Books Connect Us: An Introductory Guide!

As the effects of COVID-19 continue to evolve, we are wishing good health and peace to the greater Words Alive and San Diego community!  And as we continue to navigate this situation, we are writing to share free and engaging resources to continue connecting children, teens and families to the power of reading! 

Please use and share these ideas as ways to support learning, healing, and a sense of connection among your families, students, and communities! 

Visit our Books Connect Us page at www.wordsalive.org/booksconnectus, and check back often as new content is added daily. 

Here's a sneak peak: 

• #QuaranTEENS: Where you'll find: 

  • Activities and writing prompts helping teens process and cope with impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as response poetry and 6-word memoirs. Fun challenges for teens on TikTok, live author talks, and virtual book discussions are coming soon! 

  • Collection of videos from YA authors and illustrators with insights into their experiences as writers and creators. 

• Story Station: Where you'll find:

  • A growing collection of ready videos of wonderful stories read by both authors and Words Alive guest readers, many with links to ideas for extended activities that families can do together at home. Stories in Spanish are coming soon! 

  • Short videos for parents and caregivers about strategies they can use to help children connect with books and stories at home. 

  • Storytime on Facebook Live!: Join us every weekday at 2pm PST for a new, interactive storytime. Our first two have seen over 1,500 views and were a blast! Find us on Facebook at @WordsAliveSD. Please share with families, on social media, and with fellow educators.

From everyone at Words Alive, stay safe, be well, and we'll see you soon. 

Social Emotional Learning: Forgiveness

By Yael Lorberfeld, Blog Volunteer

Forgiveness Comes with a Life Present

A lot has been said, but maybe not enough, about the need for attention to Social Emotional Learning in the educational system. Words Alive is following in the footsteps of the "Choose Love Program," which is working to integrate Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)  in schools. They designed an enrichment program that aims to help children acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to recognize and regulate emotions, have a positive goal, have empathy for others, build positive relationships, and ultimately make responsible decisions.

"The Choose Love Program" believes that this task is possible when kids master the four pillars of their program, which are: Gratitude, Courage, Compassion, and Forgiveness. 

Forgiveness is one of the four pillars because it can liberate us and give us a better emotional state.

Forgiveness and Mental Heath

According to Psychology Today (2020), forgiveness is vital for mental health. To become emotionally free, it is important to create a separation from a conflictive situation and the self.  This way, resentment can be released. It helps people to be able to move ahead rather than keeping the emotional involvement in injustice or trauma. 

Brain Activity

In the physical scope, carrying the hurt or anger of an offense leads the body to release stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. Research has repeatedly linked health benefits to the reduction of stress. Eliminating the continuous flow of those hormones may explain why forgiveness yields to better health, such as lowering high blood pressure and heart problems. "There is a connection between forgiveness and mood improvement, optimism, as well as a shield against anger, stress, anxiety, and depression." (Psychology Today, 2020)

Life experiences with trustworthy people or with betrayal influence the range of how much a person will be forgiving. According to Heidi Moawad, MD (2018), forgiveness physically alters the brain's wiring. "It leads from the misery of a broken promise to wellness that builds new neuron pathways into physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being." It is outstanding how forgiveness or the lack of it influences our brain functions. 

Forgiveness and Healing

Tamara Levitt (2013, 2020) affirms that even though forgiving someone might be difficult, it is incredibly healing. She emphasizes that forgiveness is not about justice, it’s about freedom. In this process, we often find that strong negative emotions towards a person who wronged us can soften, even for just a little. One technique she recommends is to take time to feel compassion for the events in the offender's life that brought that person to act the way they did. If so, there might be a shift in our perception. It might help to remember that everyone has their own challenges. She suggests following this practice, even if it is only to help stop the continuous harm of anger and resentment. 

Steps towards Forgiveness

Psychologist Robert Enright (2011) outlines four Steps of Forgiveness. 

• The first is the recognition of your anger by exploring how you've addressed or avoided the emotion. 

• The second is a choice. It is the decision to forgive, regardless of the offender.

• The third is to cultivate forgiveness by developing compassion for the offender. 

• Finally, the last step is to release the harmful emotions and reflect on how you may have grown from the experience and the act of forgiveness itself.

Some of the books on the Words Alive curriculum list that touch on the path towards understanding forgiveness are: 

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan

The Astonishing Color of After is the first book by Emily X.R. Pan's. In it, the topics of emotions, grief, and forgiveness are skillfully treated with the combination of fantasy and reality, using a very artistic approach. The book explores the passage of healing and the inner magic that can happen when we believe. 

