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Registration is open for the virtual Summit on the Research and Teaching of Young Adult Literature!  Plan on April 21, 2023, 8:30-5:30 CST.  

Don't worry, it is easy to find.  Just go to YouTube and search for Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday.

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Reading Representation:  Examining Different Abilities in Middle Grades Novels by Rachael R. Wolney and Ashley S. Boyd

5/24/2023

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Rachael R. Wolney is a third year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of English at Washington State University. Her research interests include Disability Studies, Young Adult Literature, and Education. She teaches using disability studies pedagogy in a range of literature and writing courses, but specifically enjoys working with preservice teachers and practicing teachers in learning about disability.

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Ashley S. Boyd ​ is an associate professor of English education at Washington State University where she teaches courses on English Methods and Young Adult Literature and researches practicing teachers’ social justice pedagogies as well as avenues for cultivating students’ critical literacies. She is author of Social Justice Literacies in the English Classroom and co-author (with Janine J. Darragh) of Reading for Justice: Engaging Middle Level Readers in Social Action through Young Adult Literature.

Reading Representation:  Examining Different Abilities in Middle Grades Novels by Rachael R. Wolney and Ashley S. Boyd
The notion that Young Adult Literature (YAL) serves as a mirror, window, and sliding glass door has been well established in the literature (Bishop, 1990; Möller, 2016; Waller & Sullivan-Walker, 2023).  Students need to see themselves represented in the texts they encounter, especially in classrooms, but they also need invitations to learn about youth and worlds that are different from them.  These reading experiences can be transformative, helping students develop empathy, learn more about cultures they may be less familiar with, or even break down stereotypes and counter negative perceptions of marginalized groups.  For these varied reasons, we feel strongly about the use of YAL that centers on different abilities in classrooms.

As teacher educators, however, we regularly encounter able-bodied preservice teachers who feel underprepared to work with students with disabilities and have many, many questions. They worry about saying or doing “the wrong thing,” about knowing how to best serve students’ needs, and about the laws, policies, and standardized measures that might impact their capacities to meet students where they are. Although they will have coursework in their teacher preparation programs to assuage their concerns and help develop their knowledge, we find that a personal, humanizing encounter strengthens their understandings. And thus, we draw on YAL as a way to cultivate deeper interaction with youth with disabilities and different abilities and as a way to encourage our pre-service teachers to use such texts in their future classrooms.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (2022), there were 7.2 million students, aged between 3 to 21 years, receiving special education services under the Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in the academic year 2020-21 (para. 1). The highest disability type reported among disabled students was a learning disability, at approximately 33 percent (Table 1). NCES (2022) also reports an increase in the percentage of hours students with disabilities spend within the general classroom, documenting that in 2020, 66 percent of disabled students spent 80 percent or more of their day in general education spaces alongside their able-bodied peers. Trends suggest that the number of students with disabilities will continue to increase each year and alongside this so will the number of disabled students participating in general education spaces (Table 3, para. 5). It is imperative that diverse representations of different abilities exist within the classroom to give students with disabilities agency and spaces for self-reflection. However, we insist that diverse representations of abilities are not meant for only students with impairments but can create spaces of learning about differences for all readers (Bishop, 1990).

As disability is increasingly present within classroom environments, we still find representations of different abilities, discussion, and critical engagement with these topics is often disregarded or deemed unnecessary (Erevelles, 2000, p. 32). In response, and as part of our larger focus on social justice and engagement with topics of race, class, gender, and sexuality, we offer a unit within our YAL courses that specifically includes representations of disability. Pre-service candidates often begin discussions of ability differences with apprehension and timidity and are encouraged by our inclusion of disability-focused readings and respond quickly with interest, sharing personal stories and engaging critically in discussions and activities. Throughout our unit, we offer candidates a space to engage in textual analysis of disability representation using disability studies as a framework for study, and we invite them to apply these lenses to their worlds, current and future.

This post offers a snippet of the foundational work we utilize for teaching about ability differences with pre-service candidates in our YAL courses. We offer a brief overview of disability studies and discuss traditional stereotypical representations of disability. Current depictions in YAL offer new perspectives on disability identity and ability difference, which is to be lauded. However, we also note that not all representations of disability are equal and discuss the dangers of “inclusive” representations that can potentially promote continued discrimination against people with impairments. We provide teachers with ways to choose YAL texts that illustrate ability differences that disrupt stereotypical representations and offer possible ways to engage students with these selections to create moments for social justice or action. We focus specifically on YAL for pre-teen and young teenagers, those typically considered middle school aged, as we promote the inclusion of disability and ability differences at early stages of learning in the hopes that disability and identity difference will become normalized through educational practices of inclusion (Landrum, 2001, p. 252). We offer three texts: Charlie & Frog: A Mystery by Karen Kane (2018), How to Become a Planet by Nicole Melleby (2021), and Forever This Summer by Leslie C. Youngblood (2021). Each of these texts depict characters with ability differences which include representations of physical and mental impairment.

Disability Studies

Disability studies is a field of study that situates disability as a social construct. The social model of disability teaches that disability does not occur because of impairment but because of an unaccepting society which excludes disability from participation. In contrast to the medical model of disability, which promotes curing, fixing, or restoring the body to a normalized state, the social model accepts impairments and differences of the body and questions how society responds to these differences (Shakespeare, 2017, p. 13). Disability studies questions what it means to be human, how to ethically respond to difference, and interrogates the answers to these questions in any given moment of history and time (Kudlick, 2003, p. 764). This approach maintains that disability identity does not exist on its own, but is complicated by political, social, institutional, and cultural definitions of the body. According to Subini Ancy Annamma, David Connor, and Beth Ferri (2013), disability is created from “interpretations of and responses to specific differences from the normed body,” and that constructions of disability historically shift based on context (p. 3). A great example of this is the IQ test. There have been multiple changes to the score on the IQ test that supposedly determines intelligence (Annamma, Connor, & Ferri, 2013, p. 3). Currently, many scholars view the IQ test as unable to accurately determine intellectual capability, and as we continue to understand that testing can be affected by multiple factors of oppression, it continues to be questioned for its credibility.

Differences from the norm can include measures beyond the presence or lack of impairment. Categories and assumptions about age, strength, endurance, health, weight, independence, and both physical and mental capabilities can all be used to label the body as impaired, incapable, or disabled (Kudlick, 2003, p. 769). Disability studies questions, “What is normal?” and “How is normal constructed to privilege some while oppressing others?” Dolmage (2017) writes, disability is always present because there are no normal or ideal bodies, and as “the world is built to accommodate the normal body and mind, we all experience some degree of discomfort due to these limits” (p. 62; p. 123). Disability studies and disability representation is not solely for the impaired body. Instead, this framework requires the unaccepting majority to critically examine and change any overarching assumptions about ability and act against ableism, the favor of able-bodied individuals.

Disability Representation and Choosing Texts
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Disability representation in texts, film, and media impacts social views of disability and ability differences. Representations are constructions that reflect current dominant views; however, reading texts that include new and informed views of ability differences gives readers a space for questioning the dominant structures that govern the body experienced both narratively and in reality (Quayson, 2007, p. 15). Historically, disability representation was constructed in a stereotypical and damaging way, often following a prescriptive and boring portrayal of something to be pitied or cautious of. Ability differences were often only included to highlight main character growth or used for didactic messages, and rarely did disabled characters survive with impairment throughout the entirety of a story (Mitchel & Snyder, 2017, p. 209). Also, disability is often equated with inability (Kudlick, 2003, pg. 769). Within this framework, stories of disability are often narrow and formulaic, making it even more difficult for readers to create meaning from their inclusion.
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To identify if a text is perpetuating harmful stereotypes about ability differences or is offering a new perspective of disability, we offer pre-service candidates in our YAL courses resources that list both good and bad qualities of representations. To begin, we offer Patricia Dunn’s (2015) text, Disabling Characters: Representations of Disability in Young Adult Literature. This text offers ways for students to think critically about the representations of disability in YAL specifically and gives clear examples of how a text can either break down barriers, myths, or stereotypes and inform new perspectives of ability differences, or depict disability as pitiable, as needing rescued, or as “othered” (p. 2). Additionally, we offer pre-service candidates the guidelines outlined by the Anti-Defamation League (2013) in Evaluating Children’s Books that Address Disability. This article is easy to reference and outlines several ways to avoid texts that depict disability as tokenistic, deficient, or burdensome, but instead, as including full, multi-dimensional characters who lead productive and engaging lives with impairment or ability differences.

Additionally, to support selection of YAL depicting disability, the American Library Association (ALA) (2023) chooses a text for primary, secondary middle age, and secondary teen age to win the Schneider Family Book Award each year, which honors authors or illustrators who capture the disability experience for adolescent readers (para. 1). YAL selected based on age group and grade level appropriateness, these texts praised by the ALA serve as highly recommended texts to add to the curriculum or provide in classroom libraries.

We offer pre-service candidates these materials to help them evaluate representations of disability during text selection and we ask them to remain critical of these representations. Impairment is often a personal experience and even though two people may share the same diagnosis, their own lived experiences will often be different (Garland-Thomson, 2017, pg. 15). Because of this, we advocate that there is not a single narrative of disability or ability difference. We ask students to consider authenticity in representation with questions such as: Is the author closely related to disability or disabled themselves? If not, have they conducted enough research to portray disabled experiences accurately and discuss a community that they may not belong to? Finally, we ask students to consider the differences between ‘inclusive’ representations of disability or ability differences that are superficial and texts which include disability representation as central to understanding different identities and experiences of difference, inquiring: What is the difference between inclusion and representation? We task them with applying these questions to specific texts and have rich conversations as they engage in the personal narratives offered by the authors.

