Who Writes History?

Who writes history?  Who creates the narrative?  Who and what are valued? How does the story get passed down? Does anyone check for context or accuracy?

When I began teaching, it was many moons ago before we depended on the internet for information…before we carried a tiny computer in our hand…before we had access and an expectation to seek out other points of reference.  It was a time when teachers were the gatekeepers of information.  I am ashamed to admit that history was passed down through me to young minds by rote.  I was young and simply repeated what had been repeated to me by veteran teachers who passed the narrative down.  History they say is written by the victors.  Many moons ago, I participated in this passing of information without context or critical analytical thinking.

As I moved through my adulthood, other influences found their way into my practice.  I began to understand that it is necessary to actively seek out alternative resources outside of the mainstream and expand one’s understanding of the world.  I found a group of educators interested in Critical Pedagogy and discovered resources like Rethinking Schools.

https://rethinkingschools.org/

https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/rethinking-the-american-revolution/

Eventually, I met Bill Bigelow at a Progressive Educators Network conference.  I was honored to find myself running in the same circles. And as circumstance would have it, apparently Bill had been a teacher at my high school in Portland, long after I had graduated.

From the Rethinking Schools website:

"Bill Bigelow

CURRICULUM EDITOR

Bill Bigelow taught high school social studies for many years. He is curriculum editor

of Rethinking Schools magazine and author or co-editor of several Rethinking Schools books: A

People’s History for the Classroom, The Line Between Us: Teaching About the Border and

Mexican Immigration, Rethinking Columbus, Rethinking Globalization: Teaching for Justice in an

Unjust World, Rethinking Our Classrooms – Volumes 1 and 2, and A People’s Curriculum for the

Earth: Teaching Climate Change and the Environmental Crisis. Most recently, he co-edited the

Rethinking Schools book, Teaching Palestine: Lessons, Stories, Voices. He co-directs the Zinn

Education Project on behalf of Rethinking Schools. Bigelow lives in Portland, Oregon, with his

wife, Linda Christensen."

                                                   Photo taken at the Barnes and Noble in Manhattan Beach, CA

Way led on to way, and I found myself introduced to A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn.  A must read for every teacher and kidlit author, for that matter. As a follow-up to Howard Zinn’s writing, please check out The Zinn Education Project.

https://www.zinnedproject.org/

https://www.zinnedproject.org/why/

Another amazing organization that has been around for decades is Teaching for Change. 

https://www.teachingforchange.org/

https://www.teachingforchange.org/talking-to-young-children-about-america-

From the Teaching For Change website

"Deborah Menkart, Executive Director

Raised in D.C., Deborah’s activism began in junior high school when she protested D.C.’s “taxation without representation” and the “dresses-only” dress code for girls. The dress code changed, but D.C.’s colonial status continues. Her perspective on the world was shaped by being the first born in the U.S. of European immigrants on both sides of her family and being raised by a single mother who worked as a dressmaker. During the 1970s Deborah lived in San Diego, California, where she worked as a shipyard electrician and was active in the antiwar, women’s, international solidarity, and labor movements. Through all of these experiences she decided that for any social justice movement in the U.S. to succeed, a change in pre-K—12 education is essential. Since 1989 she has been pursuing that goal in her work at Teaching for Change."

Once activated, I became aware of this organization in the earlier days of teaching and my practice was forever changed. Years later, found myself sitting next to Deborah Menkart at my table at the CABA book awards when my book, Egyptian Lullaby received the award in 2024 from Howard University.  I was thrilled to meet her in person and couldn’t believe she had chosen to sit at my table.  Make sure you take advantage of their booklist! (where you'll also find my book, Egyptian Lullaby.)

https://www.socialjusticebooks.org/

These people and resources were instrumental in broadening my horizons and expanding my understanding of history and its many points of entry.

In addition to finding resources and developing a much more expansive knowledge base as a teacher (and eventually as a children’s book author), I began to discover the United States history in context with the other countries in our world through traveling. 

One memory that sticks out is of a bookstore owner in Chiapas Mexico.  I believe he was an expat.  For no apparent reason, he randomly gave me the last book, Century of the Wind from the trilogy Memory of Fire by Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano.  What a treasure. These three books are of course written originally in Spanish.  The English translation is gorgeous so I can only imagine the original text.  Galeano tells the story of the Americas through short lyrical prose.  He creates short vignettes to take the reader through a history that acknowledges the imperialism of the US and the effect it has on the surrounding countries. Galeano provides windows into what was occurring in the different countries simultaneously throughout a timeline.  It is like drinking a fine wine.  The writing is exquisite.  It is an amazing history lesson as well as a beautifully crafted journey.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Galeano

On a different trip, a young person in Cuba ran up to me and put a miniature book in the palm of my hand.  It was Fidel Castro’s History Will Absolve Me. No matter your politics or beliefs, I believe it is crucial to read to expand your understanding...to extend the possibilities...to see your world with fewer limitations and in a broader context.

