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Jon Saphier Discusses Engagement Moves Uses the Attention Continuum 

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Jon Saphier Discusses Engagement Moves Uses the Attention Continuum 

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https://www.rbteach.com/videos/library/jon-saphier-introduction-knoweldge-base-I-repertoire-matching

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Drag and Drop Incentives for Virtual Learning 

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Drag and Drop Incentives for Virtual Learning 

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This interactive Digital Rewards bundle provides a fun way for any teacher to implement a whole-class or individual reward system with their students. Digital rewards are easy to use and great for motivating students to complete their goals! Drag and Drop the digital stickers to reward your students and motivate them to do their best!

Use Digital Rewards with your whole class, small groups, or individual students. These also make great secondary rewards for VIPKid and other online ESL classrooms (Gogokid, Magic Ears, DadaABC, Palfish, etc).

Customize and personalize your digital reward to fit the needs of your class or student. Edit the goal and the title as desired.
**** Distance Learning - use these rewards as a way to track student check ins, work completed, projects finished, and more! Easily integrates with Google Classroom! What's Included:
This file opens in Google Slides and can be used in the Google Apps platform. It is compatible with your classroom computer, as well as the iPad (with the Google Slides app) so you can take it with you as you travel to and from your room or on the go!
This listing includes the following rewards: How To Use This Reward:

Open file in Google Slides

Edit the student/class goal.

Display the reward on your interactive whiteboard (or ipad for individual reward).

Each time the class earns a complement for positive behavior drag/drop a digital sticker to the reward area.

Once you've used all of the digital stickers as desired, you have achieved your goal! Time to celebrate!

To start over, simply drag/drop the stickers back to the sticker bank or click the undo button.

To show your progress during class time, display the reward on your interactive whiteboard by clicking the "present" button in Google slides.

You can also send this Google Slides presentation to your students in "view mode" only in GOOGLE CLASSROOM. They can click on the file and see the stickers grow as they work toward their goal!

This file is compatible with SEESAW. Click HERE for more specific instructions.

You might also like these DIGITAL REWARDS: Digital Rewards For the ENTIRE YEAR bundle If you have any questions please get in touch with me! I am happy to help! Don't forget that leaving feedback earns you points toward FREE TPT purchases! I love feedback!
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Stay connected: Follow my page to stay updated on the latest! New products are added often. Click Here To See All Digital Rewards
Happy teaching!

Website: http://www.teacherErin.com
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This item is for personal use only. All designs are copyrighted by Teacher Erin Online (Erin Warner). Movable images shall not be copied, altered, or used to create new products and should only be used for this purchased product. No part of this resource is to be shared with colleagues or used by an entire team, grade level, school or district without purchasing the correct number of licenses. Original purchaser is granted ONE user license for personal or classroom. Commercial use is prohibited. Redistributing, selling, editing, claiming this work as your own or posting these images on the Internet is a violation of copyright law and is subject to penalties under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Rewards, Behavior Management, Character Building, Classroom Community, Positive environment, classroom rewards, student rewards, whole group rewards, class rewards, individual rewards, Google Classroom, Google Slides, Digital Class rewards, make a scene, distance learning, AMI, online teaching, online teacher, Distance Learning, AMI Days, online teaching, online teacher rewards, VIPKid, DadaABC, Gogokid, Magic Ears, Palfish, Google Apps, digital classroom, digital reward, counting, math, paperless, token board, autism, sticker chart, behavior chart, incentive chart, marble jar, pizza, hamburger, Easter, cupcake, cookie, popcorn, drag/drop rewards, Virtual Reward

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Digital Rewards Bundle | 28 Class/Student Virtual Rewards for Google Slides

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This interactive Digital Rewards bundle provides a fun way for any teacher to implement a whole-class or individual reward system with their students. Digital rewards are easy to use and great for motivating students to complete their goals! Drag and Drop the digital stickers to reward your student...

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"Microaggressions: More Than Just Race" 

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"Microaggressions: More Than Just Race" 

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Anti-basis in Education -Making Thoughtful Decisions

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Anti-basis in Education -Making Thoughtful Decisions

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Acknowledging or celebrating holidays in early childhood programs can bring pleasure to many families, staff, and children and can be useful in building connections between school and families. However, holidays also pose a range of challenges to ensuring that all children, families, and staff feel respected and to children learning about diversity of families. Whether or not to include any holidays in your curriculum, and what activities to use if you do, requires thoughtful decision making.

In this blog, by the authors of the current as well as the upcoming second edition of Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edward lay out some principles about how programs and teachers can think about holidays in their classrooms. Catherine Goins, who worked with Louise and Julie on the second edition, and Julie Bisson's book Celebrate! An Anti-Bias Guide to Including Holidays in Early Childhood Programs, have contributed to the authors' thinking.--Editors

Specific holidays and religious observances are not universal

All cultures commemorate beliefs, historical events, and people significant to the culture through special celebrations and holidays from daily work. These differ from each other. In almost all early childhood settings, the beliefs and traditions of some families may differ from those of others. Even within groups that honor the same holiday, how individual families celebrate will reflect both similarities and differences. Yet, conflicting celebrations may also have common ground. Knowing the purpose and worldview underlying a holiday will help you make decisions about what role, if any, you want that holiday to play in your program.

Secularized or commercialized versions of holidays are not culturally or religiously neutral

Both the NAEYC Code of Ethics and the anti-bias education approach make respecting family diversity a cornerstone of quality early childhood programs. Honoring the cultural diversity among the families you serve means recognizing that all have the right to their traditions and that the ECE program does not favor one category of families over another.

Arguing that it is okay for a program to celebrate a dominant culture religious holiday, on the rationale that the props and activities connected to the holiday are "not specifically religious, but just fun" and therefore okay for everyone (e.g., Christmas trees, Santa Claus, cards, and gift giving, or Easter bunnies and egg hunts), does not respect cultural and religious diversity. Instead, it lifts up one group's holidays above others. Regardless of how commercially advertised or widespread these secular approaches may be, they are grounded in specific religious and cultural assumptions. Even some Christian families see these as pagan appropriations that trivialize one of their two most important holy days of the year. For the many families of other faiths, the activities are inseparable from the underlying meaning of the religious rituals themselves (after all, a Christmas tree is still a Christmas tree, and the Easter bunny is the Easter bunny). Other kinds of designated holidays often included in early childhood program activities may be based on beliefs or practices that negate some families. For example, Mother's Day and Father's Day, in the traditional narrative, recognize only one type of family. Yet, most early childhood education programs now serve a wide range of families, many of which have configurations that differ from the one mother and one father family structure. And all dominant culture holidays reflect a particular perspective about historic events and particular groups of people who are admired and those who are erased.

So what is a teacher to do? Are there ways to acknowledge holidays, to have celebrations, to honor families that are respectful in a highly diverse world? The answer is yes. Here are some key ideas.

Emphasize children learning about each other's family holidays, rather than celebrating them

Celebrating a holiday engages children in holiday activities as full-fledged participants, on the assumption that their families believe in the holiday's purpose and meaning. Learning about a holiday means teaching children about what the holiday means to different people and about the many different ways those families who honor the holiday celebrate it. Teaching about a holiday requires that teachers make very clear that the class can enjoy learning about each other's holidays while holding to their own family's beliefs and traditions. Celebrating a particular holiday is appropriate in faith-based programs or in programs in which the holiday is truly lived by every family in the program. Even then, it's important to clarify that within any belief system, different families celebrate in different ways.

Respect all families' holiday traditions and their specific ways of celebrating-or not celebrating

It is hurtful to children and families to impose celebrating of the holidays of one group on all the children and staff, or to make the holiday traditions of some groups visible while others are invisible. Respecting the cultural diversity among the families you serve means recognizing that all have the right to their traditions. This does not mean that you must teach about every holiday your families practice. It does mean that you make choices that do not disrespect or leave out any family.

Pay attention to the language you use in holiday activities

This is an important element in children learning about, rather than celebrating, a holiday grounded in a specific faith or celebrating a historic event. This is especially necessary in publicly funded programs where religious teaching is not allowed by law. Your language choices also support or undercut the concept of religious diversity and each family's freedom of choice. The challenge is to choose words that focus on the history of the special day and that also make clear the diversity of beliefs. These are topics that require clarifying conversations.

Consider creating unique class or school celebrations

In addition to, or instead of, celebrating the holidays observed by children's families, some teachers create their own celebrations for various parts of the school year. This approach makes it possible for every child to participate in shared special days with the rest of the class. They also can build school-family connections and community within a program. Celebrations can be respectful-for example, "Honoring Our Families" get-togethers; "Thanking the People Who Make Our School Work" (cook, janitor, bus driver, etc.) days; or occasions for "Recognizing Family and Neighborhood Heroes."

Celebrations can also be whimsical and playful-for example, "Bring Books Alive Day" (making and wearing costumes from books, eating foods from favorite books, acting out favorite stories); "Pajama Day" (wearing pjs and slippers to school, telling bedtime stories, sharing family bedtime rituals); or "Backwards Day" (wearing clothes backwards, doing things in reverse order of an ordinary day). They can also be used to mark the passing of the year with an annual end-of-year picnic or potluck dinner. Some schools also have graduation ceremonies or "You're Off to Kindergarten" parties for children transitioning out of the programs.

Help children understand when a staff member or child cannot participate

Teaching respect for diversity includes helping children understand that families have different ways of acting, and these may not be the same as the behaviors in their own family. This is certainly true regarding holiday practices. Consider the following holiday examples:

A mother brings a special lunch to school for her child's birthday. She does not realize it is Ramadan, when observant adult Muslims fast between dawn and dusk. She is upset when Edward, a student teacher, doesn't eat anything. She complains to the head teacher that both her and her daughter's feelings were hurt. The head teacher explains Edward's right to practice fasting. She also tells Edward that the child was puzzled by his not eating the special lunch. Edward makes sure to talk with the child that the next day. He explains why he hadn't eaten and assures the child that he is happy for her birthday.

Here is an incident where a student teacher allows her personal feelings to undercut a basic practice of the Jewish holiday of Passover.

The kindergarten has spent a few days learning about Passover. During a discussion of the Seder ceremony, the teacher explains the meaning and tradition behind matzo. Esther, one of the Jewish children, states that she cannot eat leavened bread during the whole week of Passover. The next day a birthday celebration for another child includes cupcakes from the birthday child's family.

A student teacher, enjoying her cupcake, gives Esther a piece because she feels sorry about "depriving" Esther. Luckily, the teacher notices the conflicted expression on Esther's face and intervenes: "Esther, do you know that cake is made with leavened flour and that you can't eat it during Passover?" Esther nods her head. "Let's freeze your piece and you can eat it after the holiday." Esther relaxes, gives her cake to the teacher, and goes off to play. Unfortunately, the teacher had not thought to check ahead of time with Esther's family when the birthday celebration was scheduled during the Passover holiday. If she had, she might have planned with them-for example, asking if the the birthday child's family might check with Esther's family about bringing a non-leaven cookie or pastry for Esther.

Understanding the different ways people do and don't celebrate; learning accurate, respectful vocabulary about holidays; broadening children's worldview of what a holiday is-these are all wonderful, powerful learning outcomes for children about holidays. Activities that foster these objectives prepare children to live in a diverse society with respect while cherishing their own beliefs. Taking the time to thoughtfully discuss how to make respectful learning about holidays a part of your curriculum is worth the results when all children and families feel that they are cared about and belong in your program.

This blog is a part of Equity in Action, a blog series exploring the many ways early childhood educators and administrators, higher education faculty members, policymakers, advocates, and other ECE allies can bring the new Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education position statement to life in practice and policy.

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Anti-Bias Education and Holidays: Making Thoughtful Decisions

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Knowing the purpose and world view underlying a holiday will help you make decisions about what role, if any, you want that holiday to play in your program.