Three Texts with Different Abilities

The questions and resources above guide our students in a deeper examination of representation and offer multiple stories of ability difference. In what follows, we describe three novels that we draw on for middle grades education, hoping that engaging our teacher candidates with these will encourage them to use them in similar ways with their future students. As we know middle school is a time when students are developing their own identities, building their worldviews, and learning about those different from them, we feel this is a crucial time to introduce such works and ideas.
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Charlie & Frog: A Mystery by Karen Kane is a wonderful text that emphasizes, “Deaf can.” Charlie, a newcomer to Castle-on-the-Hudson, feels abandoned by his parents to the care of his grandparents who only enjoy watching television. Meeting Frog, aka Francine Castle, Charlie finds himself wanting to belong, but Frog, along with a majority of the town are Deaf and only speak American Sign Language (ASL). While Charlie is hearing, he knows how to sign the alphabet, and learns that ASL is more than just signs, but includes body gestures and facial expressions for communication. As Charlie and Frog set out to help Agnes, a woman who distressfully signs the word “dead” to Charlie, they find themselves helping each other solve a mystery. Charlie asks, “Can people change?” and throughout the text he realizes that they can. His parents can learn to care for him, his grandparents can do more than just watch television, and Frog can be his friend even after they solve the mystery to help Agnes. This text offers readers an introduction to learning ASL as each chapter begins with a depiction of a new word and the actions to sign, including the full ASL alphabet. As Charlie learns to communicate in ASL and learns about the Deaf community, so can the reader.
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Nicole Melleby’s novel How to Become a Planet follows Pluto, who has recently been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. We learn that Pluto was named after her mom’s favorite planet. However, in 2006 a committee of astronomers decided that Pluto the planet was no longer considered a planet and Pluto, herself, also feels like she is no longer the same after her diagnosis, her label. Meeting Fallon, a new girl who moved to the pier and who becomes a new, after diagnosis friend, gives Pluto someone to be herself around as she embarks on understanding how to navigate the good and bad days associated with her diagnosis. Fallon understands not feeling like herself and the two bond over helping each other complete lists they have made for themselves. For Fallon, her list is about her identity. She wants short hair, doesn’t want to wear a dress to her brother’s wedding, and wants to be able to communicate to her mother that she just doesn’t feel like herself when she looks in the mirror. For Pluto, her list is less about her new identity, but is centered around her returning to her normal, old self. Pluto believes that if she finishes her list, she will be like she used to be, before depression, before her diagnosis. As Pluto and her parents help her through her ups and downs, Pluto learns from her psychologist, her tutor, and her mom, that just like the planet, Pluto, who she thought she was and the definitions of herself may have changed but her overarching qualities remained the same. Pluto’s list doesn’t work. It doesn’t make her better or change her back into Pluto before depression. Instead, she learns that she is the same person she always was, feeling the same feelings before and after her diagnosis. The diagnosis didn’t change her but helps her navigate the complexities of who she has always been and will always be.
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Finally, Forever This Summer by Leslie C. Youngblood, is about identity formation within family and community. A call-to-action novel for young people, this story follows Georgie, an almost 6th grader, who travels from Atlanta to Bogalusa, Georgia to help her family care for her Aunt Vie who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Georgie quickly finds Markie Jean just days into her summer and the two become friends. Markie is in the foster system, a year and a half older than Georgie, but Aunt Vie had been one of the only people who really looked out for her. Georgie learns that Markie has had a different life from her own and despite her mother, Katrina, warning her not to befriend Markie, she persists in understanding who Markie is and helping her in any way she can. Markie, who has a disability, believes that she will never have a forever home due to her differences and is in search of her birth mother. Georgie offers to help Markie try to find her mom and Markie promises to help Georgie create a community talent show to raise funds for Alzheimer’s research. In their efforts, with the help of Nikki, Georgie’s friend from Atlanta, they find more than anyone expects. They find family, friendship, community, and belonging.

Selection of YAL that depicts ability differences in new and informed ways such as the three texts outlined above can help students develop critical literacy skills, offering spaces to “interrogate the roles of power, agency, and identity” in complex systems of power (Curwood, 2013, p. 18). Each of these three texts can encourage informed conversations about difference, offer spaces for students with impairments agency, and can create possible moments of action that potentially help break down barriers for marginalized communities, such as the disabled community.

Reading and Acting with Students
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When we read texts such as those above with students, we ask them to apply the criteria from Dunn (2015) and the ADL (2013) to evaluate the representation of different abilities in them. Our students note the affirming stance taken toward characters without falling into the “hero” discourse (lauding people with disabilities as being heroes) or “overcoming narratives.” We ask them to highlight specific scenes or dialogue in which the author achieves positive representation according to the criteria provided and we also task them with cataloging specific word choices and language used to refer to disability and ability (Wolney & Boyd, 2021). They evaluate the main characters and supporting roles (who is in which role) and elements such as the character’s independence, diversity, and relationships with others. And of course, we invite any critiques or questions they have as well, opening space to show that sometimes narratives can do both. Finally, we return to the author’s position and look for information about them to determine their connection to the topic.

We want students to do more than read and evaluate, however. We see the issues of ableism and respecting different abilities as related to social justice and in need of public attention. Each semester in our YAL course, we assign Social Action Projects wherein students use a novel we read in class as a springboard to identify an area of injustice and to take action on our college campus to address the problem. Using the model COAR (Boyd, 2017), students undergo a process of narrowing from topic (e.g. mental health) to problem (e.g. lack of awareness of mental health services on campus) and then follow a series of steps: contextualize, organize, act, and reflect. Based on our work around disabilities studies and texts such as the three detailed above, students might decide to create an awareness campaign around stereotypes and misconceptions of disabilities in general or of a specific type, using what they learned while reading to prompt additional research. Many groups have used social media to advertise their campaigns or have even built websites. Inspired by Frog and Agnes in Charlie & Frog: A Mystery they might debunk fallacies around Deafness. Other students have also hosted film screening nights of movies with problematic representations and led a critical dialogue after the viewing. With regard to characters like Fallon and Pluto in How to Become a Planet, students might promote strategies for boosting confidence and positive identity development, such as daily affirmations and ways to spread kindness. Students are often very creative when allowed the space to design and develop their own projects and the inspiration they draw from the texts helps them determine avenues to follow.  And, these projects can be implemented across grade levels, from middle school (Boyd & Miller, 2020; Boyd & Darragh, 2023) to universities (Boyd & Darragh, 2019).  

Closing Thoughts

As educators passionate about social justice and young adult literature, we feel that drawing on novels that showcase different abilities is a crucial way to engage students in learning about humanity and in taking action for a more just world. For our pre-service teachers in particular, reading these novels has multiple benefits: It helps them envision the varied needs of youth with whom they will work, and reading such texts through the lens of representation adds an additional layer to facilitate their evaluation of potential classroom tools.  By examining types of representation, they can draw on novels as a means of promoting positive messages about disability and different abilities.


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Starting at “A” to Develop an Explorer’s Mindset about Unveiling the Effects of Climate Change on Antarctica by Dr. Becki Maldonado

5/10/2023

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​Dr. Becki Maldonado graduated from the University of Oklahoma with her doctorate in Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum with a focus on English Education. She is a committee member of the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children. Her scholarship and research focus on arts integration, nonfiction text, text selection, and developing and exercising teachers’ critical consciousness, along with the use of critical dialogue to develop social awareness in education and the community. She is also the editor of Arts Integration and Young Adult Literature: Enhancing Academic Skills and Student Voice and Increasing Visual Literacy and Critical Thinking Skills Through Graphic Novels.
Starting at “A” to Develop an Explorer’s Mindset about Unveiling the Effects of Climate Change on Antarctica by Dr. Becki Maldonado
My mom loves penguins. Growing up it was really easy to buy her gifts for any holiday; I just got her something with a penguin on it. Also growing up in Southern California with a mom who loved penguins meant going to SeaWorld in San Diego, CA every year to see her penguins. As a child I also ended up watching a number of penguin documentaries and learning fun facts like killer whales (orcas) eat penguins and that penguins fly through the water when they are swimming then pop up on the ice when getting out of the water. Oh and the other big and probably most important fun fact I learned was that penguins live in the Antartic and polar bears live in the Artic - two opposite ends of the world. 
As for formal education about Antarctica or any creature that lived on or around Antarctica, I learned that Antarctica was one of the seven continents, but that was it. In third grade, my teacher had a penguin race for learning your multiplication tables. We colored our penguins, and every time we could tell her one number of multiplication facts, we then could move our penguin to the next number. I can remember how fun it was at the time. My mom probably still has my third grade multiplication penguin somewhere. 
 As an educator when I reflect back on my childhood, I find it concerning that (1) I was as content as could be knowing the least amount about Antarctica as possible and (2) no adult ever sparked curiosity in me about Antarctica. No one ever said to me, “Becki I wonder why there is so much ice in Antarctica?” or “Do you think killer whales only eat penguins? What else could they eat?” In defense of the adults in my life, they probably didn’t know the answers and probably were not curious about Antarctica themselves. 
Leslie (2014) explains that curiosity is something that is nurtured in a child through the child’s culture. If the culture encourages children to be exploratory, then their curiosity will thrive. If the culture promotes an environment where children are not to question, yet instead to be content receiving the knowledge provided to them, then their curiosity will shrivel like an untended plant. The attitude of being curious is vitally important because from curiosity stems critical thinking (Leslie, 2014). 
Anyone who knows me and is reading this is probably thinking, “But Becki you are an explorer of knowledge, who is curious and a critical thinker.” This is true; however, it took a rebellious nature, getting out of my childhood culture, and a lot of unlearning to fully accept my natural explorer mindset and to learn that it is okay to be curious and a critical thinker because in my childhood culture, questioning any adult or any knowledge was bad. If you sought out other knowledge other than what was provided, it meant getting into a lot of trouble. Now as an adult I know we have to do better for the next generation, which as an educator that means helping other educators foster a culture of being an explorer to develop the necessary critical thinking skills to navigate the world. 
The Need to Be Curious about Antarctica
Growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, there was very little talk about climate change, even though in 1993 Al Gore did start to begin to use the media to public warn people and the government about the devastating effects to come from climate change in the upcoming decades (Sarlin, 2022). Now 30 years later climate change is more widely understood and accepted, along with being a regular topic in mainstream media and on social media. While there are many different aspects of climate change to study and be involved in, the most difficult to prevent and reverse is the melting of the ice in Antarctica and the melting of the ice in Antarctica is one of the most contributing factors to sea level rise (IPCC, 2023). When people can better understand and connect to Antarctica and how and why the ice is melting, it will allow people to take informed actions about how to help slow the ice melt and to make better necessary decisions about adaptation to sea level rise.
National Geographic’s The Explorer Mindset Framework
In June 2022, National Geographic released “The Explorer’s Mindset” framework. Through this mindset, students will learn develop their attitudes, skills, and knowledge (ASK). Figure 1.1 is part of a PDF provided for free by National Geographic. If you click on the “The Explorer’s Mindset” framework link, scroll about three-fourths of the way to the bottom of the webpage, and in the “Download” section, click on the button that says, “Explorer Mindset Framework.” This will download an eight-page PDF that has easy to read slides with competencies and descriptors. 
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Attitudes are Important
With climate change being at the forefront of media and social media, students are curious and asking questions about climate change. Being empathetic or not will influence how they respond to the answers they find to their questions. If someone from a non-coastal area is curious about sea level rising, when the student finds out that “Over 410 million people are predicted to be at risk from rising sea levels by 2100” (Masterson and Hall, 2022), their response to that knowledge will depend up their level of empathy. At the same time being curious about climate change is not for the faint of heart and can be overwhelming, sometimes causing climate anxiety. This is why it is important for students to be empowered with the skills and knowledge to know that they can make a difference. 
All three attitudes, being curious, empathetic, and empowered, are vitally important to the students’ well being and mental health. Without curiosity, nothing will improve. If they are curious and empowered but lack empathy, it could lead to an imperialism mindset and making decisions that are not in the best interest of other people or nature of the area. If a student is curious and empathetic but is not empowered, they can develop climate anxiety, which can then lead to other mental health issues. When using “The Explorer Mindset” framework, it is important to be mindful of the attitude of the students while exploring new information. 
Working Together to Come to a Solution and Take Informed Action
English educators frequently teach the skills of collaboration, thinking critically, and communicating, which is another reason why the Explorer’s Mindset framework is excellent for the English classroom. Let’s take a closer look at the other three skills:
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To apply geographic perspectives just means that educators need add a step into their curriculum beforehaving their students find solutions to problems. Before students dig into the problem solving stage, educators need to ensure their curriculum incorporates information about the place, people, animals, and other aspects of nature that are being affected by the problem. It also means that while in the problem solving stage and while students are collaborating and critically thinking about solutions, educators need to ensure the information learned about the place, people, animals, and other aspects of nature are being taken into consideration. 
 Using geographic practices is where this framework takes a turn towards a more scientific stance. The great thing about citizen science is that there are no degrees necessary to participate; therefore, all people are citizen scientists. There is no way for scientists to collect all the data they need for projects about the planet by themselves. Scientists and massive science research institutes have regular everyday people, like you and I, collect data for them through specified scientific methods usually inputting data through an app or via email. There are even grants available for citizen science projects. If you google “citizen science,” a vast array of projects for every major scientific research institute will appear. The “using geographic practices” also opens up the opportunity to collaborate with other educators who are more familiar with these practices.
 Taking informed action is one of the most important parts of the Explorer Mindset framework. So how are your students taking the information they found out and their solution outside of the classroom? In the English classroom, it could look like writing letters to an elected official, creating an art display, making digital story telling posts for social media, putting on a play or having an informative event for the community. The possibilities are endless. Taking informed action gives your students an audience beyond the classroom. This increases the buy in to the project, and it also empowers them to make a difference in the world. 
Knowledge and Connections
 The skills above will be developed as students begin to acquire knowledge and make connections. English educators are expert knowledge acquirers and connection makers. My two favorite young adult nonfiction books for beginning to study Antarctica are The Call of Antarctica: Exploring and Protecting Earth’s Coldest Continent by Leilani Raashida Henry (2022) and Antarctica: The Melting Continent by Karen Romano Young (2022). Reading both books through a geographical lens will give students a sturdy foundational understanding of the past, the present, and the future of Antarctica.
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In The Call of Antarctica, Henry (2022) begins with the first expeditions to Antarctica, including a useful geospatial map of the routes of each of the expeditions. She then highlights an expedition focused on George W. Gibbs, Jr., the first black American to go to Antarctica. Henry goes on to acquaint the reader with the spatial and geographical layout of Antarctica, along with how the layout connects to the plants and animals there. The last third of the book is dedicated to the future of Antarctica and the effects climate change is having on the continent. 
While Henry (2022) focuses on the history and geographical perspective of Antarctica, Romano Young (2022) hones in on what it is like to do modern research on Antarctica. Romano Young is a polar explorer and highlights current research and scientists, including two tweeting glaciers (@AntarticPIG and @ThwaitesGlacier). This book helps students make connections to the nature of Antarctica and the importance of the scientific research being done in Antarctica. 
Gaining More Knowledge and Making More Connections
The two books mentioned above will help students gain a basic geographic perspective of Antarctica. Here are more multimodal resources to help expand their knowledge and make connections:
Expanding Knowledge Resources
  • Dr. Steve Emslie. (2023, March). All about Antarctica. https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2BpvLhGngLjH7Lh6yvmR
  • NASA. (2023, January 16). Influencing factors: Satellites help decipher the fate of West Antarctica. https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/article/influencing-factors-satellites-help-decipher-the-fate-of-west-Antarctica/
  • BBC Earth. (2022). Filming Antarctica’s underwater secrets. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtQhb8sWJNw
  • PBS News Hour. (2022). Scientists measure how quickly crucial Antarctica glacier is melting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvFkLWHRUwo
Making Connection Resources
  • Consider This From NPR. (2023, April 19). Why melting ice in Antarctica is a big problem for coastal Texas. https://open.spotify.com/episode/7MOicXkdbtyBsIbB0o0ln6?si=EXFdiddySg2rckLJ9Ns9Eg
  • NOAA. (2023). Sea level rise viewer. https://coast.noaa.gov/slr/#/layer/sce/8/-8727403.099684313/4602140.349421124/7/satellite/18/0.8/2050/interHigh/midAccretion
  • Blue OceanFilmFest. (2015). Two Min on Oceans w/ Jim Toomey: Adaptation to Sea Level Rise - BLUE 2014: Short Shorts Finalist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqgGA7XQhJ8
  • ABC News. (2022). Can New York City adapt to rapidly rising sea levels?. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1Mn3STcam8



