Books

Changes in the way we teach has swept across the nation ever since Covid-19 hit U.S. soil. I am not talking about Zoom or remote teaching; think George Floyd. His unjust death influenced many businesses, government institutions, and educators to change the way we look at systemic racism. This has especially changed on the way we teach inside our classrooms.

I belonged to an equity team in Northshore School District, and although I am a person of color, I attended those meetings to help our school community focus on equity: to help close the school-to-prison gap at our schools; provide equitable education; and to promote justice in an un-just nation. I am taking the advantage as an English Language Arts teacher in high school to help students deepen their understanding on being culturally responsive.

As a person of color, this very topic lies deep well into my heart as I have experienced social injustices throughout my life. What better way to share and open up my experience to students — especially students of color — to help empower them and to be a voice. The books I teach are very relatable to myself and others who have gone through similar challenges.

Here you will find a book listing for grades 8-12, though they can be adjusted to grade-level. The books I teach as an English Language Arts Literature teacher are thought-provoking and will give a deeper understanding on the hows and whys of injustice and social inequities. 

Contextual background is necessary to help the author spread their message. Before reading these books, I provide the historical context and specific backgrounds behind some of these stories. Students comprehending the story’s cultural identity and background before diving into a reading will prevent being lost in its plot and overall theme. What could be worse is that a student may not understand the message that the author is attempting to convey. (To minimize any mispronunciations of names, places and unfamiliar words, web-search a pronunciation tool that will help you and your students say it properly. This is very important!)

Although many of the books I teach are related to the BIPOC communities, I do utilize an end-of-the-year-classics with fun activities/lessons such as Homer’s The Odyssey and/or Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

While the majority of my lessons consist of (e.g.) recognizing figurative devices and character development, students will build their understanding and awareness on equity while being empowered/inspired to recognize the rights and wrongs we see in our world. It’s not all about building academic minds (that’s the easy part) — it’s all about changing the world while developing empathy and understanding towards humankind in equitable and justifiable ways.