This past semester, I had the chance to turn my classroom into a hub of creativity and cultural exchange, thanks to the Classroom Library Grant. As a Multilingual Education teacher at North High School in Worcester, MA, where more than half the students speak a first language other than English, I’m always looking for ways to engage my students with meaningful and accessible resources. Picture books turned out to be an incredible way to help my students grow their language skills and share their personal stories.
The project started with a big question: how can we use storytelling to share who we are? With that in mind, I chose picture books that featured diverse characters, themes of resilience, and stories about identity and cultural pride. Titles like This is How We Do It by Matt Lamonte, Radiant Child by Javanka Steptoe, and The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui became staples in our classroom. These books, with their rich storytelling and vivid illustrations, were perfect for students to build their English skills.
We began by reading these books together as a class. Each reading was followed by conversations about the stories’ themes, the characters’ journeys, and how the pictures added to the storytelling. For students who were shy about speaking in English, the illustrations helped them connect with the story and join the discussion. This combination of text and visuals made it possible for every student to engage, no matter their language level.
The picture books also became the inspiration for a personal storytelling project. Each student created their own picture book, sharing the story of their life in their home country and the activities they used to do. We started with brainstorming sessions, where students thought about key moments in their lives. Using graphic organizers, we mapped out their narratives, focusing on important events, characters, and emotions. I encouraged them to use sensory language and descriptive details to make their stories come alive—skills we’d been working on in class.
Creating these books was a deeply personal experience. Students poured their hearts into their stories, illustrating scenes of playing soccer with friends in their hometown, helping family members prepare traditional meals, or even growing food in their school! For those who found writing in English challenging, the illustrations became an essential part of their storytelling, capturing emotions and ideas that words alone couldn’t express.
When the books were finished, we held a “Storytelling Showcase,” where students shared their work with their classmates. The pride on their faces as they read their stories aloud or displayed their illustrations was unforgettable. It also brought the class closer together as they discovered shared experiences and celebrated the unique aspects of each other’s stories.
This project showed me that picture books are so much more than just tools for learning to read—they’re bridges to understanding, self-expression, and connection. By bringing culturally responsive materials and creative projects into the classroom, I was able to give my students a way to share their voices and take pride in who they are—a reminder of the magic of storytelling.
Matthew Thomas Young
Classroom Library Grant Recipient, 2024
North High School
Worcester, MA
Sigma Tau Delta Classroom Library Grants
Sigma Tau Delta’s Classroom Library Grants are designed to enhance the Society’s goals of
- promoting interest in literature and language in the surrounding communities;
- fostering all aspects of the discipline of English, including literature, language, and writing; and
- serving society by fostering literacy.
The Classroom Library Grants are also intended to support our members who have entered the field of teaching and need material support to help achieve these goals through their work in the classroom by providing their students with a library in their own classrooms, especially where access to school or public libraries or to books in the home may be limited.
The Society will award up to five grants of $400 each per cycle to help members of Sigma Tau Delta who have been teaching in a Middle School or High School classroom for five years or fewer. That is, applicants may or may not be recent college graduates; the Classroom Library Grant is intended to help new Middle School and High School teachers, whether in their first years out of college or in the first years of a second career, to build a classroom library for their students.
Criteria For Selection
In choosing recipients, the Classroom Library Grant Committee will consider the following criteria:
- lack of economic and geographic access to books at your school, or another demonstrated need;
- the explanation of how the classroom library envisioned will support your goals in alignment with the Society’s goals; and
- supervisory endorsement of your classroom library project.
Please note that this grant is now only available to middle school and high school educators.
Deadline and Dates
Applications will be accepted through April 7, 2025, 4:00 p.m. Central Time (CT).
Past Classroom Library Grant Recipients
Our Classroom Library: Bridging the Gap in More Ways than One
Aiding Access with a Classroom Library Grant
A Classroom Library Grant: The Gift that Gives Again and Again
Building a Classroom Library as a First-Year Teacher
Feeding the Minds of Our Future
Classroom Library Grant: A Book Blessing
Classroom Libraries: Inclusivity and the Reluctant Reader
“I Finished a Book!”: A Classroom Library’s Impact
The Unofficial Guide to Getting the Best Books for your Classroom
Creating Lifelong Readers with a Classroom Library Grant
The Contemporary American Dream: The Impact of a Classroom Library Grant
Building My Classroom Library: A Bright Spot in a Tough Year
Special Books for Special Students
New Books, New Motivation
If You Build a Classroom Library, They Will Read
Books are Our Passports to the World
Striking a Match
More from Footnotes: April 1, 2025
Leadership Opportunities
Sigma Tau Delta Journal Submissions
Internship Stipends
Study Abroad Scholarships
LIT Research Grants
Graduation Merchandise
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