It’s never too late.

Just recently, I was traveling in South America.  Someone asked me where I was from.  I know better, but for some reason I said, “America.”  The minute the word came out of my mouth, I knew it felt wrong.  And it was.  The Columbian intellectual in front of me was quick to correct my error.  “You are part of America but you are not America.  We are all American.”  Duly noted.  

It’s never too late to examine the narrative we’ve been handed and adjust it, instead of just passing it to our youth thoughtlessly, both as teachers and authors. History after all, is a living entity, growing, transforming, and everchanging. It belongs to all of us, not just the victors.

By Zeena M. Pliska

Author of 

Hello, Little One: A Monarch Butterfly Story (Page Street Kids)

Egyptian Lullaby (Roaring Brook Press - Macmillan)

Chicken Soup for the Soul for Babies Say Thank You? (But Why?)  (Charlesbridge)

Chicken Soup for the Soul for Babies A Gift For Me? (I Want It!)   (Charlesbridge)

Wednesday Writing Workout(S): THINKING WITH INK!

Yes, indeedy.  That’s Wednesday Writing WorkoutS, plural.

And that’s because Sheboygan, Wisconsin author, educational consultant and veteran elementary and middle school classroom teacher Michael Leannah has made our month of May even merrier by generously contributing 4 Wednesday Writing Workouts from his recently-released book WE THINK WITH INK (Brightside Publications, 2016).

Michael writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults.  Tilbury House releases his picture book MOST PEOPLE in August.  Two other picture books are soon to follow: GOODNIGHT WHISPERS (Familius) and FARMER HUCKINSHUCK’S WILD RIDE (Splashing Cow Books.)  His stories have appeared in U.S. and Australian magazines.

He authored the award-winning SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE: MEMORIES OF LAUERMAN BROTHERS DEPARTMENT STORE and is the editor and contributing author of WELL! REFLECTIONS ON THE LIFE AND CAREER OF JACK BENNY.

WE THINK WITH INK is a trove of lessons, projects and activities designed to increase reading and writing skills in the classroom…and beyond.  It’s an ideas book for elementary and middle school teachers seeking to merge writing instruction into science, social studies and math classes.  It’s a guide for teachers looking to help students increase self-confidence and self-esteem.  It’s also a book for students working independently on creative writing skills as well as a manual for learners young and old – i.e. me and you, our TeachingAuthors readers - who aspire to be good – even published – writers. 

“The WE THINK WITH INK approach relies heavily on the sharing and critiquing of stories,” Michael shared.  “Our goal is publication, which means that people other than those in the classroom or group will read what we write.  Booklets are put together and made available on the shelves of the school library.  Story collections are sent home for families to read.  Our writing is distributed to local coffee shops and doctors’ waiting rooms.  Our booklets/anthologies are given as gifts to friends and family.  And yes, we write with the goal of someday sending our very best work to magazine and book publishers.”

Check out today’s WWW and try your hand, then be sure to return the next three Wednesdays in May to do the same.

Thank you, Michael, for sharing your smarts, your passion for writing and WE THINK WITH INK writing workouts with our TeachingAuthors readers!  Oh, and for making yourself available at contactmichael@gmail.com, should our readers wish to share their appreciation.

Enjoy thinking with ink!

Esther Hershenhorn

P.S.

Please accept my SINCERE apologies for my laptop's

misbehavior - as evidenced by the unevenly-back-grounded

text below!  My Lenova Yoga and Blogger are not playing well

together.  We're workin' on it!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

     In the process of writing our stories and poems, we learn from each other. We share our stories, compare notes, ask for honest opinions, help each other to improve our skills.

Any writers who work together, be it in the classroom, in a critique group, or just two friends who regularly get together to compare stories and give feedback, must develop a sense of trust. They must come to know each other quite well. To jumpstart the entire process, it is good to begin with a “Get to Know You” activity or two. In the school room, the following activities may be used during the first week or two in September. Because we are complex individuals and our feelings change over time, it is good to work in a “Get to Know You” activity once every couple of months throughout the year.

