We’ll use Perusall to annotate and read together.
The Actual Superheroes
Let’s take it back to second grade. It really is amazing how remarkable and brilliant children are. Cooties are an actual thing and no one in the classroom wants to be labeled as “boyfriend and girlfriend”. Imagine… if only cooties had stayed real throughout at least part of high school. Imagine all the young hearts that would’ve been saved. The playground is the decider of your social status, while the classroom brings everyone back together. To be someone’s friend is much simpler at this age and all you really need is a common interest to spur a new friendship into existence.
Reading this book was an invitation to go back and remember your adorable stage. The stage that came before all the awkwardness of puberty. In this book through an activity called, Author’s Theatre, kids were encouraged to write stories and then act them out for the class. Through this activity the issues of gender roles and race are accidentally stumbled upon and we got to read about how young children navigated these differences. The young second graders were challenging social norms without even realizing it. A few young girls finally put their foot down and challenge the gender roles of girls and write a story where the girls are powerful superheroes alongside the boys.
We get to read and follow these second graders through third grade and in the end they themselves become the superheroes.
Website:
One Reply to “The Actual Superheroes”
That’s really cool to hear that these young kids take charge and challenge societal norms and write about stories where they can see themselves and empower themselves through their own creations. Representation really matters and it’s good to see that the “Author’s Theatre” activity allows them to create and take charge of their own stories.