Here is a section from my weekly journals. In this entry I describe my struggle observing a class discussion on white privilege. It was clear that students needed access to knowledge about this topic, but I did not yet know how to share that knowledge with them. I designed an activity that would foster critical thinking and a great class discussion. The images below depict the activity sheet and some student reflections.
At the end of the unit on The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, students were assigned to complete a narrative writing project. Students were asked to write two stories about their own lives using the writing style of Sherman Alexie. Some students had a lot of fun with this assignment because it gave them academic and artistic freedom, others struggled with this freedom and the possibility of telling a story that would require them to be vulnerable. Below are my notes after having a conversation with students in the class regarding this assignment.
I wanted my students to produce original and creative works of writing, but I had to find ways to ensure that they were being empowered by their own stories. I addressed this challenge by having students rewrite the stories we were already reading in class, sharing my own creative writing, and publishing their work for all peers and other classes to see.
Building positive relationships with all students was essential to my teaching. Getting to know my students allowed me to plan better lessons and units, and helped me find ways to differentiate assignments as well as support all students in their learning.
My last class at the end of the day really struggled with staying focused and motivated to do work. After asking the students for feedback on how we could collectively improve our class, I realized that they wanted more exciting, creative and hands-on work. I decided to create this crossword puzzle to assess their comprehension of Alan Gratz’s novel Refugee. Designing creative lessons became easier by the time I took over my second class. While teaching a unit on Elizabeth Acevedo’s novel The Poet X, I encouraged students to write their own poems and inspired them by sharing my own. 