References
Henry, L.R. (2022). The call of Antarctica: Exploring and protecting Earth’s coldest continent. 
Twenty-first Century Books.
International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2023). AR6 synthesis report: Climate Change 
2023. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/
Leslie, I. (2014). Curious: The desire to know and why your future depends on it. Basic Books.
Masterson, V. and Hall, S. (2022, September 29). Sea level rise: Everything you need to know. 
World Economic Forum. 
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/09/rising-sea-levels-global-threat/#:~:text=Over
%20410%20 million%20people%20are,when%20people%20started%20burning%20coal.
National Geographic. (2022). National Geographic explorer mindset framework. 
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/education/about/explorer-mindset/
Romano Young, K. (2022). Antarctica: The melting continent. What on Earth Publishing.
Sarlin, B. (2022, July 27). MTP flashback: In 1993, Al Gore warned about climate change as 
U.S. temperatures soared. NBC News. 
https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/mtp-flashback-1993-al-gore-warned-climate-change-us-temperatures-soare-rcna40221

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"Food, Glorious Food!"  by Dawan Coombs and Sarah Petersen

5/3/2023

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​Dawan Coombs is a former high school English teacher who works as an associate professor of English at Brigham Young University. Her teaching and research focus on adolescent readers and young adult literature. In 2023 she and Jon Ostenson published
Using Young Adult Literature to Work Through Wobble Moments in Teacher Education, which explores the use of YAL teacher stories to help new teachers navigate challenges they encounter. She has also written about YAL in The ALAN Review, SIGNAL Journal, English Journal and in various edited volumes. 











Sarah Petersen is an English teaching major and YAL enthusiast in her junior year at Brigham Young University. She currently works as a research assistant for Dawan Coombs in the 7th grade reading course mentioned in this article and helped develop and teach the texts and activities described. She is the current president of the BYU student chapter of the National Council of Teachers of English. This is her first published piece, but as she continues to research and write about adolescent readers, she hopes there will be many more to come.   


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"Food, Glorious Food!"  by Dawan Coombs and Sarah Peterson
Did you know that…
  • the earliest hamburgers trace their origins back to the military exploits of Genghis Khan?
  • the Aztecs used cacao beans as money? 
  • Alexander the Great enjoyed slushie treats that resembled modern day snow cones?

​In her 2021 trade book
There is No Ham in Hamburgers: Facts & Folklore About Our Favorite Foods, author Kim Zachman shares these facts and others as she details the history, science, religion, and culture behind some of the most popular items teens consume today. 

Whether the featured foods include ice cream or cookies, peanut butter or breakfast cereal, Zachman introduces each of her ten mouthwatering chapters by sharing surprising details or little-known facts about the fare of focus. These introductions hook readers and then lead them into the folklore associated with the food itself. Subsequent sections are denoted by questions and attention-grabbing titles that explore the various people competing for credit as the modern-day creators of these foods. Other sections share interesting facts about the who, what, when, and whys that catapulted each food into fame.
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In addition to the clever voice and interesting research that drive the narrative, stories, facts, and speculation, each chapter also includes text features that capture readers’ interests. Text boxes inserted throughout share historical or scientific information related to the narratives; in other places, facts, recipes, and science experiments supplement the content, complemented by Peter Donnelly’s green and blue illustrations. The backmatter includes an index for searching the book as well as selected sources for each chapter that provide a catalyst for future research.
Savory Selections for the Seventh Grade Readers & Writers
    Anyone who has spent time in a junior high cafeteria could guess that the topic of food appeals to the tastebuds of most 7th grade readers. But even we were surprised at how many students at a nearby junior high found There is No Ham in Hamburgers hard to resist. But perhaps we shouldn’t have been; studies show that nonfiction itself motivates students to engage in literacy practices. Research suggests that some readers–including those who struggle most–often prefer nonfiction (Moss, 1998; Young & Brozo, 2001). For these students, incorporating nonfiction into the classroom increases both interest and engagement as they read for authentic purposes and engage with texts they enjoy. 
In January of 2023, NCTE published their Position Statement on the Role of Nonfiction Literature (K-12), emphasizing the value of nonfiction in reading and writing instruction. We initially chose this tantalizing piece of nonfiction for this particular group of readers because of many of the reasons delineated in the NCTE position statement. In terms of reading, it provides students with an engaging and interesting grade level text to practice reading strategies and skills. Each chapter follows a similar format and incorporates text features that highlight the different elements of the text, helping them learn how to navigate this text and nonfiction more generally as they apply reading strategies. 
As we worked with these 7th graders and their teachers, we found a number of engaging opportunities to apply reading strategies. Students practiced identifying key information and writing summaries as they participated in a “Read, Talk Write” strategy where they worked with a partner and took turns reading portions of the text, then summarizing what they read, and writing down key details. Some sections of the text presented various perspectives that required readers to make inferences about the people and events involved in the creation of certain foods. Students also identified key vocabulary that played an important role in understanding the chapter. 
 The text also provided multiple opportunities to facilitate students’ development as writers by inspiring students to do their own writing. For example, some students conducted research and represented their findings in the form of infographics that showcased the food facts and content they learn from the chapters. This semester other students are using the book as a mentor text to study voice, style and craft. Students will then research the history, folklore, and appeal of a food important to their families and cultures and write their own chapters. 
In addition, pairing nonfiction with fiction allows readers to engage students in inquiry into concepts and ideas that reinforce their learning and comprehension in each genre (Duke & Bennett-Armistead, 2003; Vasquez, 2003). For this reason, whether it’s as literature circles or independent reading, we recommend serving up There Is No Ham in Hamburgers alongside one of the many fantastic pieces of high-interest YA fiction that invite readers to savor the intersection of food, culture, and history around the world. We recommend considering pairing it with any of the following texts:
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo (2019) Emoni Santiago is a gifted seventeen-year-old cook navigating her senior year in Philadelphia, life as a teen mom, and her Afro-Puertorican and African American heritage. Little does she know that signing up for a Spanish cooking class will lead to an unusual whirlwind romance and culinary adventure across the ocean.
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim (2020). Life isn’t easy for the Chiu family and oldest daughter Anna feels like the glue keeping them together, taking care of her younger siblings as their mother struggles with mental illness and while their father runs the family restaurant. Throughout this story Anna faces traditional challenges of teenage life as well as the struggles that come with keeping a family together. 
Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet by Laekan Zea Kemp (2021). When their lives intersect at Nacho’s Tacos, the tension builds between Xander, the new hire hungry for a future, and Penelope, the owner’s daughter who wants to take over the family business. This book tells the experiences of these two teens as they try to navigate challenges with family, mental health, undocumented immigration, and the uncertainties of their futures. 
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A Pho Love Story by Loan Le (2021). Linh Mai and Bảo Nguyễn grew up on the same street, but rarely interact because of the feud between their family’s competing phở restaurants. But when Bảo comes to Linh’s rescue, the two begin a star-crossed relationship with the potential for love and the unraveling of family secrets. 
Donuts and Other Proclamations of Love by Jared Reck (2021). Ever since he was four-years old, it’s been Oscar and his grandfather who raised him. The two work together, running the family Swedish food truck that Oscar dreams of taking over one day. But when an unlikely romance develops between Oscar and Lou–who seems like Oscar’s overachieving academic opposite–Oscar finds himself contemplating a future he didn’t anticipate.
The Confectioner’s Guild by Claire Luana (2018). This murder mystery fantasy begins with Wren’s acceptance into the Confectioner’s Guild. But when she becomes the prime murder suspect as well, she must clear her name and work through political rivalries while also navigating the challenges of falling in love. 
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Sometimes finding a text that works for a whole class of 7th graders is a tall order to fill, but There’s no Ham in Hamburgers is an engaging piece of YA nonfiction that will engage even the most hangry or reluctant reader. Bon appetit and happy reading!