Leigh Chen Sanders goes to Taiwan to meet her grandmother, for the first time, in search of answers, after her mother committed suicide. She believes her mother turned into a beautiful bird after her passing. In the story, she searches for clarity and closeness with her; she finds herself chasing after ghosts, uncovering family secrets, and forming a new relationship with her grandparents. It is a novel about love, forgiveness, and self-discovery through family history.

Harbor Me, by Jacquelin Woodson

This book is about six kids that gather in weekly conversations in a classroom with no adults. They talk about their difficulties and find a space to feel safe and grow. When the six are together, they can express their feelings and fears they hide from the rest of the world. This way, they rise braver for the rest of their lives. They discuss topics related to family problems like parent incarceration, racial profiling, and adaptation to change. It is a story about braveness, forgiveness, and friendship.

Hey, Kiddo, by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Hey, Kiddo is a memoir of a boy trying to make sense of his life with an addict mother, and a father who he doesn’t know. Krosoczka shows how he came to understand, through a gradual process, his parents' personal issues, as he was simultaneously forming his own identity. Living with his grandparents, he discovered the love for art, which lead him to write this book. It is a story about discoveries, growing up, forgiveness, and the use of art as a means to express and elaborate.

Through forgiveness, we can encounter a freer way to live, an emotional space from conflict, brain and body reduction of harmful stress hormones, and ultimately wellbeing, which can become a present of health and happiness to our life.

Learn more about the SEL topics of Gratitude, Courage, and Compassion.

Sources:

• www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/forgiveness

• www.apa.org/pubs/books/interviews/4441016-enright

• www.tamaralevitt.com/2013/08/19/on-forgiveness-2/

• www.neurologytimes.com/blogs/neurobiology-forgiveness

• Robert D. Enright, Forgiving Life: A Pathway to Overcoming Resentment and Creating a Legacy of Love (APA Lifetools) Hardcover – January 15, 2012 . 

Social Emotional Learning: Compassion

By Joanna Kneller, Blog Volunteer

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is an initiative that teaches children specific skills and behaviors to help them manage emotions, make better decisions, create and achieve goals, and treat others with kindness. By practicing these vital skills, children are able to successfully cope with daily challenges and can thrive both inside and outside the academic environment.

The nonprofit organization, Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement™, supports SEL by educating children about their thoughts, and how they can change angry thoughts into loving thoughts. Their signature program, The Choose Love Enrichment Program™, integrates SEL to teach students to choose love in any circumstance through self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

The Choose Love program curriculum focuses on four character pillars: Courage, Gratitude, Forgiveness, and Compassion. Today we will talk in detail about compassion.

What is Compassion?

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” 

—Leo Buscaglia (author and educator aka "Dr. Love"

The fourth "Choose Love" pillar is compassion in action. The Program Overview defines compassion in action as:

"Compassion has two components: the first is empathy, which means putting yourself in someone else's shoes and trying to feel what that person feels, and the second is action, which means helping someone in need and performing acts of kindness without expecting anything in return. Compassion in action is the understanding of a problem or suffering of another and acting to solve the problem or alleviate the suffering."

Before children take compassionate action, it's important they understand the meaning of empathy, which can often be confused with sympathy. The Choose Love Program Educator Guide indicates that, Daniel Goleman, emotional intelligence researcher and thought-leader, suggests that there are three types of empathy: cognitive, emotional and compassionate. … It further states that, “… Empathy skills lay the foundation for communication, problem-solving, conflict resolution, impulse control, relationship skills and leadership skills. …” (Source)

The Choose Love program teaches children necessary empathy skills they can use to support and connect with one another in a compassionate manner.

Why is it Important to Teach Compassion in the SEL Movement?

Teaching students about compassion is vital. The school environment alone can be extremely stressful. Some children struggle to make friends and are often ignored, excluded, and teased or bullied by other students. Many children feel pressured to perform well in class while also dealing with difficult issues at home.   

Children need the support of their peers, teachers, and parents. And compassion plays a major role in building these connections and relationships by teaching children to think about how others are feeling and what they can do to help them.

It's also critical for students and teachers to participate in open discussions and practice activities within the classroom to demonstrate how students can apply their newly learned skills. For example, if a classmate appears to be upset, how can the other students respond in a supportive manner? Or, if a student sees another student struggling, what are some ways to show kindness to that person?

