Read Aloud Roundup: December 2014

It can be hard to find winter holiday books that are appropriate for public school. Naturally, many of them are explicitly religious. Our community foundation is the arm of a church (admittedly one that recognizes many faith paths), and I'm sensitive to the appearance that we're preaching to the classroom. At the same time, most of the students are African-American or Latino and celebrate Christmas with their families, which I want to acknowledge. Additionally, some of the winter-themed stories focus a lot on snow... which San Francisco kids just don't have. So I usually use the December Read Aloud to introduce diverse or interfaith/intercultural holiday traditions. This year it falls in the middle of Hanukkah, and several of the books are about that celebration. Discussion usually centers on family traditions and what the children will do over their winter break.

Read Aloud Roundup: February 2014

Black History Month came again, with a new round of children's books! Some favorite authors and illustrators made their appearance -- Jacqueline Woodson, Andrea Davis Pinkney, and Kadir Nelson are always excellent choices. My wife reminds me that I should seek out biographies of activists like Bayard Rustin (watched this documentary today) and Malcolm X (for kids? maybe middle school) for next year. I had an overflow of books about African-American women, so a couple will be featured in March for Women's History Month.

I had some trouble finding accurate and thoughtful books suitable for our youngest students, so both kindergarten classes were assigned poetry -- one short poem per book, which was closer to the usual picturebook experience than the anthologies I'd tried earlier this year. Still, the big ideas behind the little words means more work for the volunteer reader leading the discussion. If I'd had unlimited time and funds, I would have tried to find something better for kindergarten.

Read Aloud Roundup: May 2013

April's Read Aloud was cancelled with short notice (schoolwide testing), so the books stayed on until May. The spring theme is still appropriate after Earth Day, thankfully. This was the last session of the year!

Volunteer for Green Branch May-September

Because I answered a similar volunteer call last summer and found myself with an unexpected but very worthwhile internship, I have to pass on this message from Green Branch Library's executive director, Shari Leskowitz:

We Need Volunteers!

Read Aloud Roundup: March 2013

For Women's History Month, I selected stories about strong, smart, spunky girls and women -- most of them real historical figures, but also a few modern fictional characters. Nearly all of the titles are appropriate for, say, grades 1-4. There wasn't much difference in reading level/complexity, and the subject matter didn't have notable violence, say, as some of the more challenging titles I've had before (Henry's Freedom Box, Your Move) do.

One of my prospective titles didn't arrive in time, but I do have a few on hand to fill in gaps for this purpose (they're left over from previous months now and again, or donations I've picked up) and one was a great fit! Be Who You Are is the story of a child who realizes that she feels more like a girl than a boy, and has supportive family members who help her transition gender at school and in the world. We've often talked about the different roles people have for boys and girls, issues of equality and fairness (kids feel this deeply!), and respect for others, so this picks up the topic at a more advanced level. I gave it to the 2nd-grade reader who really liked 10,000 Dresses.

I also donated 3 additional books for the 3 classrooms of 4th and 5th graders. They’re longer selections that weren't appropriate for Read Aloud, but will be great for chapter book readers or for a longer unit with the teacher another time.

Sweethearts of Rhythm

It Can’t Be Done, Nellie Bly!

The Woman in the Moon

Read Aloud Roundup: February 2013

This month's theme was an obvious choice for an elementary with "civil rights" in its name: Black History Month.

I offer books representing people of color as a year-round practice, but in February I focus on particular events and eras of African-American history, like slavery, Jim Crow, school desegregation, and voting rights. The familiar names -- Martin Luther King, Jr.; Rosa Parks; Harriet Tubman; Ruby Bridges -- certainly come up, but this year I made an effort to branch out and look at some less well-known individuals and also at the communities involved. Civil rights didn't happen because of one person giving a speech or going to jail -- of course, they didn't just happen, but were fought for and are still being won today -- but were the result of many years of many people standing up for what they believed was right, and overcoming a majority who wanted to keep the status quo. That valuable lesson is one that repeats in many of these titles and the related discussions.

