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Through the voices of notable historians and educators, the Teaching Hard History Podcast provides a distinct cultural and racial viewpoint. This is a resource where teachers can earn professional development credits by filling out a short form featuring episode questions from any of the podcasts. to receive a certificate (Learning for Justice, n.d.).

Implementation
Watch podcast:

Season 1-American Slavery, has 18 episodes

Explore the information on an episode that interests you.

Find out creative and authentic ways to engage students with the information and resources. Explore The Frameworks for Teaching Slavery, which contains age-appropriate instructional materials for K-5 Students (Learning for Justice, n.d.).

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This is a special four-part series where historian Charles L. Hughes introduces us to musicians who are exploring the sounds, songs and stories of the Jim Crow era. In this installment, Jazz pianist Jason Moran discusses his acclaimed musical celebration of a man he calls "Big Bang of Jazz," bandleader, arranger and composer James Reese Europe. During World War I, Europe fought as a Lieutenant with the fabled "Harlem Hellfighters" 369th U.S. Infantry and directed the regiment's renowned band.

During the Harlem Renaissance, more Black artists than ever before were asking key questions about the role of art in society. Oftentimes the Harlem Renaissance is misconstrued as a discrete moment in American history-not as the next iteration of a thriving Black artistic tradition that it was. Literature scholar Julie Buckner Armstrong urges educators to look deeper into the texts left to us by these artists and come to a fuller understanding of this stage in a long chronology of Black artistic expression.

In the United States, Black athletes have had to contend with two sets of rules: those of the game and those of a racist society. While they dealt with 20th century realities of breaking the color line and the politics of respectability, Black fans, educational institutions, and the Black press were building sporting congregations with their own wealth and energy. Historians Derrick White and Louis Moore trace how these great men and women worked to create a more just future on the field and off.

Opportunities created by the New Deal were often denied to African Americans. And that legacy of exclusion to jobs, loans and services can be seen today in federal programs and policies as well as systemic inequities in housing, education, health and the accumulation of wealth. Historian Jill Watts examines the complicated history of the New Deal, beginning with the growing political influence of Black voters in the 1930s, the election of FDR and the creation of the Black Cabinet.

U.S. involvement in world wars and the domestic Black freedom struggle shaped one another. By emphasizing the diverse stories of servicemen and women, historian Adriane Lentz-Smith situates Black soldiers as agents of American empire who were simultaneously building their own institutions at home. While white elected officials worked to systemically embed segregation into government, African Americans attempted to bolster their citizenship and freedom rights through soldiering.

Historian Tera Hunter describes Black institution-building post-slavery and throughout the Jim Crow era, illustrating how Black workers reorganized labor to their advantage, despite virulent white resistance. During the same period, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) produced future leaders while cultivating resistance to white supremacy-and continue to do so. Educator Jelani Favors explains the evolution of these institutions, noting their legacies of social activism and student advocacy.

Naming the 1921 Tulsa massacre a "race riot" is inaccurate. Historian David Krugler urges listeners to call this and other violent attacks what they were: premeditated attempts at ethnic cleansing. Decades before, African Americans moved North in record numbers during the Great Migration. Krugler delves into connections between diaspora and violence and highlights the strength of Black communities in resistance to white supremacist terrorism.

Black American experiences during Jim Crow were deeply affected by the ever-present threat of lynching and other forms of racist violence. Historian Kidada Williams amplifies perspectives from Black families, telling stories of lynching victims obscured by white newspapers. She and Kellie Carter Jackson urge educators to confront the role of this violence in American history, how major institutions stood idly by and how Black Americans fought for justice.

The Lost Cause narrative would have us believe that Confederate monuments have always been celebrated, but people have protested them since they started going up. Historian Karen Cox unpacks how the United Daughters of the Confederacy used propaganda to dominate generations of teachings about the Civil War through textbooks, legislation, and popular culture-and how, after the war, the South and the North prized white reconciliation over justice for all.

Just months after the Civil War ended, former Confederates had regained political footholds in Washington, D.C. In her overview of Reconstruction, Kate Masur notes how-in the face of evolving, post-slavery white supremacy-Black people claimed their citizenship and began building institutions of their own. Ahmad Ward then takes us to 1860s Mitchelville, South Carolina, where Black policing power, land ownership and more self-governance were the norm.

