Here are more great resources I have found (and that I’m using myself), but they’ll probably take longer than 10 minutes to read! That’s okay. This work is critically important and is worth all the time we can spend. Just click on something, read, and reflect. Learning and then acting on what we’ve learned is the key to change.
RESOURCES TO READ
1 – A friend shared this great resource with me. It’s called “Justice in June,” but I didn’t see it until June was halfway over. So I am going to be using it as “Justice in July” work.
2 – “Being Antiracist” is an awesome article from the National Museum of African American HIstory & Culture. It takes a little longer to read because it includes a short video of Ibram X. Kendi explaining a bit about his book How to Be an Antiracist , a TED talk by Verna Myers about overcoming biases, and important definitions for antiracist education.
3 – “Talking About Race” is another great article that could be shared with parents. This is another quality resource from the National Museum of African American History & Culture.
4 – I shared this resource from Teaching Tolerance, “Beyond the Golden Rule,” with my classroom parents. Page 17 (with tips for the elementary and preteen years) is especially helpful.
7 – This Antiracism for Beginners list is amazing. There are several articles to read, recommended books to read, terms to know, and Black educators to follow.
8 – And finally: Cooke, N. A. (2020, May 30). Anti-Racism Resources for all ages. [A project of the Augusta Baker Endowed Chair at the University of South Carolina]. This awesome collection of resources includes articles, interviews, book recommendations, and videos.
BOOKS IN MY AMAZON CART OR ON MY BOOKSHELF
**Note: I always recommend getting books at your local independent bookstores or at a Black-owned bookstore from lists such as these. I am including Amazon links so that you can read more about the book and for your convenience.**
*Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You by Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi. This book takes the concepts of Stamped from the Beginning and describes them for middle and high school students. Here’s a link to an educator’s guide.
Here are some ways you can learn about the important significance of Juneteenth and share the history with children!
When is it?
Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19th every year.
journal
What does it celebrate?
According to this website,
“Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.
“Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free.
Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become official January 1, 1863.
The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.
“Later attempts to explain this two and a half year delay in the receipt of this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down through the years.
Often told is the story of a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom.
Another is that the news was deliberately withheld by the enslavers to maintain the labor force on the plantations.
And still another is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation.
All of which or none of these versions could be true. Certainly, for some, President Lincoln’s authority over the rebellious states was in question. Whatever the reasons, conditions in Texas remained status quo well beyond what was statutory.”
Juneteenth represents true “liberty for all.” 47 states and the District of Columbia now recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday or observance, and there is a movement to make it a federal holiday.
What are some ways to teach children about Juneteenth?
I love teaching almost anything through quality children’s literature and I found some great books about Juneteenth. Unfortunately, some of them are super expensive because they are no longer in print (which probably tells you something about how the holiday has been overlooked or not valued). I’m including the Amazon links for these books so you can read more about them, but I would suggest checking your local library for copies.
At a time when many white folks like me are trying to listen and learn, educating yourself about the importance of Juneteenth is just one small step. I’m hoping that there will soon be even more quality (and affordable) resources about this important event.
While many of us white folk tend to want a list of what we can do to solve the problem right away, these issues go so much deeper than that. The first step is to examine your own beliefs and attitudes. That can be really hard. I am continuing to read and listen and learn.
I’ve learned that there is a big difference between saying that I am “not a racist” and actively being an “antiracist.”
“What’s the problem with being “not racist”? It is a claim that signifies neutrality: “I am not a racist, but neither am I aggressively against racism.” But there is no neutrality in the racism struggle. The opposite of “racist” isn’t “not racist.” It is “antiracist.”
There is so much to learn about how to be an anti-racist. Each of the 10 articles below will take 10 minutes or less to read.
1 – How to Talk to Kids about Race & Racism is a great article for parents, educators, or anyone who deals with kids. The authors explain why it’s important to have ongoing discussions with kids about race and racial issues with tips on what to say and questions to ask.
2 – Another helpful article for parents is this one: Talking to Children About Racial Bias. It explains how children learn about racial differences and racial bias as early as six months of age. It’s never too early (or too late) to begin these discussions with kids.
3 – White teachers and parents often talk about how they feel uncomfortable talking to white kids about race issues. “These Books Can Help You Explain Racism & Protest to Your Kids” from the New York Times has many helpful suggestions, along with children’s books to use for initiating these conversations.
