Resources for Families
Families are the most important factor in a child’s life-long literacy journey, and we want to make sure that we can support you. If you’re looking for excellent, culturally responsive, and developmentally appropriate books to share with or suggest to the young people in your life, please check out the books we use in the classroom!
Do you have difficulty getting your child to read at home? Does your child complain when you suggest some quiet time with a book?
Behind the Book programs work to instill the internal motivation to read and write, so that reading becomes a choice that young people gladly participate in, instead of an ongoing struggle.
What Sets Us Apart
Student Autonomy/
Voice and Choice
We start by giving students the opportunity to vote on what themes– social justice, social emotional learning, STEM, cultural affirmation, identity, etc.– they’d like to explore. Our team then presents 3-5 books appropriate for their academic and social development, with fun culminating projects built into their decision.
By choosing the topic of the program, the book they’ll read, and the project they’ll work on, students have far greater interest and investment from the start.
Immersive Experience
We create curriculum units based on a book that include working with the author, relevant field trips, and writing, art, and drama workshops.
We create curriculum units based on a book that include working with the author, relevant field trips, and writing, art, and drama workshops. With a team trained in trauma-informed facilitation, Behind the Book can bring interesting and attainable learning to our schools with the care required to connect with students.
Most Title I New York City public schools do not have money set aside for arts education, creating an enormous arts education gap. Often, art is the creative aspect students need to see the value in learning.
