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Cultural Curriculum Chat with Jebeh Edmunds
Welcome to the Cultural Curriculum Chat Podcast—an inclusive space for educators, DEI practitioners, and all individuals eager to foster diversity and understanding! If you're seeking a vibrant, authentic podcast to guide you in implementing Multicultural Education, look no further. Are you yearning for inspiration to cultivate a truly inclusive classroom community? Join us on a journey filled with insightful resources, practical tips, and a touch of humor, all led by the knowledgeable educator, Jebeh Edmunds.
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Cultural Curriculum Chat with Jebeh Edmunds
Season 6 Episode #13 Exploring Cultural Identity Through Storytelling: Thunderboy Jr. by Sherman Alexie
Unlock the power of cultural identity through storytelling as we explore "Thunderboy Jr." by Sherman Alexie, with vibrant illustrations by Yuyi Morales. Join me, Jeva Edmonds, on the Cultural Curriculum Chat podcast where we unravel the poignant journey of a young boy eager to carve out his own name and identity while celebrating the legacy of his father, Thunderboy Sr. We'll journey together through the themes of cultural pride, names, and self-discovery, inviting educators to spark meaningful conversations in their classrooms. Experience the excitement of Thunderboy Jr.'s world, from participating in powwows as a grass dancer to embracing his vibrant personality, all captured in stunning illustrations that bring his story to life.
Step into our diverse book community and experience the beauty of inclusive literature. With hundreds of episodes waiting to be explored, subscribing to our channel is your gateway to a treasure trove of book reviews and discussions focused on culturally responsive learning. Let’s transform classrooms with a rich tapestry of multicultural narratives and foster an environment where every student feels seen and valued. Keep the conversation going by suggesting future titles and joining me next week on the Culture Curriculum Chat podcast and Mrs. Edmond's Cultural Corner, where we cultivate an enriching space for all to learn and grow together.
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Thunderboy Jr, by Sherman Alexie and illustrated by Yuyi Morales, is a vibrant and heartwarming story that follows the spirited Thunderboy Jr as he embarks on a quest to find his special place by carving out his identity in this world. I am so excited to dive into this book. Hello everyone, my name is Jeva Edmonds and you are listening to the Cultural Curriculum Chat podcast and viewing on you Mrs Edmonds' cultural corner. It's a mouthful, you'll get used to it. And if you're new to my channel and my podcast, we deliver all things multicultural educational practices and strategies for the classroom as well as in inclusive workplaces. And for today, we are talking all things by dreaming the biggest dreams in this book here, thunder Boy Jr by Sherman Alexie and illustrated by Yuyi Morales and if you have seen a previous episode of mine, click back a couple episodes. After this one, I do a whole new book review on dreamers written and illustrated by the same illustrator, yuyi Morales, so I want you to check that out after this episode. So let's dive into it.
Speaker 1:Friends, thunderboy Jr is just so sweet. It talks about this young boy named Thunderboy Smith after his dad, thunderboy Sr. He's Thunderboy Jr and he is a adventurer. He loves it. He calls himself Thunderboy, but his real name is Thunderboy Smith. And I quote he talks about how he got his name. His dad gave him his name, but he talks about how his mother wanted to name him a different name, sam. And he thought and thought and thought and he said you know what? Sam is a normal name, sam is a good name. I like Sam, right? I would love for you educators to have this as your launching pad when you talk to your students about their name. And it's okay.
Speaker 1:After you read the book and maybe some students don't know the meaning of the name have a list of names and have them pick out a name from your list to find the meaning behind it. And that just opens up that inclusivity, culturally responsive lens of thinking about hey, if you don't know what your name means, let's find a name on this list that interests you, to find out what that name means. And then, when you go home, maybe you want to ask your grownup what your name means too. But it's not a requirement, it's just something fun, a really fun activity. And so this book talks more about how nobody on this earth, as he says, is named Thunder Boy who has ever lived. That's what his dad had said, or so you think, but of course he's a junior named after his father. He compares his name and he talks about how his dad's name is called Big Thunder and he gets Little Thunder. So he feels like what is so great about being little, right? And your students are going to get a kick out of this line.
Speaker 1:This sentence, because it goes that nickname makes me sound like a I quote burp or fart. End quote yeah, your students are going to laugh about that one because you say those naughty kind of words. But then he talks in depth about his mother and sister's names and how it sounds so you know, sophisticated and fancy. But then he talks about how he has a secret and then he says it I hate my name. Raise your hand if you have felt that way. You know so many students that have different sounding names might have felt that way too. I wouldn't say I hated my name, but I was kind of like, well, who else has my name? And it took me a while to really grow into my name and the meaning of it. It means lots of love in Vi in my tribal language, and I thought you know what? I am full of love. I love people, I love to read and I grew up to really appreciate my name and you know what. It's also my company name, I'm just saying. But I love how the author talks about how so many students, especially students in the indigenous community, might not feel like they want to have their name. They might feel that they might be teased and a lot of them are teased and you know and how it made them feel of I want to have ownership in how I name myself. So there's so many you know conversations you can have with your students with this book.
Speaker 1:I love how Thunder Boy Jr talks about how he loves his dad. He doesn't want to have his name be sullied because his father is so great and he emulates his dad. But he also wants you to read about the things that emulates him and his personality. He talks about how he touched the nose. He goes maybe I should change my name too, and I quote not afraid of 10,000 teeth, right? He also talks about climbing a mountain and changing his name to something in that realm and it keep going on and on about. Once he dreamed the sun and the moon were his mom and his dad. He goes hmm, I like Starboy and I quote and he talks about his adventures and going to garage sales. I mean, I love the pictures. It really depicts Thunderboy Jr's behavior in life and it depicts his personality. It depicts his energy. It depicts him goofing around with his dog and honoring his culture by going to powwows and how he is a grass dancer and the importance and significance of that. So I just love this book, how he does touch on being full of wonder and there's another fun secret. But I'm not going to give it away because I want you to get this book. It comes into play of why he was named Thunder Boy Jr and his father bestows a whole new name that brings them even closer together.
Speaker 1:This book is just ah, tugs at your heart and I love how you can get this book to have a launch pad of your cultural sharing activities in your classroom and the importance and the findings of your name and even have an activity. If you weren't named the name that you have, what name would you pick? Right, if I had a choice, I would have named myself Janet, as in Janet Jackson, because she is my favorite icon of all time. Yes, I said it. So you know Jeb and Janet. You know it has a nice ring to it. So think about some really fun activities that you can do and lessons with Thunder Boy Jr.
Speaker 1:With Thunderboy Jr, this book is really sweet and, like I said, I'm not going to give it away too much, because I really want you to go in and get this book where books are sold, and I also want you to join our diverse book community and discover a world of inclusive literature that I have vetted and reviewed.
Speaker 1:I've got hundreds of episodes on my channel, but I really want you to subscribe so you can get lots of books and titles, and even if you have some suggestions of a book you'd like me to review, put it in the comments and I'd be happy to get that title, read it and share it with the rest of you. And I really want you to get more of our insights on our podcast and our channel by, you know, unlocking the secrets of cultural responsive learning and why a diverse classroom library is important. I have so many other episodes that I want you to binge watch today and, of course, share and find this book, thunderboy Jr, written by Sherman Alexie and Yuyi Morales, as your illustrator and I will see you here same time next week on the Culture Curriculum Chat podcast and Mrs Edmond's Cultural Corner. See you next time. Bye-bye.