Literacy Matters Winter 2022

justice would invite them to examine who is affected more by these injustices along with the underlying root causes.

This book could be paired with other picture books such as When We Were Alone by David Robertson. In this story, a young Cree girl’s questions lead to her grandmother telling stories about her childhood in an Indian boarding school, including the ways her Native identity, language, and culture were stripped. This book offers a counter-narrative to the limited and sanitized story of Native Americans often told around Thanksgiving. Few children learn about the genocide of Native Americans throughout history, including the forced removal from their land and the stripping of their identity and culture at boarding schools (Dunbar-Ortiz, Mendoza, & Reese, 2019). Other books to learn about Indigenous people can be found in figure 3.

Read alouds could also be utilized to acknowledge mathematicians who contributed significantly to society. For example, Counting on Katherine by Helaine Baker shares the story of Katherine Johnson’s brilliant calculation skills, which helped NASA put a man on the moon. Books like this as well as Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly, can highlight people of color who accomplished extraordinary things. Sharing stories such as Counting on Katherine provides role models and challenges the stereotype that only white men are in STEM fields. Additionally, these read alouds can create context for math problems. For example, students could be solving problems to assist Katherine and NASA. Read alouds such as Counting on Katherine and Hidden Figures could also be integrated into the science curriculum, allowing students to see how these concepts are applied to the real world. In the same way that read alouds can be used to integrate critical conversations in math, they can also be used to examine and disrupt real-world injustices in science. Read Alouds in Science When teaching science, real-world application is a critical component in the learning process. Science is a part of our everyday lives, and students deserve opportunities to discuss their observations and inquiries. One way to facilitate those conversations and explore new ideas or questions is through read alouds. Read alouds provide an opportunity for students to apply science content to the real world. Read alouds offer insight into concepts such as human interactions with the environment and the importance of taking care of our world. The current climate crisis has proven to be a significant problem requiring immediate attention. If we do not instill the urgency in students today, who will fix our planet’s crisis? Teachers must stress the importance of being respectful of the environment. Books like We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom could be used to express the responsibility we have for taking care of the Earth. Additionally, it highlights Indigenous people in America, who are often only discussed in the classroom around Thanksgiving and done so through a historical lens as if they no longer exist. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of children’s books representing Native Americans. In 2018, only 1% of books were written by or about Native Americans (Huyck & Park Dahlen, 2019). Because of this limitation, it is important to share the books that honor Native American stories. We Are Water Protectors shows beautiful illustrations of flora and fauna, flowing water, and the hands that help connect it all. When reading this text, it could be coupled with a service project where students practice and advocate for water conservation. Additionally, science standards of ecosystems, earth systems, natural resources, human-environment interactions, and many more could be applicable to this book and others like it.

Title

Author

We Are Still Here!

Traci Sorell

Literacy Matters Feature Article We Are Grateful

Traci Sorell

Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross

Traci Sorell

My Heart Fills with Happiness

Monique Gray Smith

You Hold Me Up

Monique Gray Smith

Little You

Richard Van Camp

We Sang You Home

Richard Van Camp

Figure 3 Read Alouds About Indigenous People

Read Alouds in Math Economics, a topic studied in both social studies and math, can be explored further through read alouds. In mathematics, read alouds allow students to think about math concepts in abstract ways. By pairing culturally relevant read alouds with mathematics curriculum, educators can show students how math connects to the real world. For example, during a unit on addition and subtraction, students can create a grocery budget using coupons and store ads to practice financial literacy skills (Kleinrock, 2021). These financial literacy skills can also be used to discuss inequity between low-income families and how they often struggle to support their families due to systemic inequities. Books such as Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña, Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts, Maddi’s Fridge by Lois Brandt, Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate, and A Shelter in Our Car by Monica Gunning could be used to discuss different socioeconomic statuses and situations. In addition to having students think about mathematical topics more critically, incorporating read alouds into the mathematics curriculum allows for essential conversations of equity issues. The real-world application of math skills helps children see the value and purpose for these skills beyond the classroom. Integrating social justice work in math can include exploring issues in the community that can be solved with math, such as managing debt, examining minimum wage, as well as issues and statistics related to poverty and inequity. Continuing to expose students to these issues of social

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