Teaching Social Justice Through Children\u27s Literature

Teaching social justice in an elementary classroom prepares students to become accepting and respectful citizens in our society. Some teachers avoid social justice topics in their lessons, believing that younger children are not ready for such meaningful discussions. Children’s literature is one way to discuss these topics in developmentally appropriate ways. This study uses a qualitative self study approach to explore how children’s literature can be used to cover difficult social issues in an elementary classroom. Data collection methods include field notes, student work, lesson plans, and student’s quotes. The findings provide support for fostering critical thinking and meaningful discussion through children’s literature on social justice. Students enjoyed learning about social justice topics and being exposed to the world. This study suggests that using children’s books is a useful way to cover social justice topics so that children better understand societal issues and are able to discuss within the classroom