I finally received my copy of the much-anticipated book Change Sings! How many of you pre-ordered this book like I did after hearing Amanda Gorman recite her goosebump-inducing poem The Hill We Climb on Inauguration Day?
Even though I’ve been waiting 8 long months for the arrival of this book, it seems it couldn’t have arrived on a more perfect day – the fall equinox. The CHANGING of seasons, particularly the fall equinox, is a time when people have historically reflected on the balance of light and dark in their lives and all that the passing season has brought to them before embracing another shift, a CHANGE, once again.
As I excitedly opened my Amazon package to get to the book inside, Amanda’s words seemed to echo from the podium on that cold January day – “Where can we find light in this never-ending shade?”
This past year-and-a-half of education has been like nothing before. CHANGE is certainly an understatement and though I long for the days without Covid notification emails, masks, social distancing, sickness, polarized beliefs, bullying, fear… I decided to take the time to look into the positive CHANGE this time has brought upon us.
Because, as I was reminded by Amanda Gorman – “Even as we grieved, we grew. Even as we hurt, we hoped. Even as we tired, we tried”.
We CHANGED. Our students CHANGED. The ways we teach CHANGED. And the ways our students learn has CHANGED. As a matter of fact, we are STILL CHANGING.
There is no doubt that CHANGE can be tough and it seems like a natural instinct to try to resist it, but Amanda’s brand new book beautifully captures the power each individual possesses in making and leading needed CHANGE in this world. She empowers readers to believe we can be the CHANGE we want to see.
3 Tips for Using This Book
- It’s the perfect read-aloud to inspire our students to advocate for themselves and for others and to foster conversation around using our voices to make an impact on our classrooms, school, community, world. As Amanda stated in her Inaugural Day poem: “There is always light…if only we are brave enough to see it. If only we are brave enough to be it”.
- This book would also work wonderfully to launch into opinion/argument writing of any kind or to launch into a modern or historical study of activists and the power of people who have made marks on where we are today. For higher level analytic work, it could be read through a critical reading lens to interpret social themes and political undertones.
- It’s also perfect for just reading to enjoy the craft of the words and illustrations and the feelings they evoke. It’s one of those books that can be read again and again, each time offering a new insight or new conversation to be had.
I’ve included a LINK of me reading the book aloud for all of you to enjoy.
“We all hear CHANGE strumming. Won’t you sing along?”
