February 2022
Black History Month & Lunar New Year Special Edition
The significance of history expands far beyond milestones emphasized in our textbooks. When harnessed thoughtfully, history is the gateway to asking productive questions that propel us to think differently and find a way to move forward. That’s the impact of Black History Month: seeing how Black narratives are tightly woven and integrated into the narrative of the United States and worldwide creates greater understanding of why Black history is important every day.
And while there are still a lot of unknowns: COVID-19 variants, global warming, natural disasters, political struggles—the 2022 Lunar New Year symbol of the Tiger calls for all of us to be brave in facing the unknowns. Bravery also means having the courage to ask for help. It’s common for people to hide their weaknesses in fear of how they may be perceived. May the Year of the Tiger inspire us to be brave in recognizing when we need support and having the courage to ask for it.
Many celebrations of both Black History (see a list here) and the Lunar New Year have taken place across the district this month. Our February newsletter special edition uplifts just a few activities framed within our ongoing focus on Identity, Skills, Intellect, Criticality, and Joy from Dr. Gholdy Muhammad's Historically Responsive Literacy Framework in Cultivating Genius.
Glassbrook Elementary School
Identity Anchor Chart
Identity Anchor Chart
'Who Tells Your Story?'
"I am" Poems
Identity: Related to all the ways we identify and are identified by others
Connected Topics:
SEL
Relevance
Awareness
Related Prompts:
What are the histories of my students’ families/cultures?
How are my students defined by others?
How do students desire to be in the future and does my instruction enable and cultivate these identities?
What do my students see as the purpose of literacy and language in their lives?
AASAI VAPA and Oratorical Fest
Poem Recital
Original Art
Original Poetry
Peer Poem Recitations
Skills: Related to being able to fully participate as a citizen in this country upon high school graduation
Connected Topics:
College and Career Readiness
Democratic participation
Pursuit of happiness
Related Prompts:
What are my students’ literacy practices outside of the classroom?
What do they read and write?
How do they speak?
What are the ways in which they know about the world around them?
How do students’ histories, identities, and literacies compare to my own?
Eden Gardens Elementary School
BHM Read-In Event
BHM/LNY Student VAPA Projects
BHM Read-In Event
BHM/LNY Student VAPA Projects
Intellect: Related to what we understand deeply about truth, not just facts
Connected Topics:
Counternarratives
Scholarship
History and context
Related Prompts:
What do we want our students to become smarter about?
How does my teaching and learning help to teach students new knowledge and concepts?
How does my teaching and learning help to teach students new histories, new people, places, and things?”
Stonebrae Elementary School
Culturally Responsive Gear
BHM Door Decoration Event
Educator Social Justice Library
LNY Lunch Time Crafts
Criticality: Related to what we do strategically to improve the world for all
Connected Topics:
Antiracism
Power
Inspired transformative action
Related Prompts:
What issue is most urgent for students’ learning? How does this issue connect to the world? How can I connect content-learning skills to this issue?
What multimodal text can I layer in my lesson or unit plan to teach this topic/issue? Teachers think about print and nonprint texts.
What creative and engaging exercises will I engage students in to teach this topic/issue?
How can I assess each of the four learning standards (identity, skills, intellect, and criticality)?
Bret Harte Middle School
Capturing the Magic
Hallway Displays
Line Dancing Celebration
BHM Facts and Incentives
Joy: Related to one impact of learning new things about the world
Connected Topics:
Affirming all of who we are
Motivation
Celebration
Related Prompts:
In what ways do my students experience joy in their lives? In our curriculum? In our interactions?
What do students learn that is connected to something beautiful or good in the world?
How do stories of resistance and persistence inspire hope and joy?