Cicely Lewis - Read Woke
Named the 2020 National Librarian of the Year by School Library Journal and Scholastic, a 2019 Library Journal Mover and Shaker and the 2019 National Teacher Award for Lifelong Readers by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and Penguin Random House (PRH), Cicely Lewis is a school librarian with a passion for creating lovers of reading. In 2017, she started the Read Woke challenge in response to injustices in her community and the lack of diversity in young adult literature. Her students were required to read books that challenge the social norm and give voice to the silenced. Using this platform, she had inspired the nation to Read Woke with educators across the world joining in and sharing the movement with their students. When she is not reading, you can find Cicely writing for her bi-monthly column in the School Library Journal where she shares her book recommendations. Her writing was recently featured in the 20th Anniversary Edition of Walter Dean Myers 145th Street Short Stories. She has partnered with Lerner Publishing to bring you a new book series, Issues in Action, which helps educate young people and provides ways for them to take action in their community. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @cicelythegreat or explore or #readwoke to join the movement!
Keynote Address
Tech Woke: Making Good Trouble with Issues in Action
Learn how to get students reading and empower them to make "good trouble" in their community using books from the Issues in Action series and technology tools. Cicely Lewis, the author and executive editor of the Issues in Action series, will share lesson plan ideas for each book in the series and ways to empower students to use technology to create real-life tools for their community. Read Something and then Do Something with Cicely Lewis in this impactful session.
Tune in Monday, March 14th at 4:00 pm to hear her keynote.
Learn More about Issues in Action and Read Woke Books
The Issues in Action Series from Lerner Publishing examines hard topics facing our society – from gun violence to immigration. Learn how problems developed and hear from underrepresented persons involved in these struggles. Reflection questions help readers challenge their perspectives, while an activism toolkit and a Read Woke reading list empower readers to make a difference.
Read Woke Books are created in partnership with Cicely Lewis, the Read Woke librarian. Inspired by a belief that knowledge is power, Read Woke Books seek to challenge social norms, give voice to the silenced, provide information about groups that have been disenfranchised, disrupt the status quo, and share perspectives from underrepresented or oppressed groups.
