Handbook final

BUILDING APOWERFULCLASSROOM CULTURE



Table Of Contents1 Letter from the Authors2 Thoughts on building a powerful classroom culture3 Interview I : A Conversation with Dr. Goodwin and Suzanne5 Interview II: Chop It Up with Tracy6 Interview III: Classroom Culture 101 with Andrew7 Group Curriculum map8 Divider9 Shneeka’s Curriculum Map10 Shneeka’s Lessons5. DividerRashida’s Curriculum Map6. Rashida’s LessonsDividerAntiganee Curriculum Map8. Antiganee’s Lessons9. DividerAli Curriculum Map10. Ali’s Lessons11. Fun Picture12. CitationsFancy Quote that TC will love

Dear Reader, We embarked on this journey with the understanding that a powerful classroom isa complex, but uplifting space. It is where students feel safe, affirmed, empowered, andengaged. Yet, it pushes their thinking and expands their perspectives through problemsolving and debate. Using these premises to drive our research, we applied theknowledge embedded in peer reviewed research articles, theory based pedagogical books,TED talks, podcasts, interviews with former educators, and observations of bestpractices. Consequently, our understandings of a powerful classroom culture evolved.The ideal classroom culture, that we initially considered the “safe space”,morphed intothe “brave space” where students not only exist within the conditions that foster learning,but they initiate and engage in endless learning opportunities. A “brave space” requires alevel of bravery which students must have to openly share their experiences andvulnerabilities, establish mutual understanding and respect, admit their flaws, and ownthe learning process. In this blueprint of building a powerful Classroom Culture, we provide you withsound advice from veteran educators, best practices, useful resources, and comprehensivelesson plans that reflect these practices. We further implement our findings into ourconsecutive unit plans that explore the topic of truth – What is it? What is its antithesis?What impact do the two have on how we perceive one another and our lived experiences?What are ways we can reshape our distorted perceptions of one another as influenced bysingle stories ? How do we respond to each other’s truth, even when it does not align withour own? We openly share our collection of work and encourage further development ofthese concepts. Use it, embrace it, and share it as we all work together to enhance thelearning experiences of our students through building powerful classroom cultures.Sincerely,Alexandra Haridopolos Antiganee CainRashida Moore Shneeka Center

What does a Powerful Class Culture Whmaetandsoteosuas?Powerful Classroom Culture mean to us? Students are invested in initiating and engaging in challenging learning opportunities that expands their perspectives. Safe space: Where co mstfuodretnabt slefebeeling themselves. Incorporating conflict resolution and debate. Students are encourage d to take Endless l earning risks and make possibilities mistakes.

INTERVIEWSwith veteren educators

A Conversation with constant work in progress. The Alex. I started working withDr. A. Lin Goodwin whole thing has to be talked Alex in 5th grade and heand Suzanne Pratt about transparently. Both in wouldn’t do anything. He would terms of the great things that sit there for all of class with his How do you define are happening and in terms of arms folded giving me a stare “powerful classroom things that we aren’t getting and so I would sit next to him. culture”? done. So there’s kind of And I would say “Okay Alex, evaluation in community we’re going to do your workDr. Goodwin:​ F​ or me it assessment. today. Let’s start by writingbegins with b​ elonging​. It your name on your paper! Youbegins with membership. It Suzanne:​ It causes me to think know how to do that. First we’rebegins with people in that of my brother. His degrees are going to start with the A…” Andculture feeling as though it’s in International Agribusiness he would just look at me but Itheirs, it belongs to them, and Applied Economics. So he would keep going. It wasthey’re a part of building it and spent time living in England amazing, I could just talk aboutmaintaining it, they’re part of helping a colleague of his set up nothing for hours and he wouldimproving it. an organic farm Devon. One of finally just get so tired of me the things he said was “A lot of talking about writing his nameSuzanne:​ A​ lot of times when time people think about organic on his paper that he would justwe think of membership, we as so easy but organic is so do it just so that I could stopthink of students. But another much harder.” When we think (laughing). And I’d be likepart of that is thinking about about the classroom, we “Okay done with that! Nowreciprocity.​ If in my sometimes think organic means number one!” And I would startclassroom I expect things of means free for all and chaos to talk about number one and Istudents, the question becomes and that’s not actually what did that for the entire year.“Do I expect the same thing of organic is. Organic is very, very Then in the 6th grade, it was amyself?” So in my classroom we intentional and authentic. To be little easier… We hit summercan be doing all kinds of, as authentically intentional ​is again and he came back in thelong as we are in this together. probably one of the hardest beginning of 7th grade and heWe have expectations where things that there is to do. But said “Ms. Pratt, I realized thatthere’s parity. I expect things the good thing is, as teachers we you’re right I should do myfor you, but I also expect those kind of know that we’re never homework because I spent allthings of myself. That means going to be 100% successful, summer with my dad doingthere can be ownership by which is great because it means insulation and I discovered thateverybody. that we can try things and if I don’t want to do that forever they don’t work out we can because it’s itchy!” After that heDr. Goodwin:​ Building on change them and shift them as would come in, he would askthat it is important to we work towards something. what he needed to do for theremember it doesn’t just day and he would just do it. Hehappen. Lots of things may be Dr. Goodwin:​ ​Yes, every day would actually come to the hourorganic but ​so much of what we get a new opportunity to try of study hall time and instead ofis powerful in education is again with the same group of me sitting there trying to getdeliberate.​ It’s planned for, people. That doesn’t always him to write his name on hisit’s thought about, it’s talked happen in other walks of life. paper, he would come in andabout out loud, it’s a goal, so say “Today I have this, this andthat everyone is clear about Challenges of building this to do. Do you mind if I sitwhat we’re trying to accomplish a powerful classroom in the hallway and work on ittogether. We don’t just come culture: because it gets loud in here andtogether as a group and say it’s easier if I work in thewe're going to be it. It is a Suzanne:​ Another lesson I hallway.” And he’d even help learned was with my student his friend with his homework. As teachers we work with students over the course of the