Works Cited
Duke, N., & Bennett-Armistead, V. (2003). Reading and writing informational text in the primary grades: Research-based practices. Scholastic.
Moss, G. (1998). The fact and fiction research project. Interim findings. University of Southampton.
Vasquez, V. (2003). Getting beyond “I like the book”: Creating space for critical literacy in K–6 classrooms. International Reading Association.
Young, J. P., & Brozo, W. (2001). Boys will be boys, or will they? Literacy and masculinities. Reading Research Quarterly, 36, 316–325.
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Working with YA in Middle School Methods by Dr. Melanie Shoffner

4/19/2023

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Melanie Shoffner is a professor of English education at James Madison University, where she regularly teaches middle school methods, curriculum theory, and English literature - all of which include YA lit. Dr. Shoffner is the editor of English Education, the flagship journal of English Language Arts Teacher Educators (ELATE), and a former Fulbright Scholar at Babeș-Bolyai University (Romania). Her most recent book is Reconstructing Care in Teacher Education after COVID-19: Caring Enough to Change (Routledge), co-edited with Dr. Angela W. Webb.
Working with YA in Middle School Methods by Dr. Melanie Shoffner
As an “experienced” teacher educator, I feel confident in saying I’ll never be experienced enough. Education – for all its conserving nature – is constantly offering new challenges to address in my methods courses. Over the years, I’ve revised my syllabi to better engage students with issues of multimodality, cultural responsiveness, book bans, trauma and mental health, and current YA. 

I’ve taught middle school ELA methods for six years now – high school methods for many years prior – and the challenge of choosing YA texts each semester never gets easier. For every novel I read as a possible course text, there are 40 more possibilities waiting in the wings. So, I’ve developed a selection system that isn’t perfect but provides some direction. As a group, the YA novels chosen for methods need to be focused on middle grades adolescents, written by diverse authors, presented in different textual forms, published in the last two years – and not be read by me.

Yes, I’m giving up my secret here: I don’t read the YA for my methods courses before I put the titles on the syllabus. Surprise! I do my due diligence to suit the admittedly wide parameters but the books are as new to me as they are to my students. Sometimes that works out well: I finish a book, give it a hug, and can’t wait to see what my students do with it. Sometimes it doesn’t: I finish a book, give a heavy sigh, and can’t wait to see what my students do with it.

There is a pedagogical purpose here: My unfamiliarity with the texts means the students become the experts in the classroom. I’ve read the novels by the time we reach them on the course syllabus but I’m not relying on previous understandings or past teaching. I am a learner, just as they are, and I always learn something new from their discussions.

This approach also helps to keep me current in the YA world. I rarely include the same book twice on my syllabi, which means I can’t fall back on past favorites. That’s painful when you find wonderful texts like Lauren Wolk’s Wolf Hollow or Patrick Ness’ A Monster Calls. But that also means I find wonderful new novels, like Kacen Callendar’s King and the Dragonflies, Rajani LaRocca’s Red, White, and Whole and Rex Ogle’s Free Lunch, that are likely being read (or should be!) by the middle schoolers my students are currently teaching.

The Pedagogical Part
So, what do I do with all this YA in methods? With the caveat that I constantly tweak, adjust, and fidget with my courses, I’ve used some version of the following three assignments, with a fair amount of successful student learning, for several semesters now. Below, I provide a brief overview of these assignments and excerpts from students’ submitted work. My goal isn’t to provide the “best” examples (although the students did quite well) but to show future ELA teachers’ engagement with middle grades YA novels. 

For context: I typically have three to five YA novels listed on the syllabus. While students are encouraged to read them all, they are only required to read one. I give brief book talks on the first day of class (really brief, since I haven’t read them!) and students rank their choices. I then create groups for each novel and the students work with that text – and their book group – for the entirety of the semester.

1. YA rationale 
To apply their understanding of curriculum and adolescents, students write a rationale in support of their individual YA novel to answer the overarching question, What does this text offer to adolescent learners? In their rationale, students address issues of adolescent engagement and connection, ELA teaching and learning, potential pushback, and issues of equity. 

Students frequently draw on their current experiences with middle grades learners in their rationales. The connections they make between “their” students and “their” novels often show their understanding and application of Bishop’s (1990) concept of windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors. 

​Red, White, and Whole

This book would appeal to MG students because…the chapters are short and digestible. I am currently in a 6th grade class and the students seem much more willing to read independently when the chapters are shorter…Some of my students have immigrant parents, mixed heritage [parents], or (at the very least) strict parents. They would relate to Reha’s situation of being “two”…her interest in music is certainly something my students can relate to. I could use this text as a basis to have students create their own mix-tape like the one Pete made for Reha’s Christmas present.

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​Free Lunch

This book gives multiple perspectives and utilizes figurative language to best target the reader’s empathy for Rex…I have heard some of my sixth graders use the terms “hobo” and “looking homeless” to describe when something or someone looks bad, (hopefully) not realizing that many of their peers face poverty and homelessness…Ogle’s book shows that every action is a reaction, giving MG learners an opportunity for growth in social-emotional intelligence.

2. Visual thinking 
Students apply understandings of text comprehension, multimodality, and adolescence to create a visual that addresses the question, How can images engage adolescents’ critical thinking? Using the medium of their choice, students convey an important theme, question, and/or issue from their YA novel that also encourages adolescents to read the novel. With the exception of the novel’s title and author, they use no other alphabetic text. 

The emphasis of the assignment is not on artistic ability but on interpretation and representation. Whether students use Canva or crayons, we focus on the use of image as text when we work with their creations in class. From a slightly different perspective, then, students are engaging with the what, how, and why of literacy in middle grades.
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3. Curriculum connections 
For this multi-part assignment, students are considering how they will organize, connect, and challenge students’ learning. They first develop an overview of a four-week unit that incorporates their YA novel in some way. Although they will not teach their unit, students use their concurrent practicum placement as the context for their instructional development. Students then create three assignments suited to the unit, using provided guidelines for objectives, standards, additional texts, non-ELA connections, and assessments.

As the culminating assignment of the course, students are applying multiple concepts and demonstrating different skills. Among those are adolescents’ interests, interdisciplinary connections, and learning as experience, all elements of Germán’s (2021) textured teaching. Given the complexity of these projects, I offer only snippets from students’ work here. Their YA novels are at the heart of their pedagogical thinking, however, offering some direction while maintaining the focus on middle grades learners. 

King and the Dragonflies
7th grade: First, pick a passage in the novel that has a description of a setting that is interesting to you. Draw a picture of the setting based on how you see it in your head. On the back of the picture, add at least three sentences from the book that directly quote the section of text that you chose to draw. Then, write a paragraph with a minimum of eight sentences about why you chose this specific passage. Next, write your own description of a setting from one of the five pictures provided in class. Write at least eight sentences describing what you see. Try to use as many sensory details as you can (touch, taste, smell, sound, sight) to help the reader put themselves in that setting, like King and the Dragonflies did for you. You will have 20 minutes to write. Then, you will find people who chose the same picture as you and share your writing with them.

The Sky at Our Feet
6th grade: After finishing The Sky at Our Feet and reading Since Hanna Moved Away, you will create a Venn diagram poster with your group explaining the similarities and differences between Jason in the novel and the narrator from the poem. Hint: Think about characters’ traits, conflicts they experience, and how they show bravery. Include at least five bullet points, with complete sentences, in each section of your finished diagram. Make sure your poster is legible with no spelling or capitalization errors. On the bottom of your poster, fill in this equation with either the narrator or Jason: Character + Conflict = has changed the character because it made them…

References
Bishop, R. S. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the Classroom, 6(3), ix–xi.
Bruchac, J. (2022). Rez dogs. Dial Books.
Callender, K. (2020). King and the dragonflies. Scholastic. 
Germán, L. E. (2021). Textured teaching: A framework for culturally sustaining practices. Heinemann. 
Hashimi, N. (2019). The sky at our feet. HarperCollins.
LaRocca, R. (2021). Red, white, and whole. Quill Tree Books. 
Ness, P. (2013). A monster calls. Candlewick Press.
Ogle, R. (2021). Free lunch. Norton Young Readers. 
Viorst, J. (1981). “Since Hanna moved away”. In Poets.org. https://poets.org/poem/hanna-moved-away 
Warga, J. (2021). Others words for home. Balzar + Bray. 
Wolk, L. (2016). Wolf Hollow. Dutton Books. 
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Advocating Against Antisemitism through the Power of Young Adult Literature by Dr. Melanie Koss

4/5/2023

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​Dr. Melanie Koss is a professor of children’s and young adult literature at Northern Illinois University just outside of Chicago. Her research focuses on representations of diversity in children’s and young adult literature, as well as explores issues of teacher autonomy over the literature they bring into their classrooms. She is currently a committee member for the Sydney Taylor Book Award.


Advocating Against Antisemitism through the Power of Young Adult Literature by Dr. Melanie Koss
Several things have happened recently that have made me a lot more outspoken about my experience as a Jewish person and my frustration that books by and about Jewish people are largely left out of the diversity conversation in young adult literature.

First, I had a group of students who stayed after class one day to ask me what a Jew was. I teach an exploration of diversity in children’s and young adult literature and am open about my diverse heritage and being Jewish. Their small group had been talking, none of them really knew what a Jew was, but they all had negative connotations about Jewish people. They were trying to reconcile what they thought they knew about Jewish people to me, someone who they told me did not match their assumptions.

Then, a colleague and dear friend of mine was visiting me. Over dinner, the conversation included discussion about my growing unease as a Jewish person in the U.S., and she asked me what I was afraid of. That question stopped me in my tracks. That was the very day Kanye West made his antisemitic rant on Twitter that spurred on the “Ye is Right” Antisemitic Campaign. Kanye has more Twitter followers (over 30 million) than there are Jews in the world (14.8 million). Encouraging antisemitic hate and violence poses a very real risk in my world. There’s a lot that I’m afraid of.