Historian Ed Baptist provides context on the creation and enforcement of a U.S. racial binary that endures today, as well as Black resistance as a force for political change. And Aisha White urges educators to ask themselves, "What did you learn about race when you were younger?" before they engage with children. She argues that self-reflection and ongoing education are vital tools to combat the fallacy of ignoring students' racialized experiences.

People from all corners of public life are telling teachers to stop discussions about race and racism in the classroom, but keeping the truth of the world from students simply doesn't work. English teacher Matthew Kay urges educators to create brave spaces instead. He provides examples of classroom strategies for engaging with students at the intersections of race, literature and lived experience. Hint: it involves vulnerability, accountability and quality affirmations.

This season, we're examining the century between the Civil War and the modern civil rights movement to understand how systemic racism and slavery persisted and evolved after emancipation-and how Black Americans still developed strong institutions during this time. Co-hosts Hasan Kwame Jeffries and Bethany Jay discuss how students need to grasp this history to understand injustices many of them face today, from voter suppression to mass incarceration.

In 2015, Coach Steve Bandura loaded the Anderson Monarchs, a Little League baseball team from Philadelphia, onto a 1947 Flxible Clipper Bus for a barnstorming tour back in time. Bandura and the players recount lessons learned while visiting historic civil rights sites, meeting veteran activists and playing baseball along the way. And historian Derrick E. White, co-host of The Black Athlete podcast, explores the intersection of sports and civil rights history.

The civil rights movement offers critical context for understanding the systemic police violence, voter suppression efforts, 'law and order' rhetoric and criminalization of activism we see today. It also helps us understand the strategies activists use to fight these injustices. Historians Shannon King and Nishani Frazier explain how they use 21st-century Black activism to teach the movement's history-and how they use the movement to help students better understand the contemporary Black freedom struggle.

The history of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense can help us understand the transition from civil rights to Black Power and contemporary issues like mass incarceration. From the Ten-Point Platform to survival programs, historian Robyn C. Spencer outlines key aspects of the party's revolutionary ideology, grassroots activism and community service. And historian Jakobi Williams joins to share valuable classroom insights.

Historian Clarence Lang joins us for a conversation about Malcolm X. We discuss his commitment to Black pride and self-determination and his rejection of the white gaze and the myth of American exceptionalism. Learn how teaching about the life and works of Malcolm X can illuminate the universe of possibilities of the civil rights movement-and the diversity of ideology, strategy and political thought within the Black freedom struggle.

In this episode, we talk with movement veteran Courtland Cox about lessons from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and his own development as a young organizer of the Emmett Till generation. We join Karlyn Forner and John B. Gartrell to tour the resources available through SNCC Digital Gateway. And we hear from student organizer Kaia Woodford about the lessons from the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements that inform her activism today.

Oral histories, historic sites, archives and museums expand students' understanding of the past. They fill in gaps in our textbooks-complementing what's included and capturing what's not. This episode highlights online oral history collections including the Civil Rights History Project. It offers recommendations for students conducting their own oral histories. And it explores resources from the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

Teaching civil rights history to young learners creates both opportunities and challenges. The 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer Project and the subsequent Freedom Schools offer important lessons for helping elementary students to understand the civil rights movement. In this episode, we explore community-based strategies and activities for bringing the Black freedom struggle into your classroom.

If you're finding this podcast useful, please support us by taking our 10 question Listener Survey. And stay tuned! More episodes are on the way. In the meantime, if you're looking for ways to talk with students about the relationship between the hard history of white supremacy and the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Learning for Justice resources can help you lead student-responsive, historically grounded discussions about the recent violence.

From the hard work of organizing to the reality of everyday life under Jim Crow, films and literature can bring historical context to life for students. In this episode, we recommend several "must use" films, books, poems and plays for teaching the civil rights movement. We also discuss strategies for incorporating these works across the curricula and for turning even problematic texts into grist for meaningful critical discussions.

Everyone thinks they know the story, but the real history of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott is even better. This episode details the events that set the stage for Ms. Parks' civil disobedience. You'll meet the leaders and organizations who transformed a moment of activism into a 13-month campaign. And you'll learn about the community that held fast in the face of legal and political attacks, economic coercion, intimidation and violence.

