A Good Kind of Novel Study: Books with BIPOC Characters
Help me give my students their own personal copy of "A Good Kind of Trouble," by Lisa Moore Ramee, a book that features an age-appropriate and timely story of a young black girl beginning middle school.
I have the pleasure of teaching 30 wonderful sixth graders in California! My students are from very diverse backgrounds. Some students are first-generation Americans from India, Fiji, China, Japan, El Salvador, and Indonesia. My students work very hard and put a lot of pressure on themselves to excel academically. My challenge, as their teacher, is to foster empathy, kindness, and a life-long love for learning, as well as prepare them to be career and college ready. We celebrate mistakes as opportunities to learn in our classroom community. We work together to build relationships and trust with each other.
My Project
I am requesting 31 copies of the novel, "A Good Kind of Trouble," by Lisa Moore Ramee for my 6th graders. This novel features a 12-year-old black girl who begins middle school in a predominately white suburban town and becomes involved in a debate among her peers after attending a Black Lives Matter protest, where she learns about the details of a trial involving the police shooting an unarmed black man. This story is a positive, funny, and heartwarming realistic fiction story that I believe is essential to share with my students. All students need to see and hear stories with BIPOC characters that look and sound like they do. Students are surrounded by information about Black Lives Matter, systemic racism, and police shootings. They need to read stories like these to help them make sense of their changing and evolving world. Stories involving strong characters of color and important issues are such a valuable tool for educators at this moment. Allowing each child to have a personal copy of the novel will also help them to reduce screen time and build connections to the novel, beyond my virtual classroom. I am also requesting a single copy of the novel "Ikenga," by Nnedi Okorafor, a sci-fi novel for middle schoolers involving a strong black male lead. Your donations will help me to continue to build a diverse and culturally responsive library for my students that I am able to share, even in the digital world with creative no-contact pickup options for my students. Thank you for your support of this important endeavor.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Kelley and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.