Every year, in my role in Equity & Inclusion, I preview and read through many books. Children’s books, like picture books and novels, but also professional reading about pedagogy and educator learning. I love reading and thinking and learning, but this year I’ve been extending some of that reflecting to conversations with educators about what they are looking for in a novel or a story to share with students. Oftentimes, our department is asked to recommend a book that we love – and there are oh SO many books that I love! I could rattle off a long list of titles at any given time, but I think it’s more important to engage in thinking about what it is we’re looking for when we are sharing a book with students.
This year I’ve started to ask educators more about their opinions and thoughts about choosing a great book. Through engaging in these conversations, I’ve learned a lot about different perspectives and purposes for a really great book. I’d love to share some of my learning from these conversations.
Time of Year
At the beginning of the year, most often educators are looking for books that help nurture a love of reading for the children. It’s usually something exciting or heartfelt, easily accessible language, and relatable for the students. Reading a text with students helps to create a community of learners, engage in sharing easy conversations, and open discussions about reading. Later in the year, these text selections might look differently. Perhaps we know a little more about our students’ identities or what they like to read about, genres they prefer, authors love, and styles they find interesting. Choices might be more tailored to the students’ voices and opinions. Some educators are looking for a few different options so that students can choose the next book. As students learn and grow throughout the year, educators adapt to who they are becoming and the parts of themselves that they share with us.
Purpose
Representation is a common request. When educators know more about students, families, and identities they hold they will strive to offer texts that are mirrors for the students. They want to create a classroom culture where students feel represented in joy and living authentically true to themselves. Educators may also be seeking out a text that provides perspective on an event, such as a historical event, and they are looking for an engaging way to humanize that time period. This might be historical fiction or nonfiction biographies, for example. Sometimes educators are looking for identity specific books to open conversations with students about different systems of oppression. These texts take a little more thought and selection because they can resurface trauma or be conducive to emotionally charged conversations. Preparing the classroom to be as safe as possible for all can take some time to anticipate and prepare with care. Selecting the right text for these purposes requires more care, planning, and cultivation of relationships before reading.
Conversations
Choosing a text that has the opportunity to engage in conversations is another important consideration. Whether we’re modeling comprehension strategies, such as predicting or whether we’re building the opportunity to share personal opinions about the book, the best part of a read aloud is the conversations that educators can have with students. It’s such a great opportunity to engage in learning together in a way that allows students to share their ideas with others, practice listening skills, and to learn about each other. It does take a moment to anticipate what the conversation will sound like; however, it also means that we need to be flexible in the direction that students want to go with the conversation. When choosing a text for this purpose, educators consider the types of conversations they want to have with students and plan the questions they would like to ask.
Choosing a read aloud to share with students can be a thought provoking exercise. Many educators I work with make intentional choices about texts, always considering the students through different lenses and perspectives. Whatever our purpose is for choosing a great book to read together, every educator centres student experiences at the forefront of their planning.
What would some of your considerations be when thinking about choosing a text to share?
