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High School English and TPT Seller Resources

Lit Literature Reviews

3 Reasons Why You Need to Teach All American Boys

December 13, 2020

Are you ready to teach a novel that students will love? Want to discuss complex ideas with the teenagers in your classroom? All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brenden Kiely is a novel that will allow you to do all that and more! This book was one of the first young adult novels inspired by the #BlackLivesMatter movement and it still resonates today. While there is a multitude of reasons to incorporate it into your curriculum, this blog post will cover 3 reasons why you need to teach All American Boys. 

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I personally use and love, or think my readers will find useful.

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Reason #1 To Teach All American Boys: Diverse Perspectives

The diverse perspectives All American Boys presents makes the novel stand out from other social justice novels. The story is told in first-person from two different characters–one white and one black.

Rashad is a black teen. He’s in the military academy. His father is a police officer. When a police officer brutally attacks him, Rashad is more confused than angry–he didn’t realize he was “that kind of black.”

Quinn, the other protagonist, witnesses Rashad’s beating. He’s a white teenager, on the basketball team, and the son of a veteran who died in combat. Even more important, he is close to the police officer who attacks Rashad.

Cover for It's Lit Teaching Teachers Pay Teachers product: FREE All American Boys Bookmarks
Download FREE All American Boys bookmarks right here!

While Rashad grapples with his own injuries, Quinn examines his own biases.

While Quinn weighs whether to side with old loyalties or examine his own privilege, Rashad has to decide whether or not to speak up about that injustice committed against him.

Neither character knows the other well–they attend the same school, but run in different circles–yet their stories nevertheless intertwine. 

Connections for all Students

Even in the most diverse classroom, Quinn or Rashad’s story will resonate with someone in your class. 

There are a lot of great young adult novels that discuss social justice or the Black Lives Matter movement. Very few, however, incorporate a white perspective.

Now, I fully believe that the traditional English curriculum has way too many white voices as is and that the canon needs an overhaul.

But offering a white point-of-view–for better or worse–will help to get some reluctant white students to re-think long-held beliefs.

A white voice will also go a long way in getting a book about a controversial topic approved to be taught in the first place. After all, so many amazing units about race, privilege, and social justice never see the light of day because conservative administration or parents shut it down immediately.

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Reason #2 to Teach All American Boys: Deep Themes

These diverse voices help establish the themes and deep ideas that run throughout the novel. 

Rashad’s Story

First, there’s the obvious issue of police brutality. An officer violently attacks Rashad Rashad while he’s shopping for a few snacks at a cornerstore. He wakes up in a hospital. 

Later on in this story, Rashad’s father–another officer–describes a moment when he, assuming the worst, fired on an innocent suspect, rendering the suspect paralyzed for life. 

The two instances allow for students to analyze the issue of police brutality from multiple angles. Rashad’s attacker is white, but his father is black. This shows that police brutality runs deeper than mere racism. 

There is a lot that you can discuss with students here. 

Cover for It's Lit Teaching's Teachers Pay Teachers Product: All American Boys Full Unit Bundle
Ready to incorporate All American Boys into your classroom? Get everything you need to teach this novel–in person or online–right here!

Quinn’s Story

Then, there’s Quinn, who witnesses the event. The officer responsible for Rashad’s injuries is a close family friend of Quinn’s, a man who helped Quinn cope with his father’s death. While the officer’s family begs Quinn to testify on the officer’s behalf, Quinn knows deep down that Rashad didn’t deserve the treatment he received.

Quinn battles with how to proceed and how to reckon the two sides of his friend: the role model he grew up with and the violent man who put Rashad in the hospital. 

Social Justice

If you’re looking to discuss social justice and the ways that students can speak out against injustice, you’ll find more than enough to talk about as well. 

Rashad’s brother, Spoony, is determined to get Rashad’s story out there. Meanwhile, his peers support him in their classes. 

The hashtag #RashadIsAbsentAgainToday appears mysteriously outside of school. Quinn eventually wears a t-shirt to school to show that he stands by Rashad. 

And the novel ends with a powerful demonstration in support of Rashad. 

Yet, my favorite lesson in this novel is the one on privilege. While racism is a theme that we see often enough in young adult books, there aren’t too many that walk readers through the process of identifying, understanding, and analyzing one’s privilege.

I love that we get to watch Quinn realize that being white has allowed him to “opt-out” of a lot of difficult conversations in his life and that he ultimately decides to no longer live in ignorance.

It’s a powerful lesson for white students, who might otherwise roll their eyes at another “racism story,” and just one more reason to teach All American Boys.

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Reason #3 to Teach All American Boys: Relatability

Ultimately, All American Boys is about two teenage boys trying to understand injustices in the world in which they live. 

The story is told through their voices. They have teenage concerns like girls, basketball, and parties. They use slang and fib to their parents. 

Rashad and Quinn are relatable. Your students will recognize them, and that gives the story extra power.

Teachers Pay Teachers Cover for It's Lit Teaching resource: Black Lives Matter Social Justice Lit Circle Bundle
In this literature circle unit, students will choose between three Black Lives Matter movement-inspired novels: The Hate U Give, Dear Martin, or All American Boys. As students read, they’ll also prepare a social justice speech. Click here to learn more!

