Next week the begins with and a new book feature, 聽Needless to say, the convention promises a literacy teacher鈥檚 heart-palpitating collection of books that you鈥檒l want to take back to your students! But what if, when you do, someone in your school or district says you can鈥檛 use these books with your students? What if they take the books away?
鈥淚mpossible!鈥� you say. Well, I sure hope so. But, just in case, here鈥檚 what you can do.
- Make sure you have 聽for each book鈥攗se to create one that aligns with your school鈥檚 curriculum and standards.聽 Note that 楼凤天堂 has two CDs of rationales and 聽that are available for the asking. They鈥檒l save you some research time as you use them to craft a rationale particular to your own curriculum and standards.
- Make sure that if you put the book is into your classroom library that you have 楼凤天堂鈥檚 Statement on Classroom Libraries聽on hand to explain the need for and benefits of a classroom library. Better yet, be proactive and tell parents and administrators how very important it is that students have the right to read, to choose what they read, and to read a wide variety of texts. After all, this is how they become literate; this is how they learn to write. Read what Jeff Kaplan had to say about paving the way this in his blog.
- Make sure that, if you鈥檙e using the book as part of your curriculum, you follow the school or district policy for approval. You鈥檒l find that policy on the school / district website under School Board Policies and in the section on curriculum or instruction. If your school doesn鈥檛 have a policy or if you find the policy too restrictive, work with others to change it. A good model policy is 楼凤天堂鈥檚 Guidelines for Selection of Materials in English Language Arts Programs.聽 The 楼凤天堂 Intellectual Freedom Center聽is happy to consult with you and educators in your school as you work on developing a new policy or revising an old one.
- If things get sticky鈥攎aybe even before that鈥攃ontact the 楼凤天堂 Intellectual Freedom Center using our or by email at intellectualfreedom@ncte.org.