Week eight
Reading Culturally Diverse Literature and Multimodal Texts
Something Happened In Our Town
By: Donald Moses and Marianne Celano
This book is a wonderful story about inclusion and treating people fairly. The discriminations and unjust shootings are such a horrible "pattern" as discussed in the book. This book is on a topic that MUST be shared for there to be change. However, I would be careful with the age group you are reading this to. While we need to educate our students on race and standing up as an advocate, we need to also be mindful of their age. It is hard enough for a young adults to process the wrongful shootings and racism.
The Parker Inheritance
By: Varian Johnson
CULTURAL AUTHENTICITY AND ACCURACY
The video next to this post is the author, Varian Johnson, discussing his book The Parker Inheritance. In the video, he explains a little bit about this book. He says that this book is "his heart". The story is culturally authentic because it is based off of the small town in South Carolina where he grew up. This book has also won the Coretta Scott King Book Award which "recognize outstanding books for young adults and children by African American authors and illustrators that reflect the African American experience"(American Library Association)
SUMMARY
This story follows a little girl named Candice Miller who moves to Lambert, South Carolina following her parent's divorce. She moves for the summer with her mom into her grandmother's house. Candice makes friends with her new neighbor, Brandon. Together they explore her grandmother's attic. Upon exploring, they found a letter which not only spoke of the hidden treasure but also the horrible racism that occured in the 1900s. Candice and Brandon work together to understand their identity as well as the secret clues of the letter.
MORE CULTURALLY AUTHENTIC AUTHORS
Chart Citation: Boyd, F & Causey, L & Galda, L (2015).
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References: ​
Boyd, F & Causey, L & Galda, L (2015). CULTURALLY DIVERSE LITERATURE Enriching Variety in an Era of Common Core State Standards. Published by
International Literacy Association.
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Johnson, V (2018). The Parker Inheritance. Published by Scholastics.
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Laminack, L. L., & Kelly, K. (2019). Reading to make a difference: Using literature to help students speak freely, think deeply, and take action. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
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Moses, D & Celano, M (2018) Something Happened In Our Town: A Child's Story About Racial Injustice. Published by Magination Press.
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**Other references are linked to the pictures or videos***
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