By talking freely in a safe environment, children become more comfortable expressing their feelings and paying attention to other students' feelings, which in turn, helps build empathy. The activities performed within the classroom prepare children to behave appropriately in real-life situations.

Showing compassion towards others is highly beneficial to all involved, and those who practice it will experience:

• Enhanced connections and relationships

• Ability to respond in a kind and loving manner

• Improved social skills

• Social and moral awareness

And one of the greatest benefits is that compassionate children become compassionate adults! 

That's why we at Words Alive are following in Choose Love’s footsteps by focusing on Social Emotional Learning, and compassion specifically, in our programming this year. These are a few of the books we’re reading and discussing with students that focus on compassion:

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped… But then she meets Ocean James. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. It terrifies her—they seem to come from two irreconcilable worlds—and Shirin has had her guard up for so long that she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to let it down.

Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate and G. Brian Karas (Illustrator)

Captured as a baby, Ivan was brought to a Tacoma, Washington, mall to attract shoppers. Gradually, public pressure built until a better way of life for Ivan was found at Zoo Atlanta. From the Congo to America, and from a local business attraction to a national symbol of animal welfare, Ivan the Shopping Mall Gorilla traveled an astonishing distance in miles and in impact. This is his true story and includes photographs of Ivan in the back matter.

Little Quack's New Friend by Lauren Thompson and Derek Anderson  (Illustrator)

One day when Little Quack is playing in the pond, he hears the strangest noise in the distance. He listens closely along with his siblings, Widdle, Waddle, Piddle, and Puddle, only to find that it's a frog in their pond. The other ducklings aren't so sure about taking this new guy under their wings, but Little Quack is determined to make a new friend, no matter how different he may be! In no time at all, everyone is squishing in the mud, splunking on lily pads, and quacking up a splash in the spirit of friendship!

Learn more about the SEL topics of Gratitude, Courage, and Forgiveness.

SOURCES:

• https://www.jesselewischooselove.org/

• https://www.norwichpublicschools.org/

• http://www.wechoose.love/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/EducatorGuide.pdf 

• https://www.mindful.org/what-if-schools-taught-kindness

• https://www.amazon.com/

Social Emotional Learning: Courage

By Joanna Kneller, Blog Volunteer

An image of two young students holding up mouse puppets that they made in our Family Literacy Program! The rest of the graphic says “Social Emotional Learning: Courage / What is Social Emotional Learning? Learn more at wordsalive/org/blog”

What is Social Emotional Learning (SEL)?

"Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions," according to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). 

SEL is a proactive and preventative initiative for teaching children skills that help them thrive physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. SEL is proven to reduce anxiety, addiction, and behavior issues while also increasing academic performance and promoting well-being. By developing these vital skills, children are better able to successfully cope with daily challenges in school, life, and later on at work. SEL provides a foundation for positive, long-term effects on children, adults, and communities.

SEL programs can be integrated into school curriculums or learned outside the academic environment.

Why is it Important for Children to Learn SEL?

Skills learned through Social Emotional Learning don't just help children cope better now, they carry into the future, to all aspects of life, and continue promoting positive effects throughout adulthood.

Research shows that children who have participated in SEL programs:

·      Perform better in school

·      Enjoy school more

·      Have better school attendance

·      Are less disruptive in classrooms

·      Show improved academic performance on standardized tests

·      Are less likely to be suspended or disciplined at school

SEL can also help improve a child's social relationships, increase motivation to learn, and reduce antisocial, violent, and drug-using behaviors.

 What is The Choose Love Movement™? 

Scarlett Lewis founded the nonprofit organization, Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement™, after her six-year-old son, Jesse Lewis, was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012, in one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history. 

The Choose Love Movement™ is about teaching children and adults to choose love over anger. The tragedy at Sandy Hook began with an angry thought in the shooter's head. This movement's mission is to make children aware that they have the power to control their own thoughts, and to teach them the benefits of changing angry thoughts into loving ones.

“Although we can’t always choose what happens to us, we can always choose how to respond...Children can learn to choose a loving thought over an angry one. When a child realizes that they have the power to positively impact themselves as well as those around them, it is empowering and perpetuates their positive actions and interactions.” — Scarlett Lewis, Founder of the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement™ (Source)

Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement™ offers various "Choose Love" programs for schools, homes, and communities, including their signature program: The Choose Love Enrichment Program™.

The Choose Love Enrichment Program™

This program uses a social emotional learning curriculum that integrates SEL with character education, positive psychology, mindfulness, neuroscience, and emotional intelligence. It teaches educators and students how to choose love in any circumstance, and promotes a classroom culture where students feel safe, nurtured, connected, and empowered.

