Teaching the Prison Industrial Complex

“Harm comes from prior harm.” As Deandra says this, I am sitting in the back of my classroom, taking notes. My students are sitting in a circle in the middle […]

Beyond Anthologies

A veteran teacher laments the trend toward mandated curriculum and argues that teachers should choose materials that address students’ lives and social issues.

Continent Ecology

Children’s books that promote environmental education in the primary grades.

Following The Flame

Teacher and students discover that even critically acclaimed literature can disenfranchise as well as empower.

Heather’s Moms Got Married

Last spring, my second graders gathered on the rug, discussing the impending 50th anniversary of the historic Brown vs. Board of Education decision. I asked how their lives would have […]

Boys in Dresses

One of a Kind, Like Me/Unico como yo by Larin Mayeno // Illustrated by Robert Liu-Trujillo // Blood Orange Press, 2016 Jacob’s New Dress by Sarah and Ian Hoffman // […]

Martin Luther King Jr. and the Common Core

The chief architect of the Common Core created a model lesson of a close reading of King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” A teacher from Birmingham compares that to King’s own critical reading of the “word” and the “world.”

Reading, Writing, and Rising Up

Reading, Writing, and Rising Up- 2nd Edition

For almost two decades, teachers have looked to Reading, Writing, and Rising Up as a trusted text to integrate social justice teaching in language arts classrooms. This accessible, encouraging book […]

Teaching for Joy and Justice book cover

Teaching for Joy and Justice

Teaching for Joy and Justice is the sequel to Linda Christensen’s bestselling Reading, Writing, and Rising Up. Christensen is recognized as one of the country’s finest teachers. Through stories, Christensen demonstrates […]