I chose Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 's The Danger of a Single Story Video. I chose it because of the power of literature in a classroom. I teach First Grade, and it is evident how impactful literature is in a classroom. The students listen, and identify with stories and characters in the books. I thought to myself "how can I help children learn about different cultures, and different parts of the world? and at their level?" I had watched a small clip of this TED Talk before, and remembered it was captivating, and reflective. I recently received books in my classroom through a grant our Equity team had written. I was asked to store the books in my classroom. When asked I remembered this TED talk. I knew I had to focus on reading the books stored in my classroom for many reasons. I needed to know what the books were about, and I needed to be able to answer questions about the books if a teammate asked. However, more importantly, I needed to read them for myself and my students. As I began reading them, my students began to identify with some of the characters. They started making real world and text to text connections. What I found most impactful, was the books started wonderful and meaningful conversations. These conversations were student lead a lot of the time. I was so proud of the questions and comments my little 1st graders asked and shared. I witnessed this past year the power of not reading "ONE story". Although I read many books, I realized after participating in the reflection BINGO activity, I still have a long way to go. However, everyone has to start somewhere, and I was proud I started!
