Amy Allen Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

The authors present a seven-day project within the Birmingham metropolitan area where fourth graders researched the creation of suburban school systems in their city. The fourth graders analyzed primary and secondary sources to research the role that issues of race played in this process.

Two early childhood researchers from a local public university, have been visiting Mrs. Ball’s kindergarten classroom in a small, rural elementary school in the Midwest to read books and discuss characters’ identities. In this article, the authors share stories of how they laid the foundation for these conversations and others like it through intentional pedagogical considerations starting at the beginning of the school year.