"81.8% of LGBTQ+ students in our survey reported feeling unsafe in school because of at least one of their actual or perceived personal characteristics." That's according to The GLSEN National School Climate Survey. That means that LGBTQ+ students in your classroom have most likely felt unsafe at school at least once. And not only is unsafe the opposite of how we want students to feel because we care about them as people, but neuroscience has made it clear that when we feel unsafe, our brains struggle to perform the higher order thinking that is necessary for learning.

Adding one queer-affirming book to your classroom library won't fix the problem. But when combined with other culture-shifting moves, it can make a difference.

---

Title: Imogen, Obviously​

Author: Becky Albertalli

Genre: Realistic fiction

Age range: 13+

Summary: Imogen may be straight, but she is committed to being the ever-learning ally that her queer friends and little sister need. When she visits her best friend Lili—newly out but thriving with a squad of LGBTQ+ friends—for a weekend at college, Imogen gets pulled into Lili's white lie that Imogen and Lili used to date. Suddenly seen as bi and feeling butterflies when she meets Tessa, Imogen starts to wonder if she has always truly been aware of her own feelings.

Recommend Imogen, Obviously to students who also enjoyed...

👬 Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda (same author) for the coming out story.

🏫 Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl for the high school-to-college transition.

💌 To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han for the slow-burn adorable romance.

How I'd teach it:

I haven't read Albertalli's complete body of work, but almost all of her books tell queer stories. And she identifies as bi. So my mind goes to an author study unit. I envision two approaches: one examining Albertalli's writing craft moves and one analyzing the content across her books. For craft, teach students to examine Albertalli's writing style and preferred craft moves. Then analyze a question such as: how does Albertalli's writing style impact the queer stories she tells?

The second option is to more explicitly focus on content and in this case, content appropriate for a unit on sexual identity (looking at you, health teachers!). Read passages from several of her books to put together character profiles. Use them to explore the queer identities that come up and help students see the variety inherent in sexual identity.

Learn more:

• This is cute. The Albertalli super fans in your class will adore this "Which character are you?" quiz.
• Definitely share this book trailer with your students. "One girl can't topple your entire sexuality...right?"

---

Literacy Love Notes:

A mega pop star turned spy is most of what you need to know about this excellent summer read.

This is...amazing. LGBTQReads is a comprehensive, curated collection of books featuring queer characters and stories. It includes upcoming releases, author interviews, and book lists by age level to name a few features.

As an instructional coach, I talk to my teachers a lot about active engagement vs. passive engagement. As we know, those who are doing the "work" are doing the learning. Lately, I've been thinking about active engagement through the lens detailed here: task...don't ask.

Have a good one and learn everything you can,

Hannah

PS: Are there any genres or sub-genres that you want more of in your library? Like, do you want middle grade fantasy or young adult historical fiction suggestions? Reply and let me know—I'd love to tailor this newsletter to meet your needs!

This email includes affiliate links. Any purchases made through them come at no extra cost to you but they do help keep this newsletter free and accessible.

---

Is this your jam? Get more Middle School Book Life in your life:

​

Bookshop.org

Teachers Pay Teachers