Windows & Mirrors in Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet

Windows and Mirrors

In an August post (Organizing a Representative Classroom Library During a Global Pandemic), I wrote about the importance of making sure that the books available for students to read are both windows and mirrors; books in which students can see themselves (mirrors) and also books that help them see the world's different perspectives (windows). This metaphor was originally used by Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop to explain to educators, librarians, parents, and children themselves how we must read books that are self-affirming and books that offer us views that differ from our own.

A display in my classroom library. Credit for the images goes to Grant Snider. 

To make these books available to children certainly is a good first step. But giving students the opportunity to reflect on the ways in which the books they read are both windows and mirrors is a critical part of the reading process.

Global Read Aloud

During the 2020 Global Read Aloud (sadly, its last year), I read Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet (written by Zanib Mian, illustrated by Nasaya Mafaridik) to my fourth grade students. During the Global Read Aloud, our school's learning model was hybrid, meaning half of my students were always at home when I was reading aloud to my in-school students. A shout-out to the 24 other educators from across the globe who helped record chapters of the book so my at-home students could still keep up with the story!

Theme

After we finished the book, we reflected on the book's themes. By identifying these timeless, abstract, universal and transferrable ideas (aka concepts), students were able to more deeply connect to the text. To help students identify the themes, I ask them, "What do you think Zanib Mian wants us to understand? What is she trying to teach us?" Students respond by using the sentence stem, "The author wants me to understand that ..." During this brainstorming process it is imperative that students give evidence from the text that backs up their theme idea.

Themes students brainstormed are pictured below.

Students' Thinking

Next, I asked my fourth graders to thoughtfully answer these two questions:

• In what ways was Planet Omar a window for you?
• In what ways was Planet Omar a mirror for you?

For those in-class, we quickly made our thinking visible on a t-chart. For those learning at-home, I gave students the option to share their thinking in whatever way they wanted. I intentionally left it open-ended, so students could creatively respond. The following are some examples of responses I received.

"It was a window to me because it gave me a view of what some people experience when they’re different from us or from different places. And that did give me an experience of how some people might feel because they’re bullied because they’re from a different place. Kind of like Omar was bullied from Daniel. But that can all change. Just like how Daniel did. So I’m pretty sure this is more of a window to me."

Other video responses that thought the book was more of a window (I'm including the transcript of the students' responses here, as they recorded themselves and I'd like to protect their privacy)

• Omar is a window for me because he’s from a different culture. In that way, it is pretty interesting to read a book about a different culture from us.
• Planet Omar was a window for me because I don’t celebrate Pakistani traditions or any traditions like that, but I celebrate different traditions like Christmas and Halloween. I’m sure some Pakistanians do celebrate those.
• I’ve never been to London. I’ve never been out of the United States. I’ve never had a bully either.

Video responses that thought the book was more of a mirror (I'm including the transcript of the students' responses here, as they recorded themselves and I'd like to protect their privacy)

• Omar is a mirror for me because he showed me that standing out is not always a bad thing.
• Planet Omar was kind of a mirror for me because I can relate to him having to move to a new place and go to a new school and being kind of worried because I’ve done that a bunch of times.
• Omar’s parents are scientists, my grandpa is a scientist. He studies rocks and stuff.
• When I was in first grade, someone was mean to me and then they were nice to me.

When we expose children to all kinds of books - ones that reflect their experiences and ones that let them live through new situations from perspectives different their their own - we give them the opportunity to learn more about others and more about themselves. Helping students reflect on the ways that the books they read can be both windows and mirrors is an essential part of the reading process that we must lead students through with the books we read to them with the ultimate goal of them independently reflecting with the books they read on their own.

Organizing a Representative Classroom Library During a Global Pandemic

The classroom library is the staple of any elementary teacher's classroom. Making sure that students can access interesting texts at their level is an essential component of our pedagogical approach. We want students to improve their thinking and reading skills, but more importantly, we wish that they develop an intrinsic and deep love of reading.

Selecting and organizing the books is a fun and exciting task, but can be a bit overwhelming as there are many factors to consider. I am aware that these factors have been discussed at length by experts with more education and experience than I have. Nevertheless, I'm interested in sharing what was going through my head as I rebuilt my classroom library in preparation for heading back into the classroom this fall.