To fully understand the United States today, we have to comprehend the central role that slavery played in our nation's past. That legacy is also the foundation for understanding the civil rights movement and its place within the history of the Black freedom struggle. This episode is a special look back at our first season. It explores and expands on the 10 Key Concepts that ground Learning for Justice's K-12 frameworks for teaching the hard history of American slavery.

You cannot teach the civil rights movement without talking about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But it's critical that students deconstruct the mythology surrounding the movement's most iconic figure to learn about the man, not just the hero. The real Dr. King held beliefs that evolved over time. A complex man, he was part of a much larger movement-one that shaped him as much as he shaped it.

The civil rights movement was never strictly a Southern phenomenon. To better understand the Jim Crow North, we explore discrimination and Black protest in places like Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland and New York. To examine the Black Freedom Movement beyond the South, we examine the Black-led fights to gain access to decent housing, secure quality education and end police brutality in these cities.

Armed resistance and nonviolent direct action co-existed throughout the civil rights era. In this episode, three historians confront some comfortable assumptions about nonviolence and self-defense. Wesley Hogan examines the evolution, value and limitations of nonviolence in the movement. Christopher Strain offers a three-part strategy for rethinking this false dichotomy in the classroom. And Akinyele Umoja offers insights about armed resistance from his research in Mississippi.

Alice Qannik Glenn is the host of Coffee and Quaq and assistant producer of The Forgotten Slavery of our Ancestors. This short, classroom-ready film offers an introduction to the history of Indigenous enslavement on land that is currently the United States. This new resource from Learning for Justice features an extensive group of experts, many of whom will be familiar to listeners from Season 2.

Jim Crow was more than signs and separation. It was a system of terror and violence created to control the labor and regulate the behavior of Black people. In this episode, historian Stephen Berrey unpacks the mechanics of racial oppression, the actions white people took-in and beyond the South-to maintain white supremacy, and the everyday ways Black people fought back. And the directors of the film An Outrage join ELA-teacher Ahmariah Jackson to discuss teaching the racial terror of lynching.

Music chronicles the history of the civil rights struggle: The events, tactics and emotions of the movement are documented in songs of the era. From The Freedom Singers to Sam Cooke, historian Charles L. Hughes explains how your students can use music for both historical insight and evidence in the classroom.

Students don't enter our classrooms as blank slates. When it comes to the civil rights movement, we often have to help our students unlearn what they think they know while we're teaching them what actually happened. The people were more complex, the strategies more complicated and the stakes more dangerous than we like to remember. In this episode, historian Nishani Frazier and social studies teacher Adam Sanchez demonstrate the value of teaching the movement from the grassroots up.

Teaching the civil rights movement accurately and effectively requires deconstructing the myths and misconceptions around it. Most people are familiar with a very specific version of the movement that exaggerates government support and denies the existence and persistence of racism outside the South. Julian Bond called this the "Master Narrative." It celebrates sanitized icons and downplays grassroots organizing. And it overhypes nonviolence while disparaging self-defense and Black Power. In this episode, we talk with historian Nishani Frazier and social studies teacher Adam Sanchez about how to separate fact from fiction in your civil rights teaching.

The systems that enabled and perpetuated African and Indigenous enslavement in what is now the U.S. have much in common, and their histories tell us a great deal about the present. Professors Bethany Jay and Steven Oliver join us to talk about connections between the first two seasons and how to teach them, and we preview what's to come in season three.

In this special call-in episode, listeners share their stories and questions from throughout season 2-including teaching remotely, working with families and stakeholders, and incorporating social justice into subjects like math and science. As educators, we're strongest when we support each other. And you'll hear great suggestions from fellow teachers, like these resources we discuss from Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia.

It's time for our first call-in show! We know things are chaotic for you and every other educator right now. We feel it too, so this seems like the perfect time to talk. Pick up the phone and dial 888-59-STORY (888-597-8679). Our lines are open until Sunday night, April 19. Teaching hard history is even harder right now, so let's talk about resources you can use if you're teaching virtually. Ask us your questions; tell us your stories. And let us know how you're doing.

Indian Removal was a brutal and complicated effort that textbooks often simplify. It is also inseparably related to slavery. Enslavers seeking profit drove demand for Indigenous lands, displacing hundreds of thousands of Indigenous people. Some of these Indigenous people participated in chattel slavery. Focusing on the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations, this episode pulls the lens back to show how Removal and enslavement must be taught together. This story must be told if we're going to understand the full hard history of American enslavement.

