Greetings,
   I want to talk to you about one of my favorite YA books thus far.  The Skin I'm In, by Sharon G. Flake, is a realistic fiction novel about the growing pains of a girl at a struggling NYC middle school.  Thirteen-year old Maleeka Madison holds low self-esteem about herself due to her looks and how she dresses.  She has (as I describe it) a rich, deep-olive toned complexion that some love (Caleb, a mature, insightful young man that is interested in her) and some ridicule (John-John, her nemesis since second grade).  She is extremely bright and adept at writing, as her new English teacher, Ms Saunders, discovers after Maleeka turns in a class assignment.  The novel chronicles the development of a slave-narrative that she writes, in part for class, and in part as a way to cope with her life.  Maleeka befriends the school bully in an effort to ease her struggles, but, it seems to only make matters worse.  Ms. Saunders serves as a role model and mentor to Maleeka, although she immediately resists her because of the skin disorder on her face.  However, Maleeka learns several life lessons thanks to the support of her teacher and others in her community that see bother her inner and outer beauty.  This is a must for middle schoolers in an age of bullying and materialism; it drives the message home that we must learn to love and honor "the skin we are in".   Highly recommended!

Welcome to the first installment of the TCM Summer Reading Blog series.  This summer, I will write about books I have read, particularly for late elementary and middle school students.  

Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World, by Mildred  Pitts Walter, is an endearing tale about ten-year old Justin and the lessons he learns from time spent with his favorite guy- Grandpa.  Justin is the only male in his household, and often feels he cannot do anything right- especially clean his room or cook.  He thinks cleaning and cooking is "women's work", and insists that this is why he is no good at it.  Grandpa swoops in and teaches him lessons of family history, work ethic, and manhood.  Grandpa lives on a ranch in the midwest, which is Justin's favorite place in the world.  Justin begins to learn what makes him and the members of his family special, as his grandfather teaches him about his family history, including a family recipe: biscuits in a skillet

This is a story about self-esteem, and how to deal with your emotions.  He is often frustrated and quickly gives up when he faces a challenge.  His grandfather quickly realizes this and offers his wisdom to Justin, as he knows Justin greatly looks up to him; he appears to be the dominant male figure in his life.  His grandfather teaches him that real men emote and real men rope cattle just as easily as they bake biscuits.  Lovely indeed.  
Another aspect of this narrative that I love is the history readers learn about the Black Cowboys.  His grandfather weaves in stories about their families migration from Tennessee to the midwest post-slavery, and shows the bravery that is apart of his bloodline.  This is a book that encourages young boys to have pride in themselves and their history, and to always try your best to do the right thing  This book encourages young boys to be diligent and have love for self, a critical message in this day in age.  

Instructional Considerations
 The text is written at a 620 Lexile level (2nd-3rd grade). Students can read story aloud with a focus on fluency as well as vocabulary and comprehension.  

Attached is a lesson plan from the Desoto Public School District (Kansas).  It contains essential and useful vocabulary word lists, text dependent questions, and a writing prompt.  
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Education and knowledge are often entangled in political conspiracy in an effort to oppress a group of people in society.  Leaders operate off the idea that if knowledge is power, then misinformation, miseduation, and lack of knowledge is just as powerful to those that hold the pen, and crippling to those that do not.  Thankfully, some people who have access to that pen are rewriting narratives based on truth in an effort to rectify the wrongs of this world, namely those that result from "white" supremacy and superiority.

Black Athena, written by Martin Bernal in 1987, is a three-volume text that highlights how Egyptian and Phoenician philosophy, science, and culture influence Greece in particular and western civilization as a whole.  Bernal's premise is that Greece's African and Semitic origins were common knowledge prior to the mid-18th century.  A shift in understanding and perspective occurred when European scholars focused efforts on proving European superiority to Africans and Asians.  The fact that Egypt, an African nation, and the Phoenicians were the sources of great European thought did not sit well with the racist and anti-Semetic thinking that has and continues to permeate academia.  Thus, social and biological scientists were commissioned to rewrite the historical narrative in favor of the Greek, Roman, and Nordic European.  Bernal's work forces readers to look at early Europe differently and challenge the prevailing belief that democracy, science, and philosophy are exclusively "European possessions".  Featuring prominent classical scholar Molly Levine of Howard University, and Black Studies professor Leonard Jefferies, this is documentary offers a poignant view of world history; one that historians have attempted to bury.  Honors to Jefferies, Levine, Bernal, and other scholars that seek to enlighten the world with truth and knowledge.  

