226: Banned Books Week Starts Now (Here’s Help)

As Banned Books Week kicks off, I know not every teacher is in a position to showcase it. In some places, it's simply too dangerous for an educator to display banned and challenged books and talk about intellectual freedom with students (the Fahrenheit 451 realities are overwhelming).

But for those in a position to share about this with students, today I want to give you some options. Choose the ones that are right for your classroom and community.

As usual, it's not about telling our students what to think, it's reminding them that this is an important thing to think about.

The American Library Association has compiled a lot of great data about censorship and challenges taking place around the country. In 2022, there were 1,269 attempts to ban or censor library books or resources. This is the highest number in the last twenty years.

You can get a concise picture of the statistics and related issues on this page of the ALA website.

Banned Books Week: Display Ideas

One of the easiest ways to raise student awareness of book censorship is to put up a display for Banned Books Week. Again, the ALA has amazing resources for ideas. Check out their Pinterest page here for dozens of ideas, or try one of the easy options below.

Try a Fahrenheit 451 theme for a quick and easy Banned Books display. Cut large orange and red paper flames to line your shelves and/or small ones to stick into the pages of your books, then add a sign that says "Read Banned Books" and perhaps a few quotations from Ray Bradbury.

Another easy option for a Banned Books display is to put up caution tape, or, if you can't easily get any, print out strips of text saying "caution" on yellow copier paper and tape them up to look like caution tape.

Banned Books Week: Free Posters for your Display

To complement your displays of banned books, try adding one of these free poster resources.

I loved this idea I saw on the ALA Pinterest page so much I had to try making my own version for you. Rachel Moani created an amazing book display for the Lacey Timberland Library featuring characters holding up signs showcasing the insane reasons their books had been banned.

You can make your copy of my easily printable version here if you'd like, or make your own. I didn't try to include every reason each book had been banned or challenged, but I included one or two.

The Alexandria Public Library has some great free posters waiting for you to download as well! Check them all out here.

The National Education Association has a "Freedom to Read" poster available here if you need something more subtle.

These two infographics from the American Library Association can help students get a clearer picture of what's going on. You can download and print them from the ALA website.

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