Separate is Never Equal ~ Using Diverse Picture Books

Retrieved from Amazon.com

Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family's Fight for Desegregation is a true story written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh. The illustrations incorporate mixed media to enhance the depth of the images. Tonatiuh wrote that the book "is inspired by conversations I had with Sylvia Mendez in October 2012 and April 2013", and he utilized shortened dialogue from court transcripts to share an authentic retelling.

Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) is often viewed as the landmark decision by the Supreme Court regarding segregation in public schools; however seven years prior to this Sylvia Mendez's family filed a law suit against Westminster School District of Orange County (California) to challenge remedial schools for Mexican students.

Sylvia Mendez offers this short interview regarding her experiences: 

Sylvia and her family had moved to Westminster, CA for her family to own a farm. As a 3rd grader, she was a US citizen and spoke English, but the closest school to their home would not allow her and her siblings to enroll. Instead, they were directed to a remedial Mexican school that had a less stable building, fewer academic supplies, less qualified teachers, and domestic curriculum. Sylvia's father advocated for his children to attend the school closer to their home by addressing various administrators, but to no avail. Eventually, he was advised to file a lawsuit. Here is a book trailer from Texas Bluebonnet Award:

This story is important to share with students who are learning about the Civil Rights Movement because it adds an additional perspective. Some students have a misconception that the Civil Rights Movement promoted equal rights for only Blacks, but there are also the marginalized voices of those who were considered lower class during that time period: Hispanics, Native Americans, and others. It is also important to share with students that this case would have provided a precedent for the Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. In this interview, Tonatiuh also explains that it's important to share this story because even though segregation is not allowed in public schools, there are still divides in education that make this story relevant. By sharing this book with students of all ages, we create an opportunity for students to not only learn a new perspective but also begin a dialogue of where they may see divisions in our education system.

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman : A VoiceThread Review

Less than two months ago, I had not heard of Neal Shusterman's novel Challenger Deep. Now I believe it is an important book to share with others! I even talked to my husband about it during our vacation, and he believes it should be made into a movie for others to hear this perspective on mental illness.

Rather than sharing a written review, I was pushed to create my first VoiceThread to review this novel for my critical literacy course. If you take the time to listen, I hope you will be intrigued enough to read Challenger Deep! 

Feel free to comment on my VoiceThread as well. I'm thinking VoiceThread might be a great way to record discussions for Literature Circles this upcoming year!

Dreamers ~ Utilizing Diverse Picture Books in English

This is my second children's picture book review related to my course through Hamline University in which we review and reflect on how to incorporate diverse texts into our curriculum. 

Cover retrieved from Amazon

Dreamers, written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales, is the story of a new mother with a young child immigrating from Mexico to the United States. The colors of the page hint at the mood and tone for the part of the journey that this mother and child are on, from understanding their thirst and hope as they arrive in a new city, to the color of the sky as they struggle with the language, and yet, colors of hope and the narrator's positive language stand out. The illustrations share unwritten experiences that are relatable (such as feeling lost while staring at a map) and entertaining (swimming in a city fountain). Despite the challenges of their travels, the baby boy and mother find a "home" in a public library where they discover picture books, their stories, and the dreams that they share.

One of the many beauties of this book is that Spanish vocabulary is interwoven within the story; this offers a small window into another culture with words of hope and journeys. The use of Spanish interwoven with touching images strengthens the authenticity of immigrant experiences. Morales' illustrations utilize multimedia from acrylic paintings to images of authentic clothing, drawings from her childhood and from her son, and photographs from her home in Mexico. These create not only beautiful artwork to mesmerize readers, but share an authenticity to the text. One could easily spend ten minutes on each page soaking in the artistic beauty, the symbolism, and unwritten details of the story. This makes Dreamers such a rich and engaging text beyond young children.

Here is an interview with the author and illustrator in which she shares her hopes and dreams in creating Dreamers:

Immigration is a frequent topic in today's news, and perhaps our students follow these stories, listen to the opinions told in their own homes, or choose to be ignorant. This exquisite picture book is appropriate to share with all ages to share a narrative of immigration that shares the hardships and the beauty of such a journey to becoming an immigrant to the U.S. What I would want to share with my students is Morales' immigration story at the end of the book; we could discover the similarities to her story, how she used her experiences to tell a story, and how she hopes others will share their stories. Teachers could introduce students to this as a companion text along with an informational article, a news story, or a novel based on immigration. For example, in my 8th grade English course, we read several articles related to immigration policies, both historical and modern, and MJ Auch's novel Ashes of Roses, which tells the story of an Irish immigration family in 1911. Dreamers would be an additional voice to add to an immigration story that is more contemporary and from another culture to help students discover the depth of stories and human experiences.

