{"id":1359,"date":"2025-03-19T17:34:43","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T21:34:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/elemsocialstudies\/?p=1359"},"modified":"2025-03-19T17:36:01","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T21:36:01","slug":"3-19-class-8-blog-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/elemsocialstudies\/2025\/03\/19\/3-19-class-8-blog-post\/","title":{"rendered":"3\/19 – Class 8 Blog Post"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greetings class, I pray all is well and that you are enjoying the wonderful weather we\u2019ve had lately!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Monday\u2019s class, we discussed an array of topics, but for our discussion I want us to reflect more on books as mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Refresher From Class Slides:<\/span><\/p>\n

Books as Mirrors – \u201cB<\/span>ooks that reflect images of readers\u2019 multiple identities and the world we truly live in. These books empower and uplift readers by allowing them to make strong personal connections to stories.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Books as Windows – \u201cBooks that allow readers to see into the lives and experiences of others. They expose readers to history and authentic perspectives and help them develop understandings about the wider world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Books as Sliding Glass Doors – \u201cBooks that further expand on the concept of windows. Instead of just viewing another person\u2019s culture or experience, sliding glass doors allow readers to walk into a story and become part of the world. Reading these stories encourages reflection and action and can result in a reader\u2019s change of perspective.\u201d <\/span>(Stohr-Hunt, 2025) <\/span>https:\/\/docs.google.com\/presentation\/d\/1dTeUaSxGJ8Q-gSMnRLzIL5gJRIZ0rESLxpgen7hYorA\/edit#slide=id.g341467e079f_1_1474<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve discussed in-depth the importance of readers being able to see themselves represented in the books they\u2019re reading. Along with the fact that a variety of lessons, experiences, backgrounds, and cultures can be depicted in the books we read to our students and provide in our classroom. It is important to provide them with books that mirror them, and books that act as windows and sliding glass doors into a variety of worldviews and perspectives.<\/span><\/p>\n

What are three books that you would like to have\/have in your classroom library that act as a mirror, window, and sliding glass door for your students? Remember the Steps to Evaluating Books Worksheet we were given in class can be used to aid in evaluating the children\u2019s books you choose to share with students. Please also share a book from your childhood that you enjoyed reading that acted as a mirror, window, or sliding glass door.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A book that acted as a sliding glass door in my childhood was <\/span>Prisoner B-3087, <\/span><\/i>written by Alan Gratz. I picked up this book in the second grade and it tells the story of Yanek Gruener who had just turned thirteen years old at the start of World War II. <\/span>Prisoner B-3087 <\/span><\/i>immerses you in his experience from moving into the ghettos of Poland to being taken from his family and going from concentration camp to concentration camp throughout the war. The book closes with Yanek Gruener surviving the atrocities he faced and figuring out how to live life after surviving the unimaginable. The book opened my eyes to the horrors of the Holocaust and the stories of so many like Yanek Gruener. Books like these, share a truth, a reality of so many, these stories are invaluable. If we erase our history and choose to not mention the hard stuff, we will fall into the trap of repeating it.<\/span><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t wait to read your responses, have a blessed week!<\/span><\/p>\n

Angelina Dickens<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greetings class, I pray all is well and that you are enjoying the wonderful weather we\u2019ve had lately!\u00a0 In Monday\u2019s class, we discussed an array of topics, but for our discussion I want us to reflect more on books as … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6553,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[208128,85869,208125],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-class-reflection","category-student-post","category-things-to-think-about"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/elemsocialstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/elemsocialstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/elemsocialstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/elemsocialstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6553"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/elemsocialstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1359"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/elemsocialstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1361,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/elemsocialstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1359\/revisions\/1361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/elemsocialstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/elemsocialstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/elemsocialstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}