Centering the Intergenerational Black Lives Matter Guiding Principle in a Kindergarten Classroom
By Ashley Chu
My kindergarten class studied the Black Lives Matter Principle “intergenerational” for the BLM Week of Action. We chose to focus on only one principle and tell multiple stories to develop a deep understanding. We began the week’s study by defining the intergenerational principle using the child-friendly definition:
It’s important that we have spaces where people of different ages can come together and learn from each other.
Each day, we opened with a guiding question to set the stage for the day’s read-aloud. These questions, along with the follow-up activities we did, are organized in the table below.
Day 1 focused on making the principle relevant for children by asking, who are the people in your family? We read Grandma’s Purse by Vanessa Brantley-Newton. On one page, Mimi pulls out a sleeve of pictures from her purse with her family growing and changing over time. We looked at this picture, then invited students to draw pictures of their families. One student brought her laptop to her living room mantel, where she showed us photos on display of her and her brother. Other students shared drawings of a picture they would want to carry with them — a grandmother with her suitcase, a family at the beach, a water balloon fight with the whole family, and a celebration of mom’s birthday.
Day 2 brought attention to relationships that bring us comfort and joy through the story Max and the Tag-Along Moon by Floyd Cooper. We connected with students’ lives by asking them to think of how they can be comforted when they miss someone. I asked students if there was someone they miss right now, perhaps because of the pandemic. One student shared about a friend who moved away, and another shared about an aunt who died. We talked about what we can do when we miss someone. Though this was not where I imagined the discussion would go, it provided an authentic context for talking about finding comfort through our families.
Day 3 honed in on the idea of learning from people of different ages through the story Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina. This story really resonated with many of my students who have parents or grandparents who speak limited English, or are dual language learners themselves. One student in my class is a recent immigrant who primarily speaks Spanish — he lit up when he heard Spanish words in the story! After we read the story, I asked students, “How can you help someone in your family?” I then attempted to ask the question in Spanish, but my Spanish is pretty limited, so another student who speaks both English and Spanish chimed in and said, “I can handle this!” and proceeded to translate the question into Spanish. This moment really brought the story to life for us, as classmates were able to help each other out with their language skills. Then, we discussed ways we help our families. One student shared, “I help my mom with the baby.” Another shared, “My mom teaches me to speak Spanish,” and another shared, “My dad is teaching me to speak Oromo.” One student shared, “When my mom’s back is hurting, I help her pick things up and make my own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.”
Day 4 broadened our thinking into the larger community. We read Miss Tizzy by Libba Moore Gray. When Miss Tizzy does not feel well in the story, students predicted that the children would make her soup and help get her medicine. When we finished reading, they enjoyed recounting the things the children did for Miss Tizzy. Following this story, we participated in Cupid’s Kids and made Valentine’s Day cards for senior residents in D.C. We talked about how this could bring joy to seniors, just like the children brought joy to Miss Tizzy.
Though we were only able to study one of the 13 principles, we covered multiple narratives and celebrated people of different ages in our own families and beyond. My hope is that this week brought joy to my students and helped them draw connections between their lives and the Black Lives Matter intergenerational principle.
Ashley Chu is a member of the D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice (DCAESJ) Anti-bias Education Working Group. She teaches Kindergarten at Center City Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. She has participated in the Black Lives Matter at School week of action for consecutive years.