Jingle Dancer ~ Utilizing Diverse Picture Books in English

I have begun a professional journey to earn my Master of Arts of Literacy Education through Hamline University. The current course has asked us to review three diverse children's picture books in the upcoming weeks. Though I do not consistently utilize picture books to make connections or as read alouds for my students, I am learning about the benefits of doing so. My hope in these reviews is to share with you books you may have not read and ideas how it could be incorporated in an ELA classroom.

Book cover retrieved from Amazon.com

Cynthia Leitich Smith's debut children's picture book Jingle Dancer was the result of her following the traditional writer's advice: Write what you know. Smith briefly shares this in the following Youtube video in which she introduces other books she has authored. She explains that in the late 1990's, she felt she best knew "contemporary mixed-blood families in the mid- to southwest." Beautifully illustrated in watercolor, the artistic pictures by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu bring the words to life with vivid colors and cultural details, such as the jingle dancers' regalia and jewelry with intricate beadwork.

Our protagonist Jenna daydreams of her grandmother's jingle dancing and admits to Grandma Wolfe that night that she would like to jingle dance. As most grandmother's do, Grandma Wolfe encourages Jenna to dance at the next powwow, but admits that they do not have time to order her own jingle tins. This encourages Jenna to visit her nearby family members in search of jingles while also indulging in cultural activities. While reading, the cultural background of Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma reads with a genuine authenticity that gives the story a natural rhythm, much like we expect from dance music. The narrator describes the time of day "As Sun fetched morning," and Jenna enjoys fry bread, listens to a traditional story, and displays a focus on spending time with extended family, such as a great-aunt and cousin.

I was drawn to this particular story because of the title. My limited background knowledge reminded me that jingle dancing is part of Ojibway culture, and I have had previous students who dance at powwows in this style. Even though the inside jacket recommends this picture book for "Ages 4 to 10," this text could be paired with additional texts in upper grade levels, and I would especially recommend this for educators who teach in states with Ojibway/Chippewa/Anishinabe history. For example, this year 7th grade students had the option to read Louise Erdrich's The Birchbark House which is set in 1847; Jingle Dancer could provide a contemporary example of that historical culture. Senior high students in our district read excerpts from Anton Treuer's Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians but Were Afraid to Ask; these students could be asked to critically reflect on how cultural information is presented for very different audiences based on these two texts. These experiences provide additional windows and mirrors along with variety of story types and author purposes to critically explore.

Guitar Genius {reflection}

Our 7th grade class finished our Genius Project presentations before winter break, but we had one last blog post once they returned, a reflection. How do you think it went? Which projects were the most fascinating to learn about?

The very first presentation was my own! I demonstrated for the class as an example so that they knew what my expectations were. I shared what the goals were at the beginning of the project, where I found my research, what I learned, and demonstrated my new skills with three versions of "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer": an acoustic, a rock preset, and a setting of my own.

Demonstrating a "rock" preset on my amp.

I had students recording presentations, so for future years I have both my own and student samples to share at the beginning of our project. This will help students to see the expectations for their presentations from the beginning.

Students had very positive comments about the project overall; many wished we could have continued throughout the winter break. I also had a few parents and even a community member compliment this research presentation.

The three favorite performances were:

• Baking Holiday Treats (because they all had the opportunity to taste test)
• Learning Unique Hair Braiding (they appreciated the presenters use of videos that were well edited)
• Learning to be a Comedian (this student performed a short set within their project)

As a teaching staff, we plan to make a few improvements to the unit next year. Now we have videos to share, and we plan to have students create a works cited page (this year they created a list that sorted them by the source type).

Our blogs will continue to share our learning and progress throughout the rest of the year with other projects. We are especially excited to share Literature Circles with our students this spring.

Overall, Genius Projects have been deemed successful in developing student research skills, presentations abilities, and increasing their confidence! We plan to continue this project in 7th grade English for the foreseeable future.