Empathy in the Classroom: How a Teacher-Librarian and ELA Teacher Collaborated to Create a Diverse Novel Unit

This session will focus on the collaborative efforts to bring authentic conversations about current issues directly relating to underrepresented student populations into the classroom. We will discuss how this evolved from discussion to actuality, opportunities and challenges we encountered, and perspectives on the learning outcomes. We will also discuss the novels chosen and works that could be utilized, and how school librarians can use this to assist ELA teachers to create similar units.

Speaker(s):

  • Jamie Becker, Teacher-Librarian, Wright City High School
  • Anne Holzen-Mason, ELA Teacher, North Point High School