February brings the celebration of Black History Month as well as the . While this time of year often a reminder to read and discuss literature by African American writers, it is also a great time to use literature for a bigger purpose.
The themed issue of titled “”聽provides many suggestions: the history and the challenges of using multicultural texts in education, using a variety of literature to develop critical readers, and how to choose the best multicultural books. The article “” poses the question, 鈥淚n what ways, then, can African American children鈥檚 literature in the classroom be seen as a catalyst for social action and social change?鈥� See more in the following resources from and .
Author Sharon Draper was the 2015 winner of the聽 Award for Outstanding Contribution to Adolescent Literature. Among her other titles, she is author of聽Tears of a Tiger, Forged by Fire, and Darkness before Dawn. after winning her award. In the lesson plan聽“” students explore the different facets of complexity in the compelling first-person narrator in Sharon Draper’s Out of My Mind.
Walter Dean Myers has published well over 100 works. Much of Myers鈥檚 work revolves around young people struggling to figure out who they are and how they will survive against a backdrop of violence and turmoil as described in from the . Myers also wants to help young adults learn the basic tools to cope with their lives. In the lesson “” students will identify how Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of nonviolent conflict-resolution is reinterpreted in modern texts, including a text by Walter Dean Myers and rapper Common.
,聽the first volume in the , features primary source materials including many of Giovanni鈥檚 poems reprinted in full, easily adaptable lessons and activities, and a resource section for students and teachers wishing to study Giovanni further. ““, a lesson plan from invites students to read聽Nikki Giovanni鈥檚 poem, “Nikki-Rosa,” and then writing about childhood memories of their own.
Even if they are few in number, diverse books do exist. Tune in to the to hear about recently-published YA titles that celebrate diversity in a range of genres. There鈥檚 something for every reader here: comic book superheroes, Civil Rights history, love stories, humorous essays, poetry, artwork, and stories of suspense.
What titles do you suggest to use as a catalyst?