Social Justice and Other Resources
The resources in this section of our website address many areas and facets of teaching, with an emphasis on serving all learners, including students from diverse social, emotional, behavioral, cultural, linguistic, developmental and academic backgrounds.
Explore social justice related teaching and learning standards
Background Reading and Resources
This section will include a variety of related resources for teachers.
View these diverse webinars and other informational videos created for educators. You will find general social justice related webinars and videos in this list. Specific, topical webinars may be found in the Teaching Resources section below, organized by their area of focus (e.g., English Learners, Native American students)
All Ages and Grade Levels
ByKids
Social justice-themed documentaries by young people.
The Color of Law - Race, Policy, Segregation, and Implications for Teaching
This webinar is 77 minutes in length:
Join Learning for Justice and former Director Maureen Costello as we explore the role of U.S. segregation in everything from housing to employment to wealth accumulation—and the policies that made it all happen. Inspired by and including excerpts from Richard Rothstein’s New York Times best-selling book The Color of Law, this webinar will delve into deliberate governmental practices that created opportunities for white Americans and excluded others. Tune in to learn why the “bootstraps theory” doesn’t hold up and gain some useful tools for your classroom practice.
The Color of Law - Race, Policy, Segregation, and Implications for Teaching
The urgency of intersectionality (Kimberlé Crenshaw TEDTalk)
Now more than ever, it's important to look boldly at the reality of race and gender bias -- and understand how the two can combine to create even more harm. Kimberlé Crenshaw uses the term "intersectionality" to describe this phenomenon; as she says, if you're standing in the path of multiple forms of exclusion, you're likely to get hit by both. In this moving talk, she calls on us to bear witness to this reality and speak up for victims of prejudice.
Amplify RJ - Restorative justice webinars on a variety of topics
View past and future webinars (many free) here
Early Childhood Education Webinars
NAEYC - Advancing Equity: Maximizing Learning in Diverse Classrooms (select Equity topic category)
Division for Early Childhood - Bias, Race, and Microaggressions in Early Childhood
Division for Early Childhood - The History of Inequities and Its Impact on Young Children
Division for Early Childhood - In Pursuit of Equity in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education
Division for Early Childhood - The ABCs of Anti Racist Early Intervention
Division for Early Childhood - Uncovering and Resisting Racism in Early Childhood
Anti-Racist Curriculum and Teaching Webinars from California State University Fullerton (not vetted)
Below are sources of children’s literature that addresses diversity, equity and justice. As always, finding the best literature for your grade level and content area requires time and commitment. Try the resources below to locate inclusive books.
Early Childhood Resources
Elementary Resources
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Middle Grades and Secondary Resources
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Book Lists for All Grade Levels
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What are you listening to? Share your sources of information and inspiration and we will include them here along with these anti-racism focused podcasts listed below.
The following organizations are worth supporting! They also provide extensive resources that can be useful to educators.
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Early Childhood Education
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Elementary Education
Using Their Words: Six Elements of Social Justice Curriculum Design for the Elementary Classroom
Article from the International Journal of Multicultural Education
Teaching Peacemaking Circles to Elementary School Students….
Resources by Topic Area
Abolition
Queenie's Crew
Queenie’s Crew engages children in learning about building communities of care without prisons or policing.
Every month, members receive an email with an activity that kids can complete to learn more about abolition: We’ll share activities like coloring pages, word searches, word scrambles, mazes, and reflection exercises. Using readings and art projects, we support children in imagining a collective future where we are all free.
Allyship
Webinar - How to be an ally in the classroom
This one-hour webinar is available on demand.
When students and colleagues experience oppression based on their identities, being there sometimes just isn’t enough. Join Learning for Justice to learn more about how you can be a partner in empowerment for marginalized students and colleagues. In this introspective webinar, our activities and resources will help you learn more about the importance of self-identity in having complex identity-based conversations with students and colleagues. The toolkit for “Anatomy of an Ally,” the article “Teaching While White,” the webinar Let’s Talk! Discussing Whiteness and more tools will all be available to help you be an effective ally to those who may need you.
How to be an Ally in the Classroom
Censorship
Early Childhood Education
Young dual language learners (children aged 3-7 who speak a language other than English at home) are the fastest growing population of children in the United States. The beginning of preschool through the end of first grade is a critical time for young children to begin developing content knowledge, language and literacy, and social and emotional learning skills. To better meet the instructional needs of young dual language learners, early childhood educators need practical and effective instructional approaches that promote multilingualism and enhance foundational literacy skill development. The National Clearinghouse of English Language Acquisition (NCELA) Teaching Practice Brief:Integrating Language into Early Childhood highlights current research findings and evidence-based instructional practices for teaching dual language learners in early childhood settings.
