All to often, our list of Black poets and artists gets limited to the writers who have been anthologized over an over again. I see Langston Hughes “Harlem” and Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool” and Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” over and over again. These poets, phenomenal poets, are often reduced to

As we continue the work of building anti-racist/anti-biased classrooms, the texts we put in front of students are a critical starting point. In this episode, we celebrate LatinX writers across Latin America.

Every English teacher has an American Lit course at some time in her career. Here are 12 ways to creatively and thoughtfully approach lessons, the curriculum, and the texts tackled in an American Literature course.

Join us as we explore literature, supplementary texts, and memoir from noteworthy African American writers.

Making Essential Questions ESSENTIAL (and why your curriculum feels clunky) **If you’re new to the world of essential questions, I highly recommend you do a bit more background reading before continuing on with this post. Check out Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe to start

As you know, I love sharing picture books with children and particularly value diversity and #ownvoices in the literature I share with children.

You can dramatically change the behavior of your hardest students using the two by ten strategy by spending just two minutes a day for ten days talking to students about what interests them.

Hear from expert sociologist Dr. Anindya Kundu on the importance of student

I was very lucky to get a Donors Choose project funded recently. I titled my project “Diverse Books for Diverse Readers,” which I totally copied from my friend Erin over at The Elementary Darling! Erin created a list using suggestions from Vera, who has tons of suggestions over on her blog, The Tutu Teacher. Make ... Read More about Diversify Your Classroom Library

Psychologists have yet to find a way to diminish hidden prejudice, but they do have strategies for thwarting discrimination.

Including social justice in your high school English classroom is an ideal way to connect the themes and motifs from the literature we teach to the issues

All to often, our list of Black poets and artists gets limited to the writers who have been anthologized over an over again. I see Langston Hughes “Harlem” and Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool” and Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” over and over again. These poets, phenomenal poets, are often reduced to

he Donut describes themselves as “a community of people changing the world through inclusiveness and positivity. We provide fact-based summaries of the day’s biggest stories and shed light on big-media spin, all while promoting good vibes and civic action”. Okay! So, yes. Yes to all of this. Here’s

All to often, our list of Black poets and artists gets limited to the writers who have been anthologized over an over again. I see Langston Hughes “Harlem” and Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool” and Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” over and over again. These poets, phenomenal poets, are often reduced to

he Donut describes themselves as “a community of people changing the world through inclusiveness and positivity. We provide fact-based summaries of the day’s biggest stories and shed light on big-media spin, all while promoting good vibes and civic action”. Okay! So, yes. Yes to all of this. Here’s

Click through to read about what we can do in our English classrooms to take a stand against hate. To teach our students about equity. To open up more dialogue, more understanding, more compassion, more empowerment. To inspire our students to use their voices to make a difference in the world.

From Candice Carty-Williams and Sara Collins to Reba Barron, here are the black writers you need to know about.

Race-related issues impact all of us, inside school and out. How can we have productive, healthy conversations with students about these issues?

The Hate U Give lesson plans for project based learning books about racism for kids, exploring Black Lives Matter movement, and critical consciousness studies and diversity discussions good for high school students (grades 9-12). Here are 59 The Hate You Give project ideas and activities using the novel and the movie for watch, read, write, and think unit plans.

Every English teacher has an American Lit course at some time in her career. Here are 12 ways to creatively and thoughtfully approach lessons, the curriculum, and the texts tackled in an American Literature course.