year and we don’t really get to lot of pats on the back. Just Dr. Goodwin:​ T​ here aresee the​ fruits of our labors.​ I goes out of the window. [My several ways I think aboutthink that that experience for team leader] Vince helped calm student voice. Number one isme was really important me down and work through how do you create curriculumbecause It took me 3 years to that. The next day, I was that allows you to moveestablish with him the kind of nervous after that whole event. students, to bring themselvesrapport that would help him And students came in as if into it. And it’s so easy really.have good habits in school. And nothing had happened. We had Even a simple question such aspart of it was us working on an amazing, beautiful day. “What do you think about it?”breaking the bad habits he had Nobody said sorry but, I was “What has your experienceestablished for year before that like wow. So kind of going back been?” it’s already an entre intoas well as his real life to that idea of the reboot and personal experience and voice.experiences. So it was kind of the fact that you can start over. This idea of learning fromwaiting; being patient and The fact that people kids... students tell us all of thewaiting. And a​ lways forgive you. I forgave time what they need and whatrecognizing that that’s my myself, they forgave me, they want. They tell us injob to be patient and wait. they forgave each other​. positive ways as well asIt’s not to get upset and say We all let it go and started negative ways. So it is up to usyou’re not doing the right thing. fresh. So this idea of student to listen and to pay attention.It’s to continue working no voice, if you listen to students The voices that were also reallymatter what and not giving up. and you talk with them and you important, in addition to have relationships with student voices, were the voicesDr. Goodwin:​ I​ remember students, they talk to you and of colleagues. Going back to mywhen I moved to the high they tell you what to do next. first position... It really taughtschool. I had been teaching for And that story was not just to me a lot about collaboration. Ita least a few years at that point. tell you that teaching is hard was not the job that I thought II was an established teacher, but from moment to moment wanted. It was a time whenconsidered a competent, go-to you can’t predict it. So you just there were very few teachingteacher for the tough kids. have to gather information and positions so I was lucky to getDefinitely a competent teacher listen. Talk to people as you go that job. That job taught me soand a confident one. I had ​one along, no matter how much about trusting colleagues,of those days​ and I experienced you are. about learning from them,remember, nobody listened, about ​support of thenobody did anything, everybody Integrating and being community.​ It kind of set mewas all over the place and I’m responsive to student up for the the rest of myreally trying to calm everyone voice: teaching career up until now.down. After, I don’t know, halfan hour or so, I just gave upbecause it wasn’t happening. Iremember sitting at my deskjust waiting for the period to beover. It was a terrible moment,I’ll never forget that. When itwas done, thank goodness, Iremember going to my teamleader and breaking down,questioning if I was made forthis. It’s so interesting how I’dalready had three years ofteaching and this one momentof terribleness kind of wipes outall of the years of really, reallypositive work where I’d gotten a

