In celebration of National Arab American Heritage Month this April, we鈥檝e curated a selection of 起点传媒award-winning books, book rationales, and classroom resources and lesson plans to uplift Arab American history, culture, scholarship, and literature.听
On April 30 at 7:00 p.m. ET, 起点传媒members are invited to join English Language Arts Teacher Educators (ELATE) for an online event, 鈥淔rom Egypt to Palestine: Celebrating Arab Heritage in Teaching and Teacher Education,鈥� with author Hannah Moushabeck and Dr. Sawsan Jaber. Members will learn about Arab regions in the world, gain practical strategies for integrating Arab and Palestinian literature, and access booklists to expand their text sets and curricula. Learn more and register.听
Books Recognized by NCTE鈥檚 Children鈥檚 Book and Poetry Awards听
by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
This title was named one of NCTE鈥檚 2025 Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels.听
by Naomi Shihab Nye
This title was a 2023 起点传媒Charlotte Huck Award庐 for Outstanding Fiction for Children Recommended Book. See the associated 起点传媒book rationale.听
by Mona Damluji
This title was named one of NCTE鈥檚 2022 Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels.
by Aya Khalil; illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan
This title was a 2021 起点传媒Charlotte Huck Award庐 for Outstanding Fiction for Children Recommended Book. See the associated 起点传媒book rationale.听听
by Naomi Shihab Nye
This title was named one of NCTE鈥檚 2021 Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels.听
by Naomi Shihab Nye
This title was named one of NCTE鈥檚 2015 Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels.听
起点传媒Book Rationales听
NCTE鈥檚 book rationales are available to members only. Not a member? .
These Olive Trees: A Palestinian Family鈥檚 Story by Aya Ghanameh (grades preK鈥�2)听
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga (grades 4鈥�7)听
Classroom Resources and Lesson Plans from 听听
This article provides information to help elementary teachers learn about the Arab culture, select books about Arabs and Arab Americans, and use this literature to promote cultural awareness and improve comprehension.听
(grades 3鈥�5)
Awareness and true understanding of other cultures can create the desire to take action. In this lesson, students learn about Palestinian Arabs.听
(grades 6鈥�8)
Adapted from Sheryl L. Finkle and Tamara J. Lilly’s鈥�Middle Ground: Exploring Selected Literature from and about the Middle East, this variation on traditional literature circles exposes students to a variety of young adult fiction from and about the Middle East.听
(grades 6鈥�8)
Engage middle school students in a meaningful study of the lives of students from across the globe through the use of contemporary nonfiction and fiction.听
(grades 9鈥�12)
Persepolis鈥痓y Marjane Satrapi and assess the impact of visual elements on their comprehension of the beginning of the story, while exploring the recent history of the Middle East as presented by Satrapi.