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4-8 minute read - You can implement these practices right away! :)

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4-8 minute read - You can implement these practices right away! :)

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53 Ways to Check Understanding 2016 - Edutopia.pdf

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From A FULLY ONLINE SCHOOL! - How Movement and Gestures Can Improve Student Learning (Two options - listen to the article or read it) 17 minutes   ~KQED

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From A FULLY ONLINE SCHOOL! - How Movement and Gestures Can Improve Student Learning (Two options - listen to the article or read it) 17 minutes   ~KQED

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In her book, Paul argues that if we want to extend the capacity of our brain - and engage in deeper, more creative learning - we need to capitalize on other body systems, on our surroundings and on our relationships. "The way to get better at thinking and learning is not to keep pushing the brain and certainly not to blame ourselves for its failures, but to reach outside the brain and transcend its limits by bringing in these external resources."

Two of these resources that educators, parents and caregivers can readily employ are movement and gesture.

Thinking with Movement

Humans did not evolve to do their best work while sitting down, says Paul.

Think about a child struggling to keep their body still during a lesson. "It takes a fair amount of mental bandwidth to keep our bodies still because we're meant to be in a kind of state of constant motion. And to control your impulse to move - especially for children - uses up some of the mental resources that they could otherwise apply to their learning."

In Paul's research, she encountered a common theme in the writings of many influential scholars: they did their best thinking while walking. As Henry David Thoreau wrote, "the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow." He's not alone. In experiments out of , students who completed creative tasks while walking - such as coming up with unexpected uses for a paperclip - came up with more ideas than those who brainstormed sitting down. Even our language reflects this understanding, says Paul. "We say we are 'stuck' or in a 'rut' because we have this idea that stasis and non-movement do not promote creativity. And then when we are thinking creatively, we say we are 'on a roll' or our thoughts are 'flowing.'"

The benefits of movement are well-documented : physical activity improves students' focus, retention, memory consolidation, creativity and mood. Movement breaks - from recess to a short dance party to doing standing stretches at their desks - boost students' mental sharpness. Research finds that a single workout can improve a student's ability to focus on a task for up to two hours.

Even micro-movements - such as shifting our weight while working at a standing desk - can help us stay more alert. "Activity-permissive classrooms" are helpful for all kids, says Paul, but particularly for students with ADHD for whom "low-intensity movement helps them regulate their state of physiological arousal and alertness."

Incorporating Purposeful Movement Into Instruction

When teachers weave in purposeful movement, they enhance students' comprehension and retention. The phrase for this is "embodied cognition" : our brain influences our body, but our body also influences our brain. Paul points to research that found students who incorporated movement into their learning strategy remembered 76 percent of the material, while those who simply used their brain to memorize recalled only 37 percent. " We just don't remember what we hear that well, or even what we see. Most of all we remember what we've done, the actions that we've taken. The traditional classroom is still focused on written and spoken language, and we're leaving out this incredibly powerful human capacity to relate things to the movements of the body."

Teachers can design lessons that incorporate congruent, novel and self-referential movement. Congruent movement involves engaging in physical activity that matches a concept - such as kids creating a number line with their bodies or acting out a math word problem. Novel movement asks students to do something unfamiliar to acquaint them with a new concept - such as physics students holding on to a tilting, spinning wheel to experience torque.

Self-referential movements involve students casting themselves as a character in the story of a concept. As Paul notes, Einstein imagined himself riding on a beam of light as he developed the theory of relativity, and polio vaccine inventor Jonas Salk imagined himself as a virus or cancer cell. Teachers, likewise, can ask students to act out the story of photosynthesis, or link arms to become human chromosomes. According to research, role-playing in science helped students achieve a more accurate understanding of a concept. Working with manipulatives is helpful, says Paul, but "students learn even more when the manipulatives they employ are their own body."

Tapping into the Power of Gesture

While you'd be hard-pressed to find a professional development workshop on using gesture in the classroom, gesturing was our first language and remains key to communicating ideas. As Paul says, "The movements of the hands are a co-equal partner with speech. When we don't attend to gesture, our own or others, we're missing out on half the conversation. There's fascinating research that suggests our most advanced, newest and cutting-edge ideas - the ones that we can't quite put into words yet - show up first in our gestures."

What does this mean for parents and teachers? The possibilities are myriad, says Paul. Look for instructional videos that include people gesturing - and not just talking heads; studies show that improves retention. Think about your own gestures as you explain new concepts and be purposeful in your movements. Teach students to pair new vocabulary words with an associated movement. Give them objects or diagrams to point to. Pay attention to student gestures to see what they might be communicating without words. And actively encourage students to gesture as part of the learning process. "The more you gesture, the deeper your understanding becomes," says Paul, "so you should create as many opportunities for students to gesture as possible. Ask them, 'Can you move your hands when you say that?'" That simple prompt not only gives the teacher more information about a student's understanding, it also "moves the student's own thinking ahead a step."

Ultimately, it's a perspective shift, says Paul. Our moving, fidgeting bodies are not at odds with learning but are rather a powerful way to extend our mind. "The movement and gesture of the body should be as much a part of the classroom as our thinking and talking brain."
You can listen to this episode of the MindShift Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, NPR One, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

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How Movement and Gestures Can Improve Student Learning - MindShift

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In her book, Paul argues that if we want to extend the capacity of our brain - and engage in deeper, more creative learning - we need to capitalize on other body systems, on our surroundings and on our relationships.

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'Happy Holidays' is code for 'Merry Christmas' and 'Happy (Christian) New Year' (5-7 minute read)

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'Happy Holidays' is code for 'Merry Christmas' and 'Happy (Christian) New Year' (5-7 minute read)

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We as a society face some choices. We can commit to issues of multiculturalism: we can learn about and value other people and their customs and cultures, ways of knowing, and ways of viewing the world, and we can work for a true realization of the concept of cultural pluralism - a term coined by the Jewish immigrant and sociologist of Polish and Latvian heritage, Horace Kallen, to challenge the image of the so-called melting pot, which he considered inherently undemocratic.

Kallen envisioned a United States in the image of a great symphony orchestra, not sounding in unison (the melting pot) but rather one in which all the disparate cultures play in harmony while retaining their unique and distinctive tones and timbres.

If we are unwilling to begin this journey, however, then as offensive as it is, Pastor Jeffress may have hit on something. At least Jeffress is demanding honesty in expressly naming the reality and calling it what it really is - "the Christmas Season" - and in insisting on the greeting "Merry Christmas" rather than the transparent idiom "happy holidays," which clearly was created to give the impression of inclusivity.

An individual can appropriately wish a Christian "Merry Christmas," of course. Can an individual's wishing others "happy holidays" in December be considered that individual's intent to work toward inclusivity? Of course! Can an individual wishing others "happy holidays" in December amount to that individual's intent to decenter Christmas and Christianity? Of course!

My argument, however, focuses upon a critique of the systemic (and not necessarily individualistic) structures that promote Christian privilege and hegemony within the United States (and I would argue, many other Western countries) in the expression of "happy holidays" in the context of the month of December, considering that most cultures' major holidays do not fall in the month of December on the Gregorian calendar and a large segment of the population celebrates no holidays, religious or otherwise.

I argue that the systemic structures themselves promote Christian imperialism (hegemony), in which individuals are often unwilling and even unknowing conspirators. Wishing people "happy holidays" simply glosses over the Christian assumptions inherent during this particular time of the year.

Wishing another "happy holidays" in December certainly can be very nice, well-meaning, and well-intentioned. If one really wants to be sensitive and inclusive while acknowledging others' cultural and religious (or nonreligious) perspectives, why not wish people of other faiths "happy holidays" during their holidays that are actually important? Or if they celebrate no holidays, why not be mindful of that fact?

When we as a society use the generic greeting "happy holidays" in December, many of us may intend to promote intercultural awareness and sensitivity. This actually has the exact opposite effect by giving most of us the excuse not to do our homework in truly investigating other cultures and other forms of celebration.

When we wish others "happy holidays" in December, we do not have to think about when others' major holidays actually occur, and we do not have to acknowledge that many people are not affiliated with religion at all.

While the intent may certainly be well-meaning and heartfelt, the impact is often exactly the opposite. The concept of oppression, then, constitutes more than the cruel and repressive actions of individuals upon others. It involves an overarching system of differentials of social power and privilege exercised by dominant groups over subordinated groups, based on ascribed social identities and reinforced by unequal social group status.

And this is not merely the case in societies ruled by coercive or tyrannical leaders but occurs within the day-to-day practices of contemporary democratic societies such as the United States. "Unpacking" the knapsack of privilege (whether it be Christian, white, male, heterosexual, owning class, temporarily able bodied, native English speakers, and others) is to become aware of - and to develop critical consciousness of - its existence and to recognize how it affects the daily lives of both those with and those without this privilege.

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'Happy Holidays' is code for 'Merry Christmas' and 'Happy (Christian) New Year'

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We as a society face some choices. We can commit to issues of multiculturalism: we can learn about and value other people and their customs and cultures, ways of knowing, and ways of viewing the world, and we can work for a true realization of the concept of cultural pluralism - a term coined by the Jewish immigrant and sociologist of Polish and Latvian heritage, Horace Kallen, to challenge the image of the so-called melting pot, which he considered inherently undemocratic.

