Every Day

It is a hard cycle to conquer. The body is working against you. And because of this, you feel even more despair. Which only amplifies the imbalance. It takes uncommon strength to live with these things. But I have seen that strength over and over again.” 

GRADE LEVEL: 9-12
AUTHOR: David Levithan 
GENRE: FICTION

REVIEW 
Every Day is a story about a person named A. This person has jumped into a different body each day of their life. They have been every gender and every race, but have aged normally, only jumping in a body that would be the same age as A. The book opens when A is the body of a sixteen-year-old boy, this is also the day that A falls in love for the first time; her name is Rhiannon. All love is complicated at some point, but because A lives in a different body every day, they struggle with showing Rhiannon who they really are despite the complications of being in a different body. I think this story will appeal to a wide audience of readers. Although, the book doesn't specifically address a transgender theme, it does open a reader up to discussions about identity and to the idea that someone's identity does not always match the body they are in. 

I was super excited to read this book and fell in love with the plot before I even began to read it. It quickly became the book I couldn't put down. I immediately told my high school students about it and many are interested in reading it. After talking with my students, it became clear to me that this was a book that would appeal to large variety of students. I think it is a book that is accessible to a lot of people which allows teachers to create discussions around identity without putting the spotlight on the trans community. There are some companion books, an upcoming sequel, and a movie in the works for those that fall in love with the characters.


CLASSROOM  TOOLBOX:

• Here is a link to some of the CCS that I think will work well with this book. If your school has adopted other standards, I think the crosswalk should be fairly easy. I did grades 9/10, but I think it could be read in 11/12 as well. 
• What about creating a multi-genre project around the theme of identity. The student could take on the persona of one of the characters in the story and explore the conflicts. themes, and motivations of the character and then reflect them through different genres of writing. I am sure there are many creative ways to take a multi-genre approach with this project and it kind of compliments the plot of the book. 
• Students could write a play or short=story that explores the theme of identity through their own characters. 
• Students could create a trailer for the movie. You could give give them instructions to show the audience glimpses of characters, conflict, and theme. 
• Students could create a digital story for the book. It is basically a retelling of the book using digital media techniques. 

LINKS TO OTHER TOOLBOX IDEAS 

Extensive Lesson Plans and Ideas From For 9th Grade

Interview With The Author

Guiding Questions on Teachers Pay Teachers 

Free Discussion Questions 

Book Trailer Examples
Teacher Unit Resources 
Pinterest

TED TALKS
Is There a Real You?
Is Anatomy Destiny?
A Powerful Poem about What it Means to Be Transgender
The Revolutionary Power of Diverse Thought
Dare to Refuse the Origin Myths that Claim Who You Are

FEEL FREE TO SHARE YOU OWN IDEAS AND CREATIVITY WITH US!

I AM JAZZ

"I have a girl brain but a boy body, this is called transgender. I was born this way!"
"Pretending I was a boy felt like telling a lie."

GRADE LEVEL: PRE-K-3
AUTHOR: Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings
ILLUSTRATOR: Shelagh McNichols

REVIEW 
I am Jazz is a nonfiction children's book that is told from a young transgender girl's point of view. Jazz's first-person account shares her journey in this children's book rich with inviting illustrations. A reader has the feeling as though Jazz is there with them, telling the story of what it means to be transgender. Her story is simple for children to follow and clearly explains terms, like transgender, in a way that young children can grasp. Jazz Jennings is one of the first younger transgender children to share her story publicly. She has become a role-model for many children who share her similar struggles. 

This is a popular book in my house right now. After getting it from the library, I read it to my children(6 and 8). Now my daughter asks me to read it to her every night, and my son just recently read it to his cousin. It has been a joy to see the connections my daughter makes with Jazz as she feels they have a lot in common; they both like soccer, mermaids, and dressing-up in princess clothes, but she also feels for Jazz and will stop to ask me questions when Jazz shares her feelings of not being accepted for who she really is. I listened to my son read the book to his cousin and was very interested in the conversation that followed. I sat close by ready to facilitate the conversation if I felt I needed to. They discussed what it meant to be transgender, and I just listened as they worked it out between the two of them. His cousin wanted to know how Jazz grew her hair so long. They both giggle when my son replied, "The same way you did, Silly!"

Children in younger classrooms will enjoy the beautiful illustrations that accompany the story and make this book and its topic easy to understand. Jazz shares her feelings of trying to communicate with her family and school, but still feeling very misunderstood. Students may have questions about what it means to be transgender and this book will help them to understand in a way that is age-appropriate. It will also help them to feel empathy for children who are going through something hard in their life at such a young age.This book has been used in many classrooms already so there seems to be quite a bit of resources on the web.

CLASSROOMTOOL BOX

• This book makes for a great read-aloud. The discussions that follows will be rich and meaningful-stop and ask questions along the way. Under the links there are some great discussion questions. 
• It might be great to invite someone from the community to come in and aid with the discussion and the terms in the book. This might be a counselor at your school who has been trained in gender issues or a local community LGBTQ advocate who can answer student questions. 

LINKS TO OTHER TOOLBOX IDEAS 
I am Jazz lesson plan from Welcoming Schools. 
I am Jazz Lesson Plan from Healthier Self
I am Jazz Lesson Plan and Resources
A Look at I am Jazz in the classroom and links to her reading the book

I WANT TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK. WHAT IDEAS DO YOU HAVE?

JACOBS'S NEW DRESS PRE-K-3

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"Why does Jacob wear dresses?"interrupted Christopher. 
   Ms. Wilson paused. "I think Jacob wears what he's comfortable in just like you do. Not very long ago little girls couldn't wear pants. Can you imagine that?"







GRADE LEVEL: PRE-K-3
AUTHOR: Sarah and Ian Hoffman
ILLUSTRATOR: Chris Chase

REVIEW 
Recently I attended a gender reveal party. Two giant balloons were filled with either blue confetti or pink confetti. When popped, the confetti would tell family and friends gathered that in five months or so the parents could either expect a boy or a girl based on the color confetti. It seems crazy to me that we are assigning colors and gender expectations on our children before they are even born. We wonder why it is so hard for us to wrap our minds around a boy wanting to wear a dress or a girl who loves trucks, but we have conditioned ourselves to such strict gender conforming roles that we have left no room for our children to step outside our expectations. There is no genetic disposition that states any person must love certain colors and clothing styles.So what happens when a boy walks into your classroom wearing a dress?

Jacob's New Dress allows students to understand that it is okay to bend or-heck-break the gender rules. Sarah and Ian Hoffman have created a story that centers around a young boy, Jacob, who knows exactly what he wants--to wear dresses. It is the people around him that have a hard time understanding a boy in a dress. Thankfully Jacob's mother is supportive and makes a new dress for him to wear to school. Through Jacob, those in his life, including a bully in his class, are able to begin to understand that, yes, a boy can wear a dress.

Chances are that you will have students that will identify as gender non-conforming. Jacob's New Dress is the prefect book to initiate a conversation about respecting people's choices, stereotyping, and allowing students the freedom to explore gender roles. The topic of bullying will be a theme the students will react to and, it will be a great opportunity to discuss how we treat other people. 

CLASSROOM TOOLBOX

• This book makes for a great read-aloud. The discussions that follows will be rich and meaningful-stop and ask questions along the way. Under the links there are some great discussion questions. 
• The students could write a review of the book or even do a video book review. 
• Create a public service video with messages the students write about bullying.

LINKS TO OTHER TOOLBOX IDEAS 

A lesson plan for Jacob's New Dress
Discussion Questions
Lesson and Discussion Questions

I WANT TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK. WHAT IDEAS DO YOU HAVE?