Black History Month often means talking about big ideas with little people, so most of these discussion question sets begin with an overview or some talking points before the reading. That gives the reader a chance to find out what the class has already studied, and where the general maturity level is regarding the topic of race. (By February, these recurring readers should have a grasp on what works for that grade level, and the kids have had half a year to become accustomed to discussion of sensitive or uncomfortable topics. Also, they'll be well into units on civil rights and Black History Month, so these topics aren't coming out of nowhere.)

Read Aloud Roundup: January 2013

This month was a bit of a mishmash as I put together some of the books leftover from previous themes. I'll be touching on specific themes later -- Black History Month, Women's History Month, Earth Day/Environmentalism/Spring, etc. Some of the books for the older grades were poetry or non-fiction, so I recommended selections to be read and discussed during the session. I also got a lot of feedback this month, so I held off on publishing this post until I could add those notes.

Read Aloud Roundup: December 2012

This month the volunteers read on on a day just before school let out for break. I picked out books to touch on several winter holidays: Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice. I'd purchased Mrs. Greenberg's Messy Hanukkah, but somehow it didn't make it into the stack. I'll have to put it aside for next year. :/

Read Aloud Roundup: November 2012

Selections this month touched on civic engagement and the election process, thankfulness and helping others, and family members. Some of the books were a bit long for a single read aloud period, so I asked the readers to cover part of the story, and leave the rest for another time. Students could read the book by themselves later, or their teacher might choose to read it to the class.

Read Aloud Roundup: October 2012

K
Dad and Me in the Morning, by Patricia Lakin

How do you wake up? Do you wake up the at the same time every morning?
What are some ways you communicate without speaking words? Do these ways work for someone who cannot hear?

Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match, by Monica Brown

Are there things you like to do or wear or eat that “don’t match”?
What is it like when you surprise someone by doing something unexpected?
Why does Marisol try to match? Do you think that’s a good or bad idea?

Read Aloud Roundup: September 2012

Yesterday was the first Read Aloud volunteer session of the new school year!

I bought the books over the summer and wrote the discussion questions for each class, and the volunteer readers met their classes in the morning for storytime. Each reader will stay with the same classroom all year long (many of them have been reading for the same teachers' classes for years!), so that the children get to know them and know what to expect at storytime and in discussion afterward, for the entire time they're at the school. 

Read Aloud Roundup: March 2012

This month, my sweetie wrote questions for grades 1 and 2, and I did questions for 3, 4, and 5; we collaborated on the kindergarten questions.

K
The Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill
What would you do if someone acted like Mean Jean at recess?
What kind of rules do you have for your school playground?
Why do you think Jean acted the way she did?

Read Aloud Roundup: February 2012

Questions this month again brought to you by the tireless sweetie (who also read to the mixed 4/5th grade classroom). Selections were made with an eye to observing Black History Month.

Read Aloud Roundup: November 2011

This month's questions are brought to you by my sweetie, who saw how buried in schoolwork I was yesterday and rattled off discussion questions as a favor while I went off to choir rehearsal. Themes include Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving.

K
All Families Are Special! by Norma Simon
-Did you see a family that looked like yours in the story? Which one?
-Do all families enjoy all of the things we heard in the story? What things does your family like to do together?
-Do all families love the same?

Namaste! by Diana Cohn
-Nima greets everyone by putting her hands together, bowing and saying Namaste. What do we do?
-How does her greeting make other people’s day a little brighter?
-What can you do to brighten people’s day?

1st
How My Parents Learned to Eat by Ina R. Friedman
-What was the hardest part for her parents?
-Why do you think they wanted to learn how the other one ate?
-Are there special things you do regarding food in your house?

Cherries and Cherry Pits by Vera B. Williams
-Why does Bidemmi tell so many stories?
-Do you think her cherry pit idea is a good one?
-What do you think will happen after she has cherry trees on her whole block?

2nd
Molly’s Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen
-Who makes things hard for Molly at her new school?
-Why does her Mama make the dolly to look like her?
-What did the other kids learn about Thanksgiving from Miss Stickley?

The Boy Who Cried Fabulous! by Leslea Newman
-Why does Roger get in trouble the first time?
-What do his parents learn about him as they visit the town?
-Do you think more people should have this ability to see things as fabulously as Roger does?