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The goal of this game is to illustrate as clearly as possible the accumulation of [[microaggressions]] and [[acculturative stress]] upon the physical and mental body, so that it may be better understood by people who may not understand how these incidents play out. Hopefully, this can be something to spread awareness and unveil the violence of standing out, and even more about the violence of blending in. Because it is not feasible to represent every single experience within every single marginalized community, this game portrays microaggressions relevant to the characters within the game. These microaggression may or may not be generalizable to other experiences of marginalized persons. Thank you for Playing. <<set $happiness to 100>><<set $hasHR to false>> [[How to Play]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Start'); >>Who do you want to be? Pick your character. <table style="width:100%"> <tr> <td>[[Alex]]</td> <td>[[Leslie]]</td> </tr> <tr> <td>white</td> <td>Black</td> </tr> <tr> <td>able-bodied</td> <td>straight</td> </tr> <tr> <td>gay</td> <td>disabled</td> </tr> <tr> <td>man</td> <td>woman</td> </tr> <tr> <td>large social circle</td> <td>has partner</td> </tr> </table> <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Begin'); >>What are microaggressions? They are commonly defined as brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults. Since then it has been expanded to slights and insults related to other marginalizations such as gender, sexuality, disability, etc. Because of unconscious biases and the perceived minimal harm of the interactions, microaggressions are difficult to confront. [[Back.|Start]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'microaggressions'); >>What is acculturative stress? Well in simpler words it is culture shock. First defined in the realm of immigrating to a new country, it has expanded to explain the psychological, cognitive, and behavioral effects present in assimilating into a dominant culture rife with racism, sexism, ableism, etc. [[Back.|Start]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'acculturative stress'); >>You are Alex. An early-20s man in an urban area. You have been living in the area for years now and have a large [[social circle|Alex sc]] and [[Tyler]], your go to brunch buddy. You have a very active nightlife. You are happily single. You're just about to start your new job and are excited about it. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 5>> [[Start Playing|Alex Start]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex'); >>You are Leslie. A mid-20s women in an urban area. You are happy with your partner [[Jesse]], and have a small [[social circle]]. You have a chronic illness, which your partner helps you with as needed. You're just about to start your new job and are anxious but optimistic about it. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 15>> [[Start Playing]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Leslie'); >>You and Jesse met at a summer cookout. While you had been in the same circles for a while, this was the night the stars aligned, and you started talking. Soon you were going on dates, and soon after that you went steady. You have been together for just over two years and have recently moved in together. (Jesse goes by they/them pronouns.) [[Back.|Leslie]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Jesse'); >>You have a few close friends and that works just fine for you. Because most of the circle are homebodies, and some have disabilities of their own, there is not a lot of high-impact activities that would exacerbate your chronic illness. [[Back.|Leslie]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'social circle'); >>It is bright and early on a Monday morning in June. Today is your first day of work! It's your first real job out of school and you are a bundle of nerves. As you look through your closet you come up with three different outfits. You decide to: [[Dress up- got to make a good impression!]] [[Wear something casual but appropriate- don't want to look like you're trying too hard.]] [[Basics-Can never go wrong with the basics.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Start Playing'); >>You throw on a women's suit and put on some makeup. The effort of putting the outfit together as well as the anxiety exhausts you. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 5>> [[Head to Work]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Dress up- got to make a good impression!'); >> You take a deep breath and walk into the building. Your future supervisor quickly greets you and welcomes you to the company. He escorts you around the office introducing you to colleagues who are too many to count. Finally, you sit in your cubicle. The coworker in the cubicle next to you leans over and says "Where are you from?" [[NJ]] [[Why?]] [[My family has been in NJ for as long as we remember.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Head to Work'); >>You throw on a button down and slacks. At the last minute you decide to put a cardigan over it. You think about putting makeup on but decide to go straight to work instead. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 3>> [[Head to Work]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Wear something casual but appropriate- don't want to look like you're trying too hard.'); >> A blouse and a skirt and you are ready for the day. In lieu of makeup, you put on lip gloss and call it a day. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 1>> [[Head to Work]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Basics-Can never go wrong with the basics.'); >> //No, where are you really from?// (doesn't look like they will take NJ for an answer) [[Try again.|Head to Work]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'NJ'); >>//Jeez it was just a question!// <<set $happiness to $happiness - 5>> [[Continue.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Why?'); >>//That is so weird. You look so exotic!// "...thanks?" <<set $happiness to $happiness - 1>> [[Continue]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'My family has been in NJ for as long as we remember.'); >> The rest of the day passes relatively quickly. You end up really liking your work (at least so far). At the end of the day there is talk of going out to happy hour. A bunch of the younger workers look to you and invite you to happy hour. What do you say? <span class="explanation" title="try again">==Sure! That sounds like fun!== <span style="width:500px;">This option is not available to you due to the energy you have expended dealing with prior microagressions</span></span>[[Maybe for an hour?]] [[Nah, I'm totally beat.]] [[Yeah that's not my thing. Thanks though.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Continue'); >>//Awesome! Here's the address. See you there!// [[Go to Bar.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Maybe for an hour?'); >> //Lame! Alright; see you tomorrow!// <<set $happiness to $happiness - 1>> [[The Next Day.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Nah, Im totally beat.'); >>//Lame! Alright; see you tomorrow!// <<set $happiness to $happiness - 1>> [[The Next Day.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Yeah that's not my thing. Thanks though.'); >> The rest of the day passes relatively quickly. You end up really liking your work (at least so far). At the end of the day there is talk of going out to happy hour. As they talk and laugh amongst themselves you aren't sure if their invitation applies to you. So you start to pack up and one of the younger colleagues finally asks if you'd like to come. <span class="explanation" title="try again">==Sure! That sounds like fun!== <span style="width:500px;">This option is not available to you due to the energy you have expended dealing with prior microagressions</span></span>[[Maybe for an hour?|Maybe for an hour?]] [[Nah, I'm totally beat.|Nah, I'm totally beat.]] [[Yeah that's not my thing. Thanks though.|Yeah that's not my thing. Thanks though.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Continue.'); >><div class="bar"> <img src= "images/bar.jpg" alt="liquor bottles on a wall"/> You go to the bar. The bar is loud and boisterous. (Just the thought of being surrounded by so many drunk people for an extended period of time makes you tired, but you want to make a good impression). You and your coworkers have a couple of drinks. As the drinking continues so does the boisterousness. After a while, the joking begins. You start to feel uncomfortable as the jokes become less and less funny, and more and more sexist. As you try and figure out the best exit strategy, a coworker drunkenly leans on you, puts her hands in your hair, and says how your hair isn't as ghetto as she thought it'd be. You freeze. And: [[Laugh uncomfortably and say thanks.]] [[Push her off and say don't touch me.]] [[I know you probably meant well but that's not ok.]] </div> <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Go to Bar.'); >>The next morning you throw on some clothes, and head to work. When you get there many of your coworkers are talking about how great the happy hour was. Throughout the day they make inside jokes and references to the night before you wonder if it would have been good for you to go. As you walk home, the streets hiss from the recent rainfall. You know that Jesse will be in classes until late, another couple hours at least. You consider using this solitude to catch up on your guilty pleasure television show you'd neglected in the past couple of weeks. As you picture adorable British judges talking about soggy bottoms, you notice that this old woman keeps glancing back at you from further up in the street. On her fourth turn around, she stops, walks towards you, and says, //You look like you have a good job unlike the rest of your people. You're a credit to the race.// And walks away. [[Next.|Humpday]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'The Next Day.'); >>//No problem!// <<set $happiness to $happiness - 3>> [[Next.|Party Continued]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Laugh uncomfortably and say thanks.'); >> //Jeez, calm down.// <<set $happiness to $happiness - 5>> [[Next.|Party Continued]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Push her off and say don't touch me.'); >> You leave early, disheartened by the long day and the party. You go home and Jesse looks up from the couch and asks about your day. You [[Tell them about the day- good and bad.]] [[Tell them about the day-just good.]] [[Just shake your head and say nothing.|The Next Day]] [[Kiss them goodnight and go straight to bed.|The Next Day]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Party Continued'); >> //My bad.// <<set $happiness to $happiness - 1>> [[Next.|Party Continued]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'I know you probably meant well but that's not ok.'); >> Humpday is hitting you hard. There are too many days until the weekend and there is a lot of work to be done before you can leave. You put your headphones on, crank up the music, and try and tune everyone out. It takes a couple of tries before a colleague gets your attention, and you take off your headphones and: [[Ask what's up.]] [[Say I'm busy can I talk later.]] [[Listen while still working.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Humpday'); >>The next morning you're feeling kind of anxious and tired from the night before. You decide to throw on some clothes, and head to work. When you get there you can feel the difference in how your colleagues treat you. They laugh and joke about the happy hour the night before and seem genuinely happy that you came out with them. You can tell that they feel that you are now part of them. You're happy they like you, but it's hard to shake off the discomfort from the events last night. But, the day passes without any incident. As you walk home, the streets hiss from the recent rainfall. You know that Jesse will be in classes until late, another couple hours at least. You briefly consider using this serendipitous solitude to catch up on your guilty pleasure television show you'd neglected in the past couple of weeks. As you picture adorable British judges talking about soggy bottoms, you notice that this old woman keeps glancing back at you from further up in the street. On her fourth turn around, she stops, walks towards you, and says "You look like you have a good job unlike the rest of your people. You're a credit to the race." And walks away. [[Next.|Birthday Party]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'The Next Day'); >><div class="pool"> <img src= "images/pool.JPG" alt="outdoor pool"/> To celebrate your birthday Jesse and friends organize a pool party. You invite your colleague Sam that you've started to become close to. She's the only one at work that doesn't make you want to pull your hair out. The hot August day makes the cold pool water feel that much more amazing. The swimming tires you out easily so you lay on a lawn chair reading a book. After about 15 minutes, Sam asks why you're not getting back into the pool, and you mention that physical activity tires you out easily so you're taking a break. She responds, //Oh right I forgot you're like always sick or something.// While Jesse and some of your other friends speak up for you, it still stings. You try and shake it off, but you find yourself overextending at dinner to compensate for not acting healthier. Jesse is great and ends the after-party a little early so you can sleep, but you feel bad for having to kick everyone out early. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 1>> [[Next.|Humpday]] </div> <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Birthday Party'); >>The thought of opening up about your day in any capacity feels impossible. [[Try Again. |Party Continued]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Tell them about the day- good and bad.'); >> The thought of opening up about your day in any capacity feels impossible. [[Try Again. |Party Continued]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Tell them about the day-just good.'); >> <div class="hairpolitics"> <img src= "images/hairpolitics.png" alt="a picture of professional or white hairstyles vs unprofessional black hairstyles"/> <strong>//Just wanted to ask if any supervisors have ever had a problem with your hair?// You stare blankly and reply "No..." //No? Wow it's lucky we work in such an understanding place, right? And that it's not seen as unprofessional.// They then walk away. It takes a while before you get back into the groove of working, and hours later you realize that you've been self-consciously touching your hair all day. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 5>> [[Next.|Mall Day]] </strong></div> <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Ask what's up.'); >> It's a Saturday morning. You and Jesse decide to go to the mall to get new clothes. It's been awhile since you treated yourselves to a nice day. You meander from store to store drinking smoothies and taking in the mall people. You both decide to go into a nice store to treat each other to something nice. When entering the store you split ways so you can surprise each other. You're putzing around the jewelry section when you notice that the sales associate has been asking if you needed help five times now. And hasn't been out of your peripheral for 15 minutes. With dread you realize that they think you're a "high risk" shopper. Your heart starts to beat faster and you look around for Jesse. When you spot them, you rush over and explain the situation. Thankfully they understand and you leave the store without buying anything. But you can't help but feel disappointed and anxious. Jesse asks if you still want to do dinner. [[Agree to go. It'll take your mind off the encounter.]] [[Say that you're tired and would rather go home.]] [[Say the experience rattled you and you don't want to be around people.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Mall Day'); >>//Well there's no reason to sound so angry!// <<set $happiness to $happiness - 3>> [[Next.|Mall Day]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Say I'm busy can I talk later.'); >> //Way to be rude!// <<set $happiness to $happiness - 3>> [[Next.|Mall Day]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Listen while still working.'); >> Anxious about being in another public space after your experience, you almost back out. But deciding that food is more important than discomfort you agree to go. Jesse decides to treat you to the nice Italian restaurant the two of you had been eyeing for a while. You get seated and order your food. You realize that the server only talks to Jesse throughout your time there. Later on your way to the bathroom, you overhear the servers talking and your server complaining about how "your people" never tip well. You hurry back to the table and eat the rest of your food in silence. When it's time for the check you: ==Leave a stingy tip. The server gave you terrible service and insulted you.== ==Leave an extremely good tip. That will show her not to make assumptions!== [[Tell Jesse to pick up the tab.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Agree to go. It'll take your mind off the encounter.'); >> They give you a hug and offer to treat you to a milkshake on the way home. You feel your spirits lift slightly despite the events of the day. <<set $happiness to $happiness + 1>> [[Next.|Minority College]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Say that you're tired and would rather go home.'); >> They give you a hug and offer to treat you to a milkshake on the way home. You feel your spirits lift slightly despite the events of the day. <<set $happiness to $happiness + 1>> [[Next.|Minority College]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Say the experience rattled you and you don't want to be around people.'); >> It's a Thursday afternoon. You've arrived at the break room early to heat up your food and read quietly. As you sit in the corner with your food and book, colleagues come into the room speaking of college. They are discussing how expensive higher education is. You put the book down to commiserate about college loan experiences when the older colleague says, //Yeah the only way to get into an Ivy these days is to be a politician's daughter or be a minority.// [[Say nothing and pretend you didn't hear.]] [[Join the conversation and explain how the comment was hurtful.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Minority College'); >><br/> A game demonstrating how it feels to suffer microaggressions and acculturative stress day after day. <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0; width:80px;!important;position:relative!important;opacity:1!important" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/4.0/80x15.png"/></a><br /><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/InteractiveResource" property="dct:title" rel="dct:type">Killing Me Softly: A Game about Microaggressions</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://fobettarh.github.io/Killing-Me-Softly/index.html" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Fobazi M. Ettarh</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>You don't have the energy! Seems like the act of going all out this morning and the microaggressions have prevented you from picking this option. [[Try Again.