A Reader Lives A Thousand Lives

Funded Aug 13, 2022

The book "The Other Wes Moore" was first introduced to me by a fellow freshmen English teacher. I saw how engaged her students were in Wes Moore's story, and I knew it would be an important book to share with my students as well. After completing this novel unit with my students, I am so grateful to my donors for making this learning experience possible.

I began the unit by watching an interview with the author to get students engaged in the story right away. They thought it was so crazy that both men had the same name. Even my reluctant readers were intrigued and wanted to begin reading that day! From there, we read the introduction in class together while I modeled what good readers do inside their heads as they read by annotating and questioning. This skill has a huge impact on students ability to understand and really process what they are reading.

Another important skill I teach is the ability to have deep and meaningful discussion. Students are asked to prepare for a Socratic seminar by answering discussion questions and creating questions of their own to ask their classmates. The questions they came up with were often more thought provoking than I would have written myself. Such as, "How does the fact that both Wes' have close relationships with their mother show how love is not always enough?" The discussions are 100% student led, and brought about conversations about family, the importance of living environments, and the need to feel like one belongs. We learned things about each other that we had never known or would have known without these discussions. Incorporating Socratic seminar into the unit challenged my students to not only be able to speak thoughtfully about the ideas in the novel but to also be curious about other's points of view and experiences.

Wes Moore's book so clearly shows how the choices we make in life have lasting effects. This is an extremely important and powerful message specifically for freshmen. As they begin their journey into adulthood, I have found that they learn so much more from literature than lectures. "The Other Wes Moore" offers them the opportunity to watch and reflect as two children grow and make decisions that impact the rest of their lives. The hope is that this experience with the book and their peers will help them to take stock of their past and guide them to a better understanding of the people they hope to become.

None of this would have been possible without your generosity. It warms my heart to know that there are people out there, not just educators, who are willing to invest in the growth of our young people today.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Hopper