The Teacher Bees Blog (Page 3)

Black Lives Matter

Young Adult Books

Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter. Some people view this as a controversial statement. It shouldn't be. Black people in Canada experience systemic racism [https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/06/01/racism-exists-in-canada-these-are-the-stories-from-people-who-have-lived-it-as-eyes-turn-on-us-after-george-floyd-death-in-minneapolis.html] . It is present in the education system [https://theconversation.com/the-crisis-of-anti-black-racism-in-schools-persists-across-generations-120856] . It is present when Black

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

Middle Grade Books

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You [https://teacherbees.ca/this-place-150-years-retold/] is a remix of Ibram X. Kendi's book Stamped from the Beginning. Jason Reynolds, an acclaimed author for young people, remixes the content to create a vital text for teaching students about racism. Most of the book focuses on

Indigenous Writes

Indigenous Writes

Indigneous Writes [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30181589-indigenous-writes?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=fAdqK9QRDb&rank=1] by Chelsea Vowel is a guide to First Nations, Métis and Inuit issues in Canada. The book provides a dialogue about the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and settlers

A Girl Called Echo - Volume 3

A Girl Called Echo - Volume 3

For teachers looking to bring Canadian history to life, with particular emphasis on Métis history, be sure to check out volume three of A Girl Called Echo [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42667980-northwest-resistance], written by Katherena Vermette and illustrated by Scott B. Henderson. The series [https://teacherbees.ca/a-girl-called-echo/

The 7 Generations Series

Young Adult Books

The 7 Generations Series

The 7 Generations Series [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8070816-stone], a graphic novel series written by David Alexander Robertson and illustrated by Scott B. Henderson, recounts the life of seven generations of an Indigenous family, stories that span from the beginning of the 19th century to 2010. The series

The Ghost Collector

Middle Grade Books

The Ghost Collector

The Ghost Collector [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43783388-the-ghost-collector?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=zP5rdzoFHI&rank=1] , by Allison Mills, is a middle grade book about loss, grief, and letting go. The main character Shelly and her grandmother have the power to collect ghosts

Maybe He Just Likes You

Maybe He Just Likes You

Maybe He Just Likes You [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43197524-maybe-he-just-likes-you?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=wZ8vgAofZW&rank=1] , by Barbara Dee, is an important middle grade book that all students should read. It tells the story of Mila, a girl who deals with harassment

Stories that Challenge Greed

Stories that Challenge Greed

In previous posts [https://teacherbees.ca/nature-picture-books/], I have talked about using picture books as a way to help children develop greater eco-consciousness. The first step is to connect kids with nature, but the lessons shouldn't stop there. Our way of life is built on a system that

Picture Books that Teach us to Value Nature

Picture Books that Teach us to Value Nature

I have been struggling lately with when to start teaching my young kids about the ecological crises facing our planet. My son is a curious four year old and is starting to ask questions about conversations he overhears. While we try to answer him in age appropriate ways, it can

The Failings of Climate Change Fiction

The Failings of Climate Change Fiction

Young adult and middle grade fiction are useful tools for teaching about tough issues. Problems like the refugee crisis [https://teacherbees.ca/refugee-books-for-middle-years/] or poverty are difficult and stories are important to help us better understand these issues and to give them a human face. Unfortunately, there has been scant

Anger is a Gift

Anger is a Gift

Anger is a Gift [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36142487-anger-is-a-gift], by Mark Oshiro, tells the story of Moss Jefferies, a black Latinx teen, and his activism against police brutality at his high school. Traumatized by the murder of his father by a police officer during his childhood, Moss learns

How to Be an Antiracist

How to Be an Antiracist

How to Be an Antiracist [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40265832-how-to-be-an-antiracist], by Ibram X. Kendi, is an essential book for people who want to better understand how racism is embedded in our society and how we can work more proactively to be antiracists. Part memoir, part guide, Ibram X.

White Rose

White Rose [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39884755-white-rose?from_search=true], by Kip Wilson, is based on the true story of Sophie Scholl, a member of the German resistance during World War II. This novel in verse tells the story of the White Rose Society, a group of German

Crush

I am not a big fan of romantic comedies. I find the characters in these types of books or films often engage in manipulative behaviour. The resulting relationships rarely strike me as particularly healthy and leave a lot to be desired. When it comes to my classroom library, I don&

No Fixed Address

No Fixed Address

Maybe you have seen the signs before. A child in your class does not bring a lunch to school. They rarely seem to wear clean clothes. They often seem tired and have difficulty completing work outside of the classroom. They cannot attend field trips and are not able to bring

Drawdown - Climate Crisis Solutions and the Classroom

Drawdown - Climate Crisis Solutions and the Classroom

As I write this blog entry, it is the early hours of the morning in Winnipeg and the Climate Strike is underway on the other side of the world. Early reports suggest the turn out is amazing, and I am keenly looking forward to participating in the strike here at

Rainbow and Pride Picture Books

Rainbow and Pride Picture Books

This blog has recommended a number of books that include LGBTQ characters [https://teacherbees.ca/tag/lgbtq/], particularly books geared for middle years students [https://teacherbees.ca/lgbtq-books-in-middle-school/]. For students who are LGBTQ, who are questioning, or who have LGBTQ family members, it is important to see themselves reflected in

Don't Panic: Big Solutions to the Climate Crisis

Don't Panic: Big Solutions to the Climate Crisis

Today's blog post is about the climate crisis and I'd like to preface everything by saying Don't Panic. It is easy to get overwhelmed, but solutions do exist that can help us address this crisis. That being said, let's dig deeper and

On the Come Up

On the Come Up is Angie Thomas's follow up to the hugely successful The Hate U Give. It tells the story of sixteen-year old Bri, an aspiring rapper who aims to make it big and solve her family's financial troubles. Early in the story, Bri is

Two Novellas on Reconciliation

Two Novellas on Reconciliation

A number of children's books [https://teacherbees.ca/residentialschoolpicturebooks/] examine what happened at residential schools and their immediate impact. Rarer are books that focus more specifically on the journey towards reconciliation. For this reason, I was pleased to come across two novellas that do just that: When We

Other Words for Home

Other Words for Home

Stories are important tools for promoting empathy and understanding of others. It is harder to divide the world into "Them" versus "Us," to dehumanize the other, when we understand another group's struggles. For this reason, books like Other Words for Home [https://www.goodreads.

Moon at Nine

Earlier this year I was asked to read Moon at Nine [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18854738-moon-at-nine?ac=1&from_search=true] , written by Deborah Ellis. Our school inherited a number of copies and my principal thought they might be a good fit in our grade seven human

This Place: 150 Years Retold

This Place: 150 Years Retold

This Place: 150 Years Retold [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39351184-this-place?ac=1&from_search=true] is an ambitious project that aims to retell Canadian history by centering Indigenous perspectives and experiences. With over a dozen Indigenous authors and artists, the graphic novel anthology delves into stories from

Surviving the City

Surviving the City

Surviving the City [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41215879-surviving-the-city?ac=1&from_search=true] , written by Tasha Spillett and illustrated by Natasha Donovan, tells the story of two girls dealing with the dangers of growing up Indigenous in Winnipeg. When main character Dez's grandmother becomes sick,

Maiden & Princess

Maiden & Princess

Last week, I was reading Daniel Haack's Prince & Knight [https://teacherbees.ca/three/] to my three year old. When we reached the last page, where the two main male characters get married and live happily ever after, he asked a question. Not related to why two male