a lot about her experience growing up. I learned that even well-meaning people don’t always say or do the right things, and that I really need to do better than the PE teacher in this book!

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States For Young People

by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz; Adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese
Finished reading March 7, 2020

"From the first moment Europeans stepped onto what came to be known as North America, they left bloody footprints wherever they went seeking land and resources" (87). 

During the recent #LeadingEquitySummit, Dr. Sawsan Jaber said, "The people who hold the power have shaped the history that we study and how we learn it." An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States exemplifies that sentiment perfectly. I continue to be astounded by what we are NOT taught in history and social studies classes. In the introduction to this book, the authors define the basic components of American settler colonialism: white supremacy, African American slavery, and a policy of genocide and land theft. And they remind us that in 1492 when the "New World" was "discovered", "many conditions that were useful to (the settlers) were the result of Indigenous peoples' stewardship of the land" (29). The Europeans did not "settle a virgin land. They invaded and displaced a resident population" (50). And they (we) did this over and over and over again. "Native historian Jack Forbes argues that while living persons are not responsible for what their ancestors did, they are responsible for the society they live in, which is a product of that past" (226). I highly recommend this book to EVERYONE. I hope that you learn as much from it as I did.

Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
Finished reading March 16, 2020

Here's what you need to know...

"A racist idea is any idea that suggests something is wrong or right, superior or inferior, better or worse about a racial group." 

"An antiracist idea is any idea that suggests that racial groups are equals."

"There are lazy, hardworking, wise, unwise, harmless, and harmful individuals of every race, but no racial group is better or worse than another racial group in any way."

The rest of the book goes on to show how racist ideas have been embedded into the systems of our country from the very beginning. This will certainly require more than one reading. Also, I'm very inspired to go back into history from when I was in high school and college and do some additional research on my own. Stamped was chosen as the Global Read Aloud choice for Young Adults for 2020, and I'm absolutely thrilled that more people are going to be exposed to it!

Scythe by Neal Shusterman
Finished reading March 28, 2020

In a world where mortality no longer exists, scythes are required to keep the population from becoming too large. Scythes are the elite, "acknowledged as the very best of humanity". At one point they were almost referred to as reapers, but "the founders saw fit to call us scythes-because we are the weapons in mankind's immortal hands". Citra and Rowan are chosen to become apprentices of Scythe Faraday. It is unprecedented for a scythe to take on more than one apprentice at a time, so right from the start you know there is going to be some drama. I was a holdout on this book for a long time because I wasn't sure it would be my kind of thing, but I ended up enjoying it very much!

Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Finished reading April 10, 2020

Let me start by saying that because of reading this book, I have never wanted a Gatorade so badly in my whole life (it's not even something that I usually buy). And because I read it during a global pandemic, I couldn't just run out and get one. I definitely think that added something to the reading experience! Dry takes place in California during a major drought, referred to as the Tap-Out. Some people have seen the warning signs coming and have gotten prepared, while others are more or less waiting to see what happens and trusting that they will be taken care of. When Alyssa's parents make a run for water and don't return home, she, her little brother Garrett, and their next-door neighbor, Kelton, set out to try and find them. And so the adventure begins....

Highlights from VSRA 2020

I was so looking forward to meeting these people in person this year, but I am beyond grateful that they were willing to share virtual sessions. As always, I took a ton of notes, and have taken time to reflect on my learning. Thank you SO much to the VSRA for making this happen, and to all of the presenters who shared their time and expertise with us from home! You are all very much appreciated!

When Books Become Best Friends

Lester Laminack

Mr. Laminack believes in the importance of a small collection of mentor texts (5 fiction, 5 nonfiction) that you refer back to throughout the year. He asked us to consider, “What if our students knew a small collection of books as well you know your best friends?”

I really loved his description of the “Movie Read”! Sometimes we need to read aloud a book in its entirety without interruptions for the sheer enjoyment that the book offers. (Imagine being in a movie theater and having them stop every 15 minutes so you can turn and talk. 😱)

Students NEED time to think about and reflect on the book before jumping into “activities”.  A lot of our students think once the book has been read and we’ve talked about it or drawn a picture, we’re DONE. This does not allow for rich, thoughtful discussion.

In this session, Mr. Laminack used the book Peter’s Chair by Ezra Jack Keats to do a character study using the phrases, “Peter is the kind of boy who…” and “I know this because….” This allows students to consider HOW an author presents information about a character. Student responses can be written on a T-chart and they can use these ideas in their own writing. So instead of  “The boy was tired”, a student might write, “The boy fell face-first onto his bed and fell fast asleep.”