These are two experiences, among many, that have made it clear to me people have little knowledge and a lot of misconceptions about who Jewish people are, and even less understanding of the dangerous position we are in, both historically and today.

Antisemitism, simply defined as a hatred of Jews as individuals and/or as a group, is on the rise. According to the Anti-defamation League, there has been a 36% increase in incidents in the last year with 128% rise in the Midwestern state where I live. It is very scary to be a Jew in the U.S. these days, especially because we are few in number and so many misconceptions about us exist.

Unfortunately, there are few YA books that address antisemitism. People don’t want to talk about antisemitism, but silence allows for violence and erasure. We talk about hate and bias toward other marginalized groups, and it’s time to include Jewish people and Jewish topics into the conversation.

Please share books with Jewish content with your students and encourage learning and conversation. Some things to think about include:

  • Humanize Jewish people
  • Make sure you have books with Jewish people that are about more than just holidays, history, or The Holocaust.
  • Portray a variety of Jews, as we’re a very diverse people. Not all Jews are White and descents of Eastern Europe. There are Jews of color; LGBTQ+ Jews; Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Mizrahi Jews; Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Atheist Jews; interfaith Jews; biracial Jews; the list goes on.
  • Separate American Jews from Israel. That is a separate and complex issue, and one not all Jews in the U.S. agree on.
  • Separate Jews from religion. Some Jewish people practice Judaism, but many identify as Jews who are not religious.

Below,  I share some titles that tackle antisemitism and invite critical conversation.
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Based on a true story, The Assignment by Liza Wiemer portrays events that occurred after a high school teacher assigned students to debate the Final Solution, the Nazi plan for exterminating Jews. Seniors Logan and Cade were uncomfortable with the assignment and disturbed that some classmates began giving the Nazi salute. With both support and opposition from their classmates, faculty, and the community, Logan and Cade used various strategies to have their concerns heard as they worked to get the debate canceled. Given that this book was written in response to an actual assignment given a few years ago, it is a powerful reminder that Holocaust bias and acts of curriculum violence against Jewish people occur and must be called out. It allows teachers to examine their own lessons for possible unintentional curriculum violence, and aids in teaching students how to speak up when they see injustices perpetrated in their world. A curriculum guide and link to a crowd-sourced teaching idea doc are available on her website.
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Sarah Darer Littman’s book Some Kind of Hate is a powerful novel about how easy it is to become radicalized online, believe conspiracy theories, and align with hate groups. The novel is told from the alternating points of view of the two main characters, best friends Declan and Jake. After star pitcher Declan suffers a career-ending injury, he spirals into a severe depression and allows anger to rule his world. He gets indoctrinated and radicalized online and becomes a member of a white supremacist, neo-Nazi group involved in planning acts of domestic terrorism. Declan is taught to hate all Jewish people, and internally struggles as Jake is Jewish. This book is a must read but is a hard read. Extensive resources, including a glossary, educator links, and links to media bias and fact checking sites are available on Sarah Darer Littman’s website.
The UK’s first YA novel on antisemitism, What We’re Scared Of by Keren David, tells the story of Evie and Lottie, twins who could not be more different. Although their mother is Jewish, their heritage was not a large part of their upbringing, and they lived a secular life. When their mother, a morning radio show host, begins denouncing antisemitism on air, a combination of events result that force the twins to learn about their Jewish heritage and confront the dangers of antisemitism head on. A wide cast of Jewish characters portray different aspects of being Jewish, alongside characters who promote antisemitic conspiracy theories and express Jewish hate. Toward the end of the novel, David includes the words of a Holocaust survivor, linking historical and contemporary acts of hate. Readers will see how easy it is for secular Jews who may not even consider themselves Jewish to become targets of hate. Outright and subtle forms of antisemitism are included, allowing for nuanced research and discussion of stereotypes, myths, misconceptions, and inaccuracies.  
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Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed is a romance between two teens, Jamie who is Jewish and Maya who is South Asian and Muslim. The two are paired together to canvas for an upcoming election, and neither is looking forward to working together. As antisemitic memes appear simultaneous to the proposal of Islamophobic laws banning Hijabs, Jamie and Maya unite to fight bigotry targeting both of their identities. Set in today’s sociopolitical world and based on the Georgia special election, the novel centers on political activism. It allows for rich discussion of political advocacy alongside fighting hate against Jews and Muslims. The authors include authentic elements of both Jewish and Muslim cultures and highlight cultural differences to present rounded characters.
Another contemporary romance, Rachel Lynn Solomon’s Today Tonight Tomorrow, follows Rowan and Neil, two Jewish high school rivals, who competing in their school’s senior scavenger hunt. When they learn that others are out to beat them, the two reluctantly team up. Although this novel is light and fun, there is a subplot of causal antisemitism that provides fodder for discussion. Authentic Jewish content is embedded, and the novel dispels stereotypes that all Jewish people are White and wealthy by portraying Rowan, a Jew of Mexican heritage with an immigrant parent, and Neil, whose parents are struggling financially. The perils of being Jewish in contemporary society is an underlying theme, with the teens sharing the different ways their Jewish identities have impacted their lives.  ​
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Some additional titles that positively portray contemporary Jewish experiences:
  • Eight Nights of Flirting by Hannah Reynolds
  • Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert
  • Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler
  • Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli
  • The Last Words We Said by Leah Scheier

Resources
  • Sydney Taylor Book Award 
  • Sydney Taylor Shmooze blog
  • Jews Don’t Count by David Baddiel
  • The Book of Life podcast and blog with resources for speaking up and promoting justice
  • Evaluating Jewish Representation in Children’s Books guide
  • 90 Ways to Respond to Antisemitism list​​

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Is Your District Prepared for a Book Banning Campaign? Here’s What to Do BEFORE a Book Banning Campaign Begins by Sam Morris

3/29/2023

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​Sam Morris is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of South Carolina Beaufort. She is also the program coordinator for the B.A in English, with Secondary ELA Licensure. Her current research focus is the role that YA can play in encouraging adolescent empowerment and agency.
Is Your District Prepared for a Book Banning Campaign? Here’s What to Do BEFORE a Book Banning Campaign Begins by Sam Morris
I love writing about young adult literature. I’m beyond disappointed that this post cannot be about some of the books that I’ve been reading lately. 

Sometimes, I feel like I live in the town from Footloose. Except, when the townsfolk of Beaumont decided to move past outlawing dancing and began to burn books, Reverend Shaw stopped them, shouting, “When did you all decide to sit in judgment? Who elected all of you to be the saviors of everybody’s souls in Beaumont?”

Book banning is an insidious practice; in 2023, it is an exercise in minority rule that borders on tyranny. How did we get here? How do we protect books written for adolescents as well as the adolescents who read them?
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Understand “The Game”

Just say “no.” If you grew up in the ‘80s like I did, you’ve heard that statement a lot. Our parents told us to say “no” if a stranger offered us candy or a ride, and Nancy Reagan told us to say no to drugs. In the ‘90s, when we began to have productive conversations about consent, we heard once again that familiar refrain: Just say “no.”

We learned to say “no” when someone wants to do something to us that will hurt us. We learned to say “no” to people who operate in bad faith, who think that the rules don’t apply to them. When someone thinks that they can come to a school board meeting and demand ten, fifty, or one hundred books be removed from the entire school district, they are operating in bad faith and, likely (depending on your school district’s book challenge procedure), don’t think the rules apply to them. 

When that happens, you can just say “no.”

These would-be censors are playing a dangerous game, and they are winning. Why do they do it? Because they think there is a special set of rules that exist for them that they can force everyone to abide by. Why are they winning? Because we don’t think censorship is a game, so we choose not to play. Acquiescence to their demands, however, is not the right way to refuse to play. 

If you keep up with the news about these book challenges, you might have heard about what has been happening in my local school district. In October 2022, two complainants, within hours of each other, submitted lists of ninety-six and ninety-seven books, respectively, that they wanted removed from all library and classroom shelves. (The lists, by the way, were identical, except the second list included Ibram X. Kendi’s book Stamped.) 

While the complainant whose list did not include Stamped admits to being a member of Moms for Liberty, she claims that that affiliation is not relevant to the complaint. While Booklooks.org is not affiliated with Moms for Liberty, the complainant used Booklooks.org to compile her list of books that she wanted banned. There have also been reports that Moms for Liberty groups in other states have used Booklooks.org in conversations about books that they believe have questionable content.
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Books were removed from library and classroom shelves so that an evaluation about each book’s merit and potentially objectionable content could be made. As of March 15, 2023, thirty-six books (including Stamped) have been returned to shelves, although some have been restricted to grades 9-12 only. Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us, Jodi Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes, and Jesse Andrews’ The Haters have been banned from Beaufort County Schools for a period of no less than five years.

Since October of 2022, our local newspaper has published no less than thirty articles about these book challenges. The school district has estimated that it will spend at least $8,500 on this review process. Meanwhile, an informal poll taken by our local newspaper revealed that the overwhelming majority of respondents believe that every step of this process has been wrong.

Here are three more things that we know: 
1) Book removals and bans are censorship.
2) Censorship is an attempt to erase American history.
3) Censorship erases the voices of LGBTQ+ youth and other marginalized communities from the classroom.
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Avoid These Three Mistakes

1) Don’t assume that your district will not be targeted. The groups behind these challenges are organized at a national level. They are not public institutions that are bound by district regulations and state law. They have plenty of time, energy, and resources–much more than your district does.

2) Don’t assume that these are the same kinds of book challenges that you might have read about in James Moffett’s Storm in the Mountains (1988) or Joan DelFattore’s What Johnny Shouldn’t Read (1992). Your town is not in danger of becoming the town from Footloose. Your town is in danger of becoming an unsafe place for children and adolescents from marginalized communities. These book challenges are operating in concert with the hundreds of bills working their way through state legislators that seek to fundamentally shift what students are allowed to learn and which groups of people have the right to exist. 

3) Don’t assume that book challenges are about the books. In 2023, book challenges are not about books! They are about the people who are represented by the books. When you or your district choose to play the would-be censor’s game, you are telling entire groups of people that they do not matter. Scores of children, adolescents, and adults across the country have heard that message loud and clear.

Know Your Procedures to Avoid Unforced Errors

Our local school district had a form entitled “Request For Reconsideration of School Library Materials Form.” The school district publishes all Freedom of Information Act requests and results on its website, so we know the following about the complaint form submitted by one of the complainants:

1) For “Title of Material,” the complainant wrote “96 Books provided.” This request can and should have been denied because no specific book was asked to be reconsidered. Is that what a fussy teacher would say? Yes, but it is okay to be fussy when it comes to protecting our students’ right to read.

2) When asked if the complainant had read the material, she checked “no.” If your district’s policy does not stipulate that a complainant has read the book that they find objectionable in order to object to it, consider advocating for a change to that policy. If a degreed professional has ordered a book for a school library, perhaps a complainant should have to at least read the book in question before demanding its removal.