6 – Bored Teachers is such a great website for teacher humor as well as articles and tips on currently trending topics. This article “Being ‘Non-Racist is Not Enough – Tips For Being Actively Antiracist” by Lauren Barrett of LaurenBarrettWrites uses the 4 C’s of critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity to give thinking prompts and specific tips.
7 – This article “How Systemic Racism Infiltrates Education” from Ben & Jerry’s blog (yes, the Ben & Jerry’s we ice cream lovers know and love) is very powerful. It explains a complicated and difficult issue. It ends with a list of tips for being part of the solution.
9 – 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice is just that. Each of these activities takes little time but the author, Corinne Shutack, emphasizes that working for racial justice is a marathon, not a sprint or a quick fix. This list is continually being updated to keep it current.
I don’t know about you, but I have found several good teaching practices during distance learning that I will actually keep doing next year.
When we were suddenly faced with distance teaching and learning (practically overnight), I began frantically collecting every single resource I could find. While I haven’t used them all, I plan to keep my list and explore more of them next year. You can grab a copy of my list of free resources for school closures during COVID-19.
Here are 27 practices I’ve tried and will continue to use.
1 – Video tutorials for how to navigate Google Classroom
Why I like it: it keeps me from having to explain the same thing over & over to both students and parents! You can find these videos all over YouTube and there are lots of good ones. It made it a lot easier to just refer people to a quick video rather than trying to explain the same thing over and over. Everyone appreciated having a visual model to follow.
2 – EdPuzzle tool and using your own videos, EdPuzzle content, or YouTube content.
Why I like it: you can insert your own voice to ask questions along the way and/or you can insert questions for students to answer along the way. I love how students cannot fast forward through the videos. Also, if a student clicks on another tab, the video automatically pauses. Thus, they have to complete the video and answer the questions to complete the assignment!
3 – Google Forms in quiz mode
Why I like it: it saves SO much time when grading. My favorite format is multiple choice. But when you want to use a short answer format, you might want to switch the quiz to manual grading to be sure your students get credit for their answers. (It’s impossible to think of all the iterations of their spelling or the way they might format their math answers!)
4 – Padlet walls for student collaboration and for social-emotional learning
Why I like it: students can see others’ responses. They can get pretty creative with adding color and images to their notes, which is fun. Using a Padlet wall for a class meeting/circle question is a great way to check-in with students and allows them to have some connection with each other.
5 – Google forms for social-emotional learning
Why I like it: this gives me more information about individual students and allows them to share things they might not share publicly. I like using Jennifer Findley’s forms as a starting point, but I often add my own questions or vary some of the questions. Some examples of varied questions: What is hard for you with online learning right now? What can I do to help you? How are you doing at home? Do you have the things you need for learning? Do you need me to contact you for a one-on-one chat?
6 – Scheduling one-on-one Google Meet time with students or parents (even just 15-minute meetings)
Why I like it: I actually had more in-depth “heart to heart” talks with many of my students (and several parents) during these meetings. Seeing each other’s faces and not being distracted or interrupted by others was a very valuable time. There are so many distractions in a classroom and so little time to meet with students individually. These one-on-one meetings turned out to be one of my favorite things about online learning.
7 – Sending feedback requests to students and parents with Google Forms
Why I like it: getting feedback right away was so valuable. Finding out what people liked, did not like, what they needed more or less of, and what suggestions they had to offer enabled my team and me to make changes quickly. Responding to feedback and making changes as a result of their feedback builds trust and credibility with students and parents.
8 – Giving quick written feedback via Google Classroom
Why I like it: my students liked getting those brief, one or two-sentence statements about their work in Google Classroom. And I realized that, while I give feedback with grades and rubrics and verbal comments in the classroom, I don’t usually write personalized notes to students. I’m going to keep this one up as it did seem to have more meaning for my students
9 – Read aloud
Why I like it: this kept one of our most valuable classroom traditions going, even from a distance. I read aloud both picture books and novels. It helped to use my phone on a tripod or using my new favorite toy, this gooseneck phone holder. I also bought a couple of novels in the Kindle version and recorded my screen as I read aloud. While I will always prefer doing read alouds face to face, if we do have to do any remote learning next year, doing read aloud by video will be one of the first practices I will do.
