Being a teacher, I am always looking for new ways to engage students and pique their interests. Whatever I find has to push students to think critically. Even the best multicultural story is likely to fail if students engage with it at a surface level. Deep engagement, on the other hand, is often difficult due to lack of time. Furthermore, students need modeling, whole class practice, and discussion before they can engage critically on their own. They need to know what to look for. Some teachers I know have the ability to achieve this through whole class read alouds of novels that are done at the same time as kids reading their own books. My biggest struggle with this is the amount of time it takes to finish a whole class novel. By the time you’re halfway through the book, students either tune out or just want to have it done with. They lose sight of what we are doing and so do.
Modeling with short stories is much easier. Each story can be done in much shorter windows and, together, they provide a wider variety of learning experiences. These stories can work together as larger clusters or independently. I have numerous short story collections in my classroom, but few of them work well together. Enter Walter Dean Myers. In his 145th Street I found exactly what I needed: ten short stories narrated by different characters, yet some of them overlapping to cast a new eye on culturally different individuals, groups, and neighborhoods that students may not understand on their own.
This website is therefore my attempt to help myself and other teachers push students to appreciate the role of culture in society through literature. It takes kids on a journey of understanding what culture is as well as why it matters. It provides learning opportunities for students to meet Walter Dean Myers and learn about his books. It gives students a frame of reference for Harlem and promotes discussion around why stories about Harlem and other inner city neighborhoods are important. Finally, the website provides specific lesson plans to use with each of Myers’ short story. My goal is to promote student-centered discussion. Each classroom may have a different experience with the subject matter and that’s okay. Some discussions may lead to uncomfortable conversations and that is also okay. Ultimately, my hope is that through a promotion of critical thinking and multicultural perspectives we can provide students with a desire to understand cultures and perspectives outside their own.
Modeling with short stories is much easier. Each story can be done in much shorter windows and, together, they provide a wider variety of learning experiences. These stories can work together as larger clusters or independently. I have numerous short story collections in my classroom, but few of them work well together. Enter Walter Dean Myers. In his 145th Street I found exactly what I needed: ten short stories narrated by different characters, yet some of them overlapping to cast a new eye on culturally different individuals, groups, and neighborhoods that students may not understand on their own.
This website is therefore my attempt to help myself and other teachers push students to appreciate the role of culture in society through literature. It takes kids on a journey of understanding what culture is as well as why it matters. It provides learning opportunities for students to meet Walter Dean Myers and learn about his books. It gives students a frame of reference for Harlem and promotes discussion around why stories about Harlem and other inner city neighborhoods are important. Finally, the website provides specific lesson plans to use with each of Myers’ short story. My goal is to promote student-centered discussion. Each classroom may have a different experience with the subject matter and that’s okay. Some discussions may lead to uncomfortable conversations and that is also okay. Ultimately, my hope is that through a promotion of critical thinking and multicultural perspectives we can provide students with a desire to understand cultures and perspectives outside their own.