Visiting Author Sparks Collaborative Lessons

I’ll tell you what I tell our students: Jason Reynolds is a big deal. His books have been recognized with the Coretta Scott King Award multiple times, he won the inaugural Walter Dean Myers Award, and his book Ghost was a National Book Award finalist. He’s been interviewed by NPR, School Library Journal, Kirkus, and The Washington Post. I told you, right? He’s a big deal, and we’re honored to be able to welcome him to Denver Academy. Through a partnership with Tattered Cover Book Store, Jason will speak with our 6^th-8^th grade students on Friday, February 24.

 

Recently, our teachers’ book club chose to read his books and over 20 teachers participated. As we read his books, we collaborated. Ms. Buonomo in Digital Arts, Ms. Wheat in the Art Department, Ms. Bradford in the Drama Department, Mr. Fritzsche in the welding studio, Mr. Loose in music, coaches in our PE department, Ms. Zaletel’s knitting club, and classroom teachers are helping to create learning opportunities around Jason’s books and get our kids excited. And it’s working. Even though our library owns 10 or more copies of his titles, and even though many of our students are buying their own copies, I still have a wait list for Jason’s books.

 

Jason’s honest writing and well-developed characters are something that our community connects with. His characters feel like real people to us. We love Ghost, Genie, Ali, Matt, and Rashad. We get to know them, their families, and their struggles. And then, we want to know Jason. Kids are excited to read Jason’s books, teachers are excited to teach and collaborate around Jason’s books, and most of all, we’re excited to meet Jason.