10 – Using bitmoji in Google Classroom.
Why I like it: anything that connects school to what students see and use in the “real world” is a good thing. It engages student interest and just adds another element of fun to the learning. I am still learning how to do more with bitmoji, but here is one explanation for getting started and here is another great tutorial.
11 – Adding emojis to Google Classroom assignments, in student feedback, and in emails to students. You can use this link or use control + command + space bar on a Mac and they’ll pop up.
Why I like it: just like using bitmoji, using emojis engages student interest and adds an element of fun.
Why I like it: I love these 90-second video options for students to explain their thinking and to interact with each other by making comments on other videos.
13 – Keeping a running list of extension assignments. Our gifted education specialist helped us with this. We created a separate topic in Google Classroom for extensions and posted assignments there. These assignments were not “due” on any certain date; they were just there as optional challenge assignments for students who finished the regular assignments.
Why I like it: extension assignments should be made available to every student that wants to try them. Keeping a list and referring students to that list makes it easier for the teacher because you don’t have to remember everything. Students like it because everything is right there for them, including the links, and they can work on these tasks whenever they have time available.
14 – Email updates to parents & weekly assignment progress reports. Okay, maybe I’m being a little ambitious to say that I will do weekly assignment progress reports. But the weekly email update to parents was very helpful.
Why I like it: At a time when everyone felt isolated and unsure if they were doing what they needed to do for their child, the weekly update was reassuring and helpful.
I did learn a cool trick for the weekly assignment progress reports if your assignments are in Google Classroom. If you click on “People” at the top of Classroom, it gives you a list of your students. Then, click on a student’s name and all their assignments (both graded and missing assignments) will be listed. You can then screenshot the student’s work and send that to both students and parents.
(To be clear: during this time of enforced distance learning, I was careful to word the emails about missing assignments in a more “sympathetic” way. I would say things like, “let me know if you need help with this” or “let me know if something is going on and you are not able to complete this assignment,” etc.)
Why I like it: Google Classroom can get a little overwhelming, even for teachers who are posting the stuff! I found that most of my students were not intentionally ignoring some assignments, but that they got lost in the “stream.” Screenshotting the list of missing assignments was not intended to be accusatory, but rather as a reminder of what to finish.
Some of my parents mentioned that one of the unexpected benefits of this time was that they could see what their students were learning and working on in “real-time” instead of waiting to see their student’s work later after it has been finished and graded. (Other parents felt stressed by this, however, wondering if their child was “on track” in terms of learning pace. This has been a source of stress for everyone in different ways.)
15 – Scheduling an individualized learning day. During the regular school year, having an entire day for this might not be possible, but having an hour would be. My team and I opted to do this when we asked for family feedback and learned that many students wanted to get to those “extension” assignments mentioned above, but were too busy completing the regular assignments. Other families asked for a slightly slower pace so that their child could catch up. Thus, we started “individualized learning day” on Fridays. Students could catch up on those missing assignments (see above) or they could move on to the extension assignments.
Why I like it: no one had to feel “behind” because there was some breathing room built into the schedule. No one had to feel like they were “done” because there were always extension assignments that they could choose to complete.
16 – Scheduling virtual field trips on “Field Trip Fridays.” We decided to include field trips as part of our Friday individualized learning day. These were such a hit that I want to keep this practice going.
To help our students reflect on what they saw and learned, we used a simple Google Form about their virtual field trip.
17 – Sending e-cards
Why I like it: this was a fun way to keep in touch with students and another way to let them know I was thinking of them. Many kids and parents gave me positive feedback about these. I already have an account with American Greetings, but you can also use 123Greetings for free.
18 – Self-paced and differentiated learning with lesson videos and with assignments. For some assignments, my team and I worked to create an extension for some students and modify it for others.
Why I like it: when everyone is accessing their own copy of the assignment, it was a lot easier to privately provide the differentiated work that students need. In addition, video lessons allowed for differentiation. For a few students, I would message them that they did not need to watch the class math video lesson that day but should watch a specific assigned video (often from Khan Academy videos) instead. For other students, I would remind them that the video lesson would be available at all times and they should feel free to go back and watch the explanation again as often as needed.