Chop it up I could share the would embed things that with Tracy cultural vision with my I knew they needed to students. Clear goals know and skills I knewHow do you define and expectations they needed to have with“powerful classroom always.​ Reliability. They things that they wereculture”? had to know I was really interested in and I human and there could did that by observingFor me a powerful be warmth between us. them and sitting withclassroom culture is them. Lots of studentsdefined by shared power I set up different ways hang out in mybetween students and for them to be classroom, brought theirteacher, mutual respect, collaborative with each friends, students who Itrust, a spirit of other and I formed them had before would comecollaboration, love of into a classroom chorot and I could talk to themrigor, like the students unit. So I basically used about what’s going on inlove the rigor not just the cohort model for the world right now,the teacher talks about each class. And then what are you guys intowanting to have a there was a larger these days. And then Irigorous classroom, but almost unspoken cohort would think about thatthe students are like for all students that I and incorporate thatchallange use and we taught. So students were along the skills and thewant to learn. really known as Ms. content objectives I Person’s students and knew they needed toWhat are some things Ms. Person’s students have. And the strategiesyou’ve done to create a didn’t do this, or Ms. for learning. I would putpowerful classroom Person’s student didn’t all of that together andculture? act like that because we create a curriculum. had an ethos for how weThe first thing I’ve done were going to behave.is a lot of pre-work, a lotof my pre-teaching And then there washappened in the always really friendlysummer time. And what rivalry between myI would do was set up classes (laughs).ways to create normsand values. I would set I did a lot of thatup a standard for what through so-generativethe culture would be like work, so there werein my classroom so that themes I knew united them, that we were going to study, so I

Classroom Culture 101with Andrew AhnHow do you define a powerful What advice would you give toclassroom culture? Teaching Residents and budding teachers who seek to createAndrew:​ I think a powerful culture is one powerful classroom cultures?in which there is mutual caring…studentscaring about each other…teacher caring Andrew:about all of their students…and students 1. S​ mile …smiling indicates a sharedcaring about their teacher. So there is a joy that we need to try to foster intorecognition all around that all of us are classrooms. Smile as a teacher, andhuman, and that we have a mutual love for find ways to get students to smile.one another, and mutual goals in terms of 2. Hold space for students’ lives andbuilding community and learning…and stories…people thrive when wethat is at the center of every classroom know that our lives and stories areexperience. The learning is made possible valued in those spaces.because there’s that foundation…I think 3. Let [students] know that it is a safefostering that kind of environment is the environment, and expect them tofirst step in creating an environment where open up, share, and revealpeople can learn, [feel] safe to learn, and themselves to one another, [while][feel] safe to take risks. getting to know one another. 4. Set up the classroom so thatHow did you know you were students can talk to one another…itsuccessful in creating a powerful is important to think about spaceclassroom culture? and how the space facilitates how students are engaging with oneAndrew:​ …Students…they’ll be generous another.in providing their feedback and critique in 5. Remember that we are all inclinedsome cases. That to me is important…to to like each other. I believe that wehave that kind of open line of dialogue, are social creatures, and most of usbecause I think there is the understanding thrive on being with one anotherthat we are listening to each other, and are and in the company of one another,trying to form something together, and at least on occasions…We all want tothat we’re in this together…The clear be a part of a community and wantevidence is in how students are [invested to belong. We have a strong desirein] their learning. to belong.

Curriculum Map Group Essential Questions What you want students What you want students to Assessments Connections to Building aMember Powerful Classroom Culture to know? be able be?Shneeka -What are truths? -Many narratives are -Critically analyze narratives -Compare and Contrast -Setting the tone for the -How are truths manipulated and decontextualized and that have been told to Assignment unit/year decontextualized? Why? manipulated to appeal to a understand underlying -Begins by validating students -Where has this happened? certain narrative motives. -Text Analysis as active learners/minds rather -Recognize the appeal to than empty minds emotion in certain narratives -Group work and opportunity that derail the truth. for collaboration Student inquiryRashida -Where do untruths come from? -Think critically about -Decipher between -Text (or a thing ie: art, adds, -How do they function in ordinary stereotypes, single stories, propaganda, news stories, etc. campaign messages) Analysis -How can students become places? messages, to determine -Be attuned reader about current movements and more invested in current -How are they spread? where untruths come from -Recognize the rhetorical what strategies are used to events and what is going on in and how they spread. strategies being used convince an audience their community?Antiganee -What is a single story? -Analyze and create of -Confidently utilize various Poetry as Activism: -How can students become -How can truths dismantle single poetry is a form of literary devices and styles of -Students will create their own more confident in the power of stories? activism. poetry to convey powerful poems to confront, analyze and their voices while also -How do poets convey different narratives. call attention community issues. respecting and uplifting the perspectives? -One set of poems will be voice of others? -How can we use poetry to share our produced as an anthology of truths dismantle single stories? poems. -The summative assessment will be multimodal expressions and presented as a spoken piece, video, written poetry, art

Ali What contributing factors create an -Historic and present -Youth Organizers -Poster comparing historic and -Lots of collaborative work. present movements for Justice -Student-group created content atmosphere for change? movements toward justice -Justice Warriors -PAR project on an issue within -Eventually taking action on our school based on PAR project What are political, social and in the U.S. -Radical Listeners economic organizing strategies that -Active readers, how to -Engaged Citizens have been utilized in the past? annotate/note take while How do groups draw from these reading resistance tactics for present day -PAR methods, description struggles? and analysis of PAR How can we transform our lived research experiences into organizing? How do we assert ourselves as active members of our school community? How can we take better care of our school community and how can our school community take better care of us?

LESSON PLANS

Foundation \"I have defined culturally relevant teaching as a pedagogy of opposition not unlike critical pedagogy but specificallycommitted to collective, not merely individual, empowerment\" - Ladson-Billings 1995





Student Investment \"Student engagementand deliberation can be viewed as a marker of motivatedlearning...participation can be promoted by developing students' confidence and, even when students areunprepared, creating a positive climate can induce participatory learning. \" (Gayle et al., 2013)









Brave SpacesIn its emphasis on the connection between the personal and the political, critical writing pedagogy works to presentwriting as creative as well as transgressive, in that language and other sign systems are used to disrupt unfair or biasedbeliefs, having the potential to allow us to look through new lenses (Lewison et al., 2002)







Collaboration Those truly committed to liberation must reject the banking concept in its entirety, adopting instead...posing of the problems ofhuman beings in their relations with the world (Freire 1968)

Building A Powerful Classroom Lesson Plans Lesson 1 Desired ResultsEstablished Goals​: Gallery walk & note taking on forms of resistance from the past andpresentCommon Core and Language Standards:​CCSS​:SL.8.2: Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media formats and evaluatethe motives behind its presentationSL.8.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussion, building on other’s ideas andexpressing their own clearlyELPD Standard(s)/TESOL ELP Standard 3.1:​Form and express responses to ideas through reading, listening, viewing, discussing, andwriting. (L, S, R, W)Content and Language Objectives​: Essential Questions:​ 1. What are political, social andContent Objective​: economic organizing strategies thatDevelop a historical knowledge base of forms have been utilized in the past?of resistance from national & international 2. How do groups draw from thesemovements against neoliberalism, model for present day struggles?institutional racism, etc. 3. What contributing factors create an atmosphere for change?Language Objective:​SWBAT use visual and textual cues to makeinferences and ask questions using sentencestarters about resistance strategiesStudents will know:​ Students will be able to:​ Make connections between past and present 1. Students will know what a Sit-in forms of resistance. (wade-in and pray-in) was in the After this class students will know about one 1960s, in comparison to what is another’s experience with resistance & be Die-in, is the 2000s. able to identify many forms of resistance. 2. Students will know what the Montgomery Bus Boycott in comparison to what BDS from Israel is now.

3. Students will know what Community Survival Programs are about Black Twitter4. Students will know about anti-fascists artwork from 1930s and antifascist memes from the 2000s. Assessment EvidencePerformance Tasks: Other Evidence: 1. Writing reflection 1. Participation 2. Sharing 2. Active Listening 3. Listening Learning PlanDo Now​ (15 mins) 1. Do now 5 mins to write 10 mins to share out a. Fill in the K of the ​KWL chart​ answering guiding questions: i. What kinds of resistance do you know about? If not many, have you ever been to a protest? If so, What was the protest about? ii. Did it have 1 particular focus or did it have many? iii. What were some chants you heard? iv. What were some signs you saw? v. What did it feel like? Physically, mentally, emotionally? vi. What kind of people were there? (Old, young, races, gender, professions) b. If neither of these questions apply to you, fill in the W column of the KWL chart by answering these guiding questions: i. What do you think the term “forms of resistance” means? ii. What do you want to know what this? Think about what you may know about the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. What lingering questions do you have about this? 2. Teacher introduces language we are using today 10mins: a. Today we are doing a gallery walk of different forms of resistance. Please write that at the top of the page in your notebook. Another word for this is “tactic” b. Now flip to the back of your notebooks, we are going to add to our Vocab List. Teacher explains words: Form, tactic and resistance 1. Form, who has heard that word before? (checks student knowledge, this is the easiest word of the 3 so wants to build confidence). a. If your coach says “you have good form” or “bad form” what does that mean? 2. T and S come to a definition of form: the way you do something

