Amanda Zieba Learning with the Word Nerd | Learning America || A Nonfiction First Chapter Friday Read Aloud Video for Educators @AmandaZiebatheWordNerd | Uploaded March 2024 | Updated October 2024, 11 hours ago.
Friday, March 12, 2024 - Doing a little something different today… and that’s sharing a nonfiction title! This video is also the first time that I’ve done a First Chapter Friday video specifically for teachers. I read Learning America on an airplane as I traveled to and from an author school visit and just knew that I had to share it with my teacher community. What better way than through a First Chapter Friday? I learned so much from this book. Even though I do not teach many refugees, the takeaways in connection to student engagement, family involvement and how to be a good human were countless. I underlined sooooo many sentences in this book. Sometimes entire paragraphs. I am hopeful you will find it insightful and inspiring as well. So, here we go, my first FCF for teachers!
Book Blurb: It was a wrong turn that changed everything. When Luma Mufleh—a Muslim, gay, refugee woman from hyper-conservative Jordan—stumbled upon a pick-up game of soccer in Clarkston, Georgia, something compelled her to join. The players, 11- and 12-year-olds from Liberia, Afghanistan, and Sudan, soon welcomed her as coach of their ragtag but fiercely competitive group. Drawn into their lives, Mufleh learned that few of her players, all local public school students, could read a single word. She asks, “Where was the America that took me in? That protected me? How can I get these kids to that America?” Learning America traces the story of how Mufleh grew a group of kids into a soccer team and then into a nationally acclaimed network of schools for refugee children. The journey is inspiring and hard-won: Fugees schools accept only those most in need; no student passes a grade without earning it; the failure of any student is the responsibility of all. Soccer as a part of every school day is a powerful catalyst to heal trauma, create belonging, and accelerate learning. Finally, this gifted storyteller delivers provocative, indelible portraits of student after student making leaps in learning that aren’t supposed to be possible for children born into trauma--stories that shine powerful light on the path to educational justice for all of America’s most left-behind.
Trigger Warning: This book addresses several horrific things that have happened to refugees before they left their home countries. They are shared honestly, but without graphic and gory details. These parts of the book are not long and drawn out, nor do they dominate the book, but please know and protect yourself as you read.
Grab your copy of Learning America from your school or classroom library or if you can’t find it there, order it from Alex at my favorite indie bookstore: Birdy’s Bookstore. birdysbookstore.com If none of those options work out, you can find it here on Amazon:
Watch Luma’s viral TED Talk here: youtube.com/watch?v=6wNif5SlN08
Wanna say thanks and fuel future creations? Buy me a virtual cup of coffee for making this (and many other!) amazing free video resources for your classroom. Click here → ko-fi.com/amandazieba_thewordnerd
And finally, don't forget to SUBSCRIBE this channel for more great videos from the Word Nerd! Just click here: bit.ly/wordnerdonyoutube
** The videos in this First Chapter Friday Playlist were created in the spirit of: helping teachers and students find high quality and engaging books to read, promoting amazing authors and great books, and celebrating stories
Each video in this playlist features a book chosen by Amanda Zieba based on its literary merit, thematic/curriculum connection, or simply because she loves it and thinks you will too. All commentary and facts shared about the book and author were also researched/gathered by Amanda. Books were purchased by Amanda from Birdy’s Bookstore, Barnes and Noble or Amazon, unless otherwise stated. These videos are recorded and edited from Amanda’s home office in Wisconsin, USA. **
#wordnerd #mglit #readingrecommendations #amandazieba #firstchapterfriday #teachertube #nonfiction #lumamufleh #nonfiction #memoir #educationalreform #nonfictionbooks #refugees #booksforteachers #learningamerica #readaloud #readaloudvideo #tedtalk #schoolcommunities #fugees #traumainformedcare #traumainformededucation #refugeerelocation #soccer
Friday, March 12, 2024 - Doing a little something different today… and that’s sharing a nonfiction title! This video is also the first time that I’ve done a First Chapter Friday video specifically for teachers. I read Learning America on an airplane as I traveled to and from an author school visit and just knew that I had to share it with my teacher community. What better way than through a First Chapter Friday? I learned so much from this book. Even though I do not teach many refugees, the takeaways in connection to student engagement, family involvement and how to be a good human were countless. I underlined sooooo many sentences in this book. Sometimes entire paragraphs. I am hopeful you will find it insightful and inspiring as well. So, here we go, my first FCF for teachers!
Book Blurb: It was a wrong turn that changed everything. When Luma Mufleh—a Muslim, gay, refugee woman from hyper-conservative Jordan—stumbled upon a pick-up game of soccer in Clarkston, Georgia, something compelled her to join. The players, 11- and 12-year-olds from Liberia, Afghanistan, and Sudan, soon welcomed her as coach of their ragtag but fiercely competitive group. Drawn into their lives, Mufleh learned that few of her players, all local public school students, could read a single word. She asks, “Where was the America that took me in? That protected me? How can I get these kids to that America?” Learning America traces the story of how Mufleh grew a group of kids into a soccer team and then into a nationally acclaimed network of schools for refugee children. The journey is inspiring and hard-won: Fugees schools accept only those most in need; no student passes a grade without earning it; the failure of any student is the responsibility of all. Soccer as a part of every school day is a powerful catalyst to heal trauma, create belonging, and accelerate learning. Finally, this gifted storyteller delivers provocative, indelible portraits of student after student making leaps in learning that aren’t supposed to be possible for children born into trauma--stories that shine powerful light on the path to educational justice for all of America’s most left-behind.
Trigger Warning: This book addresses several horrific things that have happened to refugees before they left their home countries. They are shared honestly, but without graphic and gory details. These parts of the book are not long and drawn out, nor do they dominate the book, but please know and protect yourself as you read.
Grab your copy of Learning America from your school or classroom library or if you can’t find it there, order it from Alex at my favorite indie bookstore: Birdy’s Bookstore. birdysbookstore.com If none of those options work out, you can find it here on Amazon:
Watch Luma’s viral TED Talk here: youtube.com/watch?v=6wNif5SlN08
Wanna say thanks and fuel future creations? Buy me a virtual cup of coffee for making this (and many other!) amazing free video resources for your classroom. Click here → ko-fi.com/amandazieba_thewordnerd
And finally, don't forget to SUBSCRIBE this channel for more great videos from the Word Nerd! Just click here: bit.ly/wordnerdonyoutube
** The videos in this First Chapter Friday Playlist were created in the spirit of: helping teachers and students find high quality and engaging books to read, promoting amazing authors and great books, and celebrating stories
Each video in this playlist features a book chosen by Amanda Zieba based on its literary merit, thematic/curriculum connection, or simply because she loves it and thinks you will too. All commentary and facts shared about the book and author were also researched/gathered by Amanda. Books were purchased by Amanda from Birdy’s Bookstore, Barnes and Noble or Amazon, unless otherwise stated. These videos are recorded and edited from Amanda’s home office in Wisconsin, USA. **
#wordnerd #mglit #readingrecommendations #amandazieba #firstchapterfriday #teachertube #nonfiction #lumamufleh #nonfiction #memoir #educationalreform #nonfictionbooks #refugees #booksforteachers #learningamerica #readaloud #readaloudvideo #tedtalk #schoolcommunities #fugees #traumainformedcare #traumainformededucation #refugeerelocation #soccer