The Choose Love formula focuses on four character values (or pillars) that cultivate optimism, resilience, and personal responsibility: Courage, Gratitude, Forgiveness, and Compassion.

The Choose Love Movement™ has reached over 1 million children worldwide and their programs work! Check out these results from the Annual Choose Love Educator Survey  (2018-2019):

• 99% said that they have seen an improvement in classroom climate and in the students’ overall behavior

• 73% said that their students get along better

• 81% said their students have a more positive attitude

• 62% have seen an increase in academic performance in their students

• 95% rated the program “good”, “very good”, or “excellent”

• 99% said they enjoyed teaching the program

• 96% said their students enjoyed the program

Why is it Important to Teach Courage in the SEL Movement?

The first "Choose Love" pillar is courage. The Program Overview defines courage as:

Courage is the willingness and ability to work through obstacles despite feeling embarrassment, fear, reluctance, or uncertainty (Martinez, 2015). When you practice courage, you make positive choices even when it may be difficult for you. It takes courage to express our feelings, make ethical choices, tell the truth, admit mistakes, ask for forgiveness, and to be kind. This is especially true when others might not be leading by example. Courage requires self-awareness and self-regulation (Greenberg, 2016).

It's not always easy to show courage…But courage is essential because it supports the other three "Choose Love" pillars. When things aren't going your way, it takes courage to be grateful. When someone hurts you or something bad happens, it takes courage to forgive. And when you feel pain or think you already have too much to handle, it takes courage to show compassion.

But, when you practice being courageous, you'll also have:

·      Less fear

·      Less anxiety and stress

·      Enhanced self-esteem

·      Improved ability to express yourself and your feelings

·      Increased self-awareness

·      Willingness to try difficult tasks

Images of the three book covers mentioned below: Sofia Valdez, Future Prez, Refugee, and After the Fall.

This is why we at Words Alive are following in Choose Love’s footsteps by focusing on Social Emotional Learning, and courage specifically, in our programming this year. Here's some of the books we’re reading and discussing with students that focus on courage:

·      Refugee by Alan Gratz - Three kids separated by continents and decades experience harrowing journeys to find refuge. Josef, a Jewish boy in 1930s Nazi Germany facing the threat of concentration camps, boards a ship with his family and heads for the other side of the world. Isabel, a Cuban girl in 1994 watching riots and unrest plague her country, sets out on a raft with her family in search of America. Mahmoud, a Syrian boy in 2015 seeing his homeland destroyed by violence, starts a trek with his family toward Europe. All will face unimaginable dangers, but they hold on to the hope of a better future. And although they're separated by time and place, these kids will share shocking connections that tie their stories together. (Source: Amazon) 

·      After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again by Dan Santat - Everyone knows that when Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. But what happened after? This poignant tale follows Humpty Dumpty, an avid bird watcher whose favorite place to be is high up on the city wall―that is, until after his famous fall. Now terrified of heights, Humpty can longer do many of the things he loves most. Will he summon the courage to face his fear?  (Source: Amazon) 

·      Sofia Valdez Future Prez (The Questioneers) by Andrea Beaty, David Roberts - Every morning, Abuelo walks Sofia to school . . . until one day, when Abuelo hurts his ankle at a local landfill and he can no longer do so. Sofia (aka Sofi) misses her Abuelo and wonders what she can do about the dangerous Mount Trashmore. Then she gets an idea—the town can turn the slimy mess into a park! She brainstorms and plans and finally works up the courage to go to City Hall—only to be told by a clerk that she can’t build a park because she’s just a kid! Sofia is down but not out, and she sets out to prove what one kid can do. (Source: Amazon)

Sources:

• casel.org/

• www.cfchildren.org/

• www.jesselewischooselove.org/

• www.norwichpublicschools.org/

• www.amazon.com/

Social Emotional Learning: Gratitude

By Yael Lorberfeld, Blog Volunteer

What is Emotional Intelligence?

Our emotional life is a compass that helps us understand our inner desires, our singularity, and our personal experiences. It is the framework that guides us. It captures our uniqueness and our differences, as well as commonalities and connections we all share. This is called our Emotional Intelligence. Emotions are part of our evolution, they serve a purpose for surviving, as well as drive our behavior and enrich our lives.