|Continue.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Sure! That sounds like fun!'); >> You both head home. While Jesse raves about the great meal, your own stomach is in knots. When you reach home, you head straight to bed too tired to even say goodnight. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 3>> [[Next.|Minority College]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Tell Jesse to pick up the tab.'); >> Laughing they grab their food and leave. You go back to your book, but find it hard to focus and the comment stays with you all day. <<set $happiness to $happiness -10 >> [[Next.|Halloween 1a]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Say nothing and pretend you didn't hear.'); >> You interrupt the conversation to say that is not a fair thing to say. The back and forth continues on for a while. //Well you don't count, you're obviously one of the good ones....Well there are fewer opportunities for white people....It's reverse discrimination....quality has been diminished to fill quotas...why are you getting so emotional?// Realizing that the conversation is going nowhere you "agree to disagree" and the colleagues leave the room with their food. You head to the bathroom, splashing water on your face feeling exhausted and alone. <<set $happiness to $happiness -25>> [[Next.|Halloween 1b]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Join the conversation and explain how the comment was hurtful.'); >> You come back from work on a Tuesday evening early in October and see Jesse has started to decorate the apartment with cobwebs and spiders. You smile and start to help. By the end of the evening, you're tired but content. You both turn in early. Jesse falls asleep almost immediately, but thinking about going to work tomorrow starts to fill you with anxiety. You lay in bed, each minute ticking closer and closer to "wake up time" and passing on a swelling wave of ever-encroaching dread. Recurrent intrusive thoughts about things people have said at work, and what might happen in the future keep you up. Finally, you pass into a fitful sleep. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 5>> [[Next.|Halloween 2]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Halloween 1b'); >>You come back from work on a Tuesday evening early in October and see Jesse has started to decorate the apartment with cobwebs and spiders. You smile and start to help. By the end of the evening, you're tired but content. You both turn in early. Jesse falls asleep almost immediately, but thinking about going to work tomorrow starts to fill you with anxiety. Day after day it seems, people make comments and invalidate your expertise. You lay in bed, each minute ticking closer and closer to "wake up time" and passing on a swelling wave of ever-encroaching dread. Recurrent intrusive thoughts about things people have said at work, and what might happen in the future keep you up. Finally, you pass into a fitful sleep. <<set $happiness to $happiness + 5>> [[Next.|Halloween 2]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Halloween 1a'); >>Halloween falls on a Friday this year. You adjust your curls and head into work feeling especially cute and humming "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile." Most of your colleagues have dressed up in some capacity. You breathe a little sigh of relief when you don't see any terrible costumes. A couple of hours pass, and you head to the Halloween work luncheon. And gasp. The administration has taken upon themselves to go as the prisoners from //Orange is the New Black//, including darkening their skin to "authenticate" the costumes. It hits you just how alone you are at work. None of your colleagues seem to have a problem with the costumes. In fact, your supervisor comes over and puts his arm next to yours and exclaims that you match now. You ==Force yourself to say something== <<if $happiness gte 70>> [[Talk to Supervisor]] [[Talk to HR]] [[Notice your hands are shaking. Why do you feel so helpless?]] [[Say nothing.]] <<else>> ==Talk to HR. But that's so official...== ==Just open your mouth and let it happen. Why can't you say anything?== ==Notice your hands are shaking. Why can't you stop stressing out for five seconds?== [[Say nothing.|Say nothing B]] <</if>> <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Halloween 2'); >>You find your supervisor by the food and try to explain why you feel uncomfortable, but your supervisor just laughs it off and tells you to stop being so sensitive. You grab food and hurry back to your cubicle still distraught. The rest of the day passes in a daze. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 5>> [[Next.|Halloween Aftermath]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Talk to Supervisor'); >>You grab food and hurry back to your cubicle still distraught. The rest of the day passes in a daze. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 5>> [[Next.|Halloween Aftermath]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Say nothing.'); >>You find your HR representative, and ask to speak to them about the incident. You go into their office and begin to explain how it hurt you. Suddenly, you're crying, and unloading some of the microaggressions you have been experiencing throughout the job. They hear you out, and state next steps. You leave feeling drained, but relieved. <<set $hasHR to true>> <<set $happiness to $happiness + 5>> [[Next.|Halloween Aftermath]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Talk to HR'); >>You desperately want to say something. You look down and notice that your hands are shaking. All of the previous incidents at work come rushing back. You haven't tried to speak up before. Can you start now? You grab food and hurry back to your cubicle still distraught. The rest of the day passes in a daze. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 5>> [[Next.|Halloween Aftermath]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Notice your hands are shaking. Why do you feel so helpless?'); >> The alarm rings the next day for work. You groan and hurriedly turn it off. The thought of going to work seems impossible. Not only are you exhausted from the party, but you know you're going to have to deal with uncomfortable comments about your chronic illness. You- ==Force yourself to go to work.== ==Decide to go in late.== [[Call in sick. It's just not happening.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Halloween Aftermath'); >>You send a quick email to your boss. As you throw the covers over your head you realize just how relieved you are. Work has really been wearing you down lately. [[Next.|Christmas]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Call in sick. It's just not happening.'); >> As you walk into work, your heart sinks as you realize that the office has been decorated to the nines for Christmas. You walk to your desk and hunker down for some work. Noticing that you're less than enthused a coworker calls you a Grinch. You roll your eyes and continue working. You just think it would be nice to leave religion out of the workplace. Then another coworker responds, //Don't be rude! She probably doesn't even celebrate Christmas because she celebrates Kwanzaa instead, right?// You cringe and state that you actually celebrate Chanukkah. Both colleagues look at you perturbed and say //you don't look Jewish?// Throughout the day various coworkers come up to you and mention how "un-Jewish" you look. By the time the day gets out you're exhausted from having to explain the mechanics of your Judaism. You get home and sink into the couch. ==Make food.== [[Order takeout.]] [[Wait for Jesse to cook when they get back.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Christmas'); >>As you eat, you realize just how bad your job is starting to wear you down. How long has it been since you've looked forward to the work day? It seems like ages ago. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 5>> [[Next.|Lazy Day A]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Order takeout.'); >>Jesse gets back not long after and you help them cook. As you eat, you realize just how badly your job is starting to wear you down. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 5>> [[Next.|Lazy Day B]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Wait for Jesse to cook when they get back.'); >> You and Jesse are having a lazy day in bed. After a while the conversation turns to work. Jesse excitedly talks about all the amazing things that have been happening at work. As you watch their face light up as they talk about it, you can't help but feel resentful that your own workplace isn't as supportive. As you listen, you resolve to try and make things better at your own workplace. While you have no idea how you're going to do that, the act of making a plan makes you feel better. [[Next.|Park Day]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Lazy Day A'); >>You and Jesse are having a lazy day in bed. After a while the conversation turns to work. Jesse excitedly talks about all the amazing things that have been happening at work. As you watch their face light up as they talk about it, you can't help but feel resentful that your own workplace isn't as supportive. As you listen, despair at having to go back into the job day after day. Later that night, you find it impossible to fall asleep. Every time you close your eyes, you're overcome with anxious thoughts that wrap themselves around each other. Worries about your job lead overwhelm you and you're unable to shake them off long enough to doze off. Your eyes won't even stay shut as your mind races through the various things that have happened at work. ==Force yourself to sleep.== ==Do some relaxing breathing exercises to help you fall asleep.== ==Walk around to shake off some of the anxiety jitters.== [[Turn on the tv. It is just not happening any time soon.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Lazy Day B'); >>Nothing else seems to be working so you turn on the tv. Flipping through channels, you finally settle on some nature documentary. After what feels like lifetimes you finally fall asleep. [[Next.|Park Day]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Turn on the tv. It is just not happening any time soon.'); >> <div class="park"> <img src= "images/park.jpg" alt="park bench with a fountain in the background"/> It's a beautiful April day and you have decided to take a personal day. You put on leggings and a tank and head to the gym. Afterward, you get a milkshake and sit in the park enjoying the weather. With your eyes closed and face up to the sky you think that the life can't get any better than this moment. You hear your name being called out and open your eyes and there is Sam your colleague from work! //Playing hooky too?// She asks as she joins you on the bench. You smile and agree. As you both recount your day she exclaims, //I knew you weren't actually disabled!// Confused, you ask for clarification and she says that disabled people don't go to the gym. As you try and explain your chronic illness (again) she mentions that one time she was sick for a while, but that diet and exercise made her totally better. [[Try and explain the difference between sickness and disability.]] [[Joke about wishing that those things could fix the disability.]] [[Change the subject.]]</div> <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Park Day'); >> As you try and explain the differences, Sam shrugs and apologizes. //Didn't know it was such a big deal.// Unsure of her sincerity, you change the subject, and head home soon after. [[Next.|Period Joke]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Try and explain the difference between sickness and disability.'); >> As you joke about how even the superfood kale won't take away the disability unfortunately, you feel good about saying something even if it might not be taken seriously, but sad that you couldn't be more explicit about it. The rest of the conversation passes without incident and you head home. [[Next.|Period Joke]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Joke about wishing that those things could fix the disability.'); >> You laugh uncomfortably and change the subject. The conversation ends soon after and you head home. [[Next.|Period Joke]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Change the subject.'); >>You wake up in the middle of the night in a lot of pain. Jesse helps get your medication and water, but it takes a long time before the pain subsides, and it leaves you exhausted. When your alarm goes off 4 hours later, you groggily turn it off and decide to do a half-day. You wake up later tired, but feel slightly better and go into work. An older male coworker sees you walk in and jokes about coming in late because of a hangover. When you ignore him, he says, //Wow are you on your period sweetheart? You sure are grumpy!// <<if $happiness gte 70>> ==Confront him.== [[Say something sarcastic]] [[Keep walking.|Promotion A]] <<else>> ==Confront him.== ==Say something sarcastic== [[Keep walking.|Promotion B]] <</if>> <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Period Joke'); >>You roll your eyes and say, "If I had to bleed to find you annoying, I'd be anemic." <<if $hasHR is true>>[[Next.|Promotion B]] <<elseif $hasHR is false>>[[Next.|Promotion C]] <</if>> <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Say something sarcastic'); >>It's a hot day in May. //Summer is definitely here,// you think as you walk into work and put your stuff down. You're excited but nervous because there is talk about a promotion and you and your colleague have both been gunning for it. And according to the rumor mill, it will be awarded today. Hours pass and you don't hear anything. Finally, you hear a bunch of colleagues planning a congratulatory happy hour for the promotion. It takes everything in you not to cry. You have worked really hard for the promotion. And you wonder if the fact that your supervisor and some people at work have called you confrontational has anything to do with not being chosen. As you think about all the times you have tried to stay true to your morals but still hit walls, you decide then and there that this job isn't worth all of the stress. While you have no idea what you're going to do next, the act of making a plan makes you feel better. [[Next.|Disney World B]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Promotion B'); >>It's a hot day in May. Summer is definitely here you think as you walk into work and put your stuff down. As you get started on the work for the day, your supervisor comes up to you and asks to see you in his office. Heart sinking you follow him into his office and see some other people from administration there. As you sit down you wrack your brain thinking about what you could have possibly done badly to warrant this. They talk about your time here and how well you've fit the culture. The words "surprisingly well" stick in your head as they talk about your well your accomplishments fit their institution's values. They decide to offer you a promotion! As they tell you about what the new job will entail and what the benefits will be, you are flooded with mixed emotions. The job will give you more power to start making some very needed changes to the workplace culture, but the thought of staying for another year to begin those changes seem daunting. Is this job worth it? The stress? Sleeplessness? Anxiety? You think on all the things that have happened in this past year and: [[Accept right away.]] [[Ask for a few days to think about it.]] [[Decline.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Promotion A'); >>It's a hot day in May. //Summer is definitely here,// you think as you walk into work and put your stuff down. You're excited but nervous because there is talk about a promotion and you and your colleague have both been gunning for it. And according to the rumor mill, it will be awarded today. Hours pass and you don't hear anything. Finally, you hear a bunch of colleagues planning a congratulatory happy hour for the promotion. It takes everything in you not to cry. You have worked really hard for the promotion. And you wonder if the fact that going to HR about all of the microaggressions and stress you've been feeling has anything to do with not being chosen. As you think about all the times you have tried to stay true to your morals but still hit walls, you decide then and there that this job isn't worth all of the stress. While you have no idea what you're going to do next, the act of making a plan makes you feel better. [[Next.|Disney World B]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Promotion C'); >>You accept and shake hands with everyone in the room. Now the real work begins. [[Next.|Disney World A]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Accept right away.'); >>You take the few days to talk with Jesse about all of your experiences at this job. Talking through the whole experience really helps you. You go back into the office and [[make your decision|Promotion A]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Ask for a few days to think about it.'); >> You decide to decline the position. A few days later you put in you put in your notice. The job is not worth the stress, insomnia, and anxiety. [[Next.|Disney World B]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Decline.'); >>You grab food and hurry back to your cubicle still distraught. You've been doing your best to talk to people when the microaggressions happen, but the stress of trying to fit into this workplace has exhausted you. The thought of saying something again seems too daunting. The rest of the day passes in a daze. [[Next.|Halloween Aftermath]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Say nothing B'); >>Cheese! You and your friends smile as you get your picture taken with Minnie Mouse. It's been a long time since you've all been able to get together and do something, and while it's exhausting, you are feeling better than you have in a long time. You and your friends have dressed up as Disney's Princesses and you are rocking what is an amazing Belle costume. You still aren't fond of your job and the coworkers still make a lot of loaded comments, but you've started to speak up about the instances that upset you. Now that you have more power at work, it doesn't feel like so daunting a task. As you and your friends walk into a candy store, a girl turns to her mom and says, //Why is that lady dressed as Belle? Belle isn't Black!// ... <strong>End</strong> [[Epilogue]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Disney World A'); >>Cheese! You and your friends smile as you get your picture taken with Minnie Mouse. It's been a long time since you've all been able to get together and do something, and while it's exhausting, you are feeling better than you have in a long time. You and your friends have dressed up as Disney's Princesses and you are rocking what is an amazing Belle costume. You have found a new job and so far it seems to be going well. These coworkers make some loaded comments, but seem genuinely open to conversation when you speak up. It is still exhausting, but the support network, your friends and Jesse, bring make it manageable. As you and your friends walk into a candy store, a girl turns to her mom and says, //Why is that lady dressed as Belle? Belle isn't Black!