Lois Letchford: Black Lives Matter, Engaged in Literature

15 Jul 2020 · 2 min

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2:17

In this monologue, literacy expert Lois Letchford explains her approach to teaching African American boys to read. She argues that the first step is to provide books in which the children can see themselves, because self‑representation sparks engagement, curiosity, and connections to personal and historical identity. She highlights the 1999 biography Booker T. Washington, More Than Anything Else as a favorite example, noting how its narrative about reading and its historical timeline prompt questions about Washington’s life and achievements. Letchford describes how she leverages multiple formats—audio recordings, classroom read‑alouds, iPhone playback, and family sharing—to let children repeatedly experience the text, reinforcing decoding skills and vocabulary. She emphasizes that without engagement, reading instruction stalls, and that engagement is cultivated through self‑identification, questioning, and repeated, accessible exposure to the literature.

Chapters

Hello, I'm Lois Letchford, literacy problem solver and author of the book Reverse to Memoir. And I'm talking today about teaching African American boys in particular. The first thing I want them to do is see themselves in literature. When they start seeing themselves in literature, they start to make connections. With their history, with themselves, with others around them. And I love this book, even though it was published in 1999, about Booker T. Washington more than anything else. And I love it because he's talking about reading. And the text I love the most is We Hurry Home. Mama, I have to learn to read, I say. She holds my hand and feels my hunger. Racing as my heart. When we give children books where they can see themselves, there is engagement. And the first thing we need when we're teaching children to read is engagement. Without engagement, we have nothing. And for engagement to happen, a child needs to see themselves. They need to start questioning. And this book is a book in history. So then you have a timeline. When did Booker T. Washington live? What did he do? What did he achieve? So many, many questions are coming from the reading of a book. That all has to help children make connections and make connections with decoding and words. And what I do with this book is I put it in an audio version so that children can hear it again and again and again and come back to it. And maybe just read a page at a time. Can we adapt it anyway so that they can read it to their classmates, read it on iPhone, and send it to their family? So that is another favourite of mine, Booker T. Washington, More Than Anything Else. Thank you. Lois Letchford.