Using Picture Books in the High School Classroom

Over the last year or so I heard about the potential for using picture books with high school students. I heard the clamor: "They have a place!" But no one could tell me why. Or more importantly: how? This all changed with Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson's The Undefeated which was on the long list for the National Book Award for Young Adult Literature 2019. For those who haven't read it, the text is describe as "a love letter to America. To black America. To the grit, passion, and perseverance of our greatest artists, athletes, and activists." After reading it, I knew when I started my #OwnVoices unit with my Freshmen, we were going to start use picture books. 

Intention:

The most important part of choosing a picture book is intention. What do you want students to learn? What do picture books do that regular contemporary, classic and YA texts cannot do? For me, I used two texts, the aforementioned The Undefeated and Thorn and Grigni's It Feels Good to be Yourself: A Book about Gender Identity.

Picture books often say much more in the pictures than in their text. We spent time discussing
color choice, religions, same-sex couples and other issues that are not specifically addressed.

What I loved about both of these books is that although there is a clear story with a clear intention, there is plenty in the pictures that are telling a different story. We spent time discussing, "What do you see? What's not being said?" I can only speak for my students, but there is a sense of "getting the books done." Especially since my students read in such volume, sometimes taking a moment to pay attention to the details doesn't always happen. Picture books are a nice way to slow us down. It gives us time to talk about important ideas, subtext, and examine some moments in fine details.

The discussion of the absence of space is  as important as the filling of space.

Expanding Vocabulary

The moment that surprised my students the most was how expansive the vocabulary is in picture books. When we came to the word cisgender, students were stumped. Some said they had heard the word, but didn't know what it meant. This continued with words such as non-binary, dysphoria and intersex. We talked about preconceived notions, surprises and how this relates to those of us who do exist in the binary.

In both picture books, words of importance pop on the pages. In those moments, the reader has to slow down. What does the author want us to notice?

This is a perfect opportunity to pause and ask,
"What does the author want us to notice?"

Thinking about Audience

Speaking of author and intention, as teachers move towards more PBL (project based learning), the hardest component is often audience. After reading It Feels Good to be Yourself students were asked, "Who is this book for?" 

"Kids." 

"How old?"

"Kindergarten" said one. "First grade," said another.

"Who else?"

"Parents." "People who want to know about gender." "People who already know about gender" "Adults." "Us."

And that's just it. There is such clear intention of audience for picture books. For their current projects for our #OwnVoices unit they have two options: make a picture book or create a podcast. No matter their choice, at the heart of these projects is author intention's of audience.

The Value of the Read Aloud

Most importantly, using picture books is a great way to bring the read aloud to the high school classroom. I spent an entire year utilizing texts for the read aloud. We know read alouds help focus on important reading skills (envisioning, question asking, etc), but they also help foster a sense of community. Pulling in my freshmen, away from their desks, and spending some time talking in a more intimate setting is an experience that cannot be done with traditional whole class, choice texts or independent texts. The read aloud is special, and as we discussed tableaux, art, gender, race and religion, I not only saw value in what I was doing, but value in the experience of coming together. 

I love the read aloud because we can come together
in a way we normally wouldn't be able to.

Above and Beyond

I'm really excited to see the potential of picture books in the high school classroom. As I talk with colleagues, several others are utilizing them in other unique ways. I've received a number of recommendations for books since I started this, and if you have a recommendation for a picture book I should check out, or if you're utilizing picture books in a unique way, please comment below.

Daniel Valentin teaches American Wilderness, Ethics, and English 9 at Horace Greeley High School. He is currently reading The Toll by Neal Shusterman and is listening to Midnight Son by James Dommek Jr. He wants his students to feel empowered through books. Follow him on twitter @DaValentinCCSD