Analyzing Picture Books with Black Language for Transformational Teacher and Student Learning

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 1:45 pm - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Navigating Tension and Transformation: Preparing Teachers for Justice in a Divided World

Abstract

This presentation examines how engaging classroom literacy teachers in the content analysis of picture books featuring Black Language can serve as a meaningful professional learning experience. Through a systematic analysis of texts, teachers deepen their understanding of the linguistic features, cultural context, and communicative functions of Black Language. Findings from this work highlight how such engagement supports educators in shifting deficit beliefs of Black Language, selecting culturally and linguistically affirming texts, and designing foundational literacy instruction that honors and affirms the language practices of Black children in the current Science of Reading contex

Author

• Natasha A. Thornton, Spelman College