Back to School 2023

It always feels like I (Nina) blinked and back to school is upon us again all of a sudden, but this summer time passed even faster than usual. I don’t know how we are here already — it still feels like it should be July to me! And so many of my teacher/school friends are already back at work somehow. If you already started school or went back to work, hope you are having a smooth as possible start to the school year.

This will be my second fall in a row out of the classroom, and while I have some adventures coming up that I’m excited about (more about that in a future post) and love the extra time with my little ones, it is always bittersweet as Teacher New Year is so exciting, nerve-wracking, and just so many emotions as once.

I may not be planning back to school read alouds for my own classroom, but I’m still excited about lots of new books!

Here are some new(ish) books that would be amazing back to school read alouds and just generally belong in classrooms, libraries, and kids’ hands:

The Great Banned-Books Bake Sale by Aya Khalil, illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan. We all need this book! It is based on true events (their book The Arabic Quilt was banned in Pennsylvania, as detailed in an author’s note) and readers get to hear more about what Kanzi (main character from The Arabic Quilt) is up to these days. I was happy to note that she is still writing poetry!

My Name by Supriya Kelkar, illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat (cover photo). I have been waiting for this book all my life! Although my first name — Nina- is generally easy to pronounce and “international” I still identify with the challenges and the general other-izing/feeling marginalized depicted in the book). Her book site has classroom resources too, including posters, nameplates, and a worksheet.

Where We Come From by John Coy, Shannon Gibney, Sun Yung Shin, and Diane Wilson, illustrated by Dion Mbd. A huge thanks to Katy (@KatySwalwell) for introducing me to this one — such a gorgeous book that every classroom needs. You could make your own class version or use it as a writing prompt in a myriad of different ways.

I’m From by Gary R. Gray Jr. and illustrated by Oge Mora. I was already excited when I saw that the illustrator is Oge Mora, as her illustrations are always a high point for me. But this book seems like it will be amazing on so many levels. Sadly, it’s not coming out until September 19th!

How We Eat by Shuli De la Fuente-Lau

My toddler LOVES this book. We read it every single day for a long time. I love it too because who doesn’t love books about food? And food? And representation? It is a board book which might be a challenging entry point for older kids, but could be projected on a document camera and used as a quick read aloud, conversation starter, writing prompt, morning meeting share, and so much more. What did you eat for breakfast? What’s something delicious you enjoyed this summer? Are both low stakes questions or greetings to help draw students in without potentially putting anyone on the spot or leaving anyone out who didn’t get to travel or go to camp, etc.

What Your Ribbon Skirt Means to Me: Deb Haaland’s Historic Inauguration by Alexis Bunten, illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt has so many levels for students to connect and learn! For a simple greeting or response, ask students: How did you choose what to wear today? Or something you wore this past summer that was special for you? You can model with a hand me down or share something important to you. Students love hearing about their teachers’ lives. The representation and understanding of representation in this book are both so important.

No World Too Big: Young People Fighting Global Climate Change by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Jeanette Bradley, and Keila V. Dawson. With all the climate change related disasters and tragedies this summer, climate change might be on kids’ minds so this book could be a helpful conversation starter to get some of our feelings out as well. Also, students want and need to learn about kid activists.

Meet Yasmin by Saadia Faruqi, illustrated by Hatem Aly. One of Gabby’s current early reader faves and it belongs in every classroom! Short chapters, you could easily pass it on for early readers to finish the rest of it by themselves, a glossary and discussion questions at the back! Yasmin is a treat — she’s a spunky 2nd grader, she’s Pakistani American (!!), and she goes through relatable ups and downs that are great classroom SEL convos (ie: how do I brainstorm an idea for a project? Why does everyone else have an idea and I don’t!?, comparing my work to others and what to do, making mistakes — like ripping mamas kameez! etc..) She’d be a great BOY read aloud option.

Happy reading!

Here are all of our back to school related posts from the past:

• Beginning of the School Year Fun
• Invaluable Beginning of the Year Tools & Tips
• Read Aloud Ideas for Back to School
• Back to School Activities for Distance Learning
• Activities to Help Start the School Year Off Right
• Looking Back to Look Forward
• Preparing for the school year: Post #2: Things we are changing!
• Preparing for the school year Post #1: Things we are keeping!

Happy back to school!

Originally published at http://teachpluralism.squarespace.com on August 17, 2023.