One way to facilitate productive classroom discussions about racism and unequal power structures is to engage students in developing the discussion guidelines. This demonstrates respect for students’ needs and a willingness to share power.  

The following articles have been selected from our three main journals for K-12 teachers: Social Education, Middle Level Learning, and Social Studies and the Young Learner. These articles are grouped by topic for easy reference. Also included are recent current event responses that address racism and call for human rights education. NCSS Current Events Responses (2020)Teaching about Race and Racism in the ClassroomThe African American Struggle for Civil RightsSlavery and Its LegacyRacism and Discrimination against Black, Indigenous, and People of ColorHuman Rights EducationMiddle Level…

Melissa K. Stanley, Dana Serure

Examining an eighteenth-century casta painting offers a perfect entry point into a lesson on the social construction of race in Latin America.

The exercise of writing opinion pieces allows students to explore real-world issues while challenging their understanding of the past.

Studying the Weimar Republic can help students make connections between the past and present and understand how history can inform our choices today.

Those who would ban or burn books recognize that the threat to their power comes when people learn to think for themselves.

Exploring digitized archives, such as the featured exhibit about a young Holocaust survivor, can spark important classroom discussions about prejudice and the responsibilities of ordinary citizens.

In this local history project, students in Turkey learned about global history and current events while exploring centuries-old trees still living in their urban environment.