ABSTRACT

Educational research shows the value of culturally responsive pedagogies; however, special education research typically centers reading interventions that focus primarily on foundational skills. These sorts of programs rarely take learner identities into account in their design, and provide little opportunity for readers to make connections to their own lives or events in their communities and worlds. A culturally and historically responsive literacy (HRL) framework recommends teaching toward the pursuits of identity, skills, intellect, and criticality. This article uses analytic autoethnography and qualitative data to examine the ways that a group of Black girls identified as having disabilities engaged in a book club reading Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming. Findings show that students engaged in joyful and engaged discussions about their cultural identities and historical events while simultaneously developing literacy skills and knowledge. Suggestions are made for implementing culturally and historically responsive book clubs in a resource room or small group setting as an alternative to traditional reading intervention programs.