This week is Banned Books Week (hooray!). Banned Books Week is one of my favorites. I always find it helpful to talk first about how books are classically banned. This video from ALA is great:
This often leads well into a question and answer period where we talk through why certain topics appear often on banned books lists. Next, I show the following infographics, which I find helpful. The first one is a bit dated, but it is beautifully done.
For more banned books infographics and fun graphics, in general, click here!
We had a great discussion today about where politics belong in the classroom. Students offered some phenomenal comments about how they could be fair in their presentation of politics but also show they didn’t support hateful speech. In past years, I’ve had students read popular banned picture books to talk through how and why books are banned. This has proven very effective as well.
We always end by talking through the many resources available to teachers. These include those available on NCTE’s Intellectual Freedom Center. If you haven’t checked this out (or ILA’s comparable resource center), I recommend these resources highly.
Happy reading! Let’s celebrate our FREEDOM TO READ!
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