                                                            All About You

     Teachers may give this as a piece of homework on Day One and ask for it to be returned in one week. This gives participants plenty of time to analyze and describe their interests, likes, and dislikes.

Encourage students to explain their answers fully, using well-written sentences. Because the papers will later be shared (read aloud or passed around to be read silently), participants should provide information that is interesting and — to an extent that is comfortable — revealing.

Students are required to answer at least seven of the ten questions. When it is time to share, students will read their answers aloud, or have a friend or the teacher do it.

1.       In what cities have you lived?

2.      What do you like about your favorite food?

3.      What character in a book or movie do you admire?

4.      What character in a book or movie scares you?

5.      What character in a book or movie would you like to be for one hour?*

6.      What animal would you like to be for one hour?*

7.      What is your most prized possession?

8.     What’s the scariest or most dangerous thing you’ve ever done?

9.      What would you say or do if you met your favorite famous person?

10.  What do you think you’ll be doing when you’re 30 years old?

             * When asking a “What would you like to be” question, I recommend putting a time limit on it. Would I like to be a lion or a mosquito or the president of Germany, Brazil, or Zimbabwe? For an hour, maybe, but no longer than that.

                                                           Interviews

        This “Get to Know You” activity works well as an ice-breaker for students meeting for the first time, as well as a way for familiar students to get to know each other even better. I suggest using this activity several times throughout the year.

Allow time for each student to write five or six questions, which, if approached correctly, is an exercise in creative thinking by itself. The famous journalist Jim Nicholson once said, “There aren’t any boring people; there are just boring questions,” so encourage unusual questions: “Which of your relatives do you like the most?” “What is a smell you really love?” “What happened the last time you laughed your head off?”

Place the students in groups of two or three. Students will ask each other the questions and record the answers. The interviewers will then report to the class and share the information learned during the interviews.

Notes to the Teacher

Perhaps my favorite method of “Getting to Know You” involves the writing of notes back and forth between student and teacher. I found an old-fashioned rural mail box at rummage sale and used it in my classroom for this purpose. (If a real mailbox is not available, a decorated shoe box will suffice.) When students placed a note or letter inside the box, they raised the little flag on the side so I knew a delivery had been made. I respond promptly with a note passed during lunch or some such time.

In the rush of the day, students sometimes don’t have the opportunity to share news concerning personal troubles, worries, and concerns (divorce, sickness in the family, older siblings moving away, etc.). The mailbox allows students to communicate with the teacher in a way that is secret, safe, and satisfying.

I have found this simple practice of offering the chance to write “Notes to the Teacher” to be very important and meaningful. There is something very nice about a kid revealing a wounded piece of ego and hearing from his teacher in a note: “When I was your age, that happened to me too.”

     As the year goes on, “Get to Know You” activities become increasingly unnecessary, because, due to all the writing and sharing and critiquing going on in the classroom every day, members of the class naturally get to know one another better and better every day.

Amazing History

I write historical fiction. I’ve discussed before the many reasons why historical fiction is important, most especially these days. (Did you see my article, Doctor Who and Historical Fiction?) 


Our history is full of amazing stories. The artistic nature of historical fiction presents several challenges, especially in books for children. Events must be winnowed in order to create forward movement that leads to a resolution. Historical fiction makes the facts matter to the reader.

Historical fiction helps young readers develop a feeling for a living past, illustrating the continuity of life, according to Karen Cushman. Historical fiction, “like all good history, demonstrates how history is made up of the decisions and actions of individuals and that the future will be made up of our decisions and actions.”

David McCullough once said, “We are raising a generation of young Americans who are by-and-large historically illiterate…The textbooks are dreary, they’re done by committee, they’re often hilariously politically correct and they’re not doing any good. [But] there are wonderful books, past and present. There is literature in history.”

Through the years, I’ve discovered several resources that have proven valuable not only for research, but also about teaching history to young readers.

You’ve probably heard of these:

Teachinghistory.org is designed to “help K–12 history teachers access resources and materials to improve U.S. history education in the classroom. With funding from the U.S. Department of Education, the Center for History and New Media (CHNM) has created Teachinghistory.org with the goal of making history content, teaching strategies, resources, and research.”

