International children’s picture books provide windows and mirrors for children and allow them to consider issues of fairness, justice, equity, diversity, and the common good as they build their nascent citizenship skills.

Teaching high school history with picture books can enliven social studies content, advance students’ higher-order thinking skills, and help facilitate differentiated instruction.

An annotated list of children's books that are high quality, unbiased, and non-stereotypical portrayals of Arabs. It is also a collection that brings the native voices of the MENA region to elementary readers

Quality children’s literature, specifically picture books, can be extremely helpful to teach social studies concepts to students of all ages, including secondary, by sharing important messages through simplistic, imagery-filled text. Learning names and dates is not enough. We must be prepared to help children ask questions, and discover their answers through creative thinking, reasoning, judging, and understanding. Presenter Jessica Torre ESC Region 12, Waco, TX

Picture books often address complex topics and can provide a visually arresting approach for teaching secondary as well as special needs students.

“Why are people marching?” Given today’s level of activism, this is a plausible question many students may have. Although only some students voice the questions, it is very likely that many more have pondered why people are protesting after seeing reports of events such as the Women’s March (equality for women), March for Our Lives (about gun control), Black Lives Matter (for racial justice), Janitors March (for fair pay), and Keep Families Together (demanding the Trump administration reunite immigrant families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border). As elementary teachers, our subsequent…

The authors show how elementary-school age students and teachers can use picture books, young adult literature, and poetry to uncover and explore the hidden histories and untold stories of Elizabeth Jennings, Ida B. Wells, Jackie Robinson, Sarah Keys Evans, and Claudette Colvin, among others, and their protests for African Americans’ right to ride in trains, streetcars, buses, and other forms of public transportation. 

This set of books offers insight into Canadian aboriginal cultures and the contributions of these groups to the fabric of the nation.

Some key strategies can help provide students with a balanced picture of the founding fathers while honoring the lives, stories, and experiences of victims of slavery.

The books that appear in this annotated list were evaluated and selected by a Book Review Committee appointed by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and assembled in cooperation with the Children’s Book Council (CBC). NCSS and CBC have cooperated on this annual bibliography since 1972. Books selected for this bibliography were published in 2020 and were written for children in grades K-12. The Book Review Committee looks for books that emphasize human relations, represent a diversity of groups and are sensitive to a broad range of cultural experiences, present an original theme…