Since Born to Read trainers live all over the state, it can be difficult to stay in touch. This blog is intended to facilitate communication among trainers, in an ongoing effort to enhance the quality of trainings.
Here are some recent posts from the blog:
Forms
Born to Read sends these Word documents to trainers when they are scheduled to facilitate a session, but you can download them for your own use whenever you need them.
The pages in the Many Eyes, Many Voices training binder containing the Book Review Exercise and the Assignment for Session Two were removed in November 2005. If you are still interested in using them, you may download and copy these versions.
The Peaceable Stories Activity & Resource Guide is filled with thought-provoking quotes. In this pdf document, (47K) each quote is printed in large text on a single page, so you can post them on the wall during trainings. You might even want to laminate the pages to be re-used at future trainings.
Articles
Some of these articles are available online-click on their titles to link to them. We’ve provided source information for those that are not available online.
Contemporary American Indian Cultures in Children's Picture Books
This November 2005 "Beyond the Journal" feature from Young Children addresses the ongoing misrepresentation of American Indian people in children's literature. It is accompanied by two booklists, one for pre-K to grade 1 (including some books appropriate for younger children) and one for grades 2-5.
“Examining Multicultural Picture Books for the Early Childhood Classroom”
An article from the Journal of Early Childhood Research and Practice addressing many of the questions raised in the training. Includes a call for more professional development: “Future teachers [need] the guidance of early childhood teacher education programs that offer significant opportunities to read, hear, and discuss the critical perspectives on ideology, representation, and identity as they relate to literature, particularly multicultural literature.”
“‘I’ is not for Indian”
An article written for librarians in 1991, providing analysis of the portrayal of Native Americans in books for young children as well as a guide for selecting books.
Rethinking Schools: Special Early Childhood Section
Rethinking Schools is a Milwaukee-based organization that endeavors to bring social justice issues into the classroom in an informed way. The Spring 2005 issue of their magazine included a special early childhood section with articles about family diversity, inclusive practive, standardized testing, and play.
Strategies for Using Bilingual Books in the Classroom
This article about literacy development for second-language learners includes a simple chart that summarizes some of the best ways to use bilingual books (such as A Somali Alphabet) with students.
“What If All the Children in My Class Are White? Anti-Bias/Multicultural Education with White Children”
Louise Derman-Sparks and Patricia Ramsey, two ground-breaking writers who were among the first to promote anti-bias education for young children, have collaborated on a book that aims to answer one of the most frequently-asked questions from Many Eyes, Many Voices trainings. Their book, entitled What If All the Kids Are White?, is highly recommended, and it's now available from Teachers College Press. For a preview, look for their article on the topic in the November 2005 issue of Young Children. Additional historical and research background on the topic are available on the “Beyond the Journal” site linked above.
Booklists
Direct links to relevant bibliographies of children’s and/or adult books.
Reviews of (mostly) adult books, categorized by type of disability (broadly and somewhat problematically defined to include things like adoption and allergies), from "Children’s Disabilities Information," a parent support site.
This "summer reading" list was compiled by the American Association of Colleges and Universities. A wide range of adult fiction and nonfiction titles explore how race and ethnicity are theorized and experienced in the United States and beyond.
Four lists of fiction for adults from the Seattle Public Library, intended to foster reading and discussion of works by authors of diverse cultures and ethnicities. One list each for African-American, American Indian, Asian American, and Latino fiction.
The Maine Humanities Council Home of the Harriet P. Henry Center for the Book
For additional information about the Council and its programs,
please write, call or e-mail us: 674 Brighton Avenue, Portland, ME 04102
