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.

We understand it can be difficult to know what to say. Here are some helpful resources:
How to Talk to Kids About Race and Racism
Beyond the Golden Rule – page 17 is especially helpful
Talking about Race – this is from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture.

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.

Here are more resources we shared with parents.

Children’s books:
*The Breaking News by Sarah Lynne Reul

*A Kid’s Book about Racism by Jelani Memory

*All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold

*New Kid by Jerry Craft

*One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

*Blended by Sharon M. Draper

*Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Books for adults:

*White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

*How to Be an AntiRacist by Ibram X. Kendi

*Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey

Other suggestions:
*Follow “The Conscious Kid” on Instagram

*Here is a document with many anti-racism resources

*Justice in June resources

*This short video will explain systemic racism and can be viewed with your children.

*Another powerful video – “When Did My Baby Become a Threat to You?”

*An article from CNN – “How to Not Raise a Racist White Kid”

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.”

This article “75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice” by Corinne Shutack on Medium gives us actionable ideas for things to do, starting today.

Angela Watson’s article “10 Things Every White Teacher Should Know When Talking about Race” has so many good thoughts. A couple of her quotes at the beginning of the article struck me when I first read this:

“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.”

This recent article by Georgina Dukes “When My Beautiful Black Boy Grows From Cute to a Threat” breaks my heart and gives me much to think about.

This is a great collection of resources on anti-racism.

If you are a white teacher or parent and interested in reading more, here are some of my favorite books.

Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain by Zaretta Hammond

Multiplication is for White People by Lisa Delpit

Other People’s Children by Lisa Delpit

Through Ebony Eyes: What Teachers Need to Know But Are Afraid to Ask About African American Students by Gail L. Thompson

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

For White Folks Who Teach in the ‘Hood – and the Rest of Y’all Too: Reality Pedagogy & Urban Education by Christopher Emdin

The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African-American Children by Gloria Ladson-Billings

Everyday Antiracism: Getting Real about Race in School by Mica Pollock

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Boys by Eddie Moore, Jr. (and other editors)

Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust Society by Jennifer Harvey

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.

It has been a strange end to the school year of 2019-20, hasn’t it?

In “normal” years, we spend the last week to ten days of school doing various activities that help to celebrate the end of our year together.

This is not a “normal” year. So today I’m sharing some fun end of year activities you can do with your class, virtually.

Virtual memory book options

*Make a digital memory book! HERE is a template for our fifth-grade memory book. You can make a copy and edit for your own grade level and needs.

*Here is a link to a distance learning memory book option from Not So Wimpy Teacher on Teachers Pay Teachers and another option from Teach Create Motivate.

Keep reading, writing, researching, and doing math together

*HERE are some fun writing prompts I am going to post in Google Classroom as extension writing activities.

*If you’re looking for a good math project, Jennifer Findley’s Extreme Playground Makeover looks like an engaging way to review geometry terms!

*Jennifer Findley also has an inexpensive math resource in Teachers Pay Teachers with several great review math activities for upper elementary grades.

*This post from Jennifer Findley explains how she gets her students engaged and motivated for the next grade level’s learning. While looking forward to new learning is always a great thing to do, it might be especially important this year as we want to keep our students excited about the year ahead instead of focusing on what they missed out on this year.

Remind your students of the importance of relationships

*Make a Padlet wall for each student with the focus question “What do you like about . . . ?”. Send one Padlet wall link to your students daily (through email or post in Google Classroom). Then each student can add brief notes or stories about the focus student. You can print these Padlets and either email or snail mail them to your students.

*Here is another great idea from Ashleigh on her Ashleigh’s Education Journey blog! I love the way she collects input from her students but then creates a special and memorable gift for each child. This would take more time, but it would be such a great keepsake for kids (and parents).

*Have your students interview each other about the school year and put those interviews together. Some interview question options:
~what are your favorite memories?
~what were some funny things that happened this year?
~what will you always remember? (I bet I can guess one answer to this question!)
~what did you love about this class?
~what did you love about this grade?
~what was your favorite field trip and why?
~what were some favorite books you read or heard this year?

This is another good idea for having your students interact with each other.

*If you like to present awards to your students at the end of the year, try this distance learning selfie awards activity. This looks like a super cute way to acknowledge the challenges and successes of distance learning!

Do some collaborative projects together

*Ashleigh also describes her End of Year Escape, which she has converted to digital form. It looks really fun! It’s also a great way to have your students working together, especially at this time when everyone is feeling even more isolated.

