Magic Pencil Curriculum Guide : A Literacy Lift for Youth

Hello! The Magic Pencil Curriculum Guide was prepared to accompany the engagingly didactic novel for youth, The Magic Pencil."TMP" is the only book discussing African American English and code-switching from a young person's view point.The Magic Pencil is both a mirror book as well as a window book.It's purpose is to uplift and inspire youth toward greater literacy by letting them see themselves and their peers in literature. This Guide will help the instructor introduce the book almost immediately once she has it in her hands! It summarizes each chapter with teaching suggestions and stimulating questions following. OBJECTIVES•To encourage the uninspired, reluctant and discouraged reader to develop the desire to read for pleasure. •To develop the desire to read for greater knowledge.•To increase self-esteem; especially within African American/black youth. •To remove the stigma applied to African American/black people when they use colloquial language. To recognize all people engage in this behavior. To understand that there are special and new words used when one is a part of a particular group (the language among computer technicians, for example) which may or may not become known among the general population.•To increase vocabulary by creating a desire to know exactly what a particular word means and how it relates to what is occurring. •To demonstrate the opportunities available by learning how to effectively navigate unfamiliar territory not just through “traditional” education.•To honor the “first/home/community” language of the speaker and to realize s/he is articulate within that language. To, thereby, foster a willingness in the person to adopt other ways of speaking while retaining his or her present mode of speech -- if desired and needed.•To become respectful and tolerant of the differences in others. To focus on the commonalities between self and others. •To foster self-respect, self-determination and self-reliance.•To learn how to constructively debate over preferences and beliefs.•To learn to be empathetic towards another’s problems.•To work together for the greater good.•To feel hopeful about the future.You will understand what the author's intentions are and will be able to mold them into what is best for your learners.

Karen E. Dabney, a native Detroiter, possesses a BFA from The University of Michigan, and a BA from the University of Detroit Mercy. She is the CEO of Dabs & Company, an organization dedicated to increasing literacy and instilling a love for literature and "keeping minds lit!".
Karen's publications as author, artist, and producer include: 
I Love Me Some ME! Positivity Poems for Our YoungStars, 
The Magic Pencil Black Language Glossary, The Magic Pencil Curriculum Guide, The Magic Pencil, 44th Barack H. Obama The Commemorative Edition, Michigan Chronicle, For My People newspaper, Journal of Non-White Concerns, The University of Michigan Institute for Social Research Newsletter, The University of Michigan Dearborn's The Michigan Journal, To the Poet in You, Dreaming, poetry by Chicara J. Brassell, and Necessary Roughness, poetry featuring Safi.

Karen attended writing workshops with the Voices of Our Nation's Arts Foundation (VONA) and The Hurston/Wright Foundation. She is a member of Gifted in Michigan, Michigan Association for Gifted Children, International Reading Association, National Association of Teachers of English, National Conference of Artists, Southern Poverty Law Center, Motown Writers' Network, Broadside Poets' Theatre, Concept East, Project B.A.I.T., and Urban Theater Magazine. 

Through The Magic Pencil, Karen has inspired, uplifted, and captivated reluctant and uninspired readers. Her intentions have always been to stem the tide of youth falling through the cracks in life. The Magic Pencil imparts means and methods to increase their skills for successful navigation and mastery through self-determination and self-reliance. These qualities are fostered within the story by its empowering effect on the reader/listener.