According to Gottman Institute (2017), Emotional Intelligence encompasses awareness, understanding, and the ability to express and manage one's emotions. While many educators concentrate on academic achievement in childhood, Emotional Intelligence is a stronger prognosticator of life's success than IQ (Intelligence Quotient). 

What is Social & Emotional Learning?

It is not an easy task for children to develop a mature and healthy emotional life. According to The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), "Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions." (2003)

An essential part of our experience is how we conceive and interpret our emotional life. What we think, our thoughts, are a potent tool. It is not enough to believe our thoughts are only a result of our experience, they are also a big part of creating our experiences. 

We are not solely the result of the continuous activity of our minds, we have the power to control our thoughts. Imagine what would happen if instead of remembering all the bad, negative, and difficult, we could, for the most part, remember the courage, resilience, vigor, and remarkable aspects of life?

Choose Love

Scarlett Lewis constructed an Enrichment Program called "The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Enrichment Program" in honor of her son Jesse after he was murdered at his school at the age of six years old. Choose Love was built upon the idea that we can be agents of change and growth for our lives, and with the task of improving Emotional Intelligence. Choose Love is made for classrooms and targets social and emotional growth in children, teachers, and parents. It has the goal of teaching how to Choose Love in any circumstance, and therefore prevent this type of tragedy from happening and help people to live a happier life.

The program focuses on four important character values – Courage, Gratitude, Forgiveness, and Compassion – which cultivate optimism, resilience, and personal responsibility. Children in schools learn that Choosing Love means choosing to live a life with Courage and Gratitude, practicing Forgiveness, and being Compassionate individuals. According to Lewis, being able to "Choose Love" promotes resilience in challenging times. As a result, children learn personal responsibility and the understanding that they always have a choice in how they respond. They realize they can decide to love themselves and others. The program teaches them how to do this, and teachers and parents learn with them too.

The Choose Love program provides a group of lessons based on research on emotional intelligence, resilience and post-traumatic growth, neuroscience, positive psychology, mindfulness, and social and emotional learning. The whole child – body, mind, and feelings – are carefully given attention.

How Words Alive is Teaching Gratitude

One central tool of the program is the transformation of negative thoughts into more loving and positive ones, having an impact on behavior. Gratitude is a magical way to perceive the good in our lives. According to Tamara Levit, gratitude wakes us up to the goodness and beauty in life. But we need to work on it. One of the most important columns of the "Choose Love" movement is Gratitude.

The result of using gratitude in the "Choose Love" program is impressive. Scarlett Lewis affirms that research consistently shows that this type of program helps children get better grades, maintain longer and better attention spans, lower anxiety and behavioral problems, live a happier life, result in higher graduating rates, less substance abuse, and even a lower divorce rate.

Scarlett Lewis recognizes that gratitude is a magical resource. As Rhonda Byrne states, "The more you use gratitude every day, the greater the good you will bring into your life" (2012).

This is why we at Words Alive are following in Choose Love’s footsteps by focusing on Social Emotional Learning, and gratitude specifically, in our programming this year. Here are some of the books we’re reading and discussing with students that focus on gratitude:

• If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson - This story demonstrates not only the process of planting and growing for young children but also how a seed of kindness can bear sweet fruit. (Goodreads)

• The One Day House by Julia Durango - Inspired by a friend’s volunteerism, author Julia Durango tells a story of community and togetherness, showing that by helping others we help ourselves. (Goodreads)

Sources:

How to Strengthen Your Child's Emotional Intelligence // Parent Co.  // June 26, 2017

Festival of Lights: Diverse Holiday Books to Read this Winter!

Written By Yael Lorberfeld, Blog Volunteer

As days become shorter during winter, there is a pattern among different cultures to celebrate holidays that adopt light for their celebrations – to use and create light, when it is darker. As Khalil Gibran wrote: "Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart." 

Take a moment to learn about the diversity of winter holidays celebrated around the world with the following books!

Christmas is an annual festival that billions of people celebrate around the world. For some, it is a religious festivity, and for others, it is a cultural holiday. Some of the values around this holiday are kindness, giving to others, and emphasis on family time. Some books recommendations for Christmas are:

• "Amazing Peace," by Maya Angelou (2008), an inspirational poem aiming to embrace peace and celebration in all religions, ethnic groups, and all ages.

• "The All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll," by Patricia C. McKissack and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, (2007).  A heartwarming story of the importance of family.

