Join us this Sunday, August 18, at 8:00 p.m. ET for an #NCTEchat about building your classroom libraries with purpose and intention. Our hosts are both members of NCTE’s Build Your Stack Committee, Tricia Ebarvia (@triciaebarvia) and Aeriale Johnson (@arcticisleteach).
“Books are a form of political action. Books are knowledge. Books are reflection. Books change your mind.”—Toni Morrison
“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”—Audre Lorde
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”—James Baldwin
In this chat we invite you to think about the books you bring into your classrooms through the lens of these important words.
Let’s challenge ourselves to think about the books we’ve read that have pushed our thinking in these ways. Then, with this in mind, let’s think about what we need to do to make space for our students to have similar experiences.
Let’s think about how to ensure that our book stacks are inclusive and meet the diverse needs of all students, and about how they can open students’ eyes to important issues they might not have otherwise considered.
The following questions will be shared during the Twitter chat, after introductions:
WARM-UP: Please introduce yourself and share any book stacks you’ve been reading this summer! What informed your choices in reading and why? #NCTEchat [8:04 p.m.]
Q1: When students return to school, sharing books can be a powerful way to build community. What book stacks will you share with your students that will foster a community of care in your classroom? #NCTEchat [8:10 p.m.]
Q2: Stories offer rich opportunities to build students’ social-emotional learning. Which books will you use this year to nurture social-emotional learning among students and for what specific purposes? #NCTEchat [8:18 p.m.]
Q3: What have you done and what will you do this year to ensure that the book stacks you share with students are inclusive and meet the diverse needs of all students in your room? #NCTEchat [8:26 p.m.]
Q4: How will you use books to disrupt harmful narratives and foster a more accurate and complete understanding of marginalized communities? Which titles and for what purposes? #NCTEchat [8:34 p.m.]
Q5: How might you use text sets beyond books (multimedia or genres or formats) to increase accessibility and deepen understanding for all learners of a particular issue or specific content? #NCTEchat [8:42 p.m.]
Q6: Finally, what new texts are you most excited to share with students this year? For what purposes and how? #NCTEchat [8:50 p.m.]
We hope to see you there! Be sure to join us by using #NCTEchat.
Never participated in a Twitter chat before? Check out this guide to help you get started.