• REPRESENTATIVE: The books in our classroom's library should both reflect the perspectives and experiences of the students in my class AND give students the opportunity to learn about and from others' experiences and perspectives different from their own.
• ORGANIZATION: The collection should be organized in a way that makes using (finding books and checking them out & in) the library easy.
• SAFETY: There needs to be a system in place so that books can be borrowed and shared safely during this (hopefully) very unique time of COVID-19.

Windows and Mirrors

“Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection, we can see our own lives and experiences as part of a larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors in books.” Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop

Dr. Bishop's words help remind me to include books in my library in which students can see themselves and also books that help them see the world from different perspectives. This is one way they can build empathy for others.

In recent years, I have finally woken up to the reality that my book collection lacks diverse characters, voices, authors and illustrators. Statistics show my collection is representative of all available children's literature. Luckily, publishers are taking note and the availability of books that are more representative of the children we teach is increasing.

To identify and purchase diverse books, We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) is a phenomenal resource. Specifically, I'd encourage you to check out:

• Their OurStory book-finding app (available through any browser or as an Android app)
• Walter Award winners and honoree
• Resources for Race, Equity, Anti-Racism, and Inclusion

"Classroom Library Organization Made Easy!"

In the past, I've organized my classroom library by level because I'm an advocate for helping students find books that are a good fit by their reading level. But I have realized recently that paying too much attention to a book's relatively arbitrary reading level is problematic for a variety of reasons.

For now, I'll stick to organizing my library like a book store, by topic, so kids can find what interests them easily. Helping students understand when a book is "just right" for them will have to be an important part to teaching them how to use the library at the beginning of the year.

Regardless of how I set it up, I knew that I wanted to utilize an app to catalog all my books, something I've never done before. After much Google searching and blog reading, I found that despite some flaws, Booksource Classroom is a fabulous app.

Pros:

• It is FREE!
• The app lets you scan books' barcodes as a way to add them quickly to your library
• The web interface has loads of features that help you audit your library (for diversity, for reading level, etc)
• Families and students can log-in independently to look at what books they have checked out and which books are available

Cons:

• The app and the web interface don't match. The app is good for adding, checking-in and checking-out books but other than those actions, you're better off sticking to the browser version.
• The app doesn't recognize about half of the barcodes that I scan. I wonder if this is because they're outdated? Are my books too old?! I've found a pretty easy work-around though: I look up the current ISBN on Amazon and then use that number to add the books on the web interface. Super slick!

Staying Safe

The pandemic has forced us to rethink the way we "do school" and interacting with our classroom library is no exception. Here are two changes I'm making to make sure my students and I continue to be safe:

• Online Browsing Only. Rather than allow students to physically go through the library in search of a book, I'll have them browse the online catalog through BookSource to find a book that interests them. That way, the only books they'll touch are the books they'll keep to read.
• Book Quarantining. The Preservation Administrators Discussion Group of the American Library Association (PADG) has shared that preliminary research suggests that the COVID-19 virus can only survive on paper/cardboard for 24 hours. To be safe, I'll set up a return system where books returned one day won't be checked back in for 3 days.

Personalized Labels

I had these stickers made at Label Value. The base price is $25 for a roll of 500. Discounts apply when you order multiple rolls. The greater the number of rolls, the greater the discount. I bought 2 and the price was knocked down to ~$20 / roll. Hopefully 1,000 labels is enough! Ha!

Favorite Books

As I scan and label books in my classroom library, I come across many books that I love dearly. 

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox is my favorite. 

Personalized Messages

As I open up the inside cover of my books to put on the labels pictured above, I find these personalized messages from people in my life who have gifted me these wonderful books. These messages are so dear to me.

"AJ" aka Aunt Judy

From 2011, when I first joined the third grade team at Kaposia Education Center.

Hidden Surprises

I know this might be an unpopular choice, but I've decided to recycle the dust jackets on the picture books that come with them. I feel like they'll end up getting damaged or lost anyway and I'd rather not deal with that. I only do this, however, if the artwork on the jacket is identical to the art on the front of the book. If that's not the case, I leave on the dust jacket.

As I was taking off this book's dust jacket the other day to see if the art below was an exact match, I discovered this hidden surprise that Yuyi Morales snuck in, and I was so tickled to have found it! Can you spot the difference?

Organizing a representative classroom library in the middle of a pandemic can be daunting, but it has been fun thinking about all the possibilities and putting it all together. It is a constant work in progress though and through continual reflection and hopefully some feedback on this post, I'll be able to continue to add to and improve upon this important staple of my pedagogical approach.