…changing the world, one reader at a time.
[This message was originally shared in front of a live group at Lower School Chapel on Tuesday, February 11, 2020. Miss Smith is a kindergarten teacher who identifies as a Black woman, and I am a teacher librarian who identifies as a White woman. We collaborated on this chapel to help answer some of the […]
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February is Black History Month! The image above is this year’s display outside of the library, which I created with Ms. Smith, kindergarten teacher and one of my all-around favorite humans. The silhouettes belong to strong and proud little members of our school community. Their names are sure to be on walls like this someday! […]
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February is Black History Month. It’s only 28 days long and we’re already on day three, so let’s cut the niceties and get right to it: It’s too easy to let Black History Month pass by without bringing it into the classroom in the way that children deserve. Or to read one picture book about Rosa […]
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I’ve been so amazed at the incredible displays and pieces of art that educators have shared from their schools and libraries to celebrate Black History Month! I mean, come on – this is stunning! Unfortunately for my readers, I’m not much of an artist, which puts many of these beautiful pieces outside of my grasp. […]
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For the first time this year, I put the work into bringing Black History Month to life in my library. It was such a wonderful month of questions, discussions, explorations, and growth! It changed the way that I look at displays and celebrations in my space, and the deep thinking they can inspire. As […]
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The beautiful book Jazz Baby, by Lisa Wheeler and R. Gregory Christie, and some fabulous tunes from Louis Armstrong, Ella FitzGerald, Dizzie Gillespie, Duke Ellington, and John Coltraine were the perfect way to bring some swing into our storytime. We got our bodies moving, said a thank you to some important Black History Month musical heroes, […]
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We honor Black history by… This display is designed to spark conversation and get students thinking. We wanted a display that helped students to see that Black history isn’t something old and stagnant, that can be learned and forgotten, but instead something living, breathing, and still happening right now (and not confined to a single […]
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Since our schoolwide conversation about Black History Month, the kids have been curious and open about discussing race and differences. Here’s a lesson, inspired by middle schoolers, that I shared with my K-4 students last week, if you’d like to see. Last week, I was talking to my middle schoolers about what they […]
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How do you best prepare your students for discussions about race, ability, and other human differences in your classroom? The conversations in the library since our community Black History Month discussion have really been remarkable. I’ve been so impressed with the way that students have opened up and asked questions out loud that they’ve previously […]
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Earlier this week, I shared the most popular posts of 2019, according to statistics, on Fitz Between the Shelves. And while it’s fascinating to see what readers enjoy the most, it’s also surprising to see what makes it to the top of the list; because they’re rarely the moments that I loved the most! So […]
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