Try something other than Poe in your secondary English classroom this Halloween; instead, send them off to try a mini-research project! This mini-research project gives students the chance to learn about the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead while honoring the lives of amazing poets and authors who have died. This product has two parts: a mini-research project and a fiction/poetry reading annotation guide. The two parts can be used together or separately - that's up to you! The mini-research project sends students to their school databases to look up biographical information about famous poets (or other dead authors if you choose!). With the information they've learned, students will create a colorful handout to present to the rest of the class and to place on a bulletin board or door dec "Author Altar" set up in the style of Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead. The Product Includes: Lesson Plan suggestions The Research Assignment - A one-page overview of a three step research process. The original copy (PDF) has students focus on dead poets, but I've also included an editable Google Docs compatible version for you to edit as you please! You can easily send students to research a number of dead authors (see list at the end of description) An "altar" handout for students to complete while researching, present, and then place on your classroom (or door dec) altar. This item is a PDF and cannot be changed so that I can protect the copyright of the clipart artists. Rubric for the research project EXTENSION: An open-ended annotation guide for any Day of the Dead related short stories or poetry (PDF) List of suggested poems and short stories included Ways to Use this Product: TWO DAYS: Day One:  Assign Research Assignment: Day of the Dead Author Altar Day Two:  Present Authors THREE DAYS: Day One:  Open with a Day of the Dead poem or short story; introduce Research Assignment Day Two:  In-class work day on Author Altars and research Day Three:  Present Authors FOUR DAYS: Day One:  Put students into eight groups.  Assign two groups the poem from Komunyakaa, assign two groups the poem from Vasquez, assign two groups the poem from Campo, and assign two groups the short story from Gonzalez.  Have students read and annotate for their assigned reading. Day Two:  JIGSAW!  Now that students are experts in their own reading assignment, reassign the groups so that the groups contain one student from each reading assignment.  Students should share their poem/story and a summary of what they learned. Day Three:  Assign Research Assignment: Day of the Dead Author Altar; Read and discuss overview article Day Four: Present Authors FIVE DAYS: Day One:  Put students into eight groups.  Assign two groups the poem from Komunyakaa, assign two groups the poem from Vasquez, assign two groups the poem from Campo, and assign two groups the short story from Gonzalez.  Have students read and annotate for their assigned reading. Day Two:  JIGSAW!  Now that students are experts in their own reading assignment, reassign the groups so that the groups contain one student from each reading assignment.  Students should share their poem/story and a summary of what they learned. Day Three:  Assign Research Assignment: Day of the Dead Author Altar; Read and discuss overview article Day Four: Provide an in-class work day Day Five:  Present Authors

There are many Ted Talks about race and injustice, but here I'll list the best talks to pair with The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Even better, there's one perfect for the beginning, middle, and end of the novel. This way you can space them out throughout your unit. How to raise a black son in ...

Every English teacher has an American Lit course at some time in her career. Here are 12 ways to creatively and thoughtfully approach lessons, the curriculum, and the texts tackled in an American Literature course.

Fantastic list of 31 books for teaching race to teens and small children. Also books about racism in the educational system and what to do about it. Must read!

Read how I learned about racial inequality through nonfiction books that can used in your classroom.

All American Boys by Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds was published in 2015, but the novel is just as relevant today. The chapters alternate between characters as the story unfolds. All American Boys depicts the

All to often, our list of Black poets and artists gets limited to the writers who have been anthologized over an over again. I see Langston Hughes “Harlem” and Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool” and Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” over and over again. These poets, phenomenal poets, are often reduced to

Giving student the opportunity to research and read about critical figures in Black History is an essential component the front-loading and background building for many reading tasks. This mini-research project allows students the opportunity to spend concentrated time learning about the life, context, major works, and movement that ten key Black Americans in history. I use this activity as a pre-reading exercise before starting the play A Raisin in the Sun, but this can be applied to even more readings, including but certainly not limited to: Fences Their Eyes Were Watching God I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings The Hate U Give Native Son Invisible Man Go Tell it On the Mountain The Color Purple Beloved Sing, Unburied, Sing ...and so many more! The project is focused on the following ten individuals (selected especially for their written works and speeches), but is also editable should you choose to focus on different influencers: Frederick Douglass Sojourner Truth James Baldwin Ruby Bridges John Lewis Malcom X Emmett Till Angela Davis Lorraine Hansberry Langston Hughes STAGE ONE: Students receive their groups and their Influencer. They conduct preliminary research and add their findings to a group slide deck. STAGE TWO: Students read a major work from each of their influencers. This includes the speech John Lewis made at the March on Washington, the Gates to Freedom speech from Angela Davis, and an audio excerpt from Ruby Bridges' new memoir. After reading, students discuss their observations and respond to reflection questions either as a group or individually. STAGE THREE: Students create a memorable quote graphic using Canva or other tool to emphasize a critical line from the text that they read. STAGE FOUR: Students present their research and reflections on reading in a Jigsaw format and take notes on the other Influencers that their classmates researched.

