We need to engage our students and children as young as possible in this democratic process and the history behind it. This starts at home, our schools, and libraries and we need to make sure we center diverse books in order to empower our BIPOC students and White allies. To do this, check out our Colorful Pages Election Day Book List for Middle and High School Students! We have listed 8 diverse books that are perfect to read on, before, or after Election Day to teach about voting and our country’s voting rights history.
K-3 Voting & Elections Lesson Plan
Happy (almost) Election Day! I am excited to share the lesson plan and materials that I made for my own class. I have broadened it based on my experiences teaching K-3 so that we have resources for our youngest future voters. In this lesson, your kiddos will learn more about voting and then hold a class mock election to practice how to register and vote. Use these free plans and materials to engage our future voters across our country!
Diverse Books for Election Day: An Elementary School Student List
We need to engage our students and children as young as possible in this democratic process and the history behind it. This starts at home, our schools, and libraries and we need to make sure we center diverse books in order to empower our BIPOC students and White allies. To do this, check out our Colorful Pages Election Day Book List for Elementary School Students! We have listed 8 diverse books that are perfect to read on, before, or after Election Day to teach about voting and our country’s voting rights history.
Spooky Diverse Books for Middle Grade and Young Adult Readers
Pick one of these Spooky Diverse Books for Middle Grade and Young Adult Readers to send chills down your spine. I have listed 6 horror middle grade books and 4 horror young adult books to choose from. Just remember: it’s okay to leave on the light!
Filipino American History Month: 2020 Book List
Happy Filipino American History Month! In 2009, the US Congress declared October as National Filipino American History Month. This is to commemorate the first recorded presence of Filipinos on the continental United States on October 18, 1587. I chose books that provide windows and mirrors into Filipino and Filipino-American experiences, history, and culture. In this list, there are 5 picture books, 3 middle grade books, and 2 young adult books. Pick a couple to get started and let’s uplift Filipino stories!
National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month: 2020 Book List
Happy National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month! Within this article, I list 20 diverse books: 9 Picture Books, 5 Early Chapter & Middle Grade Books, and 6 Young Adult Books. Each of these books are written by a #OwnVoices author who identifies as Latinx. Pick out a couple of these books for your children or students’ age range and start to celebrate National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month!
“Claim Your Name”: PreK – Grade 1 Name Writing Lesson
This lesson plan is for students in PreK, Grade K, and Grade 1. The lesson is centered around the idea of “Claim Your Name” to empower students! To help students claim their names, teachers will show them an example using Alma and How She Got Her Name, conduct a community circle to practice name pronunciation, and end with a name writing activity. I hope that educators and parents find this free resource helpful in our journey to build up our students and community!
Move Beyond “Chrysanthemum”: Diverse Books About Names
As teachers, librarians, or parents, we need to make space to empower students to claim their name. I have seen most people go about this using the book “Chrysanthemum” by Kevin Henkes. While I think this book is lovely, I also know that diverse books about name stories empower students, especially our BIPOC students, more. Therefore, below are 6 diverse picture books about names. Each of these books will act as a mirror or window for our students, which increases their cultivation of cultural empowerment and cross-cultural empathy. Start the school year strong by using these books to build a welcoming environment for every name!
10 Diverse Picture Books for the First Day of School
Make sure to kick off the year right with a diverse book! I have listed 10 Diverse Picture Books for the First Day of School. Each book is perfect for the first day of school and features one or more Black Indigenous Characters of Color! By reading a diverse book on the first day, you are helping your student or child see that diversity and inclusion are core values at schools and sets the tone for the rest of the year.
Back-to-School with Colorful Pages: Diverse Books About PreK-12 School
This year is probably the most important year to have youth read books about school. We can utilize diverse books about school to cultivate more positive feelings about school in the wake of anxiety about this year and grief about last year. Use one of these Diverse Books about PreK-12 School to do that! In this list, there are 10 Picture Books, 9 Early Chapter/Middle Grade Books, and 7 Young Adult Books.
