Reading and Language Arts

This lesson is part of the series, Picturing Accessibility: Art, Activism and Physical Disabilities , which provides students opportunities to discuss what they know and don't know about accessibility, ...

This lesson is part of the series, Picturing Accessibility: Art, Activism and Physical Disabilities , which provides students opportunities to discuss what they know and don't know about accessibility, ...

This lesson is part of the series, Picturing Accessibility: Art, Activism and Physical Disabilities , which provides students opportunities to discuss what they know and don't know about accessibility, ...

Over the last few decades, people with physical disabilities have fought hard for civil rights. Their struggles have led to the passage of federal and state legislation mandating greater efforts at ...

You’ve seen the Need to Know election special, “ America by the Numbers ,” which focuses on the small Georgia town of Clarkston. Like many communities across the nation, Clarkston is changing. As little as ...

Especially during election season, American politicians like to accuse each other of backing ideas and policies that are “outside the mainstream.” But what really characterizes that mainstream? And does it ...

“Whites should only be afraid of becoming a minority if it’s within the old definition of what a minority means—marginalized, left out, disenfranchised. The new American mainstream is inclusive. Everybody is ...

This lesson is part of The Little Rock Battle for School Integration series, which introduces students to the actors and events central to the 1957 Little Rock Central High School desegregation crisis. ...

This lesson is part of The Little Rock Battle for School Integration series, which introduces students to the actors and events central to the 1957 Little Rock Central High School desegregation crisis. ...

This lesson is part of The Little Rock Battle for School Integration series. The series introduces students to the actors and events central the 1957 Little Rock Central High School desegregation crisis.  ...

This lesson—the first in The Little Rock Battle for School Integration series—introduces students to important actors and events in the 1957 Little Rock Central High School desegregation crisis. ...

Most textbook accounts of the 1950s and 1960s civil rights movement focus on the actions of Martin Luther King Jr. and epic events in Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia. However, before Birmingham, Freedom ...

Students are often told they speak incorrectly or use bad grammar. Telling students of color in rural or urban areas that they speak “incorrectly” or “ghetto” can have a negative effect internally. I give students in my class ...

In my Latino/Latina literature class, my primary intent is to help my students see the inequities created in our society by pervasive racism and discrimination. This project asks that the students watch two hours of television, focusing only on ...

Every year, I prepare to celebrate Grandparents Day by reading Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge with my class. The book, written by Mem Fox and illustrated by Julie Vivas, fosters intergenerational friendships and respect for others. Prior to ...

Conducting an interview is an important part of many kinds of projects. Along with research, an interview can be a valuable source of information. It also provides you with a rewarding chance to interact with a person you might not otherwise get to ...

The year 1963 marks the 50 th anniversary of many milestones in the civil rights movement.  In the current issue of Teaching Tolerance , “ Once Upon a Time in America ” traces some of the movements’ toughest trials. The feature is accompanied by ...

Title IX , passed by Congress in 1972, essentially banned sex discrimination in educational settings. In 1975, the then-Department of Health, Education and Welfare wrote the regulations that would implement the law. The following lessons will help you ...

This Teaching Tolerance story underscores the value of diversity within all of the communities we are part of—our cities and towns, neighborhoods, schools and groups of friends and acquaintances. Facebook might be another community to which you ...

This is the thirteenth lesson in the Reading Ads with a Social Justice Lens series.   This final lesson gives students a chance to reflect on what they have learned. Drama offers a wonderful way for ...

This is the twelfth lesson in the Reading Ads with a Social Justice Lens series.   As children learn about justice and injustice, and become increasingly aware of stereotypes and bias in the world ...

This is the eleventh lesson in the Reading Ads with a Social Justice Lens series.   Children need empowerment strategies for what to do when faced with biased messages. In other words, they need to ...

The Civil Rights Activity Book uses puzzles, songs and photos to teach children about martyrs and events of the civil rights movement. Download it here courtesy of the Civil ...

This is the tenth lesson in the Reading Ads with a Social Justice Lens series.   Once students become accustomed to thinking about the power of advertising, they are also ready to think about how an ...

This is the ninth lesson in the Reading Ads with a Social Justice Lens series.   On one hand, it is easy to argue for more diversity in advertising. On the other hand, asking for diversity creates ...

This is the eighth lesson in the Reading Ads with a Social Justice Lens series.   Advertisements often send constructed messages about how families are supposed to look, implying, for instance, that ...

This is the seventh lesson in the Reading Ads with a Social Justice Lens series.   Once children have been introduced to the idea of representation in advertisements, they can begin to consider its ...

This is the sixth lesson in the Reading Ads with a Social Justice Lens series.   Advertisements’ biased representations can affect our perceptions of others. For example, ads may show some groups ...

This lesson is the fifth in the Readings Ads with a Social Justice Lens series.   If advertisements can perpetuate stereotypes, they also have the power to break them down. Children are sensitive ...

Advertisements do more than just sell products; they play a role in creating and perpetuating stereotypes as well. We can reduce the power advertisements have to reinforce stereotypes by teaching children ...