Connecting literacy to social issues such as gender stereotypes supports reading and writing achievement while also allowing students to think critically and in justice-focused ways. Such practices allow students to critique gender stereotypes in texts while also examining and even challenging their own implicit perceptions of gender. However,…

This article explores the use of Project-Based Learning (PBL) to empower second-grade students to respond to the essential question: "How Can People Respond to Injustice?" Set in an independent school classroom, the investigation invites students to critically engage with historical and modern examples of injustice, using literacy as a…

With a change in access to information and a rising social and political consciousness for young people, elementary schools must start to think more about their role in shaping kids' understanding of social issues. While researchers certainly have not agreed upon a single definition of social justice education, Bell (2016) defines its aim as…

Providing opportunities for elementary students to engage with enduring social issues, such as houselessness, is essential in preparing informed, engaged, and social justice-oriented citizens. This article draws from the following standards: (1) C3 Framework for Social Studies Standards that center inquiry; (2) Learning for Justice's Social…

Located across 30 different states, there are more than 1,700 symbols of the Confederacy including 772 monuments and statues on public property, and 100 schools named after prominent Confederates. Questions about the appropriateness of keeping these tributes to the Confederacy in places of honor have become flashpoints for public controversy in…

This cluster randomized controlled trial investigated the impact of project-based learning with professional development supports on social studies and literacy achievement and motivation of second-grade students from low-socioeconomic status school districts. At random in within-school pairs, 48 teachers were assigned to the experimental or…

The ability to understand and effectively interact with others is a critical determinant of academic, social, and life success (DiPerna & Elliott, 2002). An area in particular need of scalable, feasible, usable, and scientifically sound assessment tools is social-emotional comprehension, which includes mental processes enlisted to encode,…

A dynamic cascade model of development of serious adolescent violence was proposed and tested through prospective inquiry with 754 children (50% male; 43% African American) from 27 schools at 4 geographic sites followed annually from kindergarten through Grade 11 (ages 5-18). Self, parent, teacher, peer, observer, and administrative reports…

This article presents first and second grade children's talk about issues of language diversity and culture. Children focus on the issue of oppression and initially examine oppressors in their talk within literature circles across a year in a Sheltered English Immersion classroom. Drawing on a critical literacy framework and anti-bias perspective,…

One of a series of social studies curriculum guides, this publication outlines a second-grade course on neighborhoods. Material is presented in two parts. Part 1, an overview of the program, contains an introduction, a statement of philosophy, an outline of the elementary level scope and sequence, a description of Michigan mandated essential skill…

Briefly states the stages of moral development in children (Damon 1977). Discusses ways in which children's literature dealing with social issues can help children reason about topics such as distributive justice. Identifies guidelines for related discussions and lists books and questions that stimulate discussion on sharing. (AS)

Discusses how the author uses his second-grade students' natural sense of fairness as a foundation for constructing an antiracist/antibias curriculum. Describes observations of students' reactions to particular classroom materials, his subsequent reflection on his teaching responses to the students' reactions, and how he is learning to become more…

Describes a discourse created by second graders who were deliberating about important social issues in the course of discussing a story. (BB)

This article presents a study of African American youth resistance and activism. The data revealed that African American youth have a large capacity for activism and ability to resist. Early engagement on issues of social justice, equality and freedom by family, teachers, pastors and community leaders can help to shape political character and…

This teacher resource packet contains a total of 28 modules for teaching about Japan at the elementary and secondary level. Activities on the Japanese family appropriate for grade 1 focus on similarities and differences, family size, family needs, and family roles. Grade 2 lessons look at the school, neighborhood, roles of children in the…