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Write About Asia: 2024 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 2024 Freeman Award books for children and young adults. Participants reviewed the 2024 Freeman Award Winners for grades 2–12 classrooms, read and wrote about the texts, and shared written responses with other writers.
Program details
This workshop consisted of multiple sessions. The first session introduced the 2024 Freeman Award Winners and was mandatory for all participants. The other five sessions focused on individual titles; participants attended whichever they preferred (at least one). Since each session consisted of independent reading time, one 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:
June 24, 2025 (3:00–4:30 p.m. PDT): Introduction to the workshop and to the 2024 Freeman Award Winners
Participants chose one or more of the following sessions:
July 1, 2025 (3:00–4:30 p.m. PDT): Writer’s workshop and sharing based on Hokusai’s Daughter: A Young Artist in Old Japan, written and illustrated by Sunny Seki.
July 8, 2025 (3:00–4:30 p.m. PDT): Writer’s workshop and sharing based on Your Letter, written and illustrated by Hyeon A Cho; translated by WEBTOON.
July 15, 2025: BREAK
July 22, 2025 (3:00–4:30 p.m. PDT): Writer’s workshop and sharing based on A Two-Placed Heart by Doan Phuong Nguyen and A Bánh Mì for Two by Trinity Nguyen.
July 29, 2025 (3:00–4:30 p.m. PDT): Writer’s workshop and sharing based on Rats to the Rescue: The Unlikely Heroes Making Cambodia Safe by Scott Riley and Sambat Meas; illustrated by Huy Voun Lee; and The House Before Falling into the Sea, written by Ann Suk Wang and illustrated by Hanna Cha.
August 5, 2025 (3:00–4:30 p.m. PDT): Writer’s workshop and sharing based on The Boy from Clearwater: Books 1 & 2, written by Pei-Yun Yu; illustrated by Jian-Xin Zhou; translated by Lin King.
Zoom policy
We kindly asked that all participants keep their cameras on during our sessions. We understood that technical glitches or occasional camera issues could arise, and we were flexible with those instances. However, to foster a sense of connection and trust in our intimate and vulnerable sharing environment, it was important that we could 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 discussing one book; 4 Washington State OSPI clock hours for each session discussing two books.
- Free copies of the workshop texts: participants will receive a copy of each book for free before the program.
This program was 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)