// ... <strong>End</strong> [[Epilogue]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Disney World B'); >>Most of your circle are other gay and queer men. You found each other through various queer events in the city. Your hangouts tend to involve going out to various restaurants and bars which is how you like it. Rarely is there a night where at least one of the people in the circle aren't going out. [[Back.|Alex]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex sc'); >>You met Tyler at a rooftop party a couple of years ago. You had an immediate connection. After hooking up that night and for a couple of weeks after, you ended up dating. While it only lasted a couple of months you've been friends since then. Your shared love of brunch (and mimosas) make him the perfect brunch buddy. You both go every Sunday to share the latest work and friend drama. [[Back.|Alex]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Tyler'); >>It is bright and early on a Monday morning in June. Today is your first day of work! It's your first real job out of school and you are a bundle of nerves. As you look through your closet you come up with three different outfits. You decide to: [[Dress up- got to make a good impression!|Alex Dressy]] [[Wear something casual but appropriate- don't want to look like you're trying too hard.|Alex Casual]] [[Basics-Can never go wrong with the basics.|Alex Basics]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Start'); >>After spending 15 minutes putting pomade in your hair and making sure that your curl pattern is just right, you throw on a royal blue suit, adjust your rainbow flag tie bar, and [[Head to Work|Alex Head to Work]]. <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Dressy'); >>You throw on a button down and slacks. At the last minute you decide to put a blazer over it. You consider putting pomade in your hair; instead you put a dollop of mousse in your hands and quickly run it through your hair. After adjusting your rainbow flag tie bar you [[Head to Work|Alex Head to Work]]. <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Casual'); >>You throw on a button down and dark wash jeans. After running your hands through your hair with mousse a couple a times you call it a day. You adjust your rainbow flag pin in the mirror and [[Head to Work|Alex Head to Work]]. <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Basics'); >>You take a deep breath and walk into the building. Your future supervisor quickly greets you and welcomes you to the company. She escorts you around the office introducing you to colleagues who are too many to count. Finally, you sit in your cubicle. The coworker in the cubicle next to you leans over and says: //So I have a cousin like you so I'm super progressive.// [[Thanks?]] [[What does that mean?]] [[The gay community thanks you.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Head to Work'); >>//No problem! I consider myself an ally to the gays.// //...// <<set $happiness to $happiness - 1>> [[Next.|Alex Happy Hour]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Thanks?'); >>//you know...swishy// As you open your mouth to explain that not all gay people look and act the same they go back to their own cubicle. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 3>> [[Next.|Alex Happy Hour]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'What does that mean?'); >>//Hah! You're so sassy I love it! You people are always so funny.// "... thanks?" <<set $happiness to $happiness - 5>> [[Next.|Alex Happy Hour]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'They gay community thanks you.'); >>The rest of the day passes relatively quickly. You end up really liking your work (at least so far). At the end of the day there is talk of going out to happy hour. A bunch of the younger workers look to you and invite you to happy hour. What do you say? <<if $happiness gte 93>>[[Sure! Sounds like fun.]] [[Maybe for an hour.]] [[Nah, I'm totally beat.|Alex says no]] <<else>> <span class="explanation" title="try again">==Sure! That sounds like fun!== <span style="width:500px;">This option is not available to you due to the energy you have expended dealing with prior microagressions</span></span>[[Maybe for an hour.]] [[Nah, I'm totally beat.|Alex says no]] <</if>> <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Happy Hour'); >>//Awesome! Here's the address. See you there!// [[Next.|Alex Bar]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Maybe for an hour.'); >><div class="bar"> <img src= "images/bar.jpg" alt="liquor bottles on a wall"/> You go to a loud and boisterous bar. You smile excitedly. This is your element. You and your coworkers have a couple of drinks. As the drinking continues so does the energetic atmosphere and you think this is going to be good fit. Everyone is really friendly and welcoming. After a while, however, the joking begins. You start to feel uncomfortable as the jokes become less and less funny, and more and more homophobic. As you try and figure out the best exit strategy, a coworker drunkenly leans on you and says, //I've always wanted a gay best friend! You can be like my personal stylist!// <<set $happiness to $happiness - 3>> [[Laugh uncomfortably and say thanks.|Alex laugh]] [[Push her off and say yeah that's not happening.|Alex pushes]] [[I know you probably meant well but that's not ok.|Alex I know you meant well v1]]</div> <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Bar'); >>//Awesome! Here's the address. See you there!// [[Next.|Alex Bar]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Sure! Sounds like fun.'); >>//Lame! Alright; see you tomorrow!// <<set $happiness to $happiness - 3>> [[Next.|Lovely Girl A]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex says no'); >> <div class="pool"> <img src= "images/pool.JPG" alt="outdoor pool"/> To celebrate your birthday Tyler and your friends organize a pool party. You invite your colleague Sam that you've started to become close to. He's the only one at work that doesn't make you want to pull your hair out. The hot August day makes the cold pool water feel amazing. After a while you get out and tan. As you're sipping your margarita, Sam sits in the pool chair next to you. He looks supremely uncomfortable and you ask him what's wrong. He replies, //Can you tell your friends to like tone it down?// "...Tone it down?" [[What do you mean?]] [[Yeah I'll tell them to butch up just for you.]] </div> <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Pool'); >>The coworker kisses you on the cheek and stumbles away. The incident leaves a sour note in your mouth and you depart soon after. On your home, you call Tyler to talk to him about the Happy Hour. The conversation helps your frazzled nerves but feeling a little wary going into work the next day. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 3>> [[Next.|Lovely Girl B]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex laugh'); >>//Jeez, calm down! It was just a joke!// <<set $happiness to $happiness - 5>> [[Next.|Lovely Girl B]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex pushes'); >>//My bad.// <<set $happiness to $happiness - 1>> [[Next.|Lovely Girl B]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex I know you meant well v1'); >>The next morning you throw on some clothes, and head to work. When you get there many of your coworkers are talking about how great the happy hour was. Throughout the day they make inside jokes and references to the night before you wonder if it would have been good for you to go. As you walk home, the streets hiss from the recent rainfall. You briefly consider using this serendipitous solitude to catch up on your guilty pleasure television show you'd neglected in the past couple of weeks. As you picture adorable British judges talking about soggy bottoms, you notice that this old woman keeps glancing back at you from further up in the street. On her fourth turn around, she stops, walks towards you, and says //You know if you wore different clothes, I'm sure you'd find a lovely girl.// And walks away. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 5>> [[Next.|Alex Pool]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Lovely Girl A'); >>The next morning you're feeling anxious from the night before. You decide to throw on some clothes, and head to work. When you get there you can feel the difference in how your colleagues treat you. They laugh and joke about the happy hour the night before and seem genuinely happy that you came out with them. You can tell that they feel that you are now part of them. You're happy they like you, but it's hard to shake off the discomfort from the events last night. But, the day passes without any incidents. As you walk home, the streets hiss from the recent rainfall. You briefly consider using this serendipitous solitude to catch up on your guilty pleasure television show you'd neglected in the past couple of weeks. As you picture adorable British judges talking about soggy bottoms, you notice that this old woman keeps glancing back at you from further up in the street. On her fourth turn around, she stops, walks towards you, and says "You know if you wore different clothes, I'm sure you'd find a lovely girl." And walks away. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 5>> [[Next.|Alex Pool]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Lovely Girl B'); >>//You know...they're just acting...kind of gay...// You explain that a lot of your friends are, in fact, gay, but that stereotyping isn't cool. Sam laughs uncomfortably and leaves shortly after. The party continues, but you can't help but feel a little disappointed in his behavior and it affects your mood for the rest of the night. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 3>> [[Next.|Alex Humpday]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'What do you mean?'); >>Sam laughs uncomfortably and leaves shortly after. The party continues, but you can't help but feel a little disappointed in his behavior and it affects your mood for the rest of the night. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 5>> [[Next.|Alex Humpday]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Yeah Ill tell them to butch up just for you.'); >>Humpday is hitting you hard. There are too many days until the weekend and there is a lot of work to be done before you can leave. You put your headphones on, crank up the music, and try and tune everyone out. It takes a couple of tries before a colleague gets your attention, and you take off your headphones and: [[Ask what's up.|Homophobic Question]] [[Say I'm busy can I talk later.|Alex is sassy]] [[Listen while still working.|Homophobic Question]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Humpday'); >>//Just wanted to ask if any supervisors have ever had a problem with you being gay? .... No? Wow it's lucky we work in such an understanding place, right? And that it's not seen as unprofessional.// They then walk away. It takes a while before you get back into the groove of working, and hours later you realize that you've been subconsciously "butching up" or acting more stereotypically masculine all day. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 8>> [[Next.|Alex Sports]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Homophobic Question'); >>//Wow so sassy! I kind of love it. But sure I'll be back later!// <<set $happiness to $happiness - 3>> [[Next.|Alex Sports]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex is sassy'); >>It's a lazy Saturday morning. You get a call from a coworker. You've hung out with this colleague a few times during a few work happy hours, and you get along well enough but aren't particularly close. Slightly confused you answer the phone. He tells you that there's going to be a football game at the nearby stadium and that he had an extra ticket. You don't have work in the morning, and have nothing else in particular to do that day. As you open your mouth to acquiesce the colleague says //I know you people don't like do sports, but I figured I'd ask.// <<if $happiness gte 75>> [[My people?]] [[...right.]] [[Yeah my people only go shopping and decorate.]] <<else>> [[My people?]] [[...right.]] ==Yeah my people only go shopping and decorate.== <</if>> <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Sports'); >>You meet your coworker at the stadium and end up really enjoying yourself, but the comment irritates you all day. You can't help but wonder if speaking up would have been the better move. Later as you're getting ready to sleep, you get a text from the coworker that says //Thanks for the save; you're not what I expected at all.// [[Next.|Alex Break Room]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', '...right'); >>//You know...your people...// You roll your eyes and: [[Go.|...right.]] [[Decline.|Alex no go]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'My people?'); >>It's a Thursday afternoon. You arrive at the break room early to heat up your food. As you sit in the waiting area for your food, two colleagues come into the room talking and laughing. You get up to join the conversation when you hear: //Gay guys make me uncomfortable. Well two guys, girl-on-girl is kind of hot. Guy-on-guy is just gross.// <<set $happiness to $happiness - 5>> [[Say nothing and pretend you didn't hear.|Alex says nothing]] [[Join the conversation to explain why that comment is homophobic.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Break Room'); >>Your coworker irritatedly asks you if you want to go to the game or not. [[Go.|...right.]] [[Decline.|Alex no go]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Yeah my people only go shopping and decorate.'); >>//Ugh I should have known!// Later, you get invited to a house party, and end up really enjoying yourself, but the comment irritates you all day and puts a damper on what would have been a great night. [[Next.|Alex Break Room]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex no go'); >>Laughing they grab their food from the fridge and leave. You get your own food and go back to your desk, but find it hard to focus and the comment stays with you all day. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 4>> [[Next.|Alex Halloween 1]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex says nothing'); >>You interrupt the conversation to say that is not an offensive thing to say. The back and forth continues on for a while. //I mean yeah you're totally cool and all, but it's still gross. Like that is just not how sex works...it's unnatural...can't help what I feel...// Realizing that the conversation is going nowhere you "agree to disagree" and the colleagues leave the room with their food. You head to the bathroom, splashing water on your face feeling angry and alone. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 8>> [[Next.|Alex Halloween 1]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Join the conversation to explain why that comment is homophobic.'); >>Tyler calls you one Tuesday in October and asks you to help him decorate his apartment for Halloween. You head over and see spiders, cobwebs, skeletons, and candy in a pile on the table. You smile and start to help. By the end of the evening, you're tired but content. You head back to your apartment, belly full of candy and start getting ready for bed. The sugar crash hits, but thinking about going to work tomorrow starts to fill you with anxiety. You love the work that you're doing, and your coworkers are all fun people, but it seems like everyone either ignores your sexuality or assumes that you are this one dimensional stereotype. You lay in bed, each minute ticking closer and closer to "wake up time" and passing on a swelling wave of ever-encroaching dread. Recurrent intrusive thoughts about things people have said at work, and what might happen in the future keep you up. Finally, you pass into a fitful sleep. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 3>> [[Next.|Alex Halloween 2]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Halloween 1'); >>Halloween falls on a Friday this year. Your friends have already organized a huge multi-house bash. Last time Halloween fell on a Friday the parties lasted all weekend. Because of this, you're more excited for the work day to be over so the fun can begin. As you leave for work you check yourself in the mirror one last time. Hat...brown leather jacket...khakis...bullwhip...alright all set. You head into work. Most of your colleagues have dressed up in some capacity. You breathe a little sigh of relief when you don't see any terrible costumes. A couple of hours pass, and you head to the Halloween work luncheon. You head over to Sam to say hi. He's been friendly, but distant since the pool party. He's dressed like a police officer. He glances at your costume and says, //It's ironic that your costume is Indiana Jones.// <<if $happiness gte 55>> [[Is it? Why?]] [[Would you rather I have been dressed as a fairy?]] ==Well screw you too.== <<else>> [[Is it? Why?]] [[Would you rather I have been dressed as a fairy?]] [[Well screw you too.]] <</if>> <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Halloween 2'); >>//Oh you know....cause he was such a ladies man, and you're....you know...// ==Force yourself to say something.== ==Talk to at least your supervisor. It shouldn't be that hard.== ==Talk to HR. But that's so official...== ==Just open your mouth and let it happen. Why can't you say anything?== [[Say nothing. You haven't been saying anything for months why start now?]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Is it? Why?'); >>//Wow there's no need to be so rude. I'm not homophobic, I'm just saying that his character is known for being a ladies man, and you're obviously not.// [[Talk to at least your supervisor. It shouldn't be that hard.]] [[Talk to HR. But that's so official...]] [[Just open your mouth and let it happen. Why can't you say anything?]] [[Say nothing. You haven't been saying anything for months why start now?]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Would you rather I have been dressed as a fairy?'); >>//Wow there's no need to be so rude. I'm not homophobic, I'm just saying that his character is known for being a ladies man, and you're obviously not.// ==Force yourself to say something.== ==Talk to HR. But that's so official...== [[Just open your mouth and let it happen. Why can't you say anything?]] [[Talk to at least your supervisor. It shouldn't be that hard.]] [[Say nothing.|Say nothing. You haven't been saying anything for months why start now?]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Well screw you too.'); >>You grab food and hurry back to your cubicle still distraught. You've been doing your best to talk to people when the microaggressions happen, but the stress of trying to fit into this workplace has exhausted you. The thought of saying something again seems too daunting. The rest of the day passes in a daze. [[Next.|Alex Halloween Aftermath]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Say nothing. You haven't been saying anything for months why start now?'); >>You find your supervisor by the food and try to explain why you feel uncomfortable, but your supervisor just laughs it off and tells you to stop being so sensitive. You grab food and hurry back to your cubicle. The rest of the day passes in a daze. [[Next.