Keep in mind when I say this that I’ve been teaching middle school for 20 years, but I was so impressed that Mr. Laminack was using this lesson with 5-year-olds. I thought, “Wow! If we already have them looking for and thinking about character development in kindergarten, imagine how deep their thinking would be by high school! We can’t achieve all of this goodness when our main concern is prepping students for standardized tests. 

Making a Case for Reading Joy

Donalyn Miller

Toward the beginning of her talk, Ms. Miller reminded us that “Independent reading does NOT mean reading the whole-class novel independently.” THANK YOU!

Our time together was mainly focused on the importance of book access, which is a HUGE equity issue. Ms. Miller recommends that students have access to books in the classroom, books in the school library, books at home, and meaningful access to books at the public library. These books need to be "as current, diverse, and nourishing as possible". To me, this was certainly already an issue, but with the closure of our schools, it became even more apparent. I am proud of my classroom library, and we are blessed with a beautiful school library. But when we got the announcement that we would be closed, there was no time to make sure that all of our students went home with books.

Ms. Miller talked about a child in one of her classes who wouldn’t go into the library on a class visit. When she asked him about it, he said he had lost a book in elementary school and was no longer allowed to check out books. “We have to stop being caretakers of the books at the expense of being caretakers of the children.” BOOM! 🎆

She recommended the book No More Summer Reading Loss (from the Not This, But That series). Third through twelfth graders should be reading 4-5 books over the summer. And she said this, “If students are receiving services for reading intervention, and we’re not probing at-home book access, we’re missing the mark!”

She also recommended Grace Lin’s TED Talk, The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child's Bookshelf.

The Power of Poetry

Nikki Grimes

What a blessing it is to hear Ms. Grimes read her poetry aloud! Her session made me miss all of my beautiful titles that are just sitting trapped in our classroom library while we’re closed.

These were some of her books that I noted during this session:

Ordinary Hazards (I was REALLY looking forward to getting an autographed copy at the conference!)

Garvey’s Choice (one of my absolute favorites!)

Chasing Freedom

Words With Wings

The Watcher

Poems in the Attic

Danitra Brown books

Poetry is powerful because “it can whet a child’s appetite for literature”! Ms. Grimes recommends pairing textbook readings with poems on the same subject. 

Ms. Grimes discussed book access as well. All children should be able to read all books. “Would we tell children that only white people living on farms should read Charlotte’s Web?” She reminded us that children are often much more complex than we give them credit for, and that we need to encourage them to share their memories and experiences through writing.

Social Justice Does Not Just Live in Our Content; It Lives in Our Methods

Cornelius Minor

It has been enormously difficult to try to fit this session into a blog post. I hope that one day I can learn from Mr. Minor in a full-day or multi-day workshop. If I could summarize my learning in one quote it would be this:

“Covid-19 has just brought out in the open the inequities already present in our system.”

He explained that we need to spend some time looking at our school-based outcomes, as well as to be attentive to the systems we have in place...systems that create inequitable outcomes for a specific group of people. 

A perfect example is what is currently happening with distance learning. Our school norms actively include kids with internet access, but disengage students without it. For me personally, I thought about the 15 minutes of daily independent reading that my students had in our classroom. How do I keep that going, especially for our students that don’t have access to digital materials, or books in their homes?

But even when we are physically in the classroom, think about what is going on with the students we teach. Mr. Minor reminded us that “The ‘normal’ that we had 2 weeks ago was already broken." He went on to explain that “We privilege the kids who show up and get it on the first try” (which means that they didn’t learn it from us anyway...they already knew it). Learning is iterative; what leads to mastery is repeated practice. There is no such thing as “I taught it and the kids mastered it.” Now imagine you’re the kid that didn’t master it on the first try. Are you afraid this is going to affect your social status? Wouldn’t you opt out of an activity if you felt it would damage your status in the eyes of your peers? Our students are no different. They just might “opt out” by throwing paper across the room and getting thrown out of class.

Right now we have a perfect opportunity to look at what is not working and change our pedagogy. One example that he gave was a principal who had recently suspended 12 students for fighting. It seemed to be happening in one particular class, which was basically set up as a 50-minute lecture. So they decided to change from a predominantly lecture format to include more engaging activities, which ended up cutting down the number of suspensions.

The final thought that I want to share is, “Doing things as they’ve always been done has left out far too many kids.”