Words Without Borders Campus

Educators' Voices: Bringing Global Graphic Fiction to English Language Learners

Posted on June 12, 2019

Leighton Suen, English and ENL teacher at FDR High School in Brooklyn.

No one watching Leighton Suen confidently leading a discussion of the Chinese graphic fiction story "Sharing" in the classroom would guess that this was the very first work in that genre he had ever taught, or that the path that led him to become a teacher began with an experience of powerlessness. But it is this very quality---this tendency to respond to challenges with hard work and initiative---that has shaped Leighton's educational career, and which he models for his students as they strive to learn English.

9 Classroom-ready Stories of LGBTQ+ Lives Around the World

Posted on June 04, 2019

Man carrying Puerto Rican flag in San Francisco Pride parade. By Steven Damron, 2013. (CC 2.0 licence, image has been cropped and color-optimized.)

According to a 2017 study, only one in five LBGTQ student ever sees positive representations of queer life in classroom readings*. This June is the perfect time to remedy this imbalance with relevant, compelling literature that spans the globe and showcases the diversity of LGBTQ lives. You'll find links to that literature, along with tools for teaching and learning, below.

4 Powerful Ways to Commemorate June 4th, the Tiananmen Square Massacre

Posted on May 31, 2019

From the series "Eternal Sorrow," by Wu Wenjian.

A painting from the series "Eternal Sorrow," by protester turned painter Wu Wenjian.

This coming Tuesday will mark 30 years since the Chinese government's violent suppression of young pro-democracy protesters at Tiananmen Square. In China, due to government censorship, most students know little or nothing about this event. How about students in the U.S. and other countries? Whether you have ten minutes or an entire class session, you'll find ways to introduce your students to the events of June 4th, 1989---and demonstrate their continued relevance---below.

Congratulations to Jokha Alharthi and Marilyn Booth on this year's Man Booker Prize!

Posted on May 22, 2019

We are delighted to report that Jokha Alharthi, an Omani author whose work we featured in the blog just a few weeks ago, just won the Man Booker Prize for her novel Celestial Bodies! Marilyn Booth translated the novel.

6 Great Resources for Teaching About the U.S.-Mexico Border

Posted on May 20, 2019

In researching resources for the novel excerpt "The Gringo Champion," which tells the story of a teen migrant, WWB has found great videos, articles, and photo essays addressing immigration across our southern border—which can be also be used with other works of literature, such as Esperanza Rising, or in social studies and history classes. You'll find links to these resources below.