The Americas were built on the lands, labor and lives of Indigenous peoples. Despite being erased from history textbooks after the so-called first Thanksgiving, Indigenous peoples did not disappear. Colonial settlers relied on the cooperation, exploitation and forced labor of their Native neighbors to survive and thrive in what became North America. Focusing on New England, historian Margaret Newell introduces us to the Charter Generation of systematically enslaved people across this continent.

From 1936 to 1938, the Federal Writers' Project collected stories from people who had been enslaved. The WPA Slave Narrative Collection at the Library of Congress is a valuable resource; these oral histories are also problematic. Interpreting these narratives within literary and historical context, students can develop primary source literacy. Historian Cynthia Lynn Lyerly outlines unique insights these texts can add to your curriculum.

To better understand the United States' past and present, we need to better understand Indigenous identities-and classrooms play a huge role. This starts with examining what's missing from our social studies, history, civics and government curricula. Throughout this episode, we reference the K-5 Framework for Teaching Hard History as we shed light on key topics like sovereignty, land and erasure.

Educators can no longer ignore our country's history of Indigenous enslavement. Our students need a fuller understanding of the pivotal history of slavery to comprehend the present and develop a vision for our nation's future. In this mid-season recap, we highlight key lessons about this consequential part of American history-along with teaching strategies and resources-through the voices of leading scholars and educators featured so far.

Throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the forced labor and bondage of Indigenous peoples was integral to the economic and political history of what became the Southwestern United States. Historian and author Andrés Reséndez outlines the significance of silver mining, Indigenous enslavement and resistance in the history of New Mexico and Latin America. We examine how, as white settlers moved west, so-called "free soil" states like California continued to institutionalize coerced labor.
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A hundred years before the first ship carrying enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia, Europeans introduced the commercial practice of enslavement in "The New World." And for the next 400 years, millions of Indigenous people throughout the Americas were enslaved through several forms of forced labor and bondage. Historian and author Andrés Reséndez calls this "The Other Slavery," and his work is changing our understanding of the transatlantic slave trade.
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Andrés Reséndez is the author of The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America. His work has changed conventional wisdom about the institution of slavery in the Atlantic world. Over the next two episodes, host Hasan Kwame Jeffries and Reséndez will discuss key turning points in this history-exploring how it expands our understanding of the transatlantic slave trade and the lasting legacy of colonialism, which continues to reverberate in our communities. Be sure to join us.
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Each autumn, Thanksgiving brings a disturbing amount of inaccurate information and troubling myths into classrooms across the United States. Most students don't learn much about the history of Native nations-and even less about Indigenous peoples today. Dr. Debbie Reese explains what to look for and what to avoid (or teach with a critical lens) when selecting children's books by and about Indigenous people. She also recommends specific books to counter common misconceptions in your classroom.
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Children's books are often the primary way young students are exposed to the history of American slavery. But many books about slavery sugarcoat oppression. Professor Ebony Elizabeth Thomas examines what we should consider when it comes to how children's books portray African Americans and Indigenous people, their cultures and the effects of enslavement. She also explains why it's crucial to create "a balance of narratives" when selecting books about marginalized and underrepresented communities.
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For elementary teachers approaching the topic of slavery, it can be tempting to focus only on heroes and avoid explaining oppression. But teachers' omissions speak as loudly as what they choose to include. And what children learn in the early grades has broad consequences for the rest of their education. Dr. Kate Shuster guides us through the new Teaching Hard History K-5 framework from Learning for Justice. We also learn how four elementary teachers are beginning to use it in their classrooms.
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Understanding Indigenous enslavement expands our conception of slavery in what is now the United States. It spread across the entire continent and affected millions of people of different backgrounds. If we define slavery too narrowly, we can fail to see its persistence over time and even its modern-day permutations. Historian Christina Snyder examines the Civil War, Lincoln and emancipation with Indigenous people in mind.
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Millions of Indigenous people lived in North America before European colonial powers invaded. Along with an insatiable desire for free labor, Europeans brought a system of slavery that significantly differed from the historical practices of enslavement among Native nations. Historian Christina Snyder tells the story of what happened when these worlds collided. European concepts of bondage transformed the way Native nations interacted with each other, resulted in the enslavement and death of millions of Indigenous people, and sparked widespread resistance by Native nations.
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The Smithsonian's Eduardo Díaz and Renée Gokey discuss the importance of learning about Indigenous enslavement. And former Teaching Tolerance Director Maureen Costello explains all of the program's classroom resources available for teaching this history, including a first-of-its-kind K-5 framework.
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We're turning our attention to the enslavement of Indigenous people, spending more time with teachers in the classroom and adding support for K-5 educators. Tune in next week for more advice about teaching the history and long legacy of American slavery.
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Download the transcript for all of season 1 here.

