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Toolkit for Check It Out!
Libraries are resources for students who need academic help as well as for those who want to fight for justice. Help your students make the most of their school or community library.
4,107 Results
student task
Do Something
Picture Books
Students work in small groups to write and illustrate an original children's picture book to teach others about a social justice or diversity topic present in the central text.
July 13, 2014
teaching strategy
Close and Critical Reading
Text-Dependent Questions
Readers must refer back to the central text to answer text-dependent questions and provide evidence from the reading to support their answers. Students provide accurate, relevant and complete evidence. To do this well, students will often need to re-read the text several times. This approach privileges the text over prior knowledge, personal experience and pre-reading activities.
July 19, 2014
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The Age of Innocence in a 9/11 World
Each year, as the anniversary of 9/11 approaches, I feel a twinge of trepidation. My students don’t remember that horrible day. It’s not on their radar. I struggle with balancing wanting to honor those who lost their lives and the heroes of that day with the need to respect the innocence and hope of my students. Reconciling these conflicting emotions is always tricky.
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Ava’s Words Teach Social Justice Lesson
Ava, an 8th-grade student in my after-school creative writing class came to me to discuss a story she was working on. She was writing a fictional story about a gay teenager who struggles with his sexuality and coming out. Even early on in the process, I was impressed with her ability to look at this story as a complex study in understanding—giving a voice to, and respectfully exploring, the conflicts of a gay teen.
text
Informational
Defense of Marriage Act
In 1996, the U.S. Congress passed the “Defense of Marriage Act” establishing a legal definition of marriage.
July 2, 2014
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Sexual Assault Awareness Month
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Use this opportunity to engage your students in upending rape culture and preventing sexual assault all year.
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The Bully Trap
Young tormentors and their victims find ways out of anger and isolation.
student task
Do Something
Community Newsletter
Students compile and publish a showcase of artwork and nonfiction writing addressing issues found in the central text. The result is a creative representation of student learning, opinions and ideas.
July 13, 2014