19 – Doing more contests/playing games/just having fun together
Why I like it: Every Friday, we enjoyed a social Google Meet together where we did something that was just for fun. Here’s a link to some of the activities we enjoyed doing. With all of the rush of the school year, we sometimes forget how important it is to slow down and enjoy each other. It’s good for kids as well as teachers.So doing something just for fun once a week is definitely something I want to keep doing in the classroom.
20 – Listening to music together, especially music videos that include the lyrics
21 – Viewing assignments or resources on the screen while my students are looking at them too
Why I like it: that screen sharing option on Google Meet was invaluable for being able to point out specific things to students. Same with engaging with them on Google Docs, Sheets, and Presentations while they are also working on them. Something about both of us looking at something and navigating their questions made it feel more like “we’re in this together” rather than my students feeling that they were being told what to do.
22 – Using exit tickets as formative assessment, usually via Google Forms
Why I like it: these were quick, easy, and I could see at a glance who got it and who needed more help.
23 – Using a created artifact instead of a “test” as a summative assessment. Distance learning forced us to be a little more creative in our assessment options.
Why I like it: while tests certainly have their use, having students create something and show what they learned was valuable to us and more engaging for our students. This also allowed other students to make comments and give feedback on each other’s work, which gave more of an authentic audience for their creations.
24 – Using the “chat” feature in Google Meet
Why I like it: When we have Google Meets and many students are there, this has been great for students to be able to ask a question without interrupting, make a comment on something someone else said (again, without interrupting), or just make an observation. This way, their thoughts are recorded and will be addressed without them needing to interrupt the flow of a lesson or a discussion. It made me realize that many times, blurts and interruptions occur simply because students are afraid they’ll forget their “brilliant thought” or their question. I want to find and use better ways for them to record these thoughts and questions.
25 – Using social-emotional check-in questions as warmups before a lesson
Why I like it: I have been working to incorporate more mindfulness practices throughout the day, for my students’ physical and mental health. (And mine as well!) Deliberately using these at the beginning of video lessons made a positive difference for our students. We encouraged students to check in with us during “office hours” if they needed to talk, and many students did that. The talks usually only lasted for a couple of minutes, as students often just needed that reassuring voice and seeing our faces and being reminded that we are and are available for them.
26 – Wearing casual clothing and sitting in a comfy working spot!
Why I like it: we all do better work when we are comfortable. Although my pajamas and yoga pants would not be appropriate for school, I am paying more attention to fabrics and comfortable clothing styles and shoes for when I am working in my classroom again.
27 – Talking directly to the student about why they are not completing assignments
Why I like it: while that is my usual practice in the classroom (and not necessarily calling the parent at the first “offense,”), I resorted to letting parents know that students were not completing assignments when we switched to distance learning. Why? I have no idea. Plus, it did not necessarily make a difference.
Then I read a post by Michael Linsin on his website Smart Classroom Management about going straight to the student if they were not doing their work. He suggests calling the home and bypassing the parents (who may or may not even be monitoring distance learning) and speaking directly to the child. When I did this, I was not accusatory, but asked questions about what was going on, were they having any trouble, could they find the assignments, did they know what they needed to be working on today, etc. Doing that made all the difference!
When I started making this list, I thought there would only be a few practices on my list. But I kept thinking of more and more things, which made me realize that distance learning has not been such a bad thing. What practices are you planning to keep?
Recent news events have made it more important than ever to talk with all of our children about race and about racism in the United States. While families of color often have these conversations, I have found that white families often have more trouble with navigating these topics.
My grade-level team and I shared the following information with families in our fifth-grade classes. I hope it gives you some tips and some resources for talking about race with the white kids in your life.
Dear families,
We have been shocked and saddened by the murder of George Floyd. We recognize that this is only one of many unjustified murders of people of color and we are deeply disappointed at the ongoing systemic racism in our nation. We find hope in the fact that so many people have reacted to this tragedy by speaking out and standing up against injustice. We learned about the power of peaceful protest in our study of the first amendment earlier this year, and this moment provides a powerful teaching moment for parents and teachers.
To our families of color: we know you are hurting and we are working as educators to help shape children who do not perpetuate this same hurt in the future.
One way to teach at this moment is to have conversations with children about race.
