There is a growing body of research arguing that, alongside education in climate science literacy, our education systems need a deeper, broader, and more interdisciplinary education in climate literacy. Specifically, the push is to reframe climate literacy from a narrow competence taught in science classes to a broad socioscientific and cultural…

This article explores the pedagogical usefulness of "Let's Play" videos (LPs), a wildly popular paratext in which video gamers record and narrate their gameplay. I designed and implemented an LP creation assignment in two English Literature classes that focused on digital children's literature and culture. I imagined my LP assignment as…

This article describes design-based research undertaken by two teacher educators to support elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) in integrating culturally responsive teaching practices with reading methods. The study described was motivated by calls for teacher preparation programs to be more intentional about supporting PSTs in synthesizing…

By implementing strategies described here, educators can be prepared to create an adoption-friendly environment for students and their families.

Since its beginning, children's literature has been influenced by white gatekeepers and power brokers. From authors, illustrators, and publishers to librarians, educators, and booksellers, the people creating and promoting children's literature have been predominantly white (Borsheim-Black, 2015, Thomas, 2016, Welch, 2016). Due in no small part to…

In 2013, the Center for Digital Scholarship at Miami University was established and coincided with the redesign of the Children's Picture Book Database, which had a successful web presence for nearly 20 years. We developed the Digital Literacy Partnership (DLP) website project in order to upgrade the project to Omeka as a new digital management…

The purpose of this article is to describe and report on how a group of teacher candidates used technology to create multicultural texts which integrated literacy and social studies. To meet this purpose, the authors briefly describe the objectives of the assignment, examine 41 teacher candidates' perceptions of the assignment, and discuss media…

The use of quality texts in elementary classrooms plays a major role in children's literacy development. Quality children's literature helps learners develop into skilled readers and writers with increased gains in vocabulary knowledge and comprehension. This paper demonstrates how pre-service teachers gained an understanding of the educational…

The use of critical literacy with children's books that focus on social issues and disrupt the status quo can be a powerful way to create spaces for conversations with students about social justice and empowerment. Teacher candidates in a semester long children's literature course were asked to respond to a range of children's texts that dealt…

In this instructional article, we describe a non-traditional course assignment in which we ask students in our social problems courses to write, illustrate, and present a children's book about a social problem as part of the process of learning. Over the course of the semester, students utilize guided handouts to create a children's book exploring…

For decades scholars have agreed that the United States is becoming a more racially and ethnically diverse society. It is projected that the U.S. will become a majority-minority nation for the first time in 2043. By 2060, people of color will consist of 57% of the total population. Given this trend, it is hardly surprising that this social…

They are verbal. They make connections well and obviously. They ask many questions, some of which one had not considered nor probably would think of considering--especially not at their ages. They enjoy the pursuit of knowledge because they are inquisitive and desire to know more. Knowledge to them does not have to be attached to school…

This article seeks to inspire humanities and social science faculty to explore ways of utilizing existing scholarly online communities to engage students in the process of academic inquiry. The author discusses her own experience using a discipline-specific listserv, shares successful assignments, examples of student postings and a grading rubric.…

Provides job cards for language activities in the middle grade classroom which pick up on ideas from "The Phantom Tollbooth," a children's classic by Norton Juster. (DD)

Provides activities for teachers to use in studying characters' motivation in literature. Suggests books and describes the action and motivation for each; considers evaluation methods that include group activities, individual activities, and writing; and includes a student assignment worksheet on motive. (LRW)