Literacy Spotlight - Global Read Aloud 2021

This guest post was provided by CVSD's District Literacy Leader, Jensa Bushey


Librarians and literacy coaches across the Champlain Valley School District partnered to plan an experience for children in grades kindergarten through fourth grade in which a common set of books was read and discussed. To do this, we joined other educators across the world in a project called the Global Read Aloud. For elementary students, the Global Read Aloud featured picture books written by Duncan Tonatiuh and the book Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott.

We picked the Global Read Aloud as a focus point this year because it allowed us the opportunity to live out several parts of the CVSD literacy vision. This includes modeling joyful reading and writing and sharing diverse stories. Children explored the themes of celebrating differences, personal and cultural identity, and perseverance.

Here’s a visual diary of some of the reading, learning, and thinking that the Global Read Aloud brought to our schools.

An enthusiastic group of second grade students activate their prior knowledge before Cara Clopton, Allen Brook School Librarian, reads them The Princess and the Warrior by Duncan Tonatiuh.

Heidi Huestis, Charlotte Central School (CCS) Librarian, discusses what students notice about the cover of the book Separate is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh. In the background, a digital storyboard displays Duncan’s books along with virtual links to read alouds.

Which book will be the ultimate favorite? Each week CCS students voted between two of Duncan Tonatiuh’s books to decide which moved ahead in the bracket! At Charlotte Central the favorite book was Feathered Serpent and the Five Suns.

In the Hinesburg Community School (HCS) Library, second graders engaged in an author study during Hispanic Heritage Month using The Princess and the Warrior and Diego Rivera: His World and Ours. Students paid attention to Duncan Tonatiuh’s illustration style, especially the ornate swirls and curves inspired by pre-Columbian Mixtec art. Students also took two virtual field trips: the first to Popocatépetl (one of the volcanoes from The Princess and the Warrior) using the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program, and the second to MoMA to see one of Rivera’s paintings.

This is a quick snapshot of of the volcano virtual field trip!

At Williston Central School (WCS), every grade 3-4 teacher was given a copy of Dragons in a Bag to read aloud to their class, and every grade 5-6 English Language Arts (ELA) teacher was given a classroom copy of The Jumbies.

During library time, 3rd & 4th grade students heard eight picture books by author Duncan Tonatiuh during the Global Read Aloud author study. They concluded the author study with a student vote for their favorite, and the most ancient story won: Feathered Serpent and the Five Suns: a Mesoamerican Creation Myth.