Hanukkah is a holiday celebrated by Jewish people all around the world. It commemorates a miracle that occurred 2,200 years ago. One of the traditions is to light the Hanukkiya, or candle holder, for eight nights. Other customs include giving to the less fortunate, exchanging presents, and unifying family and friends. Some books recommended for Hanukkah are:

• "Latke, the Lucky Dog," by Ellen Fischer (2014), a fun and charming story about a dog that gets rescued the first night of Hanukkah, and has trouble learning house rules. Despite all, he remains a lucky dog.

• "The Story of Hanukkah," by David A. Adler (2012), revises the history and celebration of the ancient miracle of Hanukkah.

Three Kings Day marks the travel of the three kings, Melchor, Gaspar, and Baltazar, who followed a star to Bethlehem, where they offered gifts to baby Jesus. One of the traditions is decorating the house with lights as well as eating the bread "Rosca de Reyes," and representing the birth of Baby Jesus with a scale model. A book recommendation for this holiday is:

• "Why the Wise Men Came to Christmas Following Yonder Star," Len M. Allen (2015). It is a book that explains the meaning of the holiday.

Winter Solstice, the shortest day in the year, has been significant to many cultures as the symbolic death and rebirth of the Sun. It is observed in Iran and celebrates the victory of light and goodness over dark and evil. It is one of the most celebrated traditional events in Iran. 

There is decorating the house with lights and candles, as well as gathering around the fire and dancing at night. Reading options for this holiday are:

• "The Eve of Yalda," L. K. Bonabi (2012). A story that revolves around the night of Yalda, the longest night in the year.

• "Winter Solstice," Elin Hilderbrand (2017), a story about a family reunion to celebrate the holidays. 

St. Lucia Day, or festival of lights, is celebrated in Sweden, Norway, and Swedish-speaking areas of Finland, in honor of St. Lucia, one of the earliest Christian martyrs killed because of her Christian beliefs. This holiday represents hope and light during the darkest time of the year. A book that explains these traditions is:

• "Lucia Morning in Sweden," Ewa Rydeaker (2002). It brings to life the preparations and celebrations of the St. Lucia festival in Sweden.

Kwanzaa it's a week-long annual celebration held in the United States, Canada, and other nations of the African diaspora. It honors African heritage. People light a Kinara or candle holder, symbolizing the values of the celebration. It observes ideas such as family, life, and unification. It includes a feast and exchange of gifts. Some book recommendations for Kwanzaa festival are:

• "Together for Kwanzaa," by Juwanda G. Ford, (2000). It is an introduction to Kwanzaa traditions, as well as a story of family unity.

• "Seven Spools of Thread, a Kwanza Story," by Angela Shelf Medearis and Daniel Minter (2000).  A picture book about seven brothers who need to work together, and also about the seven principles of Kwanzaa.

Las Posadas, originally from Spain, now mainly celebrated in Mexico, Guatemala, and part of the Southwestern United States, is a nine-day celebration. A procession moves from house to house, as people sing with a candle. It ends up in a church or a home where the party continues with feasting and piñata breaking, which is usually in the form of a star. When breaking it, all the goodies coming from it are shared with all, especially the children.

A book about las Posadas is:

• "The Night of Las Posadas" by Tomie dePaola (2001), a book about faith and family.

Diwali is a five-day Hindu festival celebrated in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar, among others. The festival is also referred to as "Festival of Lights." People share sweets with family and friends. Books recommendations for Diwali festival are:

• "Lots of Lights," Kavita Sahai (2013), it is a story of each day of the Diwali celebration. It is an excellent introduction to the understanding of Indian culture.

• "Diwali, The Magical Diyas," Anitha Rathod (2019), it's about how to understand the rituals and traditions associated with Diwali. The book brings a story with mythological significance related to the lights of their Diyass, which are oil lamps usually made out of clay.

When the hours of sunlight get shorter during the winter, festivals around the world coincide in the search for unity, love, giving, altruism, and the need to create light to overcome darkness. During your winter celebrations this year, make sure to pick up one of these books and learn about a new culture!

Celebrate Friends of Libraries!

By Omar Jawdat, Blog Intern

A graphic that features and image of shelves at a library and the text: “Friends of Libraries Week! October 20 - 26, 2019”

Friends of Libraries groups have their own week dedicated to raising awareness around both community and campus libraries throughout the country. Through funding and celebration, National Friends of Libraries Week commemorates and recognizes the important services that libraries provide to children and students, such as reading programs, author events, special collections, and new technologies. United for Libraries will coordinate the 14th annual National Friends of Libraries Week Oct. 20-26, 2019. This week will also provide a chance to promote Friends of Libraries groups in your community, as well as sign up for membership!     

