Teaching about social justice using picture books Brandelyn

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Teaching about social justice using picture books

• Brandelyn Tosolt, Ph.D.
• Northern Kentucky University

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Picture books as teaching tools

• Traditional purposes
• teach young children to read
• introduce basic concepts
• Modern purposes
• model reading and writing component skills to all
  children
• introduce basic and complex concepts in
  age-appropriate ways
• use as product models

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Todays picture books

• Increased attention to
• multicultural
• themes
• stories
• characters
• settings
• issues of gender bias
• accessibility

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Multiculturally-aware picture books
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Considerations

• Multiculturally-aware picture books
• Challenge the idea that there are no alternatives
  to the norm
• Do no challenge the idea that there is a norm

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What is social justice?

• individuals have a sense of their own agency as
  well as a sense of social responsibility toward
  and with others, their society, and the broader
  world in which we live (Bell, 2007, pp. 1-2).

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Age-appropriate applications

• Multiple perspectives
• Choices between many options
• Multiple perspectives lead to multiple solutions
• Importance of taking others perspective
• Taking action as an individual
• Ability of one person to make a difference
• Modern contexts