Every year, the Build Your Stack® Committee holds virtual events that help teachers build their classroom and personal libraries. The events provide themed booklists from educators and authors, author talks, and information that can help to build thoughtful, diverse, and engaging libraries for students to access and to inspire educators’ own reading!
Previous event videos and booklists are listed below. Upcoming events will be advertised here on a rotating basis.
Upcoming Build Your Stack® Virtual Events:
Build Your Stack® 101
Monday, September 30 7 P.M. ET
Are you new to Build Your Stack and wondering what it is? Do you need support in finding affordable, engaging texts and resources for your students? Are you looking for quality methods for fostering a love of reading in your classroom? Do you need guidance in choosing diverse books for your students?
Join members of the Build Your Stack committee and special guest panelists to find answers to the questions above, and more! This engaging and practical webinar is an opportunity for some virtual mentoring from supportive colleagues. See the list of presenters below.
Contact buildyourstack@ncte.org with any questions.
FEATURED PANELESTS
Jodi-Beth Hazel has been an English Language Arts and Reading teacher for 17 years in districts across the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas. She currently is an ELAR Curriculum Manager for a school system across Texas and resides in San Antonio with her two daughters and German Shepherd. She’s a Harry Potter fan, a card-carrying member of the Backstreet Army, an avid reader, and a fan of all passionate educators and authors.
Zainab Jabak (she/her/hers) is a Lebanese-American educator, avid reader, speaker, consultant, and proud product of immigration. She brings years of varied school experiences from the U.S. and abroad.
Serving as the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts’s (TCTELA) High School Section Chair, Zainab enjoys collaborating with other educators from across the state, and now the country. Zainab currently teaches at Alief Taylor High School in Houston, Texas. She has worked with children and families for over eight years in various educator roles to advocate for social and political change in education and to grow a strong foundation for students to thrive.
Through National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) she has been involved with various literacy initiatives including ALAN’s Elizabeth Walden Book Award Committee and NCTE’s Build Your Stack Committee.
Zainab has received several awards and grants: the 2023 Promising Young Educator Award by Abydos Learning International, the Book Love Grant, and the Educators Making A Difference Award from the We Need Diverse Books Organization. She is the founder of the first Project LIT Chapter at her school district, where she ensures ALL students are provided with culturally relevant texts.
Instagram: @zainabjabak
X (formerly Twitter): @zainabjabak
LinkedIn: Zainab Jabak
Donalyn Miller is an award-winning Texas educator and author of books about engaging young people with reading. She lives in San Antonio atop a dragon’s hoard of books and comics.
Kristine Schutz is an assistant professor of Literacy, Language, and Culture at the University of Illinois-Chicago and a proud member of NCTE’s Build Your Stack committee. With over 20 years of experience as an educator—including years as a dual language (Spanish/English) elementary teacher, a literacy specialist, and a curriculum designer—Kristine is committed to helping teachers design and facilitate engaging, meaningful learning experiences for young people. She specializes in literacy instruction that supports children to comprehend and compose complex texts through inquiry-driven approaches. At UIC, she teaches elementary methods courses to preservice teachers and graduate courses on reading assessment and instruction, early childhood literacy and language, and children’s and young adult literature. Along with coauthor Rebecca Woodard, she recently published her first book, Teaching Climate Change to Children: Literacy Pedagogy that Cultivates Sustainable Futures.
Previous Build Your Stack® Virtual Events:
(Click on the dates below to watch videos and access book lists* from some of our previous events.)
Build Your Stack®: Best Books of the 2023–2024 School Year June 6, 2024
Build Your Stack®: Border Stories April 15, 2024
Build Your Stack® Time to Laugh March 4, 2024
Build Your Stack® with Middle Grade Texts October 18, 2023
Build Your Stack®: The Best Books of the 2022–2023 School Year June 13, 2023
Build Your Stack®: Poetic Possibilities April 27, 2023
NCTE members and presenters Kefah Ayesh and Darius Phelps wrote blog posts that tie into this event’s theme, and we encourage you to read them using the links provided.
Build Your Stack® with Nonfiction Texts February 27, 2023
Build Your Stack® Best Books of the 2021–2022 School Year June 15, 2022
Author Meg Grehan also wrote a blog post specifically for this event that we encourage you to read.
Build Your Stack® A Rainbow of Pride Books April 25, 2022
Build Your Stack® with the Best Books of the 2020–2021 School Year June 15, 2021
Build Your Stack® with Award-Winning Authors May 3, 2021
Build Your Stack® with Multilingual Texts April 15, 2021
Elementary and Middle Grade Focus June 30, 2020
Majmudar’s book, The Torchbearers, is currently available here. (You may also contact her directly for more information about how to purchase copies at ami.majmudar@gmail.com.)
Secondary Focus August 10, 2020
*NCTE and local bookstores receive a small commission when you purchase through these links.