Libraries serve to bring communities together, integrating groups or individuals under the same roof, where people can access data through books, internet, and other resources. Social roles of libraries include active participation in reading, forming clubs, or read aloud programs. Libraries also help foster literacy programs and studies for students of all ages. It is also a place where meetings, conferences, or tutoring can take place.

Friends of Libraries Associations 

‘Friend of Libraries’ are members from non-profit charitable groups that volunteer to support their local libraries. Friends of Libraries helps promote libraries in the community by fundraising, sponsoring programs/other special events, and serve as spokesmen to encourage and advocate for lifelong learning. Friends are also recognized by the library staff and Board of Trustees for their help and support in the libraries.   

How Can I Participate In This Celebration Week? 

If you are thinking of creating or reorganizing a Friends group, the United for Libraries association offers a variety of resources and ideas for all types of Friends groups. If you would like to volunteer, contact your local library and find out how you can join Friends. You can always start in your own community if your library does not have a Friends group. To access these sources and learn more information, visit: (www.ala.org/united/friends).  

The American Library Association (ALA) provides resources to celebrate libraries, helping you get involved and speaking out on behalf of libraries, as well as keeping you informed and up to date on the issues and trends affecting libraries: www.ilovelibraries.org

Sources: 

• www.ala.org/united/events_conferences/folweek

• www.ilovelibraries.org/article/national-friends-libraries-week-1

• www.ala.org/tools/research/librariesmatter/category/social-role-library

• www.lib.washington.edu/support/friends/friends-of-the-libraries/

Become a Reading Role Model

By Omar Jawdat, Blog Intern

A graphic that shows one of our volunteers holding up a book while a student points at it. The text says, “Reading Role Models: What are they and how can you become one?”

Reading role models help encourage children not just to read, but to have fun while reading! Kids are influenced by their parents, teachers, and care-givers, all of whom can be considered role models for reading. It is important for these role models to influence their kids by demonstrating enthusiasm while reading, and helping them discover new and diverse forms of literature. It is also important to be aware of a child’s reading. When kids feel that their work is valued, they are also encouraged to continue their choice to read. Reading role models are overall “critical to instilling reading as an integral part of a child’s life.”

Children who are frequent readers tend to have more reading role models. Frequent readers also tend to have greater access to books. Unfortunately, “having access to books, whether in or outside the home, is not a reality for all kids.” An estimated “103 books are present in home libraries of children ages 6-17, yet this varies widely. Most strikingly, frequent readers have an average of 139 books in their homes vs. 74 in infrequent readers’ homes.” 42% of frequent-reading kids claim that they have trouble seeking books that catch their interest. Infrequent readers have a 59% chance of not being able to find books that they are interested in reading. 

Therefore, it’s important for libraries to provide a wide range of diverse books that include different types of stories, characters, and plots. As kids grow older, their interests can change, and their curiosity and eagerness for knowledge grows with them.

Reading Role Models at Words Alive!

All volunteers at Words Alive are reading role models, especially volunteers in the Read Aloud Program and the Adolescent Book Group. These volunteers dedicate their time and read together with students and kids of all ages (from elementary school to high school and college), discussing the stories and talking about how the book impacts them in different ways. For children, it serves to help develop cognitive, language, and social-emotional skills as they grow. Having a reading role model at Words Alive makes students aware of the importance of literacy, and helps explore the values of books, reading them not just as an assignment, but as a hobby and passion.  

Sources: 

• www.scholastic.com/readingreport/access-matters.html

• www.huffpost.com/entry/be-a-reading-role-model_b_5813a56ae4b08301d33e0906

How Did Book Clubs Start?

By Omar Jawdat, Blog Intern

A book club is a reading group made up of several people. They can either meet in public, such as libraries, classrooms, coffee shops, or other rooms and buildings, or they can also meet in people’s homes. Together, the groups discuss a particular book they are reading, asking questions and sharing thoughts, opinions, and ideas about the selected book. Book clubs have always had a foundation based in contemporary politics, society, and religion. These clubs are also a great way to meet new people who share similar interests in books, genres, and reading material. 

The popularity of book clubs is due to the importance of engaging in conversation about books. These discussions heighten our perspectives and knowledge about a particular story or event. It also helps improve reading comprehension and other literary skills that allow us to effectively articulate and nurture the reflection of not only literature, but ourselves as well. Book clubs also inspire positive attitudes towards books, such as a love for reading and appreciating literature in its diverse art form. Book clubs for students encourage them to read in more extensive and intensive ways, as it exposes them to a multiplicity of perspectives. 