Historian Bethany Jay returns - answering questions from educators across the country. Host Hasan Kwame Jeffries and the co-editor of Understanding and Teaching American Slavery confront teacher anxieties and counter misconceptions in our season finale.
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From elementary to high school, YA literature can introduce fundamental themes and information about slavery, especially when paired with primary sources. John H. Bickford shows how to capitalize on the strengths and weaknesses of trade books about slavery.
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Using the present to explore the past. Tamara Spears and Jordan Lanfair suggest a Social Studies unit about Resistance & Kanye West, and a set of English Language Arts lessons examining holidays to understand the legacy of American slavery.
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How it's done. Tamara Spears teaches middle school Social Studies in New York and Jordan Lanfair is a high school English Language Arts teacher in Chicago. Each has been developing additional lessons about slavery for years. They share their experiences.
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Over the next few episodes, we're bringing Season One to a close. Tune in for stories from the classroom, guidance for elementary teachers and language arts classes. And answers to questions from listeners like you.
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Enslavement didn't end with Emancipation. Historian James Brewer Stewart discusses modern-day slavery happening across the world-and right here in the U.S.-showing educators how to connect the past with the present.
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A listener's question leads to a meaningful moment. And now we want more! Take a listen, then email us to tell us your story about teaching hard history for an upcoming, special episode.
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At James Madison's Montpelier, the legacy of enslaved people isn't silenced-and their descendants have a voice. Christian Cotz, Price Thomas and Dr. Patrice Preston Grimes explain how that happened, and why it's important.
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In the United States, justice was never blind. Historian Paul Finkelman goes beyond legal jargon to illustrate how slavery was entangled with the opinions of the Court-and encoded into the Constitution itself.
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Constitutional historian Paul Finkelman explains the deeply racist bargains the founding fathers struck in order to unify the country under one document and discusses what students need to know about how slavery defined America after the Revolution.
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Film historian Ron Briley returns with more documentary, feature film and miniseries suggestions for history and English instructors. From Ken Burns to Black Panther, this episode offers background and strategies for incorporating pop culture into classroom lessons.
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Film has long shaped our nation's historical memory, for good and bad. Film historian Ron Briley offers ways to responsibly use films in the classroom to reframe the typical narrative of American slavery and Reconstruction.
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Most students leave school thinking enslaved people lived like characters in Gone With the Wind. Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens reveals the remarkable diversity of lived experiences within slavery and explains the gap between what scholars and students know.
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To see a more complete picture of the experience of enslaved people, you have to redefine resistance. Dr. Kenneth S. Greenberg offers teachers a lens to help students see the ways in which enslaved people fought back against the brutality of slavery.
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Students learning about slavery often ask, "Why didn't enslaved people just run away or revolt?" Lindsay Anne Randall offers a lesson in "Process Drama"-a method teachers can use to answer this question, build empathy and offer perspective.
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In many ways, the U.S. has fallen short of its ideals. How can we explain this to students-particularly in the context of discussing slavery? Professor Steven Thurston Oliver has this advice for teachers: Face your fears.
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Follow the money. Dr. Christy Clark-Pujara explains why American slavery couldn't have existed without a national commercial infrastructure that supported and benefited from the labor of enslaved people.
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Dr. Bethany Jay is back to talk about teaching the end of the Civil War, and how enslaved people's participation in the war helped subvert the institution of slavery.
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What really caused the Civil War? In this episode, Salem State University Professor Bethany Jay offers tips for teaching lesser-known history that clarifies this question and cuts through our cloudy national understanding of the Confederacy.
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What we don't know about American history hurts us all. Teaching Hard History begins with the long and brutal legacy of chattel slavery and reaches through the victories of and violent responses to the civil rights movement to the present day.