Racism. Privilege. Justice. These are not just adult themes or adult issues. Whether we like it or not, these are factors in our students’ lives too; these are themes that they ponder frequently.

All American Boys shows what it looks like for teenagers to grapple with these issues. Your students will be able to relate to Rashad and Quinn’s priorities, struggles, and hopes and dreams.

That relatability will make it so much easier for students to engage. Your students will want to talk about this novel. They’ll see themselves and their town in it. 

When students are naturally engaged, without having to be baited by quiz scores or standardized tests, learning is fluid and fun.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a book about social justice, the Black Lives Matter movement, police brutality, or are just desperate for something that will make your students actually pay attention in class–All American Boys is a sure bet.

In addition to the above reasons, it has some additional benefits as well. 

Unlike many other novels with similar themes like The Hate U Give and Dear Martin, All American Boys is actually light on the swearing. If you want to tackle some controversy without offending parents, this is the novel with which to do it.

This novel is also not as new as other young adult novels on this topic. While the “shininess” has worn off a little bit, that’s also given educators time to create materials for the novel, making planning a little easier. 

I was lucky enough to meet Brendan Kiely when he visited our school. In addition to being a wonderful and engaging speaker, he offers some teaching resources on his website. 

You could also grab my All American Boys novel study bundle right here and call it day. 

Regardless, be sure to have All American Boys on your classroom library shelves, if not in your curriculum!

You might also enjoy

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This quote still hits me hard, even though 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘉𝘰𝘺𝘴 is now almost 20 years old. ⁣
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Even though it might not be the newest, shiniest young adult novel out there, All American Boys is still worth incorporating into your classroom.⁣
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𝗜𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗯𝗼𝘆𝘀--𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲. After the black teen is mistakenly assaulted by a police officer, and the white teen witnesses it, their stories are told parallel to one another. ⁣
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𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀. ⁣
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The language is mild at worst and the two perspectives offer balance for any conservative districts that might be afraid to stray too far from the canon.⁣
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Teach it. Put it on your shelves. ⁣
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Read my full review on All American Boys in your classroom through the link in my bio. ⁣
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But having a game plan for 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 it is announced could help you earn more when it arrives!⁣
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My newest blog post is a guide to maximizing your earnings during a Teachers Pay Teachers sitewide sale. ⁣
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𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄 (𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗶𝗼!) 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 2021 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀!⁣
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Grading finals and preparing for third-quarter tod Grading finals and preparing for third-quarter today...⁣
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I have NOTHING prepared if I'm honest. Since August I've been so fixated on surviving this semester that I haven't really thought past that.⁣
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But the good thing is the WE DID MAKE IT. ⁣
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And another good thing is that there are some awesome TPT sellers out there.⁣
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Confession: I feel a little weird sometimes buying from TPT now that I have my own store. Like, I should be making things, not spending money on them!⁣
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But that's what TPT is for--to help burnt-out teachers save time, plan faster, and get back to the pressing work. ⁣
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And I am so grateful to all of the sellers out there who share their work on the platform. I'd much rather my money go to another hardworking teacher than a giant publisher. ⁣
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Now, I'm going to hit "buy" over on TPT and get back to a relaxing evening!⁣
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𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗣𝗧 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 "𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗱" 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗣𝗧? 𝗢𝗿 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀?⁣
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Confession: I love a little "woo woo" with my hard Confession: I love a little "woo woo" with my hardcore business strategies.⁣
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I've just always been that way. ⁣
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🔮 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘵. ⁣
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🔮 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥. ⁣
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🔮 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵-𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘵. ⁣
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I love all of the "Law of Attraction" and manifestations ideas I've been hearing about in my business podcasts (or maybe I'm just listening to the business podcasts that are served up with a side of spirituality...?).⁣
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But I'm an English teacher--I'll read the source material myself, thank you very much 😜⁣
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🔅 𝗜𝗻 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹, 𝗜 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗯𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆.⁣
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If, however, you're not looking to learn every single thing about the manifestation world, those are probably your big takeaways. So I just saved you a lot of reading, lol.⁣
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𝗔𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲? I can't be alone! (I can smell your oils down the hallway!)
The cycle of updating and maintaining TPT resource The cycle of updating and maintaining TPT resources:⁣
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If it's been a while since you've touched that resource, you might be thinking that it's time for an update. ⁣
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𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱? 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:⁣
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𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳?⁣
𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴?⁣
𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸?⁣
𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵?⁣
𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘴?⁣
𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯?⁣
𝘋𝘰 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘸 (𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 3%) 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦?⁣
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If you answered yes to any of those, it might be time to update. ⁣
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(Don't worry, every TPT seller has a list a mile long of products to update!)⁣
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𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗲-𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁. Add some new Pinterest pins. Include it in a blog post. Let your IG followers and email subscribers know that it has a shiny new finish. ⁣
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𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻, 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮. Are your views and conversions going up?⁣
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Give it plenty of time (at least six months) before doing any drastic tweaking. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲, 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲!⁣
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👉𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀? ⁣
⁣
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗧𝗣𝗧 only newsletter!