|Alex Halloween Aftermath]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Talk to at least your supervisor. It shouldn't be that hard.'); >>You find your HR representative, and ask to speak to them about the incident. You go into their office and begin to explain how it hurt you. Suddenly, you're unloading some of the microaggressions you have been experiencing throughout the job. They hear you out, and state next steps. You leave feeling drained, but relieved. <<set $hasHR to true>> <<set $happiness to $happiness + 5>> [[Next.|Alex Halloween Aftermath]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Talk to HR. But that's so official...'); >>You desperately want to say something. You look down and notice that your hands are shaking. All of the previous incidents at work come rushing back. You haven't really tried to speak up before. Can you really start now? You grab food and hurry back to your cubicle still distraught. The rest of the day passes in a daze. <<set $happiness to $happiness - 5>> [[Next.|Alex Halloween Aftermath]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Just open your mouth and let it happen. Why can't you say anything?'); >>The alarm rings for work. You groan and hurriedly turn it off. The thought of going to work seems impossible. Not only are you exhausted from partying all weekend, but you know you're still angry at Sam for saying what he said; You're also angry at yourself for not saying anything. You- ==Force yourself to go to work.== ==Decide to go in late.== [[Call in sick. It's just not happening.|Alex calls in sick]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Halloween Aftermath'); >>You send a quick email to your boss. As you throw the covers over your head you realize just how relieved you are. Work has really been wearing you down lately. [[Next.|Alex Christmas]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex calls in sick'); >>As you walk into work, your heart sinks as you realize that the office has been decorated to the nines for Christmas. You walk to your desk and hunker down for some work. Noticing that you're not that enthused a coworker calls you a Grinch. You roll your eyes and continue working. Part of the reason you chose the job was because it was a secular institution. There's no need for religious holidays in the workplace. Then another colleague says, //Don't tease him! He's probably a Grinch cause his family rejected him!// [[Gasp and gape at her.]] [[Cringe and state that actually your family is really close.]] [[Explain that not all gay people have troubled family relationships.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Christmas'); >>You and Tyler are having your usual brunch date. After a while the conversation turns to work. Tyler excitedly talks about all the amazing things that has been happening at work. As you watch his face light up as he talk about it, you can't help but feel resentful that your own workplace isn't as supportive. As you listen, you resolve to try and make things better at your own workplace. While you have no idea how you're going to do that, the act of making a plan makes you feel better. <<set $happiness to $happiness + 10>> [[Next.|Alex plays hooky]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Tyler Brunch Date A'); >>You reply, "Actually my family is really accepting, and I'm very close with them." //Oh! Well that's great that they're so liberal!// [[Next.|Tyler Brunch Date A]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Cringe and state that actually your family is really close.'); >> //No I totally get that. I mean I have a gay cousin and no one treats her any differently. It's like she's not even gay.// [[Next.|Tyler Brunch Date A]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Explain that not all gay people have troubled family relationships.'); >> You and Tyler are having your usual brunch date. After a while the conversation turns to work. Tyler excitedly talks about all the amazing things that has been happening at work. As you watch his face light up as they talk about it, you can't help but feel resentful that your own workplace isn't as supportive. As you listen, despair at having to go back into the job day after day. Later that night, you find it impossible to fall asleep. Every time you close your eyes, you're overcome with anxious thoughts that wrap themselves around each other. Worries about your job lead overwhelm you and you're unable to shake them off long enough to doze off. Your eyes won't even stay shut as your mind races through the various things that have happened at work. ==Force yourself to sleep.== ==Do some relaxing breathing exercises to help you fall asleep.== ==Walk around to shake off some of the anxiety jitters.== [[Turn on the tv. It is just not happening any time soon.|Alex tv]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Tyler Brunch Date B'); >><div class="park"> <img src= "images/park.jpg" alt="park bench with a fountain in the background"/> It's a beautiful April day and you have decided to take a personal day. You put on a pair of sweats and a tank and head to the gym. Afterward, you get a milkshake and sit in the park enjoying the weather. With your eyes closed and face up to the sky you think that the life can't get any better than this moment. You hear your name being called out and open your eyes and there is a colleague from work! //Playing hooky too?// He asks as he joins you on the bench. You smile and agree. As you both recount your day you bond over your gym experiences. He says to you: //It's so cool that you're like still a normal dude!// ==Let it slide.== [[What do you mean?|Alex what do you mean]] [[I know you probably meant well, but that's not ok.|Alex says not ok]] </div> <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex plays hooky'); >>Too shocked to actually say anything the conversation moves on to other things and the moment passes. You intensely regret not saying anything but are unsure of whether it is appropriate to bring it up once conversation has shifted and how you would do so. [[Next.|Tyler Brunch Date B]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Gasp and gape at her.'); >>Nothing else seems to be working so you turn on the tv. Flipping through channels, you finally settle on some nature documentary. After what feels like lifetimes you finally fall asleep. [[Next.|Alex plays hooky]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex tv'); >>//I like gay guys who aren't, like, too gay, you know what I mean? Like you work out and go to football games and stuff. So it's like you're not even gay.// ==Let it slide.== [[Joke about how there's no gay card.]] [[I know you probably meant well, but that's not ok.|Alex says not ok]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex what do you mean'); >> //Sorry I didn't intend to hurt your feelings or whatever. I was just saying that to me it's like you're not even gay.// [[That doesn't make it ok though...]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex says not ok'); >> As you joke about how there isn't an actual gay card but thanks, you feel good about saying something. Even if it might not be taken seriously, you stood up for yourself. But you still feel sad that you couldn't be more explicit about it. The rest of the conversation passes without incident and you head home. [[Next.|Fencing]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Joke about how there's no gay card.'); >> As you try and explain the reasons that is offensive, they shrug. //Jeez. I don't know why you're being so sensitive about this. It was a compliment!// Frustrated, you change the subject, and head home soon after. [[Next.|Fencing]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'That doesnt make it ok though...'); >> 11:00pm.... 1:30am.... 3:15am.... At this point the clock seems to be taunting you. It has been a while since you've had a bout of insomnia this bad. The continued jokes and comments at your expense had been keeping you up later than usual in the past month, but this is the worst night so far. When your alarm goes off 4 hours later, you groggily turn it off and decide to do a half-day. You wake up later tired, but feeling slightly better and go into work. At lunch people discuss the upcoming Olympics. When one of the guys mention how much they're looking forward to fencing, another jokes, //Fencing, bro? That's so gay.// ==Ignore him.== [[Call him out in front of everyone.]] [[Say something sarcastic.|Alex snark]] [[Call him out in private.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Fencing'); >>Unamused, you try to explain how offensive that comment is, but the group just laughs it off and tells you to stop being so sensitive. [[Next.|Alex Promotion B]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Call him out in front of everyone.'); >> Later you attempt to explain to him why the comment was offensive, but he just laughs it off and tells you to stop being so sensitive. [[Next.|Alex Promotion A]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Call him out in private.'); >> "Ahh yes fighting with swords...the most feminine of activities." The group laughs and the guy who made the comment looks embarrassed and annoyed. <<if $hasHR is true>>[[Next.|Alex Promotion B]] <<elseif $hasHR is false>>[[Next.|Alex Promotion C]] <</if>> <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex snark'); >>It's a hot day in May. Summer is definitely here you think as you walk into work and put your stuff down. As you get started on the work for the day, your supervisor comes up to you and asks to see you in her office. Heart sinking you follow her into her office and see some other people from administration there. As you sit down you wrack your brain thinking about what you could have possibly done badly to warrant this. They talk about your time here and how well you've fit the culture. The words "surprisingly well" stick in your head as they talk about your well your accomplishments fit their institution's values. They decide to offer you a promotion! As they tell you about what the new job will entail and what the benefits will be, you are flooded with mixed emotions. The job will give you more power to start making some very needed changes to the workplace culture, but the thought of staying for another year to begin those changes seem daunting. Is this job worth it? The stress? Sleeplessness? Anxiety? You think on all the things that have happened in this past year and: [[Accept right away.|Alex accepts]] [[Ask for a few days to think about it.|Alex thinks]] [[Decline.|Alex declines]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Promotion A'); >>It's a hot day in May. Summer is definitely here you think as you walk into work and put your stuff down. You're excited but nervous because there is talk about a promotion and you and your colleague have both been gunning for it. And according to the rumor mill, it will be awarded today. Hours pass and you don't hear anything. Finally, you hear a bunch of colleagues planning a congratulatory happy hour for the promotion. It takes everything in you not to leave the room. You have worked really hard for the promotion. And you wonder if the fact that your supervisor has some people at work have called you confrontational has anything to do with not being chosen. As you think about all the times you have tried to stay true to your morals and hit walls you decide then and there that the job isn't worth all of the stress. While you have no idea how you're going to do next, the act of making a plan makes you feel better. [[Next.|Alex Disney B]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Promotion B'); >>You accept and shake hands with everyone in the room. Now the real work begins. [[Next.|Alex Disney A]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex accepts'); >>You take the few days to talk with Tyler and your friends about all of your experiences at this job. Talking through the whole experience really helps you. You go back into the office and [[make your decision|Alex Promotion A]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex thinks'); >>You decide to decline the position. A few days later you put in your notice. The job is not worth the stress, insomnia, and anxiety. [[Next.|Alex Disney B]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex declines'); >>It's a hot day in May. //Summer is definitely here,// you think as you walk into work and put your stuff down. You're excited but nervous because there is talk about a promotion and you and your colleague have both been gunning for it. And according to the rumor mill, it will be awarded today. Hours pass and you don't hear anything. Finally, you hear a bunch of colleagues planning a congratulatory happy hour for the promotion. It takes everything in you not to leave the room. You have worked really hard for the promotion. And you wonder if the fact that going to HR about all of the microaggressions and stress you've been feeling has anything to do with not being chosen. As you think about all the times you have tried to stay true to your morals and hit walls you decide then and there that the job isn't worth all of the stress. While you have no idea how you're going to do next, the act of making a plan makes you feel better. [[Next.|Alex Disney B]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Promotion C'); >>Cheese! You and your friends smile as you get your picture taken with Minnie Mouse. It's been a long time since you've all been able to get together and do something, and while it's exhausting, you are feeling better than you have in a long time. You and your friend have dressed up as Disney's Princesses and you are rocking what is an amazing Belle costume. You still aren't fond of your job and the coworkers still make a lot of loaded comments, but you've started to speak up about the instances that upset you. Now that you have more power at work, it doesn't feel like so daunting a task. As you and your friends walk into a candy store, a girl turns to her mom and says, //Why are those guys dressed like princesses? Guys can only be princes!// ... <strong>End</strong> [[Epilogue]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Disney A'); >>Cheese! You and your friends smile as you get your picture taken with Minnie Mouse. It's been a long time since you've all been able to get together and do something, and while it's exhausting, you are feeling better than you have in a long time. You and your friends have dressed up as Disney's Princesses and you are rocking what is an amazing Belle costume. You have found a new job and so far it seems to be going well. These coworkers make some loaded comments, but seem genuinely open to conversation when you speak up. It is still exhausting, but the support network, your friends and Tyler, make it manageable. As you and your friends walk into a candy store, a girl turns to her mom and says, //Why are those guys dressed like princesses? Guys can only be princes!// ... <strong>End</strong> [[Epilogue]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Alex Disney B'); >>This game uses the "Choose your own adventure" format. These stories are not linear, instead your character's choices guide the direction of the story. All of the choices you make will impact your physical and mental state, as they would in real life. These choices consequently impact the decisions you are able to make in the future. Choices that you are unable to make due to physical and mental fatigue are demonstrated with a ==strikethrough.== [[Begin.]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'how to play'); >>by Fobazi M. Ettarh Thank you for taking the time out of your day to play //Killing Me Softly.// The game doesn't really engender a happy feeling in people, and I recognize that. For those who may be wondering about the lack of a happy ending, microaggressions do not end in real life, and therefore they do not end in //Killing Me Softly.// There are steps you can take to minimize the harm to yourself, such as surrounding yourself with good people, practicing self-care routines, and if possible moving or changing your situation, but unfortunately there is no end. If you would like to learn more about microaggressions, acculturative stress, and its effects on the physical and mental state click [[here.|Bibliography]] <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Epilogue'); >><strong>Popular Sources</strong> <a href="http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory/">The Spoon Theory-Christine Miserandino</a> <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/hnigatu/racial-microagressions-you-hear-on-a-daily-basis?utm_term=.ot4rqwM6#.it397qKn">21 Racial Microaggressions You Hear On A Daily Basis</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression_theory">Microaggression Theory</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acculturation#Individual_health">Acculturative stress</a> <strong>Academic Sources</strong> Ausubel, David P. (1960). Acculturative Stress in Modern Maori Adolescence. //Child Development 31//(4), 617-631. Berry, J.W. (2006). "Stress perspectives on acculturation". In Sam, D.L.; Berry, J.W. The Cambridge Handbook of Acculturation Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 43-57. Lee, D. S., & Padilla, A. M. (2014). Acculturative Stress and Coping: Gender Differences Among Korean and Korean American University Students. //Journal of College Student Development, 55//(3), 243-262. Menon, C. V., & Harter, S. L. (2012) Examining the impact of acculturative stress on body image disturbance among Hispanic college students. //Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 18//(3), 239-246. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0028638"></a> Hwang, Wei-Chin, & Ting, J. Y. (2008). Disaggregating the effects of acculturation and acculturative stress on the mental health of Asian Americans. C//ultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 14//(2), 147-154. McClain, S., Beasley, S. T., Jones, B., Awosogba, O., Jackson, S. & Cokley, K. (2016). An Examination of the Impact of Racial and Ethnic Identity, Impostor Feelings, and Minority Status Stress on the Mental Health of Black College Students. //Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 44//(2), 101-117. Park-Taylor, J. & Ventura, A. (2008). Acculturative stress. In F. T. Leong (Ed.), Encyclopedia of counseling (Vol. 4, pp. 947-952). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Ltd. <strong>Microaggressions</strong> Whiteness. (2008). In W. A. Darity, Jr. (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (2nd ed., Vol. 9, pp. 87-89). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. Nadal, K. L. (2013). //That's so gay!: Microaggressions and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.// Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. Sue, Derald Wing. (2010). //Microaggressions in Everyday Life.// Wiley. Sweet, E.L. (2015). Visceral Geographies of Whiteness and Invisible Microaggressions.//ACME:An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies. 14//(1), 298-323 J. M., & J. L. (2015). //Diversity and the Ivory Ceiling//. Inside Higher Ed. <<set ga('send', 'event', 'passage', 'loaded', 'Bibliography'); >> (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-81886948-1', 'auto'); ga('send', 'pageview');