If we were in the classroom, here are some questions we would use to discuss these issues with your children. We hope they will help you as well.
You can start by asking:
*What do you know? What have you seen/heard? (This allows the conversation to flow naturally from the child’s perspective.)
*How are you feeling?
*How do you think the people in this image, video, etc. were feeling?
*Do you know why they felt that way? (This allows children to identify their feelings and discuss various reactions to those feelings. It also allows them a chance to develop empathy for others. This is the time when children may wonder how they can help. See the questions below about being an “upstander.”)
*What is the difference between a bystander and an upstander?
*Where do you see each type of person in the current news/in your life?
*What opportunities do you have to be an upstander?
*What is an example of inequity you saw today/this week?
*How did you counter it, or how could you counter it next time?
*What is a question/wondering you still have?
A good way to help focus students on thinking about what they can do to make changes is to use Fred Rogers’ famous quote about looking for the helpers:
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”
Helping can take many forms. Talking about racism is one way to start.
As educators, we know that the history of racial injustice extends to schools and classrooms. Please know that we work to provide the best educational experience for every child. We are committed to learning and listening. Please reach out to us with any questions.
I hope that these resources will be useful to you as a teacher or parent or friend of white children. They are eager to talk about what they see and hear. We all need to do more listening and learning.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
~Dr. Maya Angelou
Besides the pandemic, my heart is heavy from the news coverage of the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota. This story, like too many others like it, deserves a response from all of us. Whatever your politics, whatever your faith, whatever you believe — we all need to do our part to make this world a better place for all of our children. Making the world a better place includes doing away with racism.
I have no answers. But I have spent many years as a white female teacher trying to become an anti-racist ally and to talk to my own children and the children in my class about what I am learning and what they can do to make a difference. One thing I do know for sure: until white people are just as outraged by these events, we’re going to see these news stories over and over again. We also have to realize that many things happen that we never hear about in the news.
This is absolutely no criticism of the police. I am grateful for the work of our police. I know they do a very dangerous job every single day. Their lives matter as much as anyone else’s.
My sadness and anger are because of the systemic racism that is at the root of evil behavior on the part of police or neighborhood watch people or anyone else who has been guilty of taking the life of an unarmed black man. My sadness and anger are also directed at the ones who stood there and said nothing while George Floyd died in the street.
I have to question my own beliefs and attitudes and biases on a daily basis. I have to, because if I say that I am here to teach all children, then I have to look out for the well-being of all children. As Bob Goff tweeted today:
Everybody, always.
Not just some people, sometimes.
I’m sharing some books and articles that have helped me in the hope that something here will help you as well.
First, here is an excerpt from an email newsletter I follow. Erin Moon is the writer and you can read more about her on her website. Here’s what she said in today’s email:
“You can go to justiceforbigfloyd.com for ways to aid in the fight for justice for Mr. Floyd. And while it’s never the responsibility of a person of color to teach me how to not be racist towards them, or how to be a good person and ally, I am so grateful for the work of several teachers on this subject. Osheta Moore, Ekemini Uwan, Dr. Lucretia Berry, Lisa Sharon Harper, and Latasha Morrison are just a few. I urge you to follow these women, learn from what they give, and listen to what they say. Support their work (I’m super into courses right now and just signed up for Dr. Berry’s Brownicity community. One of the modules is called “Raising Anti-Racist Kids” and it looks great and it’s actually my first Lil Treasure), if you can. I thought something that Dr. Berry’s husband said the other day was incredibly prescient for white people: he talked about how he’s been married to Dr. Berry and they have three children together but he STILL finds racial bias within him. It’s okay for us to admit we have racial bias, we’re not perfect, but we want to do better. I hope you’ll give these women a follow and a listen.”
“Teachers are smart, thoughtful people tasked with raising up young people to be leaders. We cannot be ignorant about race or avoid talking about it.”
And this one:
“People of color have no choice but to think about and understand race on a daily basis. It’s really up to us as white people to educate ourselves to the same level.”
There are so many great books out there. If you are serious about making a difference, I hope you will start with one of these or some other book you find that I have not listed. And I hope you will share your book findings with me. We are all still learning.
I would love to hear your thoughts. Please comment or email. And if you are a person of faith, please pray.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