3) In response to what the complainant finds objectionable, she wrote, “To normalize and expose to minors explicit [material].” I chose not to provide here what the complainant listed as explicit, but I find the implication that authors, librarians, teachers, and other school officials are committing multiple crimes to be repugnant and representative of a lack of civility. If your school board meetings have procedures to deal with repugnant behavior and/or harassment, consider that language on forms and in correspondence should be held to the same standards.

4) When asked how the complainant perceives students would be affected by material, she wrote, “What I perceive is not in question. It is against the law to disseminate material that is harmful to minors.” I interpret this answer as “I don’t know.” Again, the bar to a book challenge ought to be higher than–well, nothing. Consider making sure your district’s guidelines are specific and put an actual burden of proof on the complainant.

5) Finally, when asked what action they would like taken by the district, the complainant wrote, “Immediately remove the material from all schools and enact a policy to ensure no more material of this nature is allowed to make it into the district whether in school libraries, assigned in curriculum, or in classroom libraries.” Ultimately, the action requested is an overreach. The parent is demanding unilateral power over a public government entity. That is not a valid demand.

Some other procedural notes to consider:

Our current local school district procedure for considering books that have been challenged is a committee that may be comprised of seven individuals, ranging from district teachers, staff, parents, and other community members. Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us was removed by a committee of five members, and Jodi Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes was removed by a committee of three members. 

Community participation in these committees is randomized; I have yet to be selected to participate in any of the committees despite putting my name in to serve back in November of 2022. I find it troubling that anyone can demand that books be removed from school libraries and classrooms, but someone who teaches, researches, and publishes on YAL, secondary education, and censorship has to be “randomly chosen.” Meanwhile, Jodi Picoult’s book about a school shooting was banned by a committee of three people. Just a reminder: there were 51 school shootings in the United States in 2022.

Every district should have a process in place to allow a parent to request that their child not be required to read or not have access to certain books. Nearly every district already has that process already. Perhaps it would be worthwhile for districts to have a process in place for a parent to have the ability to shield their child from a broad spectrum of books based on maturity rating and/or content. Consider adopting such a broader policy to prevent these sorts of bad faith challenges.

What districts should absolutely not do is allow one parent to dictate how all other parents decide to raise their children. If book banners want the freedom to dictate how they raise their children, then districts must ensure that their policies shield other parents from parental overreach.

​When Principles Matter and When They Don’t

My university has chosen not to publicly denounce censorship in general, the people who are seeking to ban the books, or the school district personnel who have enabled the book-banning. Something about upsetting the apple cart. Well, the apple cart is on fire, and now no one will have any apples. Civility is not more important than watching freedom and liberty burn.

A funny thing about civility, while we’re on the subject: It is very difficult for school officials to handle a delicate situation such as book challenges when people attend district meetings, shout, make threats, and file actual criminal complaints with the local sheriff’s office. 

However, there are many university faculty, government officials, and elected representatives who do want to provide support. While it would be nice for them to do so unprompted, especially considering how stressful and time-consuming dealing with these would-be censors can be, don’t hesitate to ask for help. Better still, though, reach out before the challenges occur.

Rally Your Stakeholders–NOW!

Contact your local universities and colleges to figure out how you can make a stand together when the time comes. If necessary, remind them that these people will come after their libraries and bookstores. Remind them that, if books are banned, it will be a lot more difficult to ignore those bans when the same people behind these campaigns have convinced the state legislature to eliminate tenure.

Contact local law enforcement agencies. Ensure that they are aware of the kinds of criminal complaints that have been made against district personnel in school districts across the country. Provide appropriate background as well as district procedures for book challenges. It is one thing to know that these criminal complaints are ridiculous and offensive; it is quite another to know that law enforcement is on your side. 

Are your district’s librarians having discussions with your city/county public librarians? College and university librarians? For those who graduated from an ALA-accredited MLIS program, do those ALA-accredited institutions have any support that they might be able to lend?

Has your district’s legal department had a conversation with your state’s local ACLU office yet? Now would be a very good time for that. The same is true for any friendly state or national legislator.
Final Thoughts

The Clash have a song called “Know Your Rights.” The funny thing about rights is that they are theoretical until you need them. We only find out how real those rights are when they are tested. When a school district chooses not to dismiss a bad faith complaint outright, follow procedure when a proper complaint is made, or stand up for the principles of public education in general, rights remain untested and hypothetical.

Teachers and librarians–we are highly trained, yes. We are also fallible, and we certainly do not hold ourselves in any esteem above parents and other community stakeholders. We want parents to be involved in the work that we do. We invite dialogue, and we will never require a student to read a book that a parent wishes them not to read. At the same time, the ways in which book challengers are conducting themselves is irresponsible, dishonest, and reprehensible. 

We do not have to deal in good faith with those who operate in bad faith. Do you remember what else they taught us to do when someone who means to do us harm attacks us? Make as much noise as you can. Now is not the time to be nice. Now is not the time to be afraid of who might misinterpret what you have to say if you don’t phrase it in just the right way. Now is the time for you to tell all the children, adolescents, and adults from all marginalized communities that you have our backs–that you won’t play this game anymore.

Because, as Reverend Shaw asked that crowd of book-burners, “When you’ve burned all of these, what are you going to do then?” Ask yourself that same question; if you know the answer, why would you allow these book-banning campaigns to continue?
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A True Culture of Belonging: Homage to Jason Koo & Brooklyn Poets by Darius Phelps

3/22/2023

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Darius Phelps is a doctoral student at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is an adjunct professor at CUNY Queens, Hunter College, Teachers College, and intern at Brooklyn Poets.  An educator, poet, spoken word artist, and activist, Darius writes poems about grief, liberation, emancipation, reflection through the lens of a teacher of color and experiencing Black boy joy. His poems have appeared in the NY English Record, NCTE's English Journal, Pearl Press Magazine, and ëëN Magazine’s The 2023 Valentine Issue.  Recently, he was featured on WCBS and highlighted the importance of Black male educators in the classroom. Darius can be contacted via email at: dmp2219@tc.columbia.edu.

A True Culture of Belonging: Homage to Jason Koo & Brooklyn Poets by Darius Phelps 
The late bell hooks stated “Poetry sustains life. Of this I am certain. There is no doubt in my mind that the pain of poverty, whether material or emotional lack, can be eased by the power of language. I know this intimately.” When I think of my relationship with poetry, this quote captures my feelings wholeheartedly. Throughout my childhood, writing poetry started off as a hobby that ended up being a source of comfort, healing, and restoration when I lost  my grandfather a decade ago. Never taken a class or received any formal training, I’ve always picked up the pen and let it guide me, no matter where or how deep into my emotions. Books and the use of words taught me how to grasp what I feel on a daily basis, whether that be a spectrum of emotions or even working through my grief as I processed my loss.
As a doctoral student, male  educator of color, and marginalized voice — I’ve never felt like I have truly belonged somewhere, in any capacity. Every room I walk in, someone has always tried to either silence my voice, dim my light, or ultimately eradicate me to keep me from walking in my purpose.  With my matriculation through school and earning degrees from predominantly white institutions, this has weighed even more on my soul. In the midst of my doctoral journey, especially as I near the end, I found myself backstabbed, ostracized, and eradicated in so many forms. Every room I walked in, teachers and peers overlooked my ideas, dismissed my experiences, micro-manage my projects, and even told me my story would not  resonate with anyone. Struggling to get a grip on my passion, my motivation for even moving to New York City in the first place, these events intensified this feeling of loneliness and isolation. 
 In August 2022, I knew I needed a change in my life and was ready to get back to pursuing my passion, particularly one that felt natural, organic, and made me feel at peace. It was during this time that I stumbled across Brooklyn Poets  and began attending one of the Drop In Classes, titled “A Draught of Vintage: Poetry Happy Hour with the  Founder and Executive Director, Jason Koo. This class detailed that “In the spirit of John Keats, in this weekly drop in class, we will drink from the cup of poetry and “leave the world unseen” --- oddly, by studying under Koo himself, I have never felt more seen and heard, both as a man of color, but most importantly, as a poet. 
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When I think of poetry,  the pioneering work of Koo, and Brooklyn Poets, I am reminded of this quote from bell hooks from “Belonging: A Culture of Place”: “I dreamed about a culture of belonging. I still dream that dream. I contemplate what our lives would be like if we knew how to cultivate awareness, to live mindfully, peacefully; if we learned habits of being that would bring us closer together, that would help us build beloved community.”  Jason Koo and Brooklyn Poets  have provided for me, a true community, one that I still revel in my thoughts, trying to grasp the genuine love, amount of  appreciation I’ve been shown, and how I have grown collectively. 
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​Prior to my TEDx talk, “Fingerprints Upon My Heart” in 2017, I had never performed  spoken word or even read my poetry out loud. Under Koo’s mentorship and guidance at Brooklyn Poets, I have regained my confidence and discovered my voice, one that  reverberates off the walls in its true power, commanding every body and spirit to listen, as I walk on my road to renaissance.  When a true, inclusive brave space has been established, all members of the community learn how to honor each other’s experiences and opinions with respect in order to reach a place of true understanding where various talents and abilities can shine. Voices of marginalized people and communities have been silenced for many are uncomfortable exercising their right to free speech due to class for decades, and now is the time for us to speak our truth. (hooks, 2014) There is power in our narratives, our trials, tribulations, and triumphs. As educators and professors of the Academy, we should be devoting our time and energy to cultivating brave spaces, where every soul, especially our adolescents, can soar.

The carefully selected and curated works for literature,  such as More than Mere Light by Jason Koo, Javier Zamora’s Solito, Jose Olivarez’s Promises of Gold, and Megan Fernades’s Good Boys,  evident from the work selected by Koo and staff at Brooklyn Poets, specifically poetry from diverse poets deserve to be amplified, for they tell the authentic narratives of those who, like myself, have been silenced in some aspect. When these tales are told in the form of poetry, it holds even more power.  Without a doubt, poetry helps us become better teachers for our students and we can highlight YA poets such as Elizabeth Acevedo, Margarita Engle, Jacqueline Woodson, and Dean Atta. With poetry, we learn to speak well and with emotion, how to emulate that emotion, and are more attentive to words and the emotions that they convey. 
The world of poetry opens up our minds to be able to explore our own voice and even find a new one in the process. Poetry can teach us about ourselves and others in a deep and meaningful way. Instead of writing or reading a generic story about us or someone else, poetry provides the freedom for the writer to not only feel, but to fully experience exactly what the writer went through. During that journey, the reader’s experience becomes enhanced with the use of similes, metaphors, alliterations, imagery, foreshadowing, and other literary devices. These factors that poetry can offer is what makes our writing that much more personal and what’s personal for us can end up being a universal message for our readers and our students. 
With the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, there has been a radical moment towards making sure diverse voices are amplified, heard, and appreciated. bell hooks states that  “To indoctrinate boys into the rules of patriarchy, we force them to feel pain and to deny their feelings.” Oftentimes, young men, particularly those of color, are hesitant to show any kind of emotion or vulnerability, or identify with issues such as race, prejudice, bullying, and loneliness.  As a male educator of color  I am determined  to inspire, embolden, and encourage those who come from backgrounds similar to that of my own, showing and teaching them the power of the pen and being vulnerable through poetry, the way Jason Koo has been for me. 
In a world full of hatred and racism, we should be spreading the message of love, community, and strength while fostering identity and cultural representation. These messages could very well be something that our students and fellow educators have yet to experience in their lifetime and I will do everything I can to bring awareness to this issue. Our narratives, especially as people of color,  deserve to reflect the same, for this is the vision that I bring and will advocate to make sure it happens. Every soul deserves a true place of solace, like Brooklyn Poets. If educators and curriculum writers could adopt the same mindset as Jason Koo, then maybe we’d finally be on the right page to building a better world for our future leaders of America; one where all voices are worth celebrating. 