In this webinar presenters from OELA and WestEd discuss four educator practices that can be enacted to enhance the teaching of dual language learners.
PPT Slides - Enhancing Language Instruction in ECE
Secondary Education
English Learners in Secondary Schools: Trajectories, Transition Points, and Promising Practices (webinar)
English learners (ELs) at the secondary level who are approaching high school graduation face unique challenges. Curricular requirements including English language development classes, graduation requirements, and for some, special education can create complex scheduling challenges, and intricate accessibility issues.
As schools engage in articulation activities to determine student placement in the upcoming school year, it's important to identify and eliminate structural barriers that may post challenges to ELs' path towards graduation.
This webinar discussed what research has shown about the academic trajectories of ELs at the secondary level, including the trajectories of newcomers, students who have been labeled long-term ELs, ELs with disabilities, and former ELs.
- Dr. Ilana Umansky, University of Oregon
- Dr. Karen Thompson, Oregon State University
- Dr. Aída Walqui, WestEd
Grief and Trauma
Early Childhood Education
Erikson Institute - Gun Violence and Children: Practical Mental Health Support Pt 1
Blog series - Gun violence committed in a public setting significantly impacts the larger community. The recent mass shootings in Highland Park, Illinois; Uvalde, Texas; and Buffalo, New York, have affected the national consciousness and devastated the lives of victims’ families. Meanwhile, ongoing gun violence in neighborhoods can create a chronic state of trauma for community members living in an environment with frequent non-mass shootings.
Pulling from our recent webinar, “Gun violence and children: practical ways to provide mental health support”, this three-part blog series will explore the repercussions of gun violence on young children, and what parents, caregivers, teachers, and others can do to support young children’s mental health.
All age and grade levels
Dougy Center Resources on Grief for Children
The resources on this site are directed to children themselves and span 0-5 and K-12.
Native American Students
Webinar: Culturally Responsive School Practices to Promote the Success of Native American English Learners
Native American and Alaska Native English learners are incredibly diverse; they possess varied demographic, linguistic and academic backgrounds which are not always evident when students are characterized as a group. It is critical to increase our awareness of the diversity that exists among Native American and Alaska Native English learners and to identify and highlight the cultural, and linguistic assets that students bring to their school and their community.
Native American and Alaska Native English learners represent approximately 8% of all English learners in public schools. Policies have been established at the federal, state, and local levels to support the academic and social emotional well-being of Native American and Alaska Native students and yet the achievement and opportunity gaps between them and their peers persist. This requires a focus on factors that influence the success and development of Native American and Alaska Native English learners and the cultural, instructional, and structural practices that promote their academic achievement and social development.
Related video - Walking in Both Worlds:...rican Students and Language Acquisition
Culturally Responsive School Practices to Promote the Success of Native American English Learners
Native American and Alaska Native English learners are incredibly diverse; they possess varied demographic, linguistic and academic backgrounds which are not always evident when students are characterized as a group. It is critical to increase our awareness of the diversity that exists among Native American and Alaska Native English learners and to identify and highlight the cultural, and linguistic assets that students bring to their school and their community.
Native American and Alaska Native English learners represent approximately 8% of all English learners in public schools. Policies have been established at the federal, state, and local levels to support the academic and social emotional well-being of Native American and Alaska Native students and yet the achievement and opportunity gaps between them and their peers persist. This requires a focus on factors that influence the success and development of Native American and Alaska Native English learners and the cultural, instructional, and structural practices that promote their academic achievement and social development.
Click here to view this webinar recording
Effective Ways to Teach Native American Language and Culture
This webinar will present an overview of current education development in teaching Native American Language and Culture. Robin Butterfield will discuss some key considerations that should be taken by education professionals when working with and teaching Native American culture especially in the areas of leadership development. Nāmaka Rawlins, will provide strategies and ideas from the Hawaiian model on teaching Native American language. She will stress best practices and address some of the Native American language issues. Both will share and discuss appropriate strategies, ideas and models that seem to work best with Native American ELs.
Click here to view this webinar
Graphic Organizers that Build Good Literacy Habits for Native American ELs
This NCELA webinar features a Title III Native American Children in Schools Program in Welling, Oklahoma. Sharon Ballew and Pam Henley provide information regarding appropriate reading strategies for ELs, specifically Native Americans. Additionally, “best-practices” are discussed and attendees learn instructional strategies that complement the learning styles of Native American students, how to create engaged learners, and are presented with comprehension strategies and graphic organizers that are effective.
Click here to view this webinar
Newcomer, Immigrant and Refugee Students
Facing History and Ourselves offers 3 Ways to Address the Latest News on Immigration With Your Students
Learning for Justice: “Immigrant and Refugee Children: A Guide for Educators and School Support Staff”and an article on what to say to students about immigration orders.
