Teaching Challenged and Challenging Topics in Diverse and Inclusive Literature: Addressing the Taboo in the English Classroom

Description

This groundbreaking text provides practical, contextualized methods for teaching and discussing topics that are considered "taboo" in the classroom in ways that support students’ lived experiences. In times when teachers are scapegoated for adopting culturally sustaining teaching practices and are pressured to "whitewash" the curriculum, it becomes more challenging to create an environment where students and teachers can have conversations about complex, uncomfortable topics in the classroom. With contributions from scholars and K-12 teachers who have used young adult literature to engage with their students, chapters confront this issue and focus on themes such as multilingualism, culturally responsive teaching, dis/ability, racism, linguicism, and gender identity. Using approaches grounded in socioemotional learning, trauma-informed practices, and historical and racial literacy, this text explores the ways in which books with complicated themes can interact positively with students’ own lives and perspectives. Ideal for courses on ELA and literature instruction, this book provides a fresh set of perspectives and methods for approaching and engaging with difficult topics. As young adult literature that addresses difficult subjects is more liable to be considered "controversial" to teach, teachers will benefit from the additional guidance this volume provides, so that they can effectively reach the very students these themes address. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Table of Contents Foreword: The Necessity of Teaching Taboo Topics Introduction SECTION 1 1 Un Maravilloso, Dual-Language Read Aloud: Making Families Visible Through Testimony in the Primary Classroom 2 What Makes You Unique?: Valuing Classroom Diversity Within Writing Instruction 3 Sliding the Glass Door: Making Time and Space for Difficult Conversations With Youth Through Multivoiced Young Adult Literature SECTION 2 4 Exploring Gender Identity and Equity Through 5 Remixing for Relevance: Talking Gentrification in Pride 6 Layering Discourse: Encouraging Diverse Perspectives in a High School Literature Class 7 Curating Socially Just Classroom Libraries for Middle Grade Readers SECTION 3 8 ‘I Don’t Understand, I Don’t Speak Spanish’: Exploring Linguistic and Cultural Differences Through Picture Books 9 Combating Ableism With Classroom Literature 10 Engaging Dynamic Discussions Through Storytelling 11 Cultivating Students’ Civic Agency Through Participation in a Social Justice-Themed Book Club as a Subversive Approach to Critical Literacy in Education 12 Scattering Stars: Graphic Novel Book Studies With Middle Grades Students to Explore Refugee Stories Afterword: On Taboos and Teaching Them Anyway Contributor Biographies About the Authors Index