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Primary Junior Social Justice Resources

Here you will find lists of reading suggestions on topics frequently asked about by teacher candidates and teachers.

PJ Education Librarian

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Brenda Reed
Contact:
brenda.reed@queensu.ca
613-533-6000 x 77644

Booklists on Social Justice Topics

CCBC Social Justice book list logoThe Canadian Children's Book Centre has launched a Social Justice & Diversity Book Bank!  Set a filter or use the search box to discover Canadian children's literature on a wide range of topics.  Recommended grade range and age levels are included.

The website Mirrors Windows Doors, created and maintained by Marjorie Coughlan, is an excellent source of children's & YA literature titles on a range of diverse issues.  See especially, the link to online reading lists on topics celebrating diversity in literature, including adoption, refugees, and countries around the world.

weneeddiversebooks.org (WNDB) is a popular site for discovering diverse children's literature.

The Diverse Book Finder is a site curated by 4 women in the U.S. The project started with a grant provided by Bates College in Lewiston, Maine and focuses on picture books. This site lists not just recommended titles, but attempts to list all multicultural titles published in the U.S. so that research can be done on how people are portrayed in the literature.

McWhirter, Ruth & Gurbinder Kaur (Eds.). Social justice picture books: Lesson plans for the junior-intermediate classroom. Open Library, eCampusOntario.

Power of Story: Diverse Books for All Readers. Scholastic web site. 

Jason Reynolds talks about The Power of Story in this interview with Scholastic.

Lesson Plans

media smarts logoMedia Smarts, Canada's Centre for Digital and Media Literacy, provides lesson plans on bias, ethics, and perspectives in the media, with an emphasis on digital literacy.

Teaching Tolerance Classroom Resources

This site includes lesson plans and teaching strategies accessible by creating a free account. Teaching Tolerance is a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, AL.

Anti-Racism Booklists

18 Children's Books to Prompt and Further Conversations on Race. PBS Teachers Lounge, PBS Education, 2020.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Books

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