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The goal of this lesson is to help students discover and identify modern-day heroes, the people who have made and continue to make a difference in their communities or throughout the world. Students discover how local movements may grow into national and finally global movements as a result of the activism and tenacity of good people (Learning for Justice, n.d.).
Lesson Highlights:
Watch: Choose from an assortment of videos on heroes from CNN.com’s CNN Heroes—Everyday People Changing the World.
Explore "If you had a superpower that you could use for good, what power would it be, and why?”
Engage: Create media and characterize modern heroes who fight for what they believe in with this Google Doc (Learning for Justice, n.d.).

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Overview

Each lesson in this series is designed to help students think about how to resolve difficult ethical decisions related to injustice. The lessons empower students to stand up, take ownership of their
feelings and attitudes about unfairness, and become change agents in the world. This is the second lesson of the series "Dealing with Dilemmas: Upstanders, Bystanders and Whistle-Blowers." This is the second lesson of the series. Its purpose is to help students identify and recognize modern-day heroes-people who have made, and are making, a difference in their communities or in the world. Students will learn how local movements can become national, then global, movements through the activism and perseverance of upstanding individuals. Students will see that not all acts of heroism need to have a global effect to be defined as brave or courageous. Each hero's accomplishment
illustrates that having an idea and getting involved can lead to projects-large and small-that make the world better. The goal is to encourage activism and awareness and enable students to think about what they, as individuals, can do to make a difference in their own community.

Vocabulary

bravery [ brey-vuh-ree ] (noun) courage

hero [ heer-oh ] (noun) a person of distinguished courage or ability who is admired for brave deeds and noble qualities

change agent [ cheynj ey-juh nt ] (noun) someone who works toward change or helps make change happen

role model [ rohl mod-l ] (noun) a person whose behavior or example can be admired by others who try to be like them

Suggested Procedure

As a warm-up activity, have students discuss the following question with a partner. Ask: "If you had a superpower that you could use for good, what power would it be, and why?" Allow students a few minutes to share their thoughts. Ask for volunteers to share their responses with the class. Write the responses on a chart, making note of key descriptors. Then ask students what makes a hero different from a superhero. Chart responses, focusing on words that describe a hero's qualities.

1. Explain to students that while there are many types of heroes, this lesson will introduce them to everyday people who are currently engaging in work that others have deemed heroic. Students will research and take notes about individuals who are making a difference.

2. Before class, review the 10 profiles listed above (found on www.CNN.com) CNN Heroes-Everyday People Changing the World. Add additional profiles to the list, if desired.

Grades 3-5 Select two profiles for each of your students, keeping in mind the student's interests and reading level. (Provide hard copies of the profiles if necessary.) Allow the students 10-15 minutes to read through both profiles and select one to use later when completing their handout.

Grades 6-8 Let students access the link online. Give them 10-15 minutes to browse the profiles of the nine heroes listed above. Then ask students to select one person's profile to read in full. They will use this person later when completing their handout.

3. Have students break up into groups of no more than five and take turns discussing their heroes and their respective projects. If needed, students may refer back to the hero profiles.

4. After the discussion, instruct students to complete the Profile of an American Hero handout ( Grades 3-5, 6-8), using specific information from the reading. Help students compile their data onto the larger class chart entitled People Who Are Making a Difference ( Grades 3-5, 6-8).

Extension Activities

Ask the students to share the three adjectives they used to describe their heroes. Write the responses on a chart under the heading "Qualities of a Hero." Display the finished chart in a visible area of the room.

Guide students to review the online posters for the heroes. Invite students to work in pairs, selecting one poster and reflecting on the quotation and writing what it means to them. Invite students to share their work.

Review with students this comment by Maggie Doyne, who received the CNN award for 2015 Hero of the Year: "Please remember that we have the power to create the world that we want to live in." Ask students to write about what that means.

Alignment to Common Core State Standards/ College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards CCSS R.1, R.2, R.7, W.7, W.8, W.9, SL.2

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Modern-Day Heroes: People Who Are Making a Difference

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The purpose of this lesson is to help students identify and recognize modern-day heroes-people who have made, and are making, a difference in their communities or in the world. Students will learn how local movements can become national, then global, movements through the activism and perseverance of upstanding individuals.

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"Let's Go Luna" is a PBS KIDS program about Luna the Moon and her travels across the globe. Explore cities from around the world with interesting movies and classroom tools that relate cultures from around the world to classroom activities (PBS Kids, 2022). The kids must solve a difficulty in each new location, which leads them on adventures in their new surroundings. They interact with people, sample traditional cuisine, listen to music, view monuments, and unusual architecture, and pick up a few phrases in the spoken language (Ashby, n.d.)
Lesson: Mexican Culture (PBS Kids, 2022).
Introduce
Watch the video "Mexican Hot Chocolate and the Cocoa Bean".
Explore
Taste the flavor of hot chocolate. Make homemade cocoa in class. Hot Cocoa Recipe (PBS Kids, 2022).
Sing
Participate in a fun singing activity while learning more about the story of the cocoa bean and the Mexican King in a song (PBS Kids, 2022).

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Developing Cultural Awareness | Learning with Littles | PBS LearningMedia

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We invite you to a live discussion with illustrator, animator, writer, director and producer, Joe Murray, who created the new PBSKids hit, Let's Go Luna. You'll recognize Joe's previous work as creator of Rocko's Modern Life and Camp Lazlo.

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Free Reads: Anti-Bias Book Talk features anti-bias books for the home and school, with the aim of improving parents', teachers', and children's ability to analyze media critical of racism and anti-bias. Episodes lead viewers through a description of the book, pertinent resources, and four to five essential topics from an anti-bias, critical literacy perspective (Social Justice Books, 2022).
Implementation idea
Teach students about slavery in America using this selected book from Social Justice Books. It is great for older students but can be read aloud to young students. This is a true story and serves as a reminder and example of how African-Americans in the United States fought enslavement in a variety of ways, from the courts to undermining their captors to their daily survival and existence (Social Justice Books, 2022).
Watch video: Learn about the book's key points, themes, and keywords, as well as why it's recommended (Social Justice Books, 2022).

Episode 1: Mumbet’s Declaration of Independence

Engage: Students can create a word cloud to describe the attributes of Mumbet, here is an example (American Independence Museum, n.d.).
Share: Post students' word clouds to create a Mumbet WordCloud Padlet that you can share on social media.

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In response to the overwhelming number of requests for recommendations of anti-bias children's books, we are launching the Freedom Reads: Anti-Bias Book Talk series. Beyond just sharing booklists, we want to share how we select high-quality, anti-bias books so that parents and teachers can do the same.

Teaching for Change associate director Allyson Criner Brown is producing the series for parents, teachers, and librarians. She explains,

Freedom Reads: Anti-Bias Book Talk is part anti-bias training, part book review. Each short segment explores anti-bias books for home and the classroom with the goal to strengthen parents' and teachers' anti-bias, anti-racism lens and their ability to critically analyze children's media.

The series is inspired by our Roving Readers program (parents read aloud in classrooms), anti-bias education resources and training, and reviews from our Social Justice Books website.

Designed with parents in mind, episodes run under ten minutes and each one walks viewers through a synopsis of the book, relevant resources, and four to five key points from an anti-bias, critical literacy lens. Freedom Reads is appropriate for parents, caregivers, and educators who may be early in their anti-bias, anti-racist journey (i.e. those wondering why Criner Brown shares her pronouns in her introduction) and those who are already avid learners.

Freedom Reads honors the rich tradition of reviewing multicultural children's books that began with the Council on Interracial Books for Children, which provided a social justice lens to reviews of children's literature, and has prominent figures including Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop. Here is our video introduction to the series.

Follow these links to view our first two episodes and find related resources:

We would love to take viewers on an extended journey through some of the best anti-bias and anti-racist books out there. Check out the series to-date and share your feedback and/or ideas for funding.

Learn more
Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children's Books
Read book reviews from members of the See What We See (SWWS) coalition, such as Edith Campbell's Crazy Quilts, Zetta Elliott, Reading While White, DeColores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children, Latinxs in KidLit, Disability in KidLit, Africa Access, American Indians in Children's Literature, Rethinking Schools, and Teaching for Change. Many of their reviews can be found on this site.

Note: Book titles on SocialJusticeBooks.org are linked to Powells.com (an independent, unionized bookstore) and/or Bookshop (indie bookstore platform). A small percentage from book sales through these links goes to Teaching for Change.

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Freedom Reads: Anti-Bias Book Talk Series - Social Justice Books

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In response to the overwhelming number of requests for recommendations of anti-bias children's books, we are launching the Freedom Reads: Anti-Bias Book Talk series. Beyond just sharing booklists, we want to share how we select high-quality, anti-bias books so that parents and teachers can do the same.

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Teachers can use this video to learn how to identify bias in the classroom, think critically about it, and reflect upon it. Putting diversity and equitable goals at the center is how educators can begin to recognize each child's social identities and cultural ways of being (Anti-Bias Leaders in Education, 2021). Children's talents and knowledge are discussed, along with ways to engage the active involvement of parents and communities.
Implementation Ideas - Teacher Reflection, After watching the video, Reflect on the following questions:
What methods do the instructors in the video use to promote anti-bias education?
What are some considerations of an anti-bias classroom?
How would you get families involved in anti-bias work?

What would you change about your classroom or program?
What challenges are you likely to face?
What impact does your social identity have on this task?
How is anti-bias education incorporated into everyday routines, the surroundings, and the curriculum?
What about each story rings true with you? What makes you feel uncomfortable? What do you think these emotions reveal about you as a teacher?
(LeeKeenan, & Nimmo, 2021).

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The film, Reflecting on Anti-bias Education in Action: The Early Years (48 minutes), produced by Debbie LeeKeenan and John Nimmo, features vignettes of anti-bias strategies in early childhood classrooms interspersed with teachers reflecting on their practice. Debbie and John partnered with filmmaker Filiz Efe McKinney of Brave Sprout Productions to create a film that shifts the focus away from the talking heads of experts and on to the voices of teachers committed to equity on a daily basis. By taking viewers into diverse early childhood classrooms, the film seeks to demonstrate the importance of teacher reflection on identity, context, and practice in anti-bias education and provides a much-needed resource for teacher education and professional development.

The film has received numerous awards including the Silver Prize for Documentary Feature (2021) in the Social Justice Film Festival and a nomination for Northwest Regional Emmy® (2022) in the category of diversity, equity, and inclusion - long form content.

The film can be streamed at the screen image above at no charge for professional development and educational purposes. Please review information about the use of the film. The film has closed captions in English, Spanish, and Chinese (simplified characters) which can be turned on by clicking on the CC button to the bottom right of the screen. A Guidebook (available in Spanish and English) provides additional background and resources, and poses provocations and questions for reflection about each vignette in the film. The Official Trailer (3 minutes) is available for promotional purposes.

There is no "one way" to implement anti-bias education. The four anti-bias goals help guide the work. This approach involves critical thinking and a deep understanding of the complexity of the issues and the context of your community. The film is a provocation to generate dialogue about how to bring this approach into your practice.

Louise Derman-Sparks is the film's senior advisor. The film's theoretical and research framework is based on her co-authored books, Anti-Bias Education for Our Children and Ourselves (with Julie Olsen-Edwards and Catherin Goins ) and Leading Anti-Bias Early Childhood Programs: A Guide for Change (with Debbie LeeKeenan and John Nimmo).

Read the latest news about the film
See Awards and Festivals

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Reflecting on Anti-bias Education in Action: The Early Years

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The Film: Reflecting on Anti-bias Education in Action: The Early Years

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This website is a teaching resource abundant with a variety of lesson ideas and resources. It includes a search feature to look for specific topics and step-by-step instructions and instructions using the Google Earth tool in the lesson. This resource gives teachers an opportunity to develop cultural and digital literacies (Google, 2022).
Implementation
In "This Is Home," Google Education lesson, students will make comparisons and contrasts between people all over the world and their own lifestyles while exploring how people live (Google, 2022). This Google Earth Voyage will transport students to eight different locations around the globe. Within this lesson plan, there are many ways to engage students with the content. Using the provided worksheets students can gather information compare and contrast (Google, 2022).

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We're here to help. Using the simple search filters below you'll find easy, step-by-step guides and tutorials on Google's Geo Tools, inspirational stories, plus lesson plans, product information, and much more.

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We're here to help. Using the simple search filters below you'll find easy, step-by-step guides and tutorials on Google's Geo Tools, inspirational stories, plus lesson plans, product information, and much more.