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.