Responding to Tragedy
When a racist attack kills members of a local Sikh temple, a 2nd-grade teacher involves her students in a journey of connection and solidarity.
Other Features
An Unfortunate Misunderstanding
Helping create an independent charter school seems like a dream job. But teachers, parents, and children soon confront all-too-familiar charter school woes.
Creative Conflict
A high school drama teacher searches for ways to encourage students to write about their lives without replicating stereotypes.
“Hey, Mom, I Forgive You”
An English teacher builds community as her students write a poem about forgiving or not forgiving. She starts with her own story.
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A Pure Medley
In a class on culturally responsive teaching at Ithaca College, my professor, Jeff Claus, asked us to create poems of introduction. He was modeling how to use two of Linda […]
Paradise Lost
The film Paradise Lost – about the rising ocean that threatens Kiribati – proves an evocative introduction to a unit on climate change.
Challenging Corporate Ed Reform
The failures of the corporate education “reform” movement leave it vulnerable to genuine grassroots school transformation.
Sin Fronteras Boy
Fourth-grade English language learners use wikis to study border issues and gain literacy skills.
Dirty Oil and Shovel-Ready Jobs
High school students learn about the conflict over the pipeline by participating in a role play.
Rethinking the Day of Silence
When the Day of Silence doesn’t work at a middle school, staff and students look for another way to talk about LGBTQ issues.
“Coal Poisons Everything It Touches”
Ninth graders explore a plan to strip-mine coal in Wyoming and Montana, send it by train to the Northwest, then ship it to Asia to be burned.
Ban the Box!
Should the box about criminal history be eliminated from job applications? A role play helps students explore the lifelong impact of a felony conviction.
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Our Grandparents’ Civil Rights Era
Second graders ask grandparents to write about their experiences during the Civil Rights Movement. The letters bring surprising wisdom – and some thought-provoking issues – to the classroom.
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Stealing Home
The historic destruction of the Chávez Ravine neighborhood in Los Angeles – to build Dodger Stadium – paves the way for students to understand changes in their own neighborhood. Second in a two-part series.