With the eruption of political, racial, and pandemic-related conflicts and unprecedented threats to U.S. democracy, educators have raised their voices about the need to teach controversial issues in social studies classrooms. However many teachers feel unprepared to take up this challenging practice. They may also avoid it because they fear loss…

Literacy is the foundation for all learning and must be accessible to all students. This fundamental truth is where Kimberly Parker begins to explore how culturally relevant teaching can help students work toward justice. Her goal is to make the literacy classroom a place where students can safely talk about key issues, move to dismantle…

Despite limitations and challenges, teaching about difficult histories is an essential aspect of social studies courses and units across grade levels. This practical resource highlights stories of K-12 practitioners who have critically examined and reflected on their experiences with planning and teaching histories identified as difficult.…

This article addresses the importance of teaching controversial issues, especially within elementary school contexts. In particular, the article explores the underlying elements of justice within controversies and demonstrates the way in which teachers might explore procedural justice within an elementary classroom.

Because of a long tradition of children's literature depicting enslavement, elementary teachers have an expansive assortment of books from which to choose. These books, however, can be filled with inaccuracies, troubling illustrations, and dubious interpretations of the "peculiar institution." The recent controversy over "A Birthday…

Forty-two percent of LGBT youth say the community in which they live is not accepting of LGBT people (Human Rights Campaign). That's 4 out of 10. And lesbian, gay, and bisexual young people are almost five times more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to have attempted suicide. It is very, very hard for an LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,…

COVID-19 offers a unique opportunity to transform the K-12 social studies curriculum, but history suggests that changes to the formal curriculum will not come easily or automatically. This book was conceived in the space between the dismantling of our old way of life and the anticipation of what comes next. The authors in this volume--leading…

Courses: Rhetorical Criticism, Composition, Environmental Communication. Objectives: This unit activity, for which students view a documentary to identify and evaluate persuasive ethos and then create their own rhetorical messages for reducing food waste, serves as a platform for teaching both the critique and practice of rhetoric, as well as…

Discussions of power and privilege, oppression, and structural inequities in classrooms can produce complex understanding and critical analysis when facilitated effectively. In this article we present the critical conversations model for facilitating conversations that open up space for discussing such issues and encourage the development of…

Evolution, due to its importance in science, holds a prominent place in national science standards and many state standards. Scientists nearly universally agree that the theory of evolution best explains the unity and diversity of life. Accordingly, numerous science, science education, and religious organizations support the teaching of evolution…

The dramatic increase in hate-related bullying and culturally and/or racially offensive comments or symbols in the wake of the 2016 election came as a surprise for many educators across the United States. Research points to both an increase in frequency of hate related speech and controversy in schools, and teachers reporting a lack of training,…

Courses: Visual Rhetoric, Political Communication, Media and Society, Argumentation. Objective: Students trace a social hierarchy created through the visual reason of memes.

Even after you have decided to tackle a problem like racial equity, it may seem daunting to broach the subject in a physics classroom. After all, the idea of a (typically White) instructor in power tackling a sensitive topic such as social justice can be scary in any (mostly White) classroom. Not only that, but physics is typically viewed as a…

As sociology instructors increasingly include materials on sexual violence in their courses, both instructors and students express anxieties over how best to handle such sensitive conversations. This article critically examines the conventional advice to offer a trigger warning, which can interfere with student education (e.g., requiring survivors…

The current divisive presidential election highlights the importance of teaching students the skills of constructive public discourse. This article discusses the role teachers play in teaching students how to exchange ideas, listen respectfully to different opinions and experiences, try out ideas and positions, and give--and get--constructive…