3rd
The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco
-How many different uses did the quilt have?
-Why was it so important to stitch the quilt with the old clothes?
-How did they keep the traditions going?

Nobody Knew What To Do by Becky Ray McCain
-Why was it hard for the kids to say that bullying was NOT okay?
-What would you do in that situation?
-How would you help a kid like Ray if you saw him being bullied?

4th
America’s White Table by Margot Theis Raven
-Why did Katie's mother make sure to explain the importance of the White Table?
-How did that make her Uncle John feel?
-What would you put on the table?

4/5th
The Wall by Eve Bunting
-Why was it important to find his Grandpa’s name?
-How would you feel if you had a relative’s name on that wall?
-How would you honor a relative who was a soldier?

5th
Better Than You by Trudy Ludwig
Why do you think it was important to Jake to make sure he was the best at everything?
Do you think it’s important to be proud of your accomplishments?
What are some ways that you can share what you’re good at with others without bragging or boasting and putting others down?

Substitute reader: 2nd grade

This past Read Aloud, I visited the school to pass out books and meet this year's crop of reader volunteers (there were a few new ones, but many have been doing this for years). As it happened, our predicted photo opportunity was co-opted by an earthquake drill, so I may have to join them another time for that purpose.

As it also happened, one of the volunteers had forgotten the appointment, and I was engaged as a substitute for his class (it was only the second Read Aloud of the school year, so I don't think the kids much registered the change). With about 30 seconds of prep (and aren't I glad that *I* was the one who'd read all the books beforehand?), I was propelled to a second-grade classroom across the hall and introduced to the class by the principal.



We read In Our Mothers' House, by Patricia Polacco, which is about a Berkeley family with two moms and three children. The story is narrated by the eldest child, and the first question a student had was, "Why is the baby black?" (We established that the baby was born that way, and the baby was a different color than the mothers because she was adopted.)



The main conflict in the book is that, although the family is very popular with most of their neighbors (holding block parties and the like), one neighbor is disapproving and tries to spoil their fun. At one juncture, she hisses at the mothers, "I don't appreciate what you are." However, just "what they are" is not explicitly addressed by the author, and I think the specific point about homosexuality or non-traditional families may have passed by the kids. I stopped the book at that point and asked the kids what they thought she meant, and got a variety of answers like "She doesn't like that they are happy," and "It looks like she isn't having fun, so maybe she is mad about being lonely". Although many families in the school have two moms or two dads (it's in a historically gay neighborhood), I'm not sure that difference would come to mind unless a child had recently been through a similar experience of discrimination.

The book, I realized in the reading, was awfully wordy for the available time. I don't know how long the volunteers usually have, but we had about 20 minutes before the earthquake drill, which was just enough time to conclude with a few generic questions (most of the children wanted to tell me what they were going to be for Halloween -- a holiday mentioned in the story). Polacco's watercolors, though, are always lovely. After we finished, the teacher mentioned that she had been planning already on getting the book for the class -- so I guess it was a good choice!

I very much enjoyed my impromptu Read Aloud! I look forward to doing more of that sort of thing in my graduate classes and internships. My partner's first-graders are going on a library field trip Saturday, and I'll get to join them and help her out. I'll let you know how it goes!

Read Aloud Roundup: October 2011

K
William’s Doll by Charlotte Zolotow
- Why did William’s brother make fun of him? How do you think William felt?
- Why do you think William’s dad didn’t want to get him a doll?
- What are some games and toys that both boys and girls can play with?

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
- What’s your favorite animal at the zoo? Do you know how it makes a family?
- How do penguins take care of their eggs differently than other birds?
- What are some of the different ways that humans make families?

Read Aloud Roundup: September 2011

I've decided to start posting each month about the books I choose for the Read Aloud program.

Some background:
I select books for the Read Aloud​ program run by Metropolit​an Community Foundation​, the social justice organizati​on at my church. Volunteers​ visit Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy each month and read to each classroom,​ then lead a discussion​ about the books. The books are then donated to the classroom libraries.​ Our message centers around themes of Diversity and Inclusion.​ Using granted funds and individual donations to the program, I purchase about 100 picture books each year and provide some simple questions to get the discussion started.