References: 
hooks, B. (2008). Belonging: A Culture of Place (1st ed.). Routledge. 
hooks, B. (2014). Teaching to transgress. Routledge.

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New Adult (NA) Literature Helps Readers Look Ahead to College, Careers, Relationships, and Active Engagement in Life after Adolescence by Dr. Sharon Kane

3/15/2023

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​We welcome Sharon Kane back to YA Wednesday today!  Dr. Kane is a professor in the School of Education at the State University of New York at Oswego.  She is the author of
Literacy and Learning in the Content Areas: Enhancing Knowledge in the Disciplines (2019, Routledge) and Integrating Literature in the Disciplines (2020, Routledge). A new book, Teaching and Reading New Adult Literature in High School and College (2023, Routledge).  


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New Adult (NA) Literature Helps Readers Look Ahead to College, Careers, Relationships, and Active Engagement in Life after Adolescence by Dr. Sharon Kane
I’m always saddened when I hear parents, teachers, or students themselves talking about senioritis as if it were an inevitable condition in teens who have met most of their graduation requirements and are just biding time until they get out of high school. Senior year is a perfect time for librarians, teachers, and/or community volunteers to organize courses or book clubs where participants read New Adult literature, aimed at readers between the ages of seventeen and mid-twenties. As students count down the months and weeks before they begin their post-high school life, they can benefit from reading fiction and non-fiction relating to college academic life; early career exploration; new, changing, and deepening relationships; and civic responsibilities that are part of what some call adulting. At the same time, they can relish the pleasure of reading and the great conversations that happen when people come together over books.

One of the major stresses of senior year for many is the college application process, followed by the period of hoping for acceptance while fearing rejection. We can introduce our students to literary friends who have been through this scenario. Here are a few.
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Rising senior Felix Love, in Kacen Callender’s Felix Ever After (2020), is participating in an art program in hopes of winning a scholarship to Brown University. Besides that pressure, he’s dealing with continuing identity and relationship issues. He knows he is Black, queer, and trans. But unfolding events cause him to realize aspects of his identity are more nuanced than he realized. In Kelly Loy Gilbert’s When We Were Infinite (2021), five Asian American high school students, bound together by friendship and music, make a pact to go to the same college. What could go wrong? Well, for one thing, Beth is accepted at Juilliard, while Jason is not. Beth narrates the story of how the five friends grow, change, heal, stretch, and ponder identities as the year progresses. 
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Liz Lightly, in Leah Johnson’s You Should See Me in a Crown (2021), has high ideals; she wants to study medicine and be in a college orchestra. But when the scholarship she was counting on doesn’t materialize, her only option seems to be to join the competition to be prom queen (yuck!), the winner of which will be awarded a $10,000 scholarship. Charming As a Verb (2022), by Ben Philippe, features Henry, who desperately wants to attend Columbia; he and his immigrant father have both worked so hard to make this goal a reality. But when his college interview doesn’t go well, worry takes over. His intense classmate Corinne becomes a huge part of Henry’s emotional, social, and ethical learning curves during his final semester of high school. 
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New Adult literature can also address the needs and interests of college students. I designed and taught a course on NA literature that was restricted to incoming first-year students. We began with Fangirl (2013), by Rainbow Rowell, where students met Cath on her first day of college, then followed her through freshman year. Some readers identified with Cath; others found her annoying. The story helped us to talk about topics including anxiety; academic integrity; abuse of alcohol; roommate issues; changing relationships with parents as students become increasingly independent; college friendships and romances; and more. We went on to meet other literary college students, such as Marin in Nina LaCour’s We Are Okay (2019). Her story opens at the end of her first semester, when all other students have left for semester break but Marin is staying in the dorm. Readers quickly realize that Marin is in trouble, and they take in details that help them figure out why she left California for New York by herself; why she hasn’t contacted her former lover and best friend; and why she is now seemingly in a severe depression. This story provides opportunities for students to learn about mental illness and to discuss ways to handle situations when their own lives or those of their friends are in turmoil. 
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There are numerous books featuring college students navigating various challenges. In Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman (2022), by Kristen R. Lee (2022), Savannah, who had hoped to attend a nearby historically Black college, finds herself as a scholarship student at an Ivy League school, where she encounters microaggressions as well as overt racist behavior from the day she moves into her dorm room. Did she make a mistake, pursuing her mother’s dream instead of her own? This book could be paired with Every Body Looking (2021), by Candice Iloh, a novel in verse narrated by Ada, who does enroll in a historically Black college. She struggles in her Accounting class, which she neither understands nor cares about. She seems not to care about her new job, or her beginning relationship with a young man. So what does she care about? What will make her happy, and feel true to herself? Readers watch Ada as she watches another young woman dancing; she finally meets Kendra, and attends dance classes with her. Ah….
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We know that college is not for everybody, so we need to make books available to our students who wish to defer college, perhaps to travel; or to find opportunities to learn new skills and grow through a job. In Teaching and Reading New Adult Literature in High School and College (Kane, 2023), I offer one text set filled with titles having to do with a gap year, and another with books about food-related careers (some involving college, some not). In I.W. Gregorio’s This Is My Brain in Love (2020), Jocelyn and aspiring journalist Will create a business plan and investigate marketing and advertising strategies to try to save Jocelyn’s family’s Chinese restaurant. As they learn to appreciate each other’s cultures and cuisine (Chinese and Nigerian), they fall in love. Arsenic and Adobo (2021), by Mia P. Manansala, delivers a food-related mystery. Lila is helping her Tita Rosie try to save her floundering restaurant. Her former boyfriend Derrick, a food critic, is trashing the restaurant with bad reviews—until he dies while eating at Tita Rosie’s place. Lila becomes the prime suspect, and must investigate the murder herself, since the police are too busy pinning the crime on her to find the real killer. The novel offers plenty of romance, along with vivid descriptions of food and drink. 
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College doesn’t last forever. What comes after that? I recently read Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (2022), where we come to love characters who have successful careers in video game development. The story demonstrates creativity, collaboration, and changing relationships as Sadie, Sam and Marx mature through their post-college years. 

I devote one chapter of my book to NA literature dealing with changing relationships during the late teen years and the twenties. One text set offers books involving fake dating (which can usually lead to deeper reflection on what can make romantic relationships authentic, healthy, and mutually satisfying). Another features literature about how family dynamics change when New Adults leave home for college or new locations. One book that fits both lists is Alexandria Bellefleur’s Written in the Stars (2020). Elle, who has a job as a horoscope reader/writer and astrology-related app creator, is fake-dating Darcy, referred to by Elle’s mother as the actuary. It seems to Elle that her mother reduces everyone to their profession, and she imagines that her mother must think of her as Elle, the disappointment. The novel explores parental pressures and expectations while simultaneously showing two young women who learn to appreciate each other’s strengths and to love without judgment. 

There are many more examples of New Adult literature that can be matched with readers in their teens and twenties who are looking for pleasure reading and/or books that will help them stretch, navigate difficult situations, find purpose, explore identities, and find support as they and their circumstances evolve. You can find more book talks in my YAWednesday post of March 30, 2022, The Value of the Youth Lens when Reading YA. And great new NA books are being published all the time, such as Anna-Marie McLemore’s Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix (2022). The Author’s Note explains, “I wanted to write Jay Gatsby as a transgender young man making an increasingly infamous name for himself in 1920s New York…. I wanted to write Daisy as a Latina lesbian debutante who passes as white and straight …. I wanted to write Nick Carraway as a Mexican American transgender boy who falls in love with the mysterious boy next door ….” (unpaged). 

New Adult literature is a category that will continue to grow. We readers, whether teachers, librarians, students, recent graduates, or others, can continue to grow too, as we revel in the great books inviting us into the world of the New Adult. 

References

Bellefleur, Alexandria. (2020). Written in the Stars. Avon.

Callender, Kacen. (2020). Felix Ever After. Balzer + Bray.

Gilbert, Kelly Loy. (2021). When We Were Infinite. Simon & Schuster.

Gregorio, I.W. (2021). This Is my Brain in Love. Little, Brown.

Iloh, Candice. (2021). Every Body Looking. Dutton Books.

Johnson, Leah. (2021). You Should See me in a Crown. Push.

Kane, Sharon. (2023). Teaching and Reading New Adult Literature in High School and College. Routledge.

LaCour, Nina. (2019). We Are Okay. Penguin Books.

Lee, Kristen R. (2022). Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman. Crown Books.

Mansansala, Mia P. (2021). Arsenic and Adobo. Berkley.

McLemore, Anna-Marie. (2022). Self-made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix. Feiwel & Friends.

Philippe, Ben. (2022). Charming as a Verb. Balzer + Bray.

Rowell, Rainbow. (2013). Fangirl. Saint Martin’s Griffin.

Zevin, Gabrielle. (2022). Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Knopf.



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The March Madness Method Part Two: Teaching A Group Read of Sports Novels by Dr. Christian Gregory

3/8/2023

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​We welcome back Christian Gregory for his second in a two-part series!  Dr. Gregory is an Assistant Professor at Saint Anselm College, teaching courses for preservice teachers in methods, pedagogy, the graphic novel, and Young Adult Literature.  He has written chapters on the history of both YAL and the graphic novel and published in 
English Journal, English Education, the Journal of LGBTQ Youth, and the  International Journal of Dialogic Pedagogy. His research interests are diversifying the canon, dialogical theory, and queer studies. 
The March Madness Method Part Two: Teaching a Group Read of Sports Novels by Dr. Christian Gregory
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Life Inside and Outside the Arena

Last week I laid the groundwork  for discussions which focus both on the sport and the overlay of intersectionality, be it gender, race, or sexuality. If boxing and sport are narratives indicative of the larger narrative of life, then I ask students to consider how these issues within the sport may intersect with the larger systemic oppression such as racism, sexism, or homophobia, offering a series of questions to elicit student thinking: 

  • How might you apply these tropes to the characters you are tracking in the novel? 
  • Do they use their innate skills to navigate their way through the sport and the world to success? 
  • Do they bob and weave to avoid the challenges that face them? 
  • Or must they endure the adversary face-first with some degree of tension and difficulty? 
  • Last, since many YA novels that focus on gender, race, or sexuality as well as the sport, consider how these issues may intersect with the sport, and how those identities may create obstacles due to any form of systemic oppression such as racism, sexism, or homophobia.  