When learning to read, the most effective instruction includes the following five components:

Phonemic Awareness
Phonics 
Reading Fluency
Vocabulary
​Text Comprehension 

Vocabulary: studying words and their meanings (denotatively and connotatively)

With little explanation needed, vocabulary is key to reading comprehension.  If children do not know the meaning of the words they are reading, how can they make meaning of the entire text?  

There is a great debate about how we should define words.  We are taught vocabulary primarily via looking up words in the dictionary and by reading them in context (context clues).  Most schools do not teach explicit vocabulary skills. 

Vocabulary can be classified as active or passive.  Active vocabulary is when you are able to both recognize and use a word, while passive vocabulary is when you just recognize the word. 

The Cultivated Mind is ALL ABOUT vocabulary.  In fact, we are developing a curriculum that places etymology at the basis of all vocabulary instruction.  For more information, check out our affiliate website, EtymologyRules.
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This strategy is applicable to both fiction and nonfiction, although the signposts to be learned differ between these two types of text.  

The idea is that students identify significant portions of text, read closely, and ask questions to make inferences, draw conclusions, and gain a deeper understanding of the message or overall meaning of the text.

After students learn basic comprehension strategies, Notice and Note is a great way for students to develop critical reading skills in preparation for developing claims and stances on the themes and ideas addressed in a text.  This correlates to the evaluation and synthesis levels of thinking according to Bloom's Taxonomy.  

Critical reading and writing is an important skill to develop; this is how we develop perspectives and outlooks in life.  In this current day and age, social media is a platform for people to express their opinions with very little critical thinking.    People are now developing worldviews based on quickly reading the postings of misinformed citizens of the world.  Critical reading helps us to evaluate an author's explanation (does bias exist?  what are the author's sources?  etc...).  
Literacy is a means of healing our nation via knowledge.  But first, we must learn to read and take in information with a critical lens.  Notice and Note is a method that challenges readers to not only answer what, where, and when, but also how and why.  

What are you thoughts on critical reading and writing?  Do you have any ideas or teaching methods that have worked for you (teachers) or your child (parents) in the past?


For more on Notice and Note, critical reading and writing, and literacy in general, e-mail [email protected]

"Can you Spell co-champions?" the Metro page of the Washington Post read; both Vanya Shivashankar and Gokul Venkatachalum were named co-winners of the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee​.  A slew of what we call "haters" attacked them because they are of Indian descent; the fact is, Indian Americans have been winning the Scripps Spelling Bee for the past eight years, including two out of the five instances in the history of the contest in which co-champions were named.  Impressive!

Well, apparently, not to everyone.  Several people took to Twitter to vent their disapproval, stating that the next winner needed to be "American", and not of Indian descent, which prompted analysis and discussion about why the trend has been Indian winners of the spelling bee.  While many people talk about how Indian Americans have an "extraordinary work ethic" or how education is valued more by Asians in general more than those born on this continent, I propose a different theory.  I would say that Indians value spelling in their homeland- it is integrated into their instruction/schools.    

Part of my goal with TCM and behind etymological studies is to increase our understanding of language in general, to help people learn other languages as well.  Grammar shows the structure of a language, and although the structure may differ, the components never change.  Meaning, a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea in English, Spanish, or Chinese.  A noun can be described by an adjective in Arabic and French alike.  I would like to travel internationally to spread my views on this concept- and India seemed a fertile ground for this effort.  Why?

Check out India Trust, a non-government, public agency with nation wide operations dedicated to Human Resource Development, advanced training and policy advocacy in the areas of EDUCATION, TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT in the sectors of CAREER MANAGEMENT, EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT. This organization sponsors an India-based contest called "Spelling Bee International".  In addition, teachers are eligible to participate in a training, and workbooks are developed and provided to participating schools.  

In other words, etymology is held in high regard in Indian culture; thus, it is natural that they continue to dominate in an area of study that we ignore or barely touch in our schools.  Yes, we may learn some prefixes, roots, and suffixes; but think about when was the last time you (as a student) or your child (as a parent) really got a thorough etymology lesson?  How deep does your/their word study go?  What is your/their relationship with the English language?  If we came up learning English as our first language ,then we generally think first in English- for clarity of thought, shouldn't this be a part of every class in our schools?

It seems Indian educators, policymakers, and stakeholders are aware of this: 

http://logophilia.in/
http://www.spellbeeinternational.com/
http://indiaspellbee.in/
http://www.classmatespellbee.in/

​I hope my message is clear; we need to take a serious look at integrating etymology into our curriculum; not just in language arts and English, but in our approach to curriculum and instruction overall.