Here is a giant list of 50+ books for high school English students to read before going to college. Let’s widen the cultural lens for our students by exposing them to books outside of American Literature. This list can be used for selecting a whole class novel, creating literature circles or book

We’re taking a deep dive into a very important teaching strategy in the English classroom: close reading. Specifically, we’re looking at CHARACTERIZATION.

Whether you're celebrating Black History Month in February or incorporating more Black voices to diversify your curriculum, this digital choice board activity will help students gain exposure to 25 different articles, videos, poems, and stories. The goal of a choice board is to primarily provide choice to students - an opportunity to self-navigate their interests and explore new ideas. This activity can be used as a bell ringer, a weekly activity, or a 1-2 day lesson plan with reading and discussion. The choice board is highly versatile and can be customized to fit your exact classroom needs. WATCH A VIDEO PREVIEW INSIDE THE PRODUCT HERE! HOW DOES IT WORK? The choice board is constructed in Google Slides. Once you select the pre-made board or make your own edits, teachers will present the board to students as a view-only Google Slide. From there, students can click each of the buttons to gain access to the live links for each. Teachers may: Assign this as a daily activity Assign this as a "tic-tac-toe" activity asking students to read everything in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line Assign this weekly asking students to pick form a different color/category each time Then, students will use the Google Form template to respond and reflect on what they read or watched that day. Google Forms automatically collects all respondent's information in to a spreadsheet making it easy for teachers to read reflections quickly and all in one place. WHAT DOES THIS PRODUCT INCLUDE? Teacher directions ONE ready-to-assign choice board that reads "BLACK HISTORY MONTH CHOICE BOARD" (to be used during February) ONE ready-to-assign choice board that reads "CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY & CULTURE" (to be used any time of year) Both of the above choice boards in editable format Google Form for student responses WHAT ARE THE CATEGORIES? Each button is linked to a YouTube video, article, poem, or some other web experience. Each category contains FIVE buttons, giving the choice board a total of 25 live links for students to follow. The categories include: POETRY STORIES BOOKS ART & MUSIC CULTURE You might also be interested in these other resources from Mud and Ink Teaching: Choose Your Own Adventure - Narrative Writing The Best Part of Me - A Creative Photography Lesson Reading Activities for Book Clubs & Lit Circles Don't forget that leaving feedback earns you points toward FREE TPT purchases, so let me know how everything is working out! © Mud and Ink Teaching Please note - this resource is for use by one teacher only. Additional teachers must purchase their own license. If you are interested in purchasing several licenses, please let me know. Good luck on your adventurous teaching journey! [email protected] Let's Stay Connected! Follow me on Instagram Follow me on Facebook Check out my Blog

While the work is never done, I thought I could share what I think are the best fiction books for teaching about Black Lives Matter.

A long list of 58 Books every preschool class should have. Must have books for preschool. Kids love to read here's more to add to your collection.

As we continue the work of building anti-racist/anti-biased classrooms, the texts we put in front of students are a critical starting point. In this episode, we celebrate LatinX writers across Latin America.

Every English teacher has an American Lit course at some time in her career. Here are 12 ways to creatively and thoughtfully approach lessons, the curriculum, and the texts tackled in an American Literature course.