Unearthing Joy

In this sequel to Cultivating Genius, Gholdy Muhammad adds a fifth pursuit—joy—to her groundbreaking framework. Dr. Muhammad shows how joy, which is rooted in the cultural and historical realities of Black students, can enhance our efforts to cultivate identity, skills, intellect, and criticality for ALL students, giving them a powerful purpose to learn and contribute to the world. Dr. Muhammad’s wise implementation advice is paired with model lessons that span subjects and grade levels.

• Offers a repeatable model teachers can use for any type of lesson planning—across grades and subject areas
• Shares detailed examples of lessons following Dr. Muhammad’s five-pursuit model from teachers in diverse classrooms
• Includes strategies and tools for assessing students using the five-pursuit model
• Includes companion site with classroom videos, model lessons, and tools for designing and assessing your own lessons