Write About Asia: 2023 Freeman Award Winners
The National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA), the Committee on Teaching about Asia (CTA) of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS), and Asia for Educators (AFE) at Columbia University sponsor the annual Freeman Book Awards for new young adult and children’s literature. The awards recognize quality books for children and young adults that contribute meaningfully to an understanding of East and Southeast Asia.
During this online workshop, teachers studied and wrote about the 2023 Freeman Award books for children and young adults. Participants reviewed the 2023 Freeman Award Winners for grades 2-12 classrooms, read and write about the texts, and shared written responses with other writers.
Program details
This workshop consisted of multiple sessions. The first session introduced the 2023 Freeman Award Winners and was mandatory for all participants. The other five sessions focused on individual titles; participants could attend whichever they prefered (at least one). Since each session consisted of alone reading time, 1 hour of writing, and 1.5 hours of class time, participants received three clock hours for each session attended.
Dates and Time
All participants attended:
Tuesday, June 25, 2024; 3:00 – 4:30 PM (Pacific Time): Introduction to the workshop and to the 2023 Freeman Award Winners.
Participants chose one or more of the following sessions:
Tuesday, July 9, 2024; 3:00 – 4:30 PM (Pacific Time), My Father, the Panda Killer by Jamie Jo Hoang.
Tuesday, July 16, 2024; 3:00 – 4:30 PM (Pacific Time), My Grandfather’s Song by Phùng Nguyên Quang and Huỳnh Kim Liên.
Tuesday, July 23, 2024; 3:00 – 4:30 PM (Pacific Time): Lost in Taiwan by Mark Crilley and Okinawa by Susumu Higa; edited by Andrew Woodrow-Butcher.
Tuesday, July 30, 2024; 3:00 – 4:30 PM (Pacific Time): Boys Don’t Fry by Kimberly Lee; illustrated by Charlene Chua and Chinese Menu: The History, Myths and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods by Grace Lin.
Tuesday, August 6, 2024; 3:00 – 4:30 PM (Pacific Time): Saving H’Non: Chang and the Elephant by Trang Nguyen and Jeet Zdung; iIllustrated by Jeet Zdung.
Zoom policy
We kindly asked that all participants keep their cameras on during our sessions. We understand that technical glitches or occasional camera issues may arise, and we’re flexible with those instances. However, to foster a sense of connection and trust in our intimate and vulnerable sharing environment, it’s important that we can see each other during our interactions. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding!
Workshop facilitators
Lyn Jackson was an English and Japanese Language teacher for 35 years and enjoys working with teachers of all subjects and grade levels. Although she taught mostly high school students, she has experience working with middle and elementary students as well. Thanks to EARC, she has participated in countless experiences relating to Asia and Asian culture.
As a middle and high school language arts teacher Nora Douglass had the opportunity to participate in many EARC workshops and seminars including an NCTA study tour of Japan. One of her favorites is another Write About Asia workshop facilitated by longtime EARC leader Mary Roberts at the Seattle Asian Art Museum where, following SAAM’s Saturday University lectures, Nora gets to hone her own writing skills.
Program benefits
- 3 Washington State OSPI clock hours for each session.
- Free copies of the workshop texts: participants received a copy of each book for free before the program.
Online Resources
Click here to view the Padlet site for this program.
This program is sponsored by the East Asia Resource Center at the University of Washington and funded by a Freeman Foundation grant in support of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA)