Children’s literature integrated in the social studies curriculum is a great strategy to deepen the understanding of the social studies content in an engaging and meaningful way.
- I have always known there were biases in books, but I was shocked to learn that the Who Was series was included in the list of books that were not appropriate. On the surface, many of these books seem like they would teach children the facts of our history. However, this just proved to me why I need to read each book I am considering for my class. I also need to preview the illustrations. I am shocked there was a picture of a person hanging in a children’s book. The wording and illustrations in some of these books would not be beneficial to the students in my classroom and would perpetuate the biases among these students.
I learned a valuable lesson this week: DON’T judge a book by it’s cover… Or maybe you can. But having a critical eye when looking at the books I will consider for my class will ensure they have the highest quality of books to learn from.
Chandley, I am so glad you found the lesson on bias helpful. I think awareness to bias in children’s books is critical for all teachers. Each of us bring our own bias to the classroom that we are not even aware of, as you pointed out. I think previewing books with your PLC and even your librarian with the purpose of looking for bias will be helpful. If you find bias you will have to think about whether you can use some parts of the book as a shared reading or choose a new book altogether. Thank you for your reflection.