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Learning for Justice 101: A Guide to Our Resources

Perhaps you get our magazine and you’ve used our films. But Learning for Justice offers so much more! As a new school year starts, we review some of our favorite—and most popular—resources.
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It’s a new year, and whether you’ve been with us for years or you’re just finding us now, it’s a great time to brush up on a few of the ways that LFJ can support you today and throughout the year. 

If we’ve left your favorite resource out of this article—or if you have experience with any of these resources you’d like to share—please add it in the comments below or tell us about it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. And if you have a chance, please pass this article along to an educator you think could find it helpful (maybe someone new to the classroom?). There’s something here for everyone!

1. Here are three of our favorite resources to download right now.

Check out our One World posters. 

One World posters are a beautiful way to bring a wide range of voices into your classroom. Browse, download, print and post these lovingly illustrated quotations from activists and artists. 

Explore our Student Texts. 

Our library of students texts is a searchable, multi-genre archive of short, printable and multimedia texts to share with students. Aligned with the Common Core’s ELA standards and accompanied by text-based questions, these readings are also sortable by subject, grade level, genre and social justice domain. From photos to short stories to cartoons to primary documents, these texts are a great way to ensure diverse voices are included in your curriculum.  

Get to know the Social Justice Standards.

Are you looking for ways to infuse equity into your lessons and your classroom culture? Across subjects and grade levels, the Social Justice Standards are one of our most popular resources. Offering a common language and organizational structure for teaching students about identity, diversity, justice and action, the standards are leveled for every stage of K–12 education. The publication includes models of anti-bias attitudes and behavior for the classroom.

2. Love getting mail? Let us know what you need and we’ll send it, free of charge. Here are two of our most popular requests. 

Order one of our film kits.

Our film kits include classroom-friendly films and classroom-ready user guides, with lessons and tips for guiding discussion. Choose from titles like Viva La Causa, a documentary about the grape strike and boycott led by César Chávez and Dolores Huerta, and Mighty Times: The