#itslitteaching #tptseller
What are you dreaming up for 2021?⁣ ⁣ Besides What are you dreaming up for 2021?⁣
⁣
Besides a world in which I can travel, hug my friends, and skip the "mask-ne" on my face, I'm dreaming up some big goals for this year. ⁣
⁣
⭐ Launch more tools and share more information to help teachers begin their Teachers Pay Teachers stores⁣
⭐ Marry @zionthelyon in October (and survive the wedding-planning process until then)⁣
⭐ Offer an entire done-for-you Creative Writing course on my Teachers Pay Teachers store⁣
⭐ Make yoga a habit that's so instinctual, I don't even think about it⁣
⭐ Go back to school to learn about web development⁣
⭐ Organize my entire home⁣
⁣
...and so much more. I have bitten a lot off this year, but I'm up for the challenge. ⁣
⁣
⁣
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿? I'd love to see what you're going to accomplish in 2021!⁣
⁣
#itslitteaching ⁣
#englishclasses #teachingenglish #elateacher #2ndaryela #englishteachers #englishteaching⁣
#highschoolteacher #iteachhighschool #iteachela #iteachwriting #educating #schoolteacher #secondaryela #tptseller #tptteachers #tptstore #tptteacher #teacherpreneur #edupreneur #highperformancehabits #bizcoach #collaborationovercompetition #entrepreneursuccess #businesslessons #tptstore #teachersoftpt #teacherinspiration #teachertips #teachermotivation
This book is a must-read for white people.⁣ ⁣ This book is a must-read for white people.⁣
⁣
Years of working with at-risk, high-poverty, diverse students had already done wonders for making me aware of my own personal privilege. ⁣
⁣
But Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give really connected some major dots for me. ⁣
⁣
✊ Riots aren't caused by uncivilized people. They're a symptom of systemic oppression and the natural result of injustice and anger building over time.⁣
⁣
And while I never thought I'd need to be intimately familiar with the workings of riots, 2020 proved me wrong. I'm so glad that I (and the students to whom I've taught this novel) had read this book prior to the Kenosha riots.⁣
⁣
It allowed me to approach the whole ordeal with more understanding, more empathy, and helped me to stay focused on the priorities--human lives and justice--rather than getting caught up in the property damage. ⁣
⁣
I've recently bundled all of my resources for this wonderful novel with some related titles (Dear Martin and All American Boys) into one epic literature circle unit.⁣
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𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘆, 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁-𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗼. ⁣
⁣
(Oh, and everything included is both PRINTABLE AND DIGITAL!)⁣
⁣
#itslitteaching ⁣
#englishclasses #teachingenglish #elateacher #2ndaryela #englishteachers #englishteaching⁣
#highschoolteacher #iteachhighschool #iteachela #iteachwriting #educating #schoolteacher #secondaryela #digitallearning #virtuallearning #virtualteaching #onlineteacher #teachonline #onlineenglishteacher #remoteteaching #distanceteaching #knowjusticeknowpeace #socialjusticeeducation #classroomlibrary #instateachers #instagramteachers #educatorsofinstagram  #teachersonig #teachersoninstagram
Repeating the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. is Repeating the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. is not enough.⁣
⁣
We must live them.⁣
⁣
I know in my own district, the curriculum is often compartmentalized. It's February--time for an African American literature unit. It's MLK day--time for a biography lesson.⁣
⁣
While these are steps in the right direction, we are long past the time for a single African American unit. 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼. ⁣
⁣
We can't continue to lump entire groups of people into a one-month unit and call our work done. ⁣
⁣
Honor the work done before us today and try to imagine places in your classroom in which you can push against the traditionally white canon. ⁣
⁣
𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘂𝗺, 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂⁣
⚫ 𝘈𝘥𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦?⁣
⁣
⚫ 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺?⁣
⁣
⚫ 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴?⁣
⁣
Change happens from within--from within us and from within our classrooms. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁, 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆, 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗼. ⁣
⁣
#itslitteaching⁣
#englishclasses #teachingenglish #elateacher #2ndaryela #englishteachers #englishteaching⁣
#highschoolteacher #iteachhighschool #iteachela #iteachwriting #educating #schoolteacher #secondaryela #knowjusticeknowpeace #socialjusticeeducation #instateachers #instagramteachers #educatorsofinstagram #igconnect4edu #teachersonig #teachersoninstagram #bookreviewblog #bookpost #readstagram #bookwormlife #bibliophilelife #avidreader #readersgonnaread #classroomlibrary
What is it you need to cover or teach?⁣ ⁣ Lite What is it you need to cover or teach?⁣
⁣
Literature circles are great for exploring a variety of topics. ⁣
⁣
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: ⁣
⚫ A genre (𝘥𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘢𝘯, 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳)⁣
⁣
⚫ An author (𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴, 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦)⁣
⁣
⚫ A book type (𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘤 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴, 𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘴)⁣
⁣
You can still teach your required content while providing students with choice, differentiation, and the ability to collaborate with their peers. ⁣
⁣
𝗧𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗼.
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