Hands on: Using a ‘PlayBox’ to support teachers develop racial literacy through workshops and personal writing

Lorna A Smith

doi:10.4324/9781003479215

Hands on: Using a ‘PlayBox’ to support teachers develop racial literacy through workshops and personal writing

Lorna A Smith

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter in a book

Abstract

This chapter is inspired by research suggesting that although texts by or about Black people feature increasingly on school curricula, many teachers of English lack the racial literacy to teach such texts. The chapter describes a project in which participant teachers are introduced to object-based learning (OBL) through a ‘PlayBox’ of facsimile artefacts from the University of Bristol’s Theatre Collection centred on two plays featuring Black characters and write creatively in response. Through actively engaging with the PlayBox, and being given encouragement and freedom to write, the teachers developed a greater understanding both of diversity and of how empathetic writing can be inspired.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Secondary English for Generation Alpha
Subtitle of host publication	Humane Pedagogy for Local, National and International Contexts
Editors	Lorna Smith
Place of Publication	London
Publisher	Routledge
Chapter	9
Pages	105-118
Number of pages	14
ISBN (Electronic)	9781003479215
ISBN (Print)	9781032765990, 9781032766003
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003479215
Publication status	Published - 13 Jun 2025

Publication series

Name	National Association for the Teaching of English
Publisher	Routledge

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 selection and editorial matter, Lorna Smith; individual chapters, the contributors.

Keywords

Secondary English
Racial literacy
Decolonising the curriculum
Teacher agency
Creativity
Dialogue
Object-based learning
Social justice
Pedagogy

Access to Document

10.4324/9781003479215

Handle.net

Persistent link

1 Edited book
1 Chapter in a book

Introduction
Smith, L. A., 13 Jun 2025, Secondary English for Generation Alpha: Humane Pedagogy for local, national and international contexts. Smith, L. (ed.). Routledge, 6 p.
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter in a book
Secondary English for Generation Alpha: Humane Pedagogy for Local, National and International Contexts  
Smith, L. A. (Editor), Aman, R., Cushing, I., Sutherland, J., Westbrook, J., Barber, J., Pinnick, S., Blake, J., Perry, J., Glowach, T., Ghelani, K., Smith, L. A., Gilbert, F., Sherratt, R. & Watson , A., 13 Jun 2025, Routledge. 190 p. (National Association for the Teaching of English)
Research output: Book/Report › Edited book

Cite this

Smith, L. A. (2025). Hands on: Using a ‘PlayBox’ to support teachers develop racial literacy through workshops and personal writing. In L. Smith (Ed.), Secondary English for Generation Alpha: Humane Pedagogy for Local, National and International Contexts   (pp. 105-118). (National Association for the Teaching of English). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003479215

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Smith, LA 2025, Hands on: Using a ‘PlayBox’ to support teachers develop racial literacy through workshops and personal writing. in L Smith (ed.), Secondary English for Generation Alpha: Humane Pedagogy for Local, National and International Contexts  . National Association for the Teaching of English, Routledge, London, pp. 105-118. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003479215

Hands on: Using a ‘PlayBox’ to support teachers develop racial literacy through workshops and personal writing. / Smith, Lorna A.
Secondary English for Generation Alpha: Humane Pedagogy for Local, National and International Contexts  . ed. / Lorna Smith. London: Routledge, 2025. p. 105-118 (National Association for the Teaching of English).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter in a book

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Smith LA. Hands on: Using a ‘PlayBox’ to support teachers develop racial literacy through workshops and personal writing. In Smith L, editor, Secondary English for Generation Alpha: Humane Pedagogy for Local, National and International Contexts  . London: Routledge. 2025. p. 105-118. (National Association for the Teaching of English). doi: 10.4324/9781003479215

Hands on: Using a ‘PlayBox’ to support teachers develop racial literacy through workshops and personal writing

Abstract

Publication series

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Handle.net

Fingerprint

Research output

Introduction

Secondary English for Generation Alpha: Humane Pedagogy for Local, National and International Contexts

Cite this

Secondary English for Generation Alpha: Humane Pedagogy for Local, National and International Contexts  