| |
In A Girl Named Disaster,
Nhamo lives in her mother’s village in Mozambique. Her
mother is dead and her father is gone. While her Grandmother
provides much needed affection, her Aunt Chipo hates her and the
people in her village refer to her as “Little Disaster.”
In The Skin I'm In, Maleeka Madison’s classmates
taunt and pressure her to follow the crowd; a new teacher prods
and pressures her to achieve. Young, Black and beautiful, Maleeka
is a 7th grader who doesn’t blend well with her peers.
Although both stories reflect the troubles and triumphs of young
girls, the books present issues that all adolescents face:
fitting in, accepting oneself, taking responsibility, survival and
the importance of family and friendships. This hands-on workshop will
explore the journey of self-discovery by examining the way
in which our main characters' identities are shaped, shifted and
stifled by their response to life circumstances.
Activities will address the importance of self-esteem,
culture and skin tone bias as the foundation for transforming
the relationship between external features and misperceptions
of the self. Through hands-on before, during and after reading
activities, this workshop offers teachers a variety of ways to bring
these books to our students. (7th grade and up)
|