a. Well, tactic is a fancy way to say form. But tactic has a more specific meaning, because it suggests it is a part of a larger strategy. 3. Lastly, resistance. What do we think this means? a. T and S come to a definition together: resistance means to go against something 3. T gives Instructions for gallery walk 5mins a. Back to the page where you wrote “Forms of Resistance” b. Around the classroom there are X amount of posters. Each poster has 2-3 forms of resistance on it. Some are from the past and some are from the present. You are going to take notes in your notebook on each form. You should have a half page of notes for each poster or you can use this organizer. c. You have 30 minutesForms of Resistance Gallery walk: 1. Bus boycott + BDS Palestine actions 2. Sit-in in Greensboro, NC + Die-ins 2015 3. Student Rights handbook/BBP handbook + radical tumblr 4. Young Lords Art + political graffiti 5. Free Breakfast BBP 6. Black Lives Matter Mannequin Challenge 7. Radical Memes + Anti-fascist posters of 1930s Lesson 2 Desired ResultsEstablished Goals:​ Students get into groups based on resistance tactics and read and annotatean article with the focus question: W​ hat is the historical context of this event? What washappening before this group to this action?CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.2Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text,including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.ELPD Standard(s)/TESOL ELP Standard 3.1:​Form and express responses to ideas through reading, listening, viewing, discussing, andwriting. (L, S, R, W)Content and Language Objectives:​ Essential Questions:​ 1. What contributing factors create anContent Objectives:​Develop a historical knowledge base of atmosphere for change?national forms of resistance

Lesson 3Read, annotate and fill in an organizer aDn esired ResultsarticleEstablished Goals​: Students read and annotate for focus question: W​ ho was involved, WhereLwaernegtuhaegyeoOrgbajneicztiinvge,:​ When were they organizing, how did they organize their tactic and whyTdiodatnhneyotcahteooasneatrhtiactletaacntidc?cite appropriateevidence to answer the question using specificsCeonmtemncoensCtaortreerasnd Language Standards:SCtCuSdSen.EtsLwAi-lLl kITnoEwR​:ACY.RI.8.2 Students will be able to:​Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its d1e.veIldoepnmtiefnytcoovnetrribthuetincgoufrascetoorfs tchreatteexat,nincl1u.dinWghiatst irselgaotionngsohnippotolitsiucpalployr&tinsgocidiaelalys; provide atnmoobsjpehcetirveefosrucmhmanagrey of the text.before their resistance tacit was usedELP2D. SWtahnadt iasrtdh(es)h/TisEtoSriOc LcoEntLePxtSotfatnhdeairrds:Form anedveenxtp/orergssanreizsipnogngserosutop ideas through reading, listening, viewing, discussing, andwriting. (L, S, R, W) Assessment EvidenceContent and Language Objectives:​ Essential Questions:​Performance Tasks:​ Oth1e.r EWvhidaetnacree:​ political, social andCon1te. ntROeabdjeacntidveasn:notate a text on an 1. FehPcaialovrltneeidocbimipeneaicntnioooutnrtegiltdaiauznkeriezidnringinggtsrhtoeruappteaSgsithe?asrethOatut 1. oDregvaenliozpinaghgirsotourpictahlakt nuosewdleadsgpeebciafsiec 2. roefsnisattainocnealtafocirtms of resistance 22.. FWilWlinWg WouHt gorfapthheicrensoitsetatnackeintgactic 2. How can we draw from these sotrugdaennizt eisr focusing on models for present day struggles? 3. What news kinds of resistance exist Learning Plan now?Language Objective:UDsoeNoorgwa​ n(1iz0emr itnost)ake written notes on day’srese1a.rchTqwueilsltsiohnare students’ groups based on the resistance tacit they want to studyStud122...enWWgTqtgsrurhohwoweoeuusaiirptlp.l​wilel’otsgkat​noShoson:setriot​Whignwhrwiavrshison​:olapaluiltezcvggciiteehsniiodtfgtrinihceine?nestfgeofthraohoisrresuctttirshoprartsnweipcogaeatysceli-gcftiarocoknueteprxssttouofdfS4etthnuitds1s.eewnviiRetldsnleetwban?editWliultwysbhhiakeniltegaeywbffoialinelrslfittohnhorage​:mpidpanaetyinnooianntnegdtabtkehefeor rftoeoctuhsisLes4533so.... ntHWtWouWap​(ahbrsa3coehhgiioi0tnwitryaeiurah.gcnnm.ti​tOtt​?inhahtat​zihnehcneiStgeitneehsirisrr)igcesporsws/aapugaspmiicpeprerlotcleecifwuicoirrfrfpeioniieifcla,cmsildcSiggrssetgratrhoaaonrwenoududcipupplafeplabicol’bstholsrateougocwfotaiiuintgnasataehsiprpzsteaateirhstnicedheragtsseaite.vrfnocTeotvhrewetoxrhiaralegrlmicarghnpirivilinzegegehoretgfsawrcauoihtsguhigrpnortgahouneupthdpffeoit2ghcshueaamtsroitniqtechgulreeeefrssos,tpirisoaottinhnareenwicfreoirlrlitgaercheaitactsd.h, butShare Out (​ 10 mins) Assessment EvidencePerf1o.rmShaanrceetTheaspkiesc:​ e of evidence that impactedOytohuerthEevmidoesnt cwei​:th your resistance strategygroupRea2d.ingSsanwdilwl rtuitringininnotetxetaaknedr foonr nfeoetedtbaakcekr Note taker O​ rganizer​ is filled out

