A Diverse School Needs Diverse Literature!

Funded Mar 30, 2023

I am so grateful and honored! Books are the doorway to imagination and, novels especially, show and teach us much about love, life, feelings, friendship, etc. Having yourself represented in that literature creates a greater opportunity for learning and loving to read. Developing a passion for reading is more important than ever at the older elementary/middle school ages. Although we have some books, I was unable to find more than one with a non-male main character, 2 with a black main character (both were about slavery), and none with any other races, abilities or orientations. When the fifth graders saw themselves, their cultures, and their interests represented on the covers of these books, they were Ecstatic! Within minutes of the unboxing, I had a list of requests for each book.

I am currently working through the books to create meaningful teaching materials. I can already see how many incredible topics we will be able to learn about and teach each other. Each book set will be read through in small groups with myself directing and the students in charge. Then they will get to teach what they are learning to the other groups who are all reading a different book set. With these texts, we will be able to cover not only all the typical reading topics (main idea, character development, summarizing, etc) but I will be able to bring in dozens of social science topics such as cultural expectations and differences, tradition, racism, adult expectations on children, loss, grief, differences as strengths, poverty, being differently abled, anxiety and other mental health... the list goes on and on!

Thank you for helping me to have the materials to create more enriching and inclusive content for my reading groups. I am so excited to have these books for my students for many years to come.

You truly make a difference!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Case