Resources in multiple languages around putting an end to bullying and tools from The American Federation of Teachers around bullying prevention.
Make sure you and your students know your rights
Registering and Enrolling Refugee and Immigrant Students in Secondary Schools (Webinar)
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), in collaboration with Education Northwest, hosted a webinar where panelists discussed best practices and resources for facilitating refugee and immigrant students’ transition into U.S. schools, including scheduling considerations, academic evaluations, and options for registering newcomer students who arrive without academic credentials or who do not meet state academic requirements. The panelists also discussed models of academic background review and assessment that can be used during newcomer immigrant registration and enrollment to set students on a success trajectory and pathway to graduation. This important conversation featured Manuel Vazquez Cano and Jason Greenberg Motamedi, Ph.D. of Education Northwest.
This webinar contains examples and resource materials that are provided for the user’s convenience. The inclusion of any material is not intended to reflect its importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed or products or services offered. These materials may contain the views and recommendations of various subject matter experts as well as hypertext links, contact addresses, and websites to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. The opinions expressed in any of these materials do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the U.S. Department of Education. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any outside information included in these materials. Mentions of specific programs or products in these examples are designed to provide clearer understanding and are not meant as endorsements.
Click here to view this webinar recording
Supporting/Affirming Immigrant Students and Families
This is a one-hour on-demand webinar:
Join Learning for Justice, experts from ImmSchools and the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Immigrant Justice Project for a webinar on supporting immigrant students and families. In this webinar, participants will gain an understanding of the current realities and challenges facing affected communities. You will learn about the importance of approaching this work with an asset-based lens. You’ll also become familiar with the legal obligations of supporting immigrant students. Finally, you’ll gain insights into assessing current local policies and practices, and become familiar with resources for advocating for positive change.
Supporting/Affirming Immigrant Students and Families
Education and Afghan Newcomers: Keeping the Promise (Webinar)
The United States is in the process of resettling our Afghan allies and their families to our country. There is an immediate and urgent need for providing high-quality, culturally responsive education to newcomer Afghan students as they move from safe havens into destination communities.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) hosted a webinar that provided information about ORR’s process for placing and supporting Afghan newcomers in the context of the U.S. educational system. The webinar also featured representatives from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE). The panelists discussed how to coordinate resources to provide wrap-around services and offered information about Federal support that will be explained in a forthcoming Dear Colleague Letter. If you have questions, please send them to KeepingthePromise@ed.gov
Click here to view the webinar recording
confronting-discrimination-national-origin-immigration-status.pdf
Restorative Justice
COMING SOON!
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade - What Can Social Justice Educators Do?
Article from Learning for Justice - summer 2022
Special Education
Teaching is Intellectual
Social justice-focused resources on ableism, disability, and teaching
https://teachingisintellectual.com/
Special needs, exceptionalities, and more: Just say no to disability euphemisms
Check out this perspective on teachingisintellectual.com
Hack the IEP Process Zine
A zine for care & self-expression, created by 2 design moms with their neurodivergent sons. Use as a tool to help communicate strengths & challenges while facilitating collaboration with your kiddo's IEP team, teachers, therapists, & other community members. Great for practicing self-advocacy!
https://www.theadvocazine.com/
Undocumented Students and Families
Immigrants Rising - Glossary of common legal terms related to immigration
US Dept of Education - Supporting Undocumented Youth
ImmSchools is an immigrant-led non-profit organization that partners with K-12 schools and educators to support undocumented students and families by leading professional development, immigrant-centered workshops, and organizing for immigrant-friendly policies.
Violence Prevention and Supports
Prevention-focused resources
School Violence Prevention: Tips for Parents & Educators
This resource was published by the National Association of School Psychologists and is available on their website. It focuses primarily on what to say to children.
Addressing school and community violence
Considerations for lockdown and active shooter drills
This NASP resource shares better practices in conducting these drills. "While these drills have the potential to empower staff and save lives, if not implemented correctly, they can cause harm. Available research supports the effectiveness of nonsensorial lockdown drills (i.e., drill done by calmly walking and talking through the procedures, with no simulation of a real-life event) implemented according to best practices."
Armed-Assailant-Guide-Revised-SEPT-2021.pdf
Mitigating the psychological effects of lockdowns
Another NASP resource for schools
Mitigating_Psychological_Effects_of_Lockdowns.pdf
APA Policy Brief - Violence Against Educators and School Personnel: Crisis During COVID-19
This policy brief is based on a survey conducted from July 2020 to June 2021. This policy brief served as premise for a Congressional briefing (available online) APA’s Task Force conducted in collaboration with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the National Education Association (NEA), and the School Social Work Association of America (SSWA). It includes important findings, school personnel voices, and recommendations for supporting legislative efforts on this public health issue for American school.