How Did Book Clubs Begin? 

The evolution of American book clubs began in the early 17th century, when religious renegade Anne Hutchinson organized a female discussion group pertaining to sermons, all while being on a ship that was heading to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634. In 1727, Benjamin Franklin was also a pioneer of today’s social gatherings of book clubs when he organized a ‘prominent Philadelphian literary society called the Junto, which was made up of 12 members. ‘The group met weekly to discuss moral, political, commercial and scientific topics of the day.’ For the next three centuries, prominent American figures have kept the tradition alive through constructing reading societies and study groups related to education in school, particularly in literacy.

In the past, the majority of book clubs have been organized and centered upon oppressed minorities and women. They provided a ‘self-culture’ for people, as well as a ‘mutual desire for self-cultivation through literature.’ Women’s groups have made book clubs an ideal place for consciousness-raising and collective engagement, in the aims for intellectual growth.   

Adolescent Book Group

Volunteers at the Adolescent Book Group Program here at Words Alive focuses on facilitating monthly or bi-weekly book discussions, writing workshops, and other projects within classrooms to help improve students’ reading analysis, literacy, vocabulary, and critical thinking. The ABG program also provides opportunities for underserved teens to achieve academic and social success. Teens in book group discussions will gain college-ready skills that will enhance their critical-thinking, ability to express themselves, public and interpersonal communications, and overall confidence/self-esteem.   

Sources: 

• www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-book-club-738891

• www.minnpost.com/books/2009/09/evolution-american-book-clubs-timeline/

• cpet.tc.columbia.edu/one-book-book-club/book-club-in-the-classroom-10-tips-for-success

• daily.jstor.org/feature-book-club/

What Are Alternative Schools?

By Omar Jawdat, Blog Intern

An alternative school refers to schools in which the learning experience for students attending is not the same as traditional schools. Their methods and systems satisfy different requirements, which are intended for students who have trouble learning in a traditional classroom, need extra support/guidance, have difficult life circumstances, social and behavioral difficulties, or wish to focus on specific areas of study.  

Examples of Alternative Schools:

• Charter schools are tuition free schools that are open to all students. They are often operated independently from the traditional school district, and provide ‘high quality instruction from teachers who have the autonomy to design a classroom that fits their students' needs. They are led by dynamic principals who have the flexibility to create a school culture that fosters student performance and parent satisfaction’.   

• Magnet Schools operate within public schools. They consist of free public elementary or secondary schools of choice. Magnet schools provide specialized, enhanced training and teaching for students in specific subjects of interest. These range from STEM programs (science, technology, engineering, math), to performing arts, leadership, and world language programs. 

• Juvenile court schools offer public education for juvenile offenders coming from regional youth facilities, camps, homes, or day centers. The purpose of juvenile court schools are to provide quality learning opportunities in order to complete a course of studies for a high school diploma/GED. Students in the state of California are required to take public education assessments such as the California High School Exit Examination and the Standardized Testing and Reporting Program. Students from the ages of 16 to 18 ‘who are not exempt from compulsory school attendance are required to continue their public education. These students are provided planning and transition services critical to a successful transfer back to a public school.’   

How Is The Learning Experience Different in Alternative Schools?

Alternative schools differ from traditional schools in many ways. This can look like smaller class sizes, which allow teachers to provide more individual attention to students, which is tailored to meet specific student needs. Students in alternative schools also have access to more flexible schedules and graduation requirements. Classes could be attended at night if students have jobs or children. Flexible graduation requirements pertains to students having the opportunity to have more choices in the classes they take, instead of having to take one math, one English, and one science class, etc., in order for students to focus on a particular subject of interest to pursue in the future. In addition to academic needs, alternative schools also provide additional resources that cater to emotional, social, and mental needs of a student.  

Words Alive’s Adolescent Book Group Program

Words Alive’s Adolescent Book Group Program is designed to engage teens attending alternative schools, or those facing extraordinary circumstances, by bringing books alive for students through conversation, writing, and projects. Words Alive places caring adults in the classroom to help support teens as they explore how to make connections between what they are reading and the world around them. 

Sources: 

• blog.prepscholar.com/alternative-high-schools

• www.publiccharters.org/about-charter-schools

• www.waldenu.edu/programs/education/resource/what-is-a-magnet-school-and-does-it-offer-a-better-education

• www.cde.ca.gov/sp/eo/jc/cefjuvenilecourt.asp