Speak Up! Listen Up!

guest post by Kathy MacMillan

What does it mean to raise your voice? It can be a lot more than screaming or shouting– it also means defending yourself or a cause you believe in. 

The women profiled in She Spoke: 14 Women Who Raised Their Voices and Changed the World, written by Kathy MacMillan and Manuela Bernardi and illustrated by Kathrin Honesta (Familius Press, 2019), faced all kinds of hardships, obstacles, and even violence – but they didn’t let those things stop them from speaking up. The book features activists Dolores Huerta, Suzan Shown Harjo, Leymah Gbowee, scientists Dr. Temple Grandin and Dr. Jane Goodall, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, trailblazers Shirley Chisholm, Abby Wambach, and more. The built-in sound card allows readers to hear the inspiring words of these groundbreaking women at the touch of a button.

The unique audio format of She Spoke makes it an engaging resource for the classroom, but it can be used beyond Women’s History Month! Here are some suggestions:

-After sharing each profile and audio clip, use the accompanying discussion questions to prompt your students to connect the lessons learned to their own lives. The discussion questions could be used as writing prompts or a launchpad for group discussion.

-Discuss how hearing the voices of the women impacts you. How is hearing the person’s original voice different from just hearing someone else read the words?

-Explore more quotes from these women and other trailblazers at our She Spoke board on Pinterest:

-For a more in-depth project, have students write their own profiles in the style of She Spoke. Start by having them find a quote that exemplifies what their subject stood for. (Please see some great research resources we have compiled.) Once they have selected a quote, they can write a brief profile that shows how that quote exemplifies their subject’s life. This exercise is an excellent way to practice thesis statements and supporting evidence. You could incorporate an artistic element by having students create a portrait of their subject to accompany their writing.

About the Authors:

Kathy MacMillan is a nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter,

writer, teacher, librarian, and storyteller. She is the author of the Little Hands Signing board book series (Familius), the young adult novels Sword and Verse and Dagger and Coin (HarperTeen), and nine books for parents, librarians, and educators, including Little Hands and Big Hands: Children and Adults Signing Together (Huron Street Press). She lives near Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Find her online at KathyMacMillan.com

Manuela Bernardi is a film and TV writer based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she was born and raised. She has collaborated on award-winning feature films and has written on shows for TV Globo, TBS, GNT, Multishow, and the History Channel. Her screenplay for the short film The Healing Tree won USC's Peter Stark Special Project grant and went on to be selected for Cannes’ Short Film Corner. With a BA in journalism from PUC-Rio, Manuela got her MFA in writing for screen and television from USC in Los Angeles, which she attended on a Fulbright/CAPES scholarship.

 

Poetry Power: Poetic Language in Signs

Guest Post by Janet Wong

More people than ever are expressing themselves with art supplies. During the week before the Inauguration and Women’s March(es), people spent $6 million on poster boards and paint markers. While some signs were overtly political, many signs were simple affirmations of our humanity.

With a few Google searches (“protest signs,” “protest art,” “kids protest,” etc.) I found over a thousand examples of inspiring and appealing signs. Many of the most effective signs use poetic devices such as rhyme, repetition, rhythm, alliteration, and wordplay to help them stand out from the crowd—and present learning opportunities for writers. Consider the following examples:

Rhyme: This rhyming text is so much more powerful than, say, “No hatred where I live.”

Repetition: She could’ve said, “No ban, wall, or division.” Would that have been as effective? No, no, no.

Alliteration: “Eighty-nine, feisty, and determined” just doesn’t pack the same punch.

Rhyme, Repetition, and Rhythm: This sign benefits from all three devices: rhyme, repetition, and rhythm. 

And look at these clever examples of wordplay: 

With dozens of favorite signs, it was hard to choose a favorite—but the best sign of all, to me, was probably this one, completely universal in its message and held high:

Which brings me to the point of this piece. Let’s empower kids to make signs. 

   

Look at the pride on these kids’ faces!

Parents can help kids make signs at home, as language arts exercises. The following sign even satisfies a Common Core requirement to teach students about the use of quotes.

I am not a particularly “political” person, but I am making a greater effort to inform myself, to engage, and to volunteer for all sorts of activities in an attempt to make a daily difference. To inspire you to get involved in whatever inspires you, here is a prewriting exercise and the title poem from my latest book with Sylvia Vardell, Here We Go: A Poetry Friday Power Book.  I hope that you are inspired to do something like starting a walkathon at your school—and, if you do, make sure to bring sign-making supplies for everyone!

BIO: Janet Wong (janetwong.com) is the author of 30 books for children and teens, and the co-creator (with Sylvia Vardell) of The Poetry Friday Anthology series and Poetry Friday Power Book series. (PomeloBooks.com).

A Dozen Reasons: Writing about The Day of the Girl

by Karen Leggett Abouraya

October 11 is the International Day of the Girl Child, a day officially designated by the United Nations in 2011 to recognize the unique challenges girls face around the world.

On this day groups all over the world highlight, discuss and take action to advance rights and opportunities for girls everywhere.  Many are groups organized by young people themselves, including School Girls Unite, the group that started in Kensington, Maryland, and lobbied hard for the Day of the Girl designation.  These are some of the reasons:

·       By 2015, females will make up 64% of the world’s illiterate (adult) population. (PDF)

·       One in seven girls in developing countries is married off before age 15.

·       1 in 5 high school girls has been physically or sexually abused by a dating partner.

A more complete list, visit the Day of the Girl website.

The Day of the Girl is a perfect opportunity to get students thinking – and writing about – the need for such a day. Students can choose a question to answer:

1.     Why do you think it’s a good idea to have a Day of the Girl?

2.     How do you see girls treated differently or unfairly in your own life?

3.     What action could you take as an individual, class or group to help improve the lives of girls?

You may also have students who would prefer to write about why there should be a Day of the Boy or a Day of the ???

This writing project can be expanded or adapted in many ways. 

·       Have students write their reasons for the Day of the Girl as a phrase or a 140-character tweet.

·       Post the students' tweets or phrases on a bulletin board, as in the photos here and more on the Day of the Girl website.

·       Make this a social studies project and encourage students to act on some of their suggestions. School Girls Unite has an online action guide called Girls Gone Activist! How to Change the World through Education.

Other websites with information about challenges faced by girls and the Day of the Girl include the Malala Fund, The Day of the Girl Summit and the United Nations International Day of the Girl Child (with videos and web-stories). 

http://childrensbookguild.org/karen-leggett-abouraya