Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education.
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I have chosen to have students read "Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson because it is representative of them learning who they are in this critical point of their lives. Seeing characters and settings that look like them will help them establish a sense of pride in who they are and where they come from, as well as, motivate them to read more novels and establish of love of reading literature.
Summary of "Brown Girl Dreaming": Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson’s eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become.
About my class
I have chosen to have students read "Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson because it is representative of them learning who they are in this critical point of their lives. Seeing characters and settings that look like them will help them establish a sense of pride in who they are and where they come from, as well as, motivate them to read more novels and establish of love of reading literature.
Summary of "Brown Girl Dreaming": Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson’s eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become.