“…good historical fiction exercises a child’s imagination through a vicarious experience. It leads children to use themselves and their own lives as comparisons to the characters that lived long ago and often, far away, to reflect on their own experience, to ask their families questions. It awakens awareness, perks up perception, sparks conversations. Reading historical fiction can lead a child to ask, “What’s my voice? What’s my view? Which side should I be on? Is there a right side?” – Valerie Tripp, Vitamins in Chocolate Cake: Why Use Historical Fiction in the Classroom? (2011 )

One of my favorite sites, the Zinn Education Project “promotes and supports the teaching of people’s history in middle and high school classrooms across the country. Based on the lens of history highlighted in Howard Zinn’s best-selling book A People’s History of the United States, the website offers free, downloadable lessons and articles organized by theme, time period, and reading level. The Zinn Education Project is coordinated by two non-profit organizations, Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change.”


Important in these political times is teaching students how to be engaged citizens by learning their history. Colonial Williamsburg is one of my favorite resources where you can “connect with a community of educators and find the tools you need to inspire students to become engaged citizens.”


Presented by the National Museum of African American History and Culture in partnership with the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello, this amazing exhibition asks the challenging question, “How could the author of the Declaration of the Independence own slaves? How could twenty percent of the population of the new United States, founded on the principles of liberty and equality, live in bondage?”


Speaking of amazing resources, don't forget to enter (here) our new drawing for a chance to win a copy of the Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market 2017!

 What do you think? Do you have any favorite resources?


Bobbi Miller

 

Thumbs Up for Another Kate Messner Book That Helps Us Walk the Walk

KateMessner is the first to admit: writing with her students made her a mentor – and – a far better teacher.

Her newest Stenhouse book, 59 Reasons toWrite, offers teachers 59 Mini-lessons  - plus Q & A's, prompts, daily warm-ups and assignments, to help them become mentors and better teachers, too.

Walking the walk is suddenly doable – for all writers, classroom teachers or not.

An outgrowth of her online summer writing camp Teachers Write, the book’s purposefully designed to get us writing every day, whether on our own or as part of a group.

Chapters move from getting started to organizing our time and stories, through narrative elements such as characters, point of view, voice, mood, setting, plot and pacing, nonfiction and fiction needs and poetry to writer’s block, revising, critiquing and reflection.

Everything we ask of our students Kate and her “faculty” of award-winning authors ask of us.

It’s the luminous 52+ faculty members who both teach and inspire, underscoring how, when it comes to writing, we’re all in this together. 

Again, walking the walk is suddenly doable, thanks to this insightful, comprehensive, hands-on text.

And who wouldn’t want to learn from talents such as Linda Urban, Donna Gephart, Jo Knowles, Shutta Crum, Jenny Meyerhoff and Barb Rosenstock, just to name a few?

I was especially taken with the honest Q + A – The Best of the Q-And-A Wednesday sessions from the online summer camp.

Again, notables truthfully responded to a host of questions, including those about intimidation, making and finding writing time, connecting with our characters, handling point of view, the passage of time and too much description.

Tools, short-cuts, exercises.  The list of writing aids goes on and on.  Think Writer’s Notebooks, three-column brainstorming, outlining, world building, selecting and using mentor texts. 

“Write,” Kate tells her readers, “because you have things to say – arguments to make, stories to tell, poems to share – and no one else in the world has your unique voice with which to say them.  And do it,” she adds, “for the young writers you hope to inspire.  In making time for your own writing, you’ll be crossing a barrier, joining them as real, vulnerable members of a community of writers.”

"Amen!" I say, along with "Thank you, Kate!"
59 Reasons to Write is a terrific follow-up to Real Revision, offering yet another valuable writing book for those of us lucky enough to be “TeachingAuthors” and writers.

Enjoy, learn and write!  

 

Esther Hershenhorn

Sylvia Vardell's Poetry Aloud Here! Using Your Voice in a Poem of Instruction ~

.
Howdy Campers!

Happy Poetry Friday ~ the hostess for today's poetry feast is Karen Edmisten--thank you, Karen!

and congratulations to Sylvia Vardell on the publication of an updated, shiny NEW EDITION of her fabulous Poetry Aloud Here--Sharing Poetry with Children, which has been in print for over ten years (the new book is called Poetry Aloud Here 2)! I am elated that one of my poems (printed below) introduces the book.  Man-oh-man--what an honor!

Click here for Sylvia's description of her inspiring book (Booklist called the first edition "required reading for all children's librarians"), and here's the notice from ALA.

If you've been following TeachingAuthors, you know that we're in the middle of our series exploring Voice: what it is, how to find yours and/or how to teach it.  JoAnn kicked off our discussion with her definition of voice and her original poem, "I Have A Voice"; Jill continued with a real-life example of student voices and some wonderful picture book writers' voices; Carmela introduced us to a terrific book on this topic and offered an e.e.cummings poem as a stunning example of voice; Mary Ann showed us how she teaches how to create a character's voice; and Carmela came back with a Wednesday Writing Workout on distilling your own writing voice.