*Have your students make book recommendations on Flip Grid or Voice Thread so they can be shared with other students. You might allow students to work together on these or to add comments to each other’s recommendations.

Teaching with Jennifer Findley website is a terrific resource. She recently posted several great digital resources for the end of the school year. And they are all free!

*Collaborative class book – I love this idea because your students create the book together. This helps mitigate some of those feelings of being isolated from each other.

*I also love her A to Z memory book, which would be another great collaborative end of year writing project for your students.

Have fun together

*Try this ABC countdown to summer, which has been modified to be appropriate for distance learning. This looks like a great way to keep kids connected to you and to each other in a fun way.

*Take a virtual field trip together! See my list of possibilities HERE.

*Have a virtual field day! Here is another option on Teachers Pay Teachers.

*Host an end of the year talent show on Zoom or Google Meet. Other options are sharing your pet or sharing something you made or created.

*Jennifer Findley’s making ice cream in a bag would be an awesome activity to do if you were in the classroom. Depending upon your student’s home resources, this may be a fun activity to do together virtually, or to suggest to parents for a summer activity.

*On the last day of school, have one last meeting together but make it a virtual picnic! Have kids bring a blanket or towel and some snacks. Just sit and eat and talk and enjoy the last bit of your school year together.

Options for inexpensive gifts to send to your students

We have to bag up our students’ “stuff” for parents to pick up at school. We are thinking about good inexpensive gift options to include in the bags, along with a note from us.

Here are some options we are considering:
*we love these magnetic bookmarks with inspirational sayings!
*sunglasses with a note that says, “Have a bright summer!”
*crazy straws with a note that says, “I’m going to miss you like crazy!”
a bouquet of three freeze pops with a note that says, “you are super cool!”
*a pack of chocolate chip cookies with a note that says “You are one smart cookie! Congratulations!”
*inflatable beach balls with a note that says, “have a ball this summer!”
*emoji beach balls are fun too!
*bubble wands with a note that says, “you blew me away this year!”
*bouncy balls with a note that says, “I’ve had a ball with you this year!”
*water bottles in your school colors
*slime never gets old for kids!
*squishies are also quite popular!

Get your students’ feedback on the year

*Since the ending to this school year was so abnormal, it would be helpful to get your students’ perspectives on distance learning. God forbid that we will be in this situation again, but in case we are, I would like to know what my students found to be helpful and how we could be better prepared. Ashleigh from Ashleigh’s Education Journey has an End of Year reflection Google form for distance learning.

*Consider giving your students a Google Form with feedback for you from the year. (“EOG” stands for “End of Grade,” which is the name of our state test.)

Reflect on your year together

*This one takes a little bit of time but is well worth it. Create a slideshow of pictures taken of your students throughout the year. Our school technology facilitator does this for the entire fifth grade and it is a highlight of our graduation ceremony. This year, it will be shown virtually. But a slide show of your own class or of any grade level makes for a special event. Setting it to music makes it even more powerful which you can do with tools like Animoto or Slide.ly.

*Ask your students to select an appropriate “theme song” for your class this year. Put the songs together in a Google slides presentation (here’s our assignment) and/or compile the songs into a Spotify playlist.

*Have your students write a six-word memoir on their own slide of a class Google Presentation.

*Write haiku or acrostic poems about the class or about the year. They could share these during a Google Meet or Zoom meeting. Another option would be to put them together as a Google Presentation.

*I love Jennifer Findley’s End of Year reflection prompts found HERE. These can be used in a variety of ways. I plan to give my students a choice of two or three prompts a day and let them respond on a Padlet wall (if it’s a prompt where it’s fun to see others’ responses) or using Jennifer’s Google Slides format.

*Ask your students to write letters of appreciation to other people in the school – other teachers, resource staff, custodians, lunchroom staff, etc. They could write these letters on Google docs so that you have editing rights. You can then send these letters on to the appropriate staff member. These are always greatly appreciated.

*Write a letter of advice to a future student in your grade level. You could also ask students to do this on a Google slide and create a presentation to show next year’s students.

*Closing Thoughts on COVID-19 would be another good reflective end of year activity related to distance learning.

This has been a year unlike any other. Connecting with our students, reminding them of all the good things about the year, and sending them off to the next grade with good memories of this year are the best things to do at the end of any school year, but especially this year. I hope you found a few ideas that will work for you and your class!