Prince William County Public Schools

At John D. Jenkins Elementary School, Jackie Youngblood, the librarian, led a reading of the book, "Just Ask" by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, to a second-grade class. The story, "Just Ask," is based on a group of children who are working to build a community garden, and as they work with each other, they encounter differences in their friends that make each of them unique. The book encourages students to 'just ask' about differences in a polite way rather than making assumptions.

Youngblood began the lesson with a short video on Hispanic Heritage Month that covered famous Hispanic singers and sports figures, and well-known Hispanic dishes. She then asked students to describe what an author is, and what they knew about Hispanic Heritage Month. After, Youngblood introduced the topic of what makes each of us special is our differences.

Youngblood introduced a video of Justice Sotomayor sharing a memory of being judged when she had to take an insulin shot in a restaurant to control her glucose. This memory inspired her to write the story, "Just Ask." After the lesson, students engaged in an activity and drew a picture of what makes them unique. The students then took turns sharing with their classmates about their drawing.

All month long for library encore, Youngblood has featured different books from Hispanic authors or on Hispanic culture with students from all grade levels in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.