When talking about voice in my Writing the Children's Picture Book class, I read parts or all of the following books: Gennifer Choldenko's Moonstruck, Karla Kuskin's The Philharmonic Gets Dressed, Ruth Lercher Bornstein's Little Gorilla and Rabbit's Good News, Chris Raschka's Yo! Yes? and John Coltrane's Giant Steps, Susan Patron's Burgoo Stew, and many other books.  My heavens--what a chorus of wildly diverse voices in that flock of books!

Then I read them Edward Lear's "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat (sic)," which begins:

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
   In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
   Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
   And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
    What a beautiful Pussy you are,
         You are,
         You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!" (read the rest here)

and give them 10-15 minutes to write the same story from the POV of one of the characters in the story.  They may decide to become the Owl the Pussycat, the boat, the ring...whatever they want.  (Someone in today's class wrote from the POV of the Bong Tree!) The results are wonderful, distinct and often hilarious (Pussycat as a woman of the night, for example...)  We immediately discover both the writer's and the character's voice.

Stéphane Jorisch illustrated this version of Lear's poem...
demonstrating his own distinctive voice

So many ways to convey one's voice!

Here's my poem that's in Sylvia's book (she says joyfully)--it's a poem of instruction. 

HOW TO READ A POEM ALOUD
by April Halprin Wayland

To begin,
tell the poet’s name
and the title
to your friend.

Savor every word—
let
    each
         line
              shine.

Then—
read it one more time.

Now, take a breath—
and sigh.

Then think about the poet,
at her desk,
late at night,
picking up her pen to write—

and why.

Now it's your turn: try writing your own poem of instruction!

poem and drawing (c) 2014 April Halprin Wayland, who thanks you for reading all the way to the end

Happy Poetry Friday! Poem-Making!

.
Howdy Campers, and Happy Poetry Friday!

PF is hosted by Sheri Doyle this week--thanks, Sheri!  Poetry Friday hosting can be a big job, folks, so make sure you help Sheri put away the chairs and stack the dishes before you leave.

I'm continuing the TeachingAuthors thread we're calling Books We Recommend On Writing which Esther began, reverently offering M.B. Goffstein's A Writer...(which I, too, have on a golden altar in my bookshelf!)  On Poetry Friday, Carmela continued with her top three books on the art and craft of writing poetry, and then Mary Ann offered her favorite one or two books in three categories: Inspirational Books, Craft Books and Craft Books for Kids.  Jill gave us three writing books packed with great information and inspiration, while Jeanne Marie focused on books about plotting...and one on writing "Hit Lit."

I'm going to recommend one of Monkey and my favorite books on writing poetry, POEM-MAKING ~ Ways to Begin Writing Poetry by Myra Cohn Livingston.

We like it because it's written for a ten year old--just about my level. For more on this book, read Elaine Magliaro's really excellent review of it on The Wild Rose Reader--I couldn't review it any better.

Myra Cohn Livingston was the "Mother of Us All," as Janet Wong writes.  She was Poetry Mentor/Mother to me, Janet, Ann Whitford Paul, Sonya Sones, Hope Anita Smith, Alice Shertle, Kristine O’Connell George, Deborah Chandra, Madeleine Comora, Joan Bransfield Graham, Tony Johnston, Monica Gunning, Karen B. Winnick, Anita Wintz, Ruth Lercher Bornstein and many, many other children's poets (Who am I missing? Let me know!). 

I have previously talked about two books I require in classes I teach through the UCLA Writers Program.  One of the books is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, about which several TeachingAuthors have waxed poetic in the past. 

Here's a poem from that blog post inspired by Lamott's chapter on jealousy:

ANYTHING I CAN DO YOU CAN DO BETTER

or

CAN OF WORMS

by April Halprin Wayland

Varda once told us

we were all cans on a shelf.
.

Cans of chili, kidney beans, split pea soup.

I decided that I was a can of apricot halves.

 

She said that the shelf was only one can deep

but that it stretched out forever
.

so there’s always room

for one more.

 

“You don’t have to be afraid that adding another can means 

there isn’t enough room for you,”she said.
.

“You can even help a new can

onto the shelf next to you.”
.

And she never talked

about jealousy again.
.
poem (c) 2013 April Halprin Wayland.  All rights reserved.

My brilliant teacher Barbara Bottner taught me to write about my greatest fear...because chances are, we all share it.

Monkey is writing about his fear
of writing something stupid in a blog post.