Reading to Raise Anti-Racists
During the spring of 2020, there was great awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement. A few Orchard School educators met to discuss a potentially related project for the following school year. The project was supported financially by a group of parents who organized a Go Fund Me to purchase books. Orchard School's PTO also created a separate fund for donations. Here's how Orchard School's "Reading to Raise Anti-Racists" program began:
Reading to Raise Anti-Racists
A Yearlong Initiative at Orchard School
2020-2021
Rationale: Children's sensibilities and attitudes about race start forming at a very early age. If we want to change racialized systems, then we have to deliberately engage kids in dialogue about the complexities of race early in their development. A recent article from Teaching Tolerance illuminates the ever increasing need to take an activist approach and go beyond teaching kindness towards teaching justice (Teaching Kindness Isn't Enough). During this year-long project, we plan to use picture books as a springboard for meaningful, transformative conversations about race because when we "read race" we are helping children develop the skills to see the world through a critical race lens. These books were specifically chosen for the following reasons: they feature Black, Indigenous People and People of Color (BIPOC) as the main character, they avoid stereotypical portrayals of BIPOC, and they are written by authors/illustrators who share an identity with the characters in the book. Some are stories of racism and oppression, but others introduce, explore, and celebrate human differences and show BIPOC children in everyday situations because we don't want to send the message that struggle alone defines the BIPOC experience. Our hope is that as a result of engaging in this school-wide reading and conversation, students will be inspired to become active anti-racists and ask questions like "What can we do?" or " How can we change that?, as they fight for racial justice.
The following document gives information about each month's schoolwide read aloud, as well as supporting materials for the books:
Reading to Raise Anti-Racists
A Yearlong Initiative at Orchard School
2020-2021
Rationale: Children's sensibilities and attitudes about race start forming at a very early age. If we want to change racialized systems, then we have to deliberately engage kids in dialogue about the complexities of race early in their development. A recent article from Teaching Tolerance illuminates the ever increasing need to take an activist approach and go beyond teaching kindness towards teaching justice (Teaching Kindness Isn't Enough). During this year-long project, we plan to use picture books as a springboard for meaningful, transformative conversations about race because when we "read race" we are helping children develop the skills to see the world through a critical race lens. These books were specifically chosen for the following reasons: they feature Black, Indigenous People and People of Color (BIPOC) as the main character, they avoid stereotypical portrayals of BIPOC, and they are written by authors/illustrators who share an identity with the characters in the book. Some are stories of racism and oppression, but others introduce, explore, and celebrate human differences and show BIPOC children in everyday situations because we don't want to send the message that struggle alone defines the BIPOC experience. Our hope is that as a result of engaging in this school-wide reading and conversation, students will be inspired to become active anti-racists and ask questions like "What can we do?" or " How can we change that?, as they fight for racial justice.
The following document gives information about each month's schoolwide read aloud, as well as supporting materials for the books:
year_1-reading_to_raise_anti-racists.pdf | |
File Size: | 1448 kb |
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Year Two - Reading to Raise Anti-Racists (2021-2022 school year)
Our first year was so successful! In the spring of 2021, we created a Donors Choose project to purchase books for the 2021-2022 school year. The project, worth over $1000, was totally funded within one week! Below is information about the books we chose for Year Two of "Reading to Raise Anti-Racists:"
year_2_-reading_to_raise_anti-racists.pdf | |
File Size: | 547 kb |
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The December 2021 read aloud was THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING by Kao Kalia Yang. It's the story of a family of Hmong refugees that inspired a schoolwide book donation to our local U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.
Please see this webpage for information and images of this project.
Please see this webpage for information and images of this project.
The January 2022 read aloud was THE POWER OF HER PEN: THE STORY OF GROUNDBREAKING JOURNALIST ETHEL L. PAYNE by Lesa Cline Ransome. Combining a celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. with the month's book, students were given the opportunity to show how they would take a stand to help to bring about change. After discussing what it might mean to stand up for your beliefs, and using Martin Luther King Jr.'s quote, "You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step," students created individual footsteps to show ways in which they are taking a stand. The students' footsteps stretched around the entire school!
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The February 2022 read aloud was THE ARABIC QUILT by Aya Khalil.
Please see this webpage for information and images from a paper quilt project created in Art with every class in our school.
Please see this webpage for information and images from a paper quilt project created in Art with every class in our school.
The April 2022 read aloud was IN MY MOSQUE, written by M.O. Yuksel and illustrated by Hatem Aly.
Please see this webpage for information and images from a schoolwide project designing doves that were inspired by an illustration in the book. |
Here's a sneak peek at the third year of the project that presently has a new working title of "Beginning with Books: Reaffirming Identities and Raising Voices."
beginning_with_books__affirming_identities___raising_voices.pdf | |
File Size: | 3267 kb |
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Year Three - Beginning with Books: Reaffirming Identities and Raising Voices (2022-2023 school year)
The following document gives information about each month's schoolwide read aloud, as well as supporting materials for the books:
beginning_with_books_-_year_3.pdf | |
File Size: | 3317 kb |
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This tri-fold brochure was given to parents/guardians at the beginning of the 2022- 2023 school year:
beginningwithbooks_tri-fold.pdf | |
File Size: | 803 kb |
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The December 2022 read aloud was MILO IMAGINES THE WORLD, written by Matt de la Pena and illustrated by Christian Robinson.
Please see this webpage for information and images from a schoolwide project sharing students' imaginings of a world. The cloud design was inspired by the cloud on the cover of this book. Our theme was "Orchard School Students Imagine the World."
Please see this webpage for information and images from a schoolwide project sharing students' imaginings of a world. The cloud design was inspired by the cloud on the cover of this book. Our theme was "Orchard School Students Imagine the World."
Year Four - Beginning with Books: Reaffirming Identities and Raising Voices (2023-2024 school year)
The following document gives information about each month's schoolwide read aloud, as well as supporting materials for the books:
beginning_with_books_-_year_4.pdf | |
File Size: | 723 kb |
File Type: |
This tri-fold brochure was given to parents/guardians at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year:
beginning_with_books_tri-fold-year_4.docx.pdf | |
File Size: | 724 kb |
File Type: |
Our November selection for the whole school read aloud was FINDING MY DANCE by Ria Thundercloud. Here's how one 2nd grade project looked: