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How I Teach Kids About Racism (Kindergarten and 1st Grade)

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Understanding how school discipline policies can contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline is essential for educators and families. Harsh punishments, automatic out-of-class time and police involvement for discipline can push young people out of classrooms and into the criminal legal system. But educators, parents and caregivers can help to change this harmful system by advocating for and implementing practices that prioritize mental health and well-being.

We offer this new resource page that highlights LFJ articles and content to open dialogue, shift practices and foster change to benefit all young people.

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Learning for Justice | Education Resources

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Learning for Justice provides free resources to educators-teachers, administrators, counselors and other practitioners-who work with children from kindergarten through high school. Educators use our materials to supplement the curriculum, to inform their practices, and to create civil and inclusive school communities where children are respected, valued and welcome participants.

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Why Colorful Pages? With current events in our nation, it is becoming more crucial to create inclusive and empathetic PreK-12 classrooms, libraries, and homes. This website aims to help educators, families, and librarians explore the use of multicultural literature/diverse books to cultivate cultural empowerment and crosscultural empathy in our students.

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Go to "Teaching Materials" and search by grade level band

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The Zinn Education Project is my compass in a sea of corporate textbooks, packaged common core curriculum and standardized testing. My entire curriculum is based on lessons that can be found on the Zinn Education Project.

High School Social Studies Teacher, Portland, Ore.

Your support is needed to help more students learn people's history. 100% of Zinn Education Project funding comes from individuals like you. Donate today.

By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca

From voter ID laws to voter-roll purges, gerrymandering to poll closures to the deadly in-person voting conditions during a pandemic, the right to vote is under attack and the stakes are high. It is critical that students learn about the fight for voting rights, past and present.

Nov. 30, 1924: Shirley Chisholm Born...

Teaching About the Violence in Palestine and Israel...

I can UNDERSTAND pessimism, but I don't BELIEVE in it. It's not simply a matter of faith, but of historical EVIDENCE. Not overwhelming evidence, just enough to give HOPE, because for hope we don't need certainty, only POSSIBILITY.

-Howard Zinn

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Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

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The Zinn Education Project promotes and supports the teaching of people's history in middle and high school classrooms across the country. Based on the lens of history highlighted in Howard Zinn's best-selling book A People's History of the United States, the website offers free, downloadable lessons and articles organized by theme, time period, and reading level.

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About Us

Lee & Low Books is the largest multicultural children's book publisher in the country. We are also one of the few minority-owned publishing companies in the United States.

Founded in 1991, we have always been family-owned and independent, which means we publish what we want and aren't afraid to take risks. Our books have won major awards including the Coretta Scott King Award, the Pura Belpré Award, the NAACP Image Award, and many more.

Lee & Low Books is committed to publishing diverse books that are about everyone, for everyone. We are dedicated to cultural authenticity, and we make a special effort to work with new authors and illustrators of color.

We publish multicultural children's books for every age, including leveled books for beginning readers, picture books, early chapter books, middle grade, and young adult books. We also publish a wide selection of bilingual and Spanish language books.

Visit our testimonials page to see some of the people and organizations who support our work!

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Lee & Low Books is the largest multicultural children's book publisher in the United States. We are your diversity source.

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Learning about Lenape traditions in the past and present

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Learning about Lenape traditions in the past and present

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When the Shadbush Blooms Activities Page Two sets of activities are waiting for you.

"The glory of white shadbush blossoms on the cover should be used as an excuse to pull it out in the spring and share it!"

Paperback reprints of When the Shadbush Blooms will be available in the summer of 2020 ! From your favorite book seller, in bulk or as a signed dedicated copy!

When the Shadbush Blooms is both hardbound & as an e-Reader. This full color book based on the Lenape "cycle of the seasons" depicts the both traditional and modern Lenape family life. When the Shadbush Blooms is designed to be read and seen by children. It is good for young children, geared for learning to read and ESL pupils and it has parent/teacher pages with Lenape words, meanings and pronunciation guide. You can purchase a signed hard bound copy as a gift for your favorite teacher or student at www.whentheshadbushblooms.net.

Coming in the Summer of 2020 , When the Shadbush Blooms will be reprinted as a paperback! Available signed and dedicated from our site, your favorite book seller or in bulk from Lee & Low.

Seasonal Activities - you can find many of these activities depicted in our book When the Shadbush Blooms

Siquon (Spring): fishing, Corn Planting Ceremony, planting, "football" (soccer).

Kschilandeke (Summer): garden work, berry picking, seashore vacations and mountain trips, hunting, preparing skins, weaving mats, swimming, First Ears of Corn.

Tachquoak (Fall): hunting, harvesting and drying foods, fruits, vegetables, and meats, Thanksgiving.

Lowan (Winter): indoor activities - storytelling, pick-up sticks, making toys, constructing wampum and arrowheads, other small projects including learning Lenape picture written history, and doing "homework". Outdoor activities - snowball fights, sledding, snowshoeing, hunting.

From the Lenape point of view All Things Are Connected.

Discuss the "Winter" families in the picture . How are the past and the present connected? What are some of your family traditions for the winter? How do you celebrate your winter holidays? What do you do for fun outdoors? What chores do you have?

Native American creations are made from a variety of items. Many are recycled and reused as often as possible. Use the book When the Shadbush Blooms to find each of the following from Traditional Sister's point of view and write down the name in the blank space.
Plant
Find a plant

Find an object made from a plant
Mammal
Find an animal skin

Find something made from an animal skin
Rock or Mineral
Find an object made from a rock or a mineral
Also from the book -
Name 2 games children still play

Name 2 chores children still do today

PEOPLE ADAPT TO THEIR ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIAL SURROUNDINGS

Look at the drawings of the Lenape families in the book When the Shadbush Blooms. They are like your families. Consider what life is like for you and your family today and what it was like long ago for your ancestors. Discuss with your group or family what you have today that was not invented 500 years ago! What would your family have to do to survive back then?

LENAPE FAMILIES - NOW - Modern Lenape family of today

The Lenape people of today live like you do. They are wearing clothes like you: jeans and shorts, sneakers and sandals and tee-shirts and jackets. The children play with toys and the adults use tools. They go to the malls to shop in stores. We wear clothing to fits our needs and the environment.

Pick a set of pages from the book.

What is the season, how are they dressed for the climate?

What are they doing?

Answer as many questions as you can.

What pets do you see?

What toys are they playing with?

How is this family like your family?

Dad is

Mom is

Brother is

Big sister is

Grandpa is

Grandma is

Baby sister is

LENAPE FAMILIES - THEN

Traditional Lenape family of Pre-contact period (before Europeans came here) Compare past activities and present activities on the set of pages. The activities are similar! Things are NOT so different! How are they similar?

Lenape people of long ago could not go shopping for what they needed. They made their clothing from the deer skins they processed. They made decorations and jewelry from wampum (shell beads), clay beads, painted on designs and quills from porcupines.

They made baskets from plants that they gathered and then wove into containers. They dug up clay from the earth and made it into pottery. The Lenape people made clothes and tools to meet their needs.

What pets do you see?

What toys are they playing with?

Can you find the baskets of food the family has grown?

What kind of food is it?

How is this family like your family?

Dad is

Mom is

Big sister is

Brother is

Baby sister is

Grandpa is

Grandma is

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When the Shadbush Blooms Activities Page Two sets of activities are waiting for you. "The glory of white shadbush blossoms on the cover should be used as an excuse to pull it out in the spring and share it!" Paperback reprints of When the Shadbush Blooms will be available in the summer of 2020 !

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Teaching tolerance social justice standards

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Teaching tolerance social justice standards

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Skip to main content

A Framework for Anti-Bias Education

The Social Justice Standards are a road map for anti-bias education at every stage of K-12 instruction. Comprised of anchor standards and age-appropriate learning outcomes, the standards provide a common language and organizational structure educators can use to guide curriculum development and make schools more just and equitable.

Divided into four domains-identity, diversity, justice and action (IDJA)-the standards recognize that, in today's diverse classrooms, students need knowledge and skills related to both prejudice-reduction and collective action. Together, these domains represent a continuum of engagement in anti-bias, multicultural and social justice education. The IDJA domains are based on Louise Derman-Sparks' four goals for anti-bias education in early childhood.

Each of the IDJA domains has learning outcomes and school-based scenarios organized by grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12.

Download the Standards

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The Social Justice Standards are a road map for anti-bias education at every stage of K-12 instruction, providing a common language and organizational structure educators can use to guide curriculum development and make schools more just and equitable.

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Noticing and affirming diversity in physical appearance, with a focus on skin color and hair.docx

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Lesson plans and book lists about understanding diverse perspectives, racism, and standing up for justice

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Lesson plans and book lists about understanding diverse perspectives, racism, and standing up for justice

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What We Do

We work in partnership with schools, organizations and communities to design and deliver anti-bias education, both online and in person. When we learn, as individuals, how to challenge bias, discrimination and hate - together, we have the capacity to foster equity and inclusion.

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We provide anti-bias education through professional learning, educational programs, resources and strategies to build and sustain equitable and inclusive environments.

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Connecting with families during distance learning

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Connecting with families during distance learning

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Tools for Educators to Listen to and Learn from Families During COVID-19 School Closures

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Facilitating conversations about race in elementary classrooms

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Facilitating conversations about race in elementary classrooms

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In the Fall 1992 issue of Teaching Tolerance magazine, we published the feature story "Talk About It!"

Earlier that year, the Rodney King verdict and the ensuing L.A. riots made it clear that "we didn't know what to say to each other," we wrote in that second-ever issue. Educators, we said at the time, faced a new and urgent need: "to find ways to talk truthfully about things like bigotry, injustice and violence."

More than 25 years later, the need is just as great. That's part of the reason we're releasing a new edition of Let's Talk!, our guide to leading critical conversations with students.

Released in 2015, the original Let's Talk! recommended ways K-12 educators could prepare for classroom conversations about critical topics and address student discomfort as the conversations unfold.

For our newest edition, we collected feedback from readers and users of the original and solicited advice from our Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board. In response to their suggestions, we expanded the guide. The new version helps K-12 educators lay the groundwork for conversations (on their own and with students), and it outlines classroom-ready strategies educators can use with students before, during and after critical conversations.

We're pleased to share this excerpt from Let's Talk!, which offers four recommendations for beginning such a discussion with your students.

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Teaching Tolerance provides free resources to educators-teachers, administrators, counselors and other practitioners-who work with children from kindergarten through high school. Educators use our materials to supplement the curriculum, to inform their practices, and to create civil and inclusive school communities where children are respected, valued and welcome participants.

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Letter to parents with resources for talking to children about race and racism

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Letter to parents with resources for talking to children about race and racism

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Parents resources for talking to children about race and racism

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This is the first in a series of Identity building Seesaw lessons, starting simple with their NAME. Although it's probably best for 3-5, I had K-2 find success with it.

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add: Add response to open the activity. Watch the instructions on each page. It's important to practice along on the first and third pages to be successful when you create your own song. On the last page, you will :mic: audio or :video: video record yourself to share your own name song.

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This is the second in the Identity building Seesaw lessons. It focuses on Social Identities... and kids will likely need a little extra support as they do tend to confuse this concept with likes and dislikes.

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SOCIAL Identity: My Name Song, Part 1) If you haven't gone through the Google Slides Introduction, do that first. 2) :add: Add response to open the activity. 3) If you see a play button on a slide, push that first. The audio will explain what to do.

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Part 3 is all about self love and self celebration.

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Watch the example video on the left. :add: Add response to open the activity. If you see a ▶️ play button, push it! That's where you will find directions. On the last page, open the back track by clicking the :link: on the page or the :caption: It's important to practice first to be successful when you create your own song.

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Guide for Racial Justice and Abolitionist Social and Emotional Learning

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Guide for Racial Justice and Abolitionist Social and Emotional Learning

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In the final project, we put parts 1 2 and 3 together.

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Time to create your song, all about you! 🎶🤩🎉😎 Whenever you see a play button ▶️ PUSH IT! That will teach you the concept or give instructions for that page. Whenever you see the words "Click the link" 🔗 ▶️ CLICK THE LINK!!!

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By Kara Hinderlie

Illustrator: Kesha Bruce

For years, I have struggled to find authentic ways of helping young children - kindergarteners and 1st graders - learn, remember, and appreciate Black history. Come January, the halls of my school are plastered with a variety of Martin Luther King Jr. tributes and artwork that conveniently find their way to being relabeled for February's Black History Month displays - and disappear in time for March's green living tips to save the planet.

But here is what my students need to know: Black is beautiful.

And here is why they need to know it...

Currently, in my predominantly white kindergarten class of 27, I see the few Black boys in my class targeted as the ones who did something wrong, as the kids who are called mean, as the kids who are not named as a friend. I see my one Black girl sad on the playground, or looking for a spot at the table with her white peers, unsure how to make space for herself. They are on the periphery of play, usually the "it" in tag, and it reminds me of my own story: In high school a teacher told us that, in our society, the color black symbolizes bad and evil, and white symbolizes good and pure.

I also remember when I was in a human development college class watching a video clip of children choosing a white baby doll instead of a brown one. I remember a little Black girl in the study saying the brown dolls were not as pretty, and the little white girls saying the brown dolls looked dirty. The video and the study itself made me sad for the little Brown girl I once was, trying to fit in and make friends in school.

One day I came across a stack of books the former librarian volunteer at my elementary school was going to throw out marked "Free books." In it were two copies of Black Is Beautiful. It was published in the '70s by Ann McGovern and made up of black-and-white photos of simple black subjects: a black bird, black jelly beans, black puppies, a black butterfly, a young Black girl in dress-up. The words in the book were written like a free verse poem. I loved the simplicity and took both copies to use in my classroom.

The students listened to me read aloud using a voice of wonderment and adoration - some pages I whispered in reverence. I stopped at the page of the Black girl playing dress-up in her mom's clothes, the only page mentioning black skin being beautiful:

Black lace, black face.
Black is beautiful.

"Do you see her wearing her mama's fancy clothes? So beautiful and fun," I said. When I finished, I asked what they noticed in the book.

"I notice the pictures only had black."

"I notice a black bird."

"I noticed beautiful."

"The horse was black!"

"I noticed the candy!"

"Yeah!" the class responds in a chorus of agreement.

I wrote down what they noticed on chart paper. Then I asked, "What can we add to this Black Is Beautiful book that the author didn't mention?"

"The tire swing!" Timothy said.

"Some people may not see a tire swing as beautiful. How can we convince them it is? I think about how some of you love to push it, and some of you love to ride on the tire swing. Hmm . . . what would some beautiful movement words be that you could say with tire swing?"

"It twirls!"

"It spins around and around!" said Chris, who was now on his knees, having popped up during his share out.

"Oooh! I can't wait to see how you write that!" I popped up too, and smiled.

I moved on, asking for more ideas. I framed their answers in the style and context of the book we read, modeling how to expand their list to sound like a poem. I wrote down their new ideas, and pointed to the ones already mentioned or from the original text: a kitten, a dog, sneakers, a witch.

"I notice the author wrote this like poetry to help us remember how beautiful the things in the book were. What words and descriptions can we add to our ideas to make people see the beauty and goodness of the color black?"

"My dress is soft and cozy," Lori gently patted her black fuzzy skirt, smiling into her own shoulder.

Nadira, who had been gazing away, raised her hand. "Black bird floating in the night sky."

I wrote what they said on the board and asked them to tell a friend three black things they are going to write about in a beautiful way. I know some will only get a picture or a word down while some will fill the page, but I want them all to start by telling someone three things. It gives them a goal and sets the expectation with a starting point.

I sent them off to write their ideas and have "Black is beautiful" written on sentence strips at each writing table for reference. I collected their work, went home, and typed them up.

The next day we reviewed: "Who remembers something that is black and beautiful?"

"Horses!"

"Birds!"

"Sneakers!"

"Rain clouds!"

"Yes!" I said. "Today we are going to look at a different kind of black is beautiful. We know that there are things that are black and beautiful, and people who are Black and beautiful. But it can be a little confusing because is people's skin the color of black paper or a black shirt? No! Black people are all different shades of brown. We just call it black sometimes. Today we are going to write about beautiful Black people and I have a few books to share with you to help give you ideas."

I started off by reading by Langston Hughes.

"Sunshines, I love this book," I told my students. "The words in this book are so simple and so powerful. This book is actually a short poem that was stretched across the pages so the photographs could illustrate each line of the poem. When I read this poem to you, I want you to study the pictures as you hear the words I say. Look at the faces and features of these Black people and notice their beauty. Notice what Langston compares the beauty to. In one place he compares me to the sun! I always feel so great when I read this poem."

The night is beautiful,
So the faces of my people.

The stars are beautiful,
So the eyes of my people.

Beautiful, also, is the sun.
Beautiful, also, are the souls
of my people.

I tell them to listen to ways Langston knows Black- and Brown-skinned people are beautiful. It's a slow book, with only a few words per page, which allows my students to study the sepia-toned photos. Using the same format from the last lesson, we try to translate the idea of black is beautiful to features of Black and Brown people. After I finished the book, I ask the students to tell me about beautiful Black people. "What did Langston say?"

"Beautiful like the sun."

"The stars are beautiful!"

I am explicit when I talk to the students about the metaphor in this poem. It is hard to understand when you are 5 years old and the world is a literal, concrete place. Some do not make the connections I want them to make, they are not thinking about the Black people of the poem but of their metaphors as the thing of beauty. So I make the connection for them and carry them with me through an example.

"Now you understand why I love this poem. Langston compares beautiful people with the sun and stars. Look at this page." I show them the page of an elderly man, face raised and smiling at something unseen to the reader. "When I look at this page, I see joy and happiness. I see lines around his mouth that say he smiles a lot. His skin looks soft to touch. That is why he looks beautiful to me, and I think that's why they chose this picture to go with the word 'also' in the poem. Sometimes we think of beauty one way and then discover, like in this book, there are other ways that we can see beauty!"

I re-read the poem and asked for "Black is beautiful" examples again. This time there are more accurate answers:

"Eyes are beautiful!"

"Brown skin is beautiful."

"Hands are beautiful."

Brandon, a Black boy who often sits quietly as if in meditation, raised his hand. "Souls are beautiful." He looks at me and we smile.

We also read Hair Dance! by Dinah Johnson, another book with photos of Black and Brown kids playing outside. There is so much visual movement in this book; kids are jumping and hair is swinging. This book is special because the children in the book are from our neighborhood, the author is a parent, the kids were previous students in our school. This interests the children and they study the pictures and recognize some of their playground in the artwork. This time around when kids answer what is beautiful, they move their heads as if flipping their own imaginary beaded braids. They are holding their own hair in the air to mimic the pictures they saw while I read the rhythmic words in the book. The resounding agreement is that Black hair is beautiful - and so is jumping! We spend two minutes trying to jump high and fast to get our own hair to dance.

But this time when I sent them to write, they were less confident. Maybe I moved too quickly, or maybe the metaphor was too big of a jump. They stuck pretty close to the examples given in the books: hands, hair, skin. They focused on the metaphor and less on the physical attributes of people as beautiful.

And this was what my students deserve to know: Black is beautiful.

I tell the kids why I think it's important to celebrate Black history. I tell them my story, of learning about history where no one looked like me or my family. "We have Black History Month as a reminder to teachers that there is not much written about all of the things that Black and Brown people have contributed to our lives. When I was a kid, I only learned about the ways white people changed our lives. There were no books or activities in our school that let us know who those Black people were, or how they affected the way we live. I will share inventors and leaders who paved the way, or made an important discovery through diligence and hard work." They seemed intrigued. Some looked surprised, some totally bored. Buy-in to the unknown is hard, so I gave them an example.

Fresh off the heels of a presidential election with an unexpected outcome, where girls were coming in wearing pussycat hats and pant suits, I told the class about Shirley Chisholm.

I then told them mostly about inventors or "real firsts," as opposed to firsts for Black people, because they are the most tangible for young learners to understand. It is a clear, concrete contribution to bettering our daily lives: refrigeration, open-heart surgery, stoplights, peanut butter. I want my students to have a basis for appreciating Black people. Later, when they learn about the more complex concepts of slavery, Jim Crow, and civil rights, somewhere in the back of their mind I hope they will remember the beauty of Black and the ways Black people made life better for them. And then maybe, in the front of their eyes, they will see the injustice for what it was and what it still is.

For the next writing exercise, to retain the feeling of reverence we stayed with the free verse poetry writing style of the first book I introduced by Langston Hughes. The tone of that piece set the mood for the beauty on the page, and allowed them to transition into that poetic mode of writing, thinking, and seeing their ideas in a different light. I had them talk in pairs and instructed them to tell each other who they remember learning about and liked. When I asked them to write, they quickly jotted down their choices: Stoplights speak to cars in colors, tasty peanut butter on sandwiches for lunch every day, open-heart surgery saving lives.

When writing with young children, I have to make publishing decisions. In this unit, I wanted the kids to see their ideas from these lessons typed up and put together as a collective piece. If I made them do the extra combining work it could make the unit drag on too long, its message losing potency. So, in this instance, I did it for them.

Once all the parts were typed into one poem, I brought in craft and scrapbook supplies all in black: pipe cleaners, pom-poms, feathers, beads, stickers, textured felt, and dozens of patterned papers; all glittery, soft, and shiny - the jewels of the crafting world. I cropped their poems and let them collage them into beautiful black works of art. I read the poems aloud as I handed them out one at a time, so they could hear each other's work as inspiration.

Resistance
Some years when I do this lesson, I get backlash in the form of parent emails to the principal, disengagement from students, or the fairness argument from both students and parents: "Why just black, why not all colors?" This year it was Andrew, a tall blue-eyed white boy, and a proficient reader and writer.

When he learned about Black inventor Lyda Newman's improved hairbrush, Andrew whispered to a friend, "That's not special."

When he saw the sentence strips with "Black is beautiful" written on them for a second day, he turned them face down on the tables and exclaimed, "We already did these!"

When Jasmin told her friends something Black was beautiful, he responded, "Black is not beautiful."

Andrew, whose humor sometimes runs in the center of insulting, who often finds delight in others' misfortune, exclusion, or embarrassment, was creating another opportunity for me to change his mind.

When he turned the sentence strips face down exclaiming their completion, I explained this project was going to last the entire month. "Sometimes we remember things better and learn more when we stick with it. It feels like we finished because we did finish one part, but there's more I want to show you and more I want you to try." Andrew said, "OK."

When he said Ms. Newman's invention wasn't special, I noted there is a difference between flashy and noteworthy. "Raise your hand if you have a brush like this one in your house. Raise your hand if you've seen one before. Isn't that cool you're learning about the person who made something we've all seen or used every day? That's why I wanted you to learn about Ms. Newman. She gave us things we use so much they seem boring, but every time someone uses or buys it, she is getting affirmation that what she created was needed, even still today!" I make eye contact with Andrew when I say this, and he nods in agreement.

When Jasmin came to me upset that Andrew told her Black wasn't beautiful, I took him aside and told him about the power of an ally.

"Why did you say Black isn't beautiful to Jasmin?"

"I was kidding. It is." He tries to get the early exit card by placating me.

"I'm spending a lot of time on Black is beautiful because I want you on my team, Andrew. I want you to be the person who stands up and defends Black when someone else tries to do what you just did, tries to make a joke about it, and tries to hurt someone's feelings about Black. Black isn't just a color of clothes, right?"

"No, it's people and brown skin."

"So when someone jokes about Black, it makes us, people with that skin, feel less important. But you have a chance to be a leader. Friends look to you to include them and they follow your lead. If you decide not to treat Black as a joke, if you tell a friend why it's not funny to joke like that, you'll be helping the unfairness that is all around us. You will be making this place a better place for more of us. Can you try to do that? Help us feel welcomed and proud of Black?"

Andrew nods, "OK, yeah! I'm sorry I hurt Jasmin's feelings, Ms. Kara."

"I know, Andrew. Thank you for apologizing. I'm glad you're on my team." Andrew smiles shyly and takes a big breath.

Then I take a big breath as he goes back to his seat.

Yeah, the work is weighty, little one. Deep breaths help.

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By Kara Hinderlie Illustrator: Kesha Bruce For years, I have struggled to find authentic ways of helping young children - kindergarteners and 1st graders - learn, remember, and appreciate Black history. Come January, the halls of my school are plastered with a variety of Martin Luther King Jr.

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BLACK IS A RAINBOW COLOR, READ ALOUD BY MS. CECE

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The following selection was excerpted from Celebrate!: An Anti-Bias Guide to Enjoying Holidays in Early Childhood Programs. Adapted by permission, ©Julie Bisson (Redleaf Press, St. Paul, Minnesota).

There are three common pitfalls to avoid when trying to create a fair balance among different holidays. In each case, teachers believe they are doing a good job of treating holidays equally, but there are still problems, usually arising from lack of awareness or information. The following are descriptions of the pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Surface-level Changes

One trap in balancing holidays is to say that you are doing an inclusive approach when your practices are no different from what you have always done. This often happens in December. A teacher may say that she includes Hanukkah, Christmas, Solstice and Kwanzaa in her program, and she may be trying hard to do just that.

However, a closer look shows that Christmas continues to be the pervasive, most-emphasized holiday. This is what is happening, for example, when a large bulletin board says "Happy Holidays," but the decorations on it include red and green stockings, a cutout paper Santa Claus, decorated paper Christmas trees and a few snowflakes.

Another example is a program that holds its first annual "Holiday Party" instead of the usual "Christmas Party." But the only decorations are a live Christmas tree and a few cut-out dreidels, painted blue and hung on the walls.

For entertainment, one of the parents dresses up like Santa and the children sing four songs: "Jingle Bells," "Rudolph," "Silent Night," and "The Dreidel Song."

Do you see the problem? What messages are being sent about the importance of these two holidays? What about the other December holidays that aren't mentioned?

To help avoid this trap, examine what you are doing and ask others to help you critique your practices. Then work to equal out imbalances you see and to do a better job presenting holidays equally.

December-only Emphasis

A second balance-related trap in early childhood programs comes from the great emphasis placed on holidays during December. It's true that quite a few holidays fall during this month, and of course Christmas is valued by many people.

However, many holidays that are significant to people of other religious or cultural groups happen at other times of the year. Rosh Hashanah and Passover, for example, are two of the most important holidays for many Jewish families.

Yet these are often ignored or briefly touched on. Instead, a great emphasis is put on Hanukkah, which usually falls in December, but is not among the most important Jewish holidays.

A solution to this problem is to find out how important a particular holiday is to the people who celebrate it, relative to their other holidays. Then take care to put as much emphasis and excitement into the important holidays you celebrate from January to November as to those you do in December.

"Exotic" Versus "Regular" Holidays

Even when holidays are given equal time, sometimes one day is treated as "exotic" and another as part of "regular" life. This happens often in the "tourist" approach.

Here's an example of the differences between exotic and regular holidays activities. In the classroom where Rosa teaches, many of the children celebrate the American New Year. Don and Cheryl's parents brought in plastic cups, paper plates that said "Happy New Year" on them, balloons and noisemakers.

At circle time, all of the children talked about their wishes for the next year, such as "to be five," "to get a new puppy," "for my daddy to find a job," "to move to a house with a pool," "to get bigger," and "to sleep over at Marissa's house." Afterward, some of the children played "Happy New Year Party" in the dramatic play area.

The next week, because Chinese New Year was approaching, Rosa decided to invite some dancers to come in and do a Lion Dance for the children outside on the playground. Although she didn't have any resources for talking about it with the children, she wanted to expose her children to another kind of New Year celebration.

If you have ever seen a Lion Dance you know that it is very colorful, fast paced and exciting. The children enjoyed the dance and the dancers who were dressed in traditional costumes, although some were afraid of the large, colorful lion's head with the big tongue.

But what might they have been learning abut Chinese New Year and how it compares to the American New Year they discussed before? As the activities were presented, they might have learned that the American New Year is "regular," an extension of everyday home and classroom life.

The Chinese New Year activities, however, although fun and interesting, seemed to portray a message of excitement and difference, a performance by exotic people of their Lion Dance.

What could this activity have taught the children in Rosa's class about the Chinese children in their neighborhood, who they are and what they do at home?

Making some holidays seem exotic is most likely to happen when you are trying to include holidays you have less information about or holidays that no one in the group celebrates.

The issue of presenting holidays equally is one of the tallest hurdles when trying to implement an inclusive, representative approach. It takes perseverance and commitment on your part to create and maintain balance; however, your time is well-spent when your efforts lead to a more equitable and balanced holiday curriculum.

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Many educators believe they are offering a balance when it comes to acknowledging holidays, but Christmas continues to receive the greatest emphasis. This excerpt from 'Celebrate!: An Anti-Bias Guide to Enjoying Holidays in Early Childhood Programs' can help you avoid this and other equity pitfalls.

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Our nation, especially our education system, is in a state of revolution. Never in my lifetime have I seen so many people and educators take an interest in racial justice! I am excited for what this means for my students of color and my fellow communities of color. However, there are some lingering questions in my mind: How long will this last? How can we make sure to continue this fight for racial justice and Black Lives Matter?

As someone who has constantly fought for racial justice and experienced many hurdles, I feel uneasy during this time. I want to make society's desire for racial justice lasts. I want to make sure there is lasting change. After talking with my husband, I realized the way I can do that is to keep coaching educators and keep pushing out resources during this time, no matter what.

Therefore, I turned what I am doing this week with my second and third graders into a Grades K-5 Lesson Plan and Materials! It is almost the end of school year for us and it is also almost Juneteenth, a nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery. If we are able to hold online class on June 19th, I am going to put some materials together to help recognize Juneteenth. However, to lead up to the commemoration, I thought it would be powerful to do another look at Black Heroes in History. My students have learned a lot about Black Heroes in History, Black Lives Matter, and Black History during our year together, so this is NOT the only thing we have done (just like it should NOT be the only thing you do during the year or next year). It will be a great way to recap what we have learned while also leading up to Juneteenth.

In order to pass on resources using diverse books, I have expanded my materials and learning plan to cover Grades K-5. Check out our newest lesson plan: Black Heroes in History: Grades K-5 Learning Activities.

Learning Plan & Materials

In this lesson, students will start to learn more about Black History through researching Black Heroes in History. Depending on the grade level and setting, students will participate in research through an adult read aloud, YouTube video, and/or an article. Then, they will be asked to complete a worksheet where they will write about the facts they learned about the Black Heroes in History.

If you are able to teach in-person/live to your kids or students, you will be reading one of these AMAZING books:

This is a great lesson to START to talk about Black History and introduce students to some key Black Heroes. You can also do the lesson multiple times with different Black Heroes in History. But, please make sure the conversations do not just stop here! There are many important heroes, events, and concepts in Black History that need to be taught year-round.

We hope you are able to use our resources as a jumping off point or a way to end the year teaching Black History! Check out the following free resources we have created:

I would LOVE to see pictures of your kiddos' Black Heroes in History! Please tag us on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter using @ColorfulPagesOrg or email us your photos at colorfulpagesorg@gmail.com. It always warms my heart when I see people using our resources!

Also, remember these resources WILL BE HERE NEXT YEAR! I challenge every parent, educator, and librarian to ask yourselves: How will we continue the fight for racial justice into the summer and next school year? How will we continue to make sure Black History and Ethnic Studies are taught in our classrooms?

Native Hawaiian. Founder of Colorful Pages. Racial Equity Coach and Temporary Program Manager for the SEA Center for Racial Equity. Ethnic Studies Writer and Grades 2/3 Educator for SPS. View all posts by Kaitlin Kamalei Brandon

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View all posts by Kaitlin Kamalei Brandon

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Black Heroes in History: Grades K-5 Learning Activities

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In this lesson, students will start to learn more about Black History through researching Black Heroes in History. Depending on the grade level and setting, students will participate in research through an adult read aloud, YouTube video, and/or an article. Then, they will be asked to complete a worksheet where they will write about the...

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Guidebook and videos about anti-bias, anti-racist teaching

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Guidebook and videos about anti-bias, anti-racist teaching

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First Book is thrilled to present a series of resources designed to support educators in helping their students engage in effective, courageous conversations about race and social justice. Explore the Empowering Educators Toolbox below for free resources created in response to educator needs and informed by leading anti-bias, antiracist (ABAR) experts.

First Book is thrilled to present a series of resources designed to support educators in helping their students engage in effective, courageous conversations about race and social justice. Explore the Empowering Educators Toolbox below for free resources created in response to educator needs and informed by leading anti-bias, antiracist (ABAR) experts.

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The Empowering Educators series promotes antiracist education through resources that support educators in facilitating effective, courageous conversations about race and social justice and in learning and teaching about racism.

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Anti-racist book list for elementary students

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Anti-racist book list for elementary students

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It is incredibly important that we talk about race, racism, and anti-racism with our kiddos starting at a young age. As someone who has taught ethnic studies to students as young as Kindergarten, I can tell you firsthand the amazing benefits my classroom experienced because of ethnic studies. Students are able to process and enter the world with the ability to recognize racism, appreciate diversity, and stand up for anti-racism. These conversations and lessons help us have an inclusive environment that empowers every student that walks through my door - I STILL get emails from the first class I ever taught!

With the calling for anti-racism in education, Colorful Pages and I have gotten countless (and I am talking ) requests for an Anti-Racist Book List! It has taken me a long time to get this list together because, when talking about race, racism, and anti-racism, it has to be done right. I am splitting up this Anti-Racist Book List into two posts: one for elementary students and one for middle school and high school students. Every book on this list is written by an author of color because I feel we, as Black Indigenous, People of Color, need to be the ones to tell these stories since we are the ones that have experienced the racism discussed within them. I have listed 16 books altogether: 4 diverse books about race; 5 books about racism, prejudice, and anti-racism in a modern context; and 7 books about racism, prejudice, and anti-racism in a historical context.

Personally, as a teacher, when I first talk about race, racism, and anti-racism, I do it in this order: Race, Racism in a Modern Setting, and Racism in a Historical Setting. I choose to talk about racism in a modern setting first in order to help dismantle the myth that "racism was solved with the Civil Rights Movement", which is what I was unfortunately taught within my schooling experiences (my teachers were great, but just needed resources on how to teach about racism, which is why Colorful Pages exists today). I feel that when we present racism as "prejudice + power" through a modern context, we are calling out the need for anti-racism now. Then, I always delve into racism in a historical setting to teach true history and add to the reasons why we need anti-racism in our modern world. There are definitely other ways to teach about race, racism, and anti-racism within the classroom and home that are just as great. The important thing is we teach it and do it the justice it deserves! Hopefully our Anti-Racist Book List for Elementary Students can help inspire you to bring these conversations to your classroom, home, and/or library!

The Spectrum of Multicultural Lit.: Conversation

Age Range: 4-8 years old

Just as the title suggests, Julius Lester's book is all about race. He breaks down what race is in an age-appropriate way. I always use this book to introduce the vocab term of "race" within Kindergarten and older classrooms!

The Spectrum of Multicultural Lit.: Exploration

Age Range: 3-7 years old

This picture book is another great option to talk about race with little ones! Bell Hooks, a world-renowned professor and scholar, wrote this book to dive into race and identity. She writes about how race matters, but only a little bit, which sets up nicely to dive into racism and anti-racism.

The Spectrum of Multicultural Lit.: Exploration

Age Range: 2-8 years old

The Skin You Live In is a picture book that talks about race through the idea of skin color and social acceptance. Michael Tyler uses a nursery rhyme format to touch upon this important subject. This is perfect for the really little ones!

The Spectrum of Multicultural Lit.: Exploration

Age Range: 4-10 years old

Latashia M. Perry writes about skin color in this beautiful picture book. Skin Like Mine explores skin color using rhyme and metaphors. It talks about the beauty of each skin color and diversity! This is a great way to introduce race through beauty, acceptance, and diversity. Plus, the illustrations are so vivid and magnificent!

The Spectrum of Multicultural Lit.: Conversation

Age Range: 4-8 years old

My favorite author and illustrator combo come together for this picture book. In Chocolate Me!, the young Black protagonist tells us about his experiences being a Black child. He talks about how he is teased and othered for his skin color based on prejudice and power. His mother then helps him realize how beautiful he is! This would be a great book to introduce racism as "prejudice + power" to your students through the eyes of someone who either looks like them or has a different identity as them.

The Spectrum of Multicultural Lit.: Conversation

Age Range: 4-8 years old

We at Colorful Pages have built a lesson plan around Black Lives Matter using this book to talk about racial injustice and racism. These three authors collaborated on creating a story to talk about police brutality and racial injustice in an age-appropriate way. The picture book follows two families, one White family and one Black family, as they discuss an unjust shooting of a Black man. Students get to see different children process it, which helps give them the language to discuss racism and police brutality.

The Spectrum of Multicultural Lit.: Conversation

Age Range: 4-8 years old

I used to read Amazing Grace to teach about racism in my classroom, but I always found it problematic because it was a book about racism written by a white author who never experienced it personally and also I had some qualms with how the ending was presented. Recently Not Quite Snow White was published and I found it to be a great replacement! Ashley Franklin wrote this picture book about Tameika, who wanted to try out to play Snow White, but was told she is "too tall", "too chubby", and "too brown". Tameika really struggles with the insults, especially the "too brown" racist comment. However, her parents help her see that she is not "too much" of anything. This is a great book to talk about racism by using it to show examples and non-examples of racism through the different comments. I am hoping to publish a lesson about how to use this book to talk about racism soon!

The Spectrum of Multicultural Lit.: Conversation

Age Range: 4-8 years old

Where Are You From? is a picture book I wish was in my own elementary classroom growing up because of how much I got asked this question and how hurt it left me feeling about my racial identity! This picture book is all about a little girl struggling with the othering and hurtful question she gets from her classmates: "Where are you from?". In the book, she goes to her abuelo to ask him how to deal with this question and he helps her see the beauty in her heritage and identity. This is a great book to talk about the prejudice (and sometimes racism) that stems from this question and othering of communities of color.

The Spectrum of Multicultural Lit.: Conversation

Age Range: 2+ years old

Oh my goodness! Another book I WISH I had growing up (or at the very least in my early years teaching ethnic studies)! Ibram X. Kendi (the author of How to Be an Anti-Racist and Stamped From the Beginning) reimagined his previous books geared towards older crowds about anti-racism in this new book, AntiRacist Baby. His board book talks about anti-racism and gives nine easy steps for children to take to be anti-racist. Ooooh, I love it and cannot wait to use it next year!

The Spectrum of Multicultural Lit.: Conversation

Age Range: 8-12 years old

Ruby Bridges tells her own story of her experience fighting racism and school segregation as a child. I am sure you know her story already, but Ruby Bridges was the first African-American student to desegregate an all-white school in Louisiana. This is a great story to continue conversations about racism and talk about racism in the education system and its unfortunate roots we need to dismantle.

The Spectrum of Multicultural Lit.: Conversation

Age Range: 5-8 years old

Talk about a must-have author! Jacqueline Woodson always writes such beautiful books and The Other Side is no exception. Woodson tackles racism in segregation by telling the story of Clover and Anna. Clover's parents tell her not to cross the fence to Anna's side because it isn't safe to go into the white part of town. However, Clover and Anna want to become friends and try to go around that rule by sitting on top of the fence.

The Spectrum of Multicultural Lit.: Conversation

Age Range: 6+ years old

Sit-In is a picture book that tells the story of four college students participating in a Sit-In protest during the Civil Rights Era. This picture book is not only beautifully illustrated, but is a great launching point to talk about ways to be anti-racist.

The Spectrum of Multicultural Lit.: Conversation

Age Range: 6-9 years old

Separate Is Never Equal is a wonderful way to teach deeper into racism for little ones because they are able to connect with it since the protagonists are the same age as them. Duncan Tonatiuh wrote this picture book to tell the true story of Sylvia Mendez and her family as they fought against racism through school segregation in California in 1947.

The Spectrum of Multicultural Lit.: Conversation

Age Range: 4-8 years old

The Bracelet is a picture book about Emi, a seven-year-old, and her family's experiences being forced to go into a concentration camp, where all Japanese-Americans were ordered to go in the 1940s. Author Yoshiko Uchida uses her own childhood experiences to write this important story. I have used this book to introduce the Internment of Japanese Americans and address the racism that harmed the Japanese-American community during World War II.

I Am Not a Number, by Dr. Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer; illustrated by Gillian Newland

The Spectrum for Multicultural Lit.: Conversation

Age Range: 7-11 years

Dr. Jenny Kay Dupuis, a proud member of the Nipissing Nation, and Kathy Kacer wrote I Am Not a Number. This picture book follows Irene Couchie as she is stolen from her First Nation and forced into a residential school (the Canadian term for "Indian Boarding Schools"). Irene's story is a devastating one that will bring up strong emotions in any reader. However, no matter how hard it is to face this part of history, we MUST teach it to our students in order to redress it and make sure it never happens again.

The Spectrum of Multicultural Lit.: Conversation

Age Range: 4-9 years old

Paula Young Shelton, the daughter of Civil Rights Movement activist Andrew Young, authors this book about her experiences as a child within the Civil Rights Movement. It brings a new perspective to the Civil Rights Movement that children can easily connect with because of the age of the protagonist. We have used this book in my classroom to launch our discussions about the Civil Rights Movement. It is also perfect to break into sections and read over many days.

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"In a racist society it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist." - Angela Davis

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View all posts by Kaitlin Kamalei Brandon

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Anti-Racist Books for Elementary Students: A Diverse Book List

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It is incredibly important that we talk about race, racism, and anti-racism with our kiddos starting at a young age. I have listed 16 books altogether: 4 diverse books about race; 5 books about racism, prejudice, and anti-racism in a modern context; and 7 books about racism, prejudice, and anti-racism in a historical context.

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Four Must Haves to teach Black History Month 

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Four Must Haves to teach Black History Month 

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It's not too late to put the best practices into place for honoring Black History Month in February and throughout the year.

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The Empowering Educators series promotes antiracist education through resources that support educators in facilitating effective, courageous conversations about race and social justice and in learning and teaching about racism.

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Black History Songs for Kids |  Black History Month Song for Kids

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Black Women In History (w/ Rissi Palmer & Snooknuk) | Black History Month Song for Kids