For writers of YAL, this sport story can offer the form of analogy.  Does the game and fight inside the arena (or playing field or court) rest in concert or contrast to the lived experience of the protagonist? Is the sport a refuge from the turmoil of home and life? Is it merely and extension or micro-replication of the larger issues at hand? Even Starr in The Hate U Give cannot escape microaggressions on the court, even in a friendly practice game with friends. Inviting students to consider the two realms, the real and the field, against one another can help students refine elements of contrast and analogy. For if the two realms operate in contrast, then the sport serves as some comfort, the team or teammates, a second family; in contrast, if coordinated, then the play on the field is merely a microcosm of the larger injustice in the world. 

Focusing on the Coach-Athlete Dyad 

Another mode to invite discussions would be to have students consider the relationship between the coach and athlete. Nikolajeva (2010) writes notably about aetonormativity, or the idea that behind every confused youth is the wise elder offering the benefits of adult norms and normative behavior. This application may, of course, apply not only to parents but also their high school equivalents: teachers and coaches. Petrone, et al. (2015) uses this as one of the framing questions for the Youth Lens. Adapting this to sports books, one may examine some of the archetypes of coaching. Two modes can be traced through the varied styles of Indiana’s Bobby Knight, who would famously badger his athletes and famously threw chairs; and, in contrast, UCLA’s John Wooden, who knew the players personally, acted as parentis in loco, offering a more laid back, encouraging, positive style. This may provide an initial entry into any given coach model. Take for example the sadistic coach in The Chocolate Wars, who abuses his position of power in coaching new quarterback, Jerry Renault.  This is what CJ Pascoe (2007) has defined as hegemonic masculinity, or the type gender practice that in its construction of hierarchy supports gender inequality.
 
The 3+1Cs Model of Coaching

Archetypes and methods of coaching have been examined by in several articles, most notably by Jowett and Shanmugam (2016), who developed the notion of the “3+1C Model” within the coach-athlete relationship. Four features make for success: closeness (trust, respect, care and support); commitment (the capacity to form and continue a close bond to ensure performance); and complementarity (which involves the responsiveness and openness and a degree of shared behaviors); and coorientation, the extent to which the coach and athlete share “common ground” and imaginatively see one another’s perspective.  

With this framing in mind, students can examine the relation between the coach and team or coach and protagonist. What might be the level of trust? What is the coach’s investment in the success of each athlete? What features constitute this dyadic relation? Collaborative? Competitive? Such a discussion can move across narratives, and students will be able to share their evidence from each work at hand. One note for teachers is that YAL and fiction in general is often predicated on conflict, and it may be that coaches or teachers are forces of antagonism rather than support.  Still, students in considering this 3+1C model may pull from both the world of the novel and their own lived experience or knowledge of the coach-student relation. 

Distant and Wide Reading Across YA Sports Reads

By providing a common frame or lens, the class can operate more as a kaleidoscope of responses across the genre. In this way, the classroom operates to comb the field of YA rather efficiently in classroom discussion. New Critics would have the teacher center one text, typically a canonical text, and consider the formal operations within that text, such as setting, theme, symbols and allusions. But this March Madness Method is more akin to Moretti’s distant reading (2010), which moves across large sets of texts rather than within a given text.  YAL is ideal for this distant, mad reading.  As we know, YAL breaks the canon and useful reading lenses provide the necessary method to track tropes across a variety of texts. Mad? Yes. Necessary. Absolutely.  Gratifying? Moving across a dozen or so of texts in one class feels closer to sociological-literary studies. In my classroom experience, students are more likely to read books they select on topics of interest to them. The resulting discussion feels like exponential work, as we cover over 12 books in one discussion. Moreover, the lateral investigation across texts feels gratifying for students. It values breadth. Yet the precision of though in considering the sport-coach-athlete relation, even in light of their own experience seems to invite an engagement of analysis, a subjectivity of response, that often goes undervalued. Here, the Madness Method provides both breadth and emotional depth to discussion. ​

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References

Buehler, J. (2016). Teaching reading with YA literature. NCTE

Nikolajeva, M. (2010). Power, voice, and subjectivity in literature for young readers. Routledge. 

Jowett, S., & Shanmugam, V. (2016). Relational Coaching in Sport: Its psychological underpinnings and practical effectiveness. In R. Schinke, K.R. McGannon, & B. Smith (Eds), Routledge International Handbook of Sport Psychology. Routledge.

Moretti, F (2000). Conjectures of World Literature. New Left Review. 

Oates, J.C. (1985). “On Boxing” New York Times.

Oates, J.C. (1987). On Boxing. Harper Collins.

Pascoe, C.J. (2007). Dude, You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School. University of California Press.

Petrone, R, Sarigianides, S.T. and Mark A. Lewis. (2015) The Youth Lens: Analyzing Adolescence/ts in Literary Texts. Journal of Literacy Research (46)4, p. 506-533.


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The March Madness Method Part One: Teaching A Group Read of Sports Novels by Dr. Christian Gregory

3/1/2023

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​Christian Gregory is an Assistant Professor at Saint Anselm College, teaching courses for preservice teachers in methods, pedagogy, the graphic novel, and Young Adult Literature.  He has written chapters on the history of both YAL and the graphic novel and published in
English Journal, English Education, the Journal of LGBTQ Youth, and the  International Journal of Dialogic Pedagogy. His research interests are diversifying the canon, dialogical theory, and queer studies. 
The March Madness Method Part One: Teaching A Group Read of Sports Novels by Dr. Christian Gregory
I am an assistant professor at a small liberal arts college in New Hampshire with a large proportion of student-athletes. Of the 1,900 or so students on campus, the college has estimated that 42% of the population are either on a team or play on some intramural sport.  And, of course, the college, just one hour out of Boston, resides in the halo of the New England Patriots, the Boston Bruins, and the Red Sox. In a recent class I taught, I gave students the option of designing a short graphic novel chapter.  Knowing my class population of student-athletes, I offered the option to render a sports game into graphica. Many returned to their favorite football game by the Patriots, reviewing the footage for stills they could use to shape the narrative for their final project. Needless to say, March isn’t the only month for sports madness at a small college in New England. 

Responsive to this population of fans and athletes, I have adjusted my curriculum accordingly. In my course Adolescent Literature, I have been inspired by the work of literacy scholars who trumpet the need for student book selection, which they deem essential for engagement, literacy, and student success (Buehler, 2016). For the instructor, this “savy and strategic matchmaking” (p. 87) is key; yet for some classrooms, teachers may not wish to sacrifice the benefits of collective discussion for small group reads.  How then can we allow for student choice while inviting topical conversation?

My response is March Madness pedagogy. I invite students team up for reads in teams of two, three, or four, and select book of interest to them within an All Sports Read (See list of possible titles for your classroom next week, in Appendix I). I do suggest a curated list by the instructor. Last year, I provided titles I thought offered diversity of race, gender, sexuality and culture.  Each student was allowed to select from the curated list, and no student was allowed to read alone. This program of study was to ensure another reader of each title in class: to both encourage completion and bolster discussion in small groups. Small group reads in middle and high school are nothing new in curriculum, but whole class discussions on topic may be less so. Were a classroom teacher to take this on as a practice, an all-sports read, I would like to offer a pedagogy that respects the differentiation of titles while embracing common themes. 

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Consider the Essence or Ontology of the Athlete

One way to invite students into small group discussion is to focus on the athlete and their relation to the sport or their identity as an athlete. I offered my students an introduction to the two opposing ontologies of noted boxers, Muhammad Ali and Jake LoMatta. Joyce Carol Oates (1985) offers that even sports have their own narratives: “Each boxing match is a story, a highly condensed, highly dramatic story--even when nothing much happens: then failure is the story.” 

In her book On Boxing, an elaboration of the NYTimes article, Oates highlights the modes and ontologies of several boxers. Two of her descriptions have forever remained in my memory: Muhammad Ali and Jake LaMotta. Each entered matches with a distinct philosophy of the fight, positions suggestive and emblematic of world views. The first, Jake LaMotta entered the ring with the understanding that he would outlast any opponent. As he fought, he became less and less interested in dodging any punch that came his way; instead, he was simply able to endure the throws and jabs of his opponent. He trained for and felt that he could simply outlast his adversary and endure any more pain. 

By contrast, Ali was a fighter who predicated his boxing on finesse, on the bob and weave and his capacity to never be hit in the face. Famously he claimed, “My face is so pretty, you don’t see a scar, which proves that I’m the king of the ring by far.” LaMotta accepted the hit took the punishment; in stark contrast, Ali agilely dodged it. 

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My point here is to present two manners of being of the athlete in sports: one based on the endurance of great pain and the other, based on the extraordinary skill and bravura of it all. I present the students with these images of the face of LaMotta and Ali, each a registration of one’s relation to pain in sport: how one might endure it and how one might avoid it altogether. In my mind, I compare Michael Jordan, Simone Biles, Tom Brady, the Olympic women’s soccer team, and imperturbable mountain climber Alex Honnold to the skills of Ali – a sort of transcendent technical skill that leaves spectators in awe.

By contrast, I offer other extraordinary talents who, while succeeding, nonetheless, endure either physical or psychic pain to succeed. I think of Hall of Famer Mike Webster of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who was known to endure great hits on the field; or Colin Kapernack, who suffered more psychic offences, and Serena and Venus Williams, who like Kapernack, faced racial battle fatigue in the face of systemic oppression, but unlike him, had to contend with the intersectional oppression of sexism. By offering such examples, teachers invite students to judge the protagonist-athletes in their works as demonstrative of one or both of these modes of existence. 

Of course, since novels are predicated on conflict and grief, students may situate their main character with LaMotta ontology. Certainly, the YA classic novel, The Chocolate War features a main character who endures the physical beat down on and off the football field.  Yet instructors may easily point to other figures, such as Kareen Abdul Jabar, who seem to skillfully manage the conflict on the court with ease, while suffering the blows of systemic racism off.  

Next week, I will focus on ways that teachers can guide discussions which focus both on the sport and the overlay of intersectionality, be it gender, race, or sexuality.  Come back for Part Two!


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    Dr. Gretchen Rumohr
    Chief Curator
    Gretchen Rumohr is a professor of English and writing program administrator at Aquinas College, where she teaches writing and language arts methods.   She is also a Co-Director of the UNLV Summit on the Research and Teaching of Young Adult Literature. She lives with her four girls and a five-pound Yorkshire Terrier in west Michigan.

    Dr. Steve Bickmore
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    Dr. Bickmore is a Professor of English Education at UNLV. He is a scholar of Young Adult Literature and past editor of The ALAN Review and a past president of ALAN. He is a available for speaking engagements at schools, conferences, book festivals, and parent organizations. More information can be found on the Contact page and the About page.

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