Children's Literature for the Primary Inclusive Classroom: Increasing Understanding of Children with Hearing Impairments

<p><em>Children’s literature is profoundly influential in the lives of students and is widespread throughout schools, libraries, and homes. However, the field of children’s literature lacks diversity across several domains, particularly race, gender, and ability. Educators must be knowledgeable on how to use diverse children’s literature as a tool to teach about diversity, as they strive to foster inclusive classroom environments. Teachers must also design their classroom libraries with intense care so as to provide a wide-ranging selection of books to meet the needs of children’s interests and reading levels. Books are a powerful tool for development, so teachers must make conscious decisions about the materials they provide to young readers. All children deserve exposure to a wide range of books, which include characters who are both similar and different from themselves. Educators have a responsibility to expose students to diversity through a well-written selection of multifaceted children’s literature.</em></p>

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Fostering Inclusive Communities Through Children's Literature

Advances in Early Childhood and K-12 Education - Handbook of Research on Teaching Diverse Youth Literature to Pre-Service Professionals ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-7375-4.ch028 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 566-592

Author(s):

Natasha C. Murray-Everett ◽

Stephanie Schroeder

Keyword(s):

Children's Literature ◽

Social Studies ◽

Explicit Instruction ◽

Children’S Literature ◽

Inclusive Classrooms ◽

Inclusive Classroom ◽

Social Studies Methods ◽

Elementary Social Studies ◽

Before And After ◽

Social Studies Teacher

This comparative case study explored pre-service teachers' (PSTs) understandings and concerns around creating inclusive classrooms before and after engaging in explicit instruction and practice surrounding issues of inclusion in elementary social studies methods. Findings illustrate that PSTs understood inclusion as an expansive concept, encapsulating various social identities, before and after explicit instruction. Engaging in a lesson planning project involving children's literature and a deep dive into anti-bias and inclusion literature helped to lessen concerns held by PSTs about creating inclusive classrooms but amplified other concerns, such as how to manage parental pushback and how to support students of marginalized backgrounds. This chapter addresses implications for elementary social studies teacher educators, such as the need to provide explicit practice and guidance when emphasizing the need for inclusive classroom communities, and the authors suggest ways PSTs' concerns could be lessened through interviews with parents and panel discussions with inclusive educators.

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