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The goal of this game is to illustrate as clearly as possible the accumulation of [[microaggressions]] and [[acculturative stress]] upon the physical and mental body, so that it may be better understood by people who may not understand how these incidents play out.

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Staff Virtual Gallery Walk from 11/30 Meeting 

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Staff Virtual Gallery Walk from 11/30 Meeting 

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3. BOR: Equity Session: Identifying & Interrupting Microaggressions 11/30/23

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Eureka Math Resources by Grade Level (incl. Grade Level Roadmaps and Parent Tip Sheets in English and Spanish)

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Eureka Math Resources by Grade Level (incl. Grade Level Roadmaps and Parent Tip Sheets in English and Spanish)

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Access resources for families about Eureka Math®, a math curriculum that set a new standard for rigor, coherence, and focus in the classroom.

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10 Science of Reading Strategies for Reading Instruction

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10 Science of Reading Strategies for Reading Instruction

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Reading Teaching Strategies Using the Science of Reading

Louisa Moats famously said, " Teaching reading is rocket science," which leaves us educators wondering how and where do we begin? Educators across the United States are asking the same questions with one goal in mind: How do we create lifelong readers? In this article, I'll be using my experience as a first-grade teacher to shed light on the Five Pillars of Reading and my top 10 instructional strategies for reading that help support my daily science of reading journey in the classroom.

Phonemic awareness is the ability to identify sounds that make up our words. By understanding how spoken language works, students will be able to transfer the knowledge to phonics, word work activities, encoding, and decoding in text. Phonemes are all about the sounds-rhyming, isolating phonemes, blending, and manipulating sounds are all great ways to incorporate phonemic awareness with students.

Strategy 1: Word Play

Word play activities can range from rhyming to manipulating phonemes and can be done in just 5 to 10 minutes!

Why Do It: Students understand how spoken language works and can make connections between words and their parts. Spending a short 5 to 10 minutes on word play daily has been a small but mighty change for me.
Steps to Implement:

1. Hand movement to accompany phoneme manipulation can play a big part in understanding how spoken language works.

2. Begin by holding out both hands and say a word. Pull one hand back while saying the phoneme to change, then move the hand back out.

3. With both hands in front of you: "The word is bat."

4. Moving one hand toward you, then in front of you again: "Change the /b/ to /m/."

5. With both hands in front of you: "What is our new word?"

Strategy 2: Blend Phonemes

Orally blending sounds to form words.

Why Do It: Students are encouraged to listen (hear) each sound in words, which will transfer over to their decoding skills while learning to read.
Steps to Implement:
Start with the teacher saying phrases like "Follow my directions. /j/ /u/ /m/ /p/ 3 times, /s/ /p/ /i/ /n/ 2 times," and "Follow my directions /s/ /i/ /t/ quietly at the carpet." This game provides students with a brain break with learning attached to it: a win-win in my book!

Phonics is a key component for teaching children to read. After understanding that all words have phonemes (sounds), it's time to connect those sounds with symbols, in our case, letters. The two strategies listed are two of my must-do practices to implement in the classroom!

Strategy 3: Vowel Valley Activity

A vowel valley activity involves explicitly teaching vowel sounds and mouth formations.

Why Do It: The biggest game-changer I have noticed over the last three years in my science of reading journey is the shift from a typical word wall to a sound wall. Instead of listing words like all and about under the letter A on a board, now we've shifted to focusing on the true sounds of each symbol and including words that match the sound. Now we see words like apple and at under the Short A vowel card. Students can identify the letter that goes with each sound correctly, making their encoding and decoding much stronger. Grab a handheld mirror to allow students to hear, feel, and see the vowel sounds.
Steps to Implement:

1. Create a vowel valley. Vowels are placed on the wall in strategic placement based on mouth formations.

2. Plan explicit teaching for each vowel sound. Say each sound, and use the sound in target words. Emphasize the shape of your mouth and the placement of the teeth and/or tongue.