during class Participation during group Share Out Learning PlanDo Now​ (10 mins) 1. Students will get into their resistance tactic groups of 4 (5mins) 2. T will hand back first organizer with feedback on it 3. T will introduce research question focus for today that they will be reading and annotation: W​ ho was involved, Where were they organizing, When were they organizing, how did they organize their tactic and why did they choose that tactic? a. Ss will copy question into the Task box on their organizer b. T will check for Ss questionsLesson ​(30 mins) 2. Ss will read an new article specifically about the action taken, annotate it and fill in an organizer answering the focus questionsShare Out (​ 10 mins) 1. Share where the resistance tacit took place with the 2 people in your group reading a different article 2. Ss will hand in 2nd organizer for feedback

RESOURCES

ReferencesArao, B., & Clemens, K. (2013). From safe spaces to brave spaces. T​ he Art of Effective Facilitation: Reflections from Social Justice Educators. Stylus Publishing, Sterling, VA,​ 135-150.Barrett, B. J. (2010). Is\" Safety\" Dangerous? A Critical Examination of the Classroom as SafeSpace. ​Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning​, ​1​(1), 9.Boal, Augusto. ​The Theatre of the Oppressed.​ London: Pluto, 1979. Print.Freire, P. (2000). ​Pedagogy of the oppressed​. Bloomsbury Publishing.Gehlbach, H. (2015). C​ reating birds of similar feathers​ (Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University).Holley, L. C., & Steiner, S. (2005). Safe space: Student perspectives on classroom environment. Journal of Social Work Education​, 4​ 1(​ 1), 49-64.Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But that's just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. ​Theory into practice,​ 3​ 4(​ 3), 159-165.Lewison, M., & Heffernan, L. (2008). Rewriting writers workshop: Creating safe spaces for disruptive stories. R​ esearch in the Teaching of English,​ ​42​(4), 435-465.Mae, B., Cortez, D., & Preiss, R. W. (2013). Safe spaces, difficult dialogues, and critical thinking. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning,​ ​7(​ 2), 5.Murphy, E., Wessler, E., Ritzer, R., Anderson, G., Baer, L. J., McColley, B. A., & Tyman, D. B. (1988). The Round Table: What to Do on the First Day of Class. ​The English Journal​, 77(​ 5), 89-91.Purtee, Melissa. (August 2016). A Winning Game for the First Day of School. Retrieved from: https://www.theartofed.com/2016/08/08/first-day-school-play-games/South Poverty Law Center (2017). ​Critical Practices for Anti-Bias Education: Classroom Culture.​ Retrieved from: http://www.tolerance.org/publication/classroom-cultureTomlinson, C.A. & McTighe, J. (2005). ​Understanding by design.​ Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.