3. Have students echo the sound and watch their mouths move in a mirror.

4. Place targeted words underneath the vowel for students to reference.

Image source: HMH Into Reading

Strategy 4: Decoding Using Sound-by-Sound Blending

This strategy helps teach students to sound out words by each phoneme, moving left to right.

Why Do It: Take the guesswork and three cueing out of reading. Encourage and explicitly teach students how to say each sound of the word and assume they have sufficient phonemic awareness knowledge to blend the sounds together. Over time, you can rely on this strategy less and less as students learn to decode independently.
Steps to Implement:

1. In the text, or when working with targeted words, guide students to point to the first sound.

2. Guide students to say each sound, then blend the sounds together. Be sure to focus on the sounds, not the letters. For example, if the word is chip, the digraph ch needs to be said as one sound.

Every time teachers read aloud to students, they are modeling fluency. Students are enjoying the story, but that's probably due to the way teachers use inflections and prosody throughout the book. Students need explicit instruction so that they will be able to read fluently, too. In the primary grades, we are setting a true foundation for our students to thrive. The two strategies I've listed are quick to implement yet so effective in helping students develop oral reading fluency!

Strategy 5: Oral Cloze Read

This fluency strategy supports fluent, accurate reading with continued readings.

Why Do It: This strategy models appropriate rate, pronunciation, and prosody, focusing on targeted phonetic patterns or vocabulary words.
Steps to Implement:

1. Pre-read a text and select words to leave out. These could be targeted phonics pattern words or vocabulary words.

2. Give each student the text, or have it projected. Begin reading, and model fluency.

3. Stop at pre-selected words. Give students a clue as to what it might be, then reveal the word and have students read it together.

Strategy 6: Timed Fluent Reading

This strategy encourages students to read quickly but also to comprehend.

Why Do It: This strategy specifically aims to improve students' reading rate, accuracy, and comprehension.
Steps to Implement:

1. Choose a text students can read with 95% accuracy.

2. Set a timer for 1 minute and have students read. Track students' accuracy, marking any mistakes made. Graph students' accuracy.

3. Using the same text, set another timer for a minute and have students reread it 3-5 times, tracking progress each time. Celebrate student growth, and keep encouraging fluent reading!

Image source: Renae Kuhn

Kids are like sponges; they can absorb so much! Having a wide range of vocabulary plays a direct role in student comprehension. Two strategies I'm including can happen naturally across content areas but ultimately support vocabulary expansion.

Strategy 7: Generative Vocabulary

Generative vocabulary focuses on the morphology of words that allows students to unlock word opportunities. These lessons will support students' speaking, listening, and reading vocabularies across content areas.

Why Do It: We cannot teach students every word they may come across in the English language, but we can teach them to understand word parts such as roots, prefixes, and/or suffixes.
Steps to Implement:

1. Preview a text, and choose words with clear morphemes to focus on. For example, if you are reading a text with the word ignite, consider using this as a generative vocabulary opportunity to relate the word ignite with the word igneous.

2. Create a word map to continue making connections between words through their morphemes.

3. Choose a vocabulary word with a prefix or suffix. With students, identify the base word and discuss how the prefix or suffix changes the word's meaning. Brainstorm other words with the same prefix or suffix, and apply the 'generative' meaning of the new word due to knowledge of morphemes.

Image source: HMH Into Reading

Strategy 8: Knowledge Maps

Build background knowledge on topics. Encourage the use of vocabulary words as more topic information is learned.

Why Do It: Introducing a knowledge map at the beginning of a unit can allow for learning to happen right from the start. Use the knowledge map for students to expand on what they know already and help them communicate their knowledge about the topic.
Steps to Implement:

1. Pick out key vocabulary words that are critical for student success. Students are not expected to know much about these words yet, so in a sense, this is backward in planning a unit of study.

2. Create a knowledge map with students to sort words into categories and have a 'Want to Know More About' spot on your map.

3. As the unit unfolds, refer to the knowledge map and add other words or new categories to solidify student learning and application of vocabulary words.

Image source: HMH Into Reading

The goal we want our students to reach is to comprehend and enjoy the stories they read and listen to. By working their way through the pillars, students will journey from learning to read to reading to learn. All year long, we teach students reading strategies. Below are my two favorite reading comprehension strategies to implement regularly in the classroom.

Strategy 9: Making Connections

Build and make connections to text based on student background knowledge.

Why Do It: This strategy guides students to make connections to self, text, and world while reading to ensure they can fully understand and relate to the text.
Steps to Implement:

1. Preview a text with students. Have them begin thinking about any connections they can make either to themselves, another story, or their community or world.

2. Read the text, pausing occasionally to allow students to process the events in the story and reflect on their own experiences or other familiar texts.

3. After the story, consider having students put into writing their connections, or use a turn-and-talk routine to allow students to discuss. For younger learners, give sentence frames such as This reminds me of when I..., This is like the book that I read about..., or This is like what happened when... to help get them started.

Image source: HMH Into Reading

Strategy 10: Synthesizing

Help students gather important information from the story, make connections or inferences, and paraphrase to complete their understanding of a text. This is a critical skill for full comprehension of a text.

Why Do It: Use this strategy to allow students to put together parts of the text to see the author's ideas in a new way. Students will need to apply other strategies to effectively synthesize the text.
Steps to Implement:

1. Read a text with students. Guide students in identifying the most important parts in the text and have them reflect on the question, "What does this all mean to me?"

2. Explain to students that we all bring our own thoughts, perspectives, and experiences to a text. When we synthesize information, we can understand the author's ideas in new ways.

3. After reading, allow students to write or discuss what the text means to them based on their own experiences and background knowledge.
Image source: HMH Into Reading

Teaching Reading with Science of Reading Strategies

Whether you're already on your science of reading journey or if it's brand new to you, we can all agree that when we know better, we can do better. As educators, we won't stop until every child reads. Over the last few years in my first-grade classroom, I've made little changes that have added up to have big results! I encourage you to begin thinking about the small changes you can make in your classroom with reading teaching strategies that will have big impacts on student learning. Consider the resources listed above, and know that it's never too late to begin a science of reading instruction. Keep the pillars of reading in mind and teach on!

Quick View Takeaways: 10 Strategies to Use and Embark on Your Science of Reading Journey

Phonemic Awareness

Phonics

Fluency

Vocabulary

Comprehension

Articulation Guide with a Vowel Valley

Sound-by-Sound Blending

Oral Cloze Read

Time Fluent Reading

Generative Vocabulary

Knowledge Maps

Make Connections

Synthesize

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of HMH.
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HMH core, intervention, and supplemental programs are rooted in the science of reading. Find out more about our evidence-based approach to teaching a child to read.

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10 Science of Reading Strategies for Reading Instruction

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Read one teacher's top 10 instructional strategies to support science of reading in the classroom.

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Tips for Using Hand Gestures to Support Student Learning 

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Tips for Using Hand Gestures to Support Student Learning 

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Understanding how gesturing aids communication gives teachers another tool to ensure that learning really sticks in students' minds.

Moments before a fellow teacher was about to speak to a gymnasium full of ninth graders, I bet her a bagel sandwich that she couldn't talk without moving her hands. Fists stuffed into her khaki pockets, she stammered into the microphone for a few seconds, then shot exasperated eye-darts in my direction as she removed her hands and started gesturing. Instantly, her oral fluency returned.

Gesturing Benefits Speakers

As many teachers and students have discovered on their own, manual (hand and arm movement) gesturing supports oral message formation. That's why we naturally gesticulate when talking on the phone, even though the listener can't see us. Words are easier to access; sentences emerge faster.

In fact, gesturing spontaneously escalates when communication challenges intensify. In an article for The Wall Street Journal, Sharon Begley wrote, "The greater the cognitive effort required for speech, the more we gesture." Begley also notes that bilingual students gesticulate more when conversing in their nondominant language, an example of " embodied cognition " where the body and mind coordinate to offload mental strain to our hands.

In a 2001 study, Susan Goldin-Meadow and her colleagues taxed the working memory of a random sample of students by directing them to talk without moving their hands. The comparison group of participants was allowed to gesture while explaining how to solve a math problem. According to the researchers, the second group was able to recall more of a previously memorized series of letters.

Research by Jana M. Iverson and Goldin-Meadow that examined the effects of gestures and learning showed that participants who sat on their hands were unable to orally construct a narrative about a cartoon with as much depth and fluency as those students who were encouraged to gesticulate. These results suggest that gesturing frees cognitive resources.

Gestures Have an Effect on the Listener

In most contexts, the axiom that gesturing distracts listeners is false. Whether executing the hand-on-heart pledge, the Angela Merkel "diamond," or dozens of other possible hand movements, the most popular TED conference speakers used an average of 465 gestures, according to Science of People. That's almost double the number of gestures made by the least popular TED presenters.

When teachers gesticulate, learners pay more attention. "Hand gestures alert the auditory cortex that meaningful communication is coming," according to Spencer Kelly, a hand gesture researcher. A 2011 meta-study determined that students understand and remember more of what teachers say when hand movement accompanies words, with representational gestures leading to deeper comprehension, such as the " beat gestures " used to great effect by President John F. Kennedy.

When Should Students Use Gestures?

When students act out topics with their hands at the moment of encoding (initial learning), they're more likely to retrieve the information later. Watching a peer manually express how a bill becomes a law or perform the four steps of photosynthesis positively affects student recall weeks later-similar to the benefits of observing a teacher's gesticulations.

Gesturing supports information retrieval, such as uncommon vocabulary. Prompted to try gesturing difficult words when they are on the tip of their tongues, learners outperform those who did not. Likewise, gesturing while reproducing sentences in a foreign language helps students remember and maintain what they've learned. Thus, gesturing while both encoding and recalling supports learning.

However, not all gestures are equal. Deliberate, enacted movement is more memorable than spontaneous gesturing. Furthermore, when learners manually represent a graph or other types of visual information, the positive impact of gestures on memory is reduced. One hypothesis for this discovery is that "gesturing encourages speakers to generate their own internal visual representations of events, decreasing the usefulness of the actual visual representation as a recall cue." Such redundancy is the strategic equivalent of wearing two raincoats.

Assess Cognition by Observing Student Gestures

Annie Murphy Paul notes in her book The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain that children frequently convey "mixed messages" when simultaneously gesturing and explaining a concept. Detecting these moments of cognitive inconsistency can help teachers identify the extent to which a student has internalized knowledge and skills and when to time instructional interventions.

If the learners' words and gestures align, the concept has been mastered. If both gestures and words are incorrect, the student has a ways to go. A mismatch between gestures and spoken words signals that the student is on the verge of understanding the concept and is receptive to instruction.

For example, if a student shrugs with open palms (the universal signal for "I don't know") and answers correctly that -6 subtracted from -8 equals -2, this is a good opportunity for the teacher to say, "Walk through how you arrived at this correct answer," before asking about a similar mathematical problem in order to help the learner solidify her understanding.

Remember These Key Takeaways

1. Practice gestures (e.g., showing fingers while identifying the order of planets) before you present concepts in class.

2. Direct students to pay attention to your hands when you explain something new.

3. Encourage learners to gesture actively during activities like turn and talk, when students converse about a topic with a partner.

4. Notice when students struggle for the right words, and say, "How about moving your hands to help find the words?"

5. Offer learners this study tip: When recalling information, re-create the gestures that you or the instructor used when the topic was introduced.

6. Ask students to use deictic gestures-such as pointing to elements in an anatomy diagram, pointing at a world map, or tracing geometry figures-during the encoding process.

7. Watch students' hands as the students talk to assess their understanding, and time your interventions.

Recent scholarship on manual gestures suggests that you employ the following strategies:

During your next class, trust your hands to conduct the complex orchestration of teaching and learning. They'll know what to do.

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Tips for Using Hand Gestures to Support Learning

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Understanding how gesturing aids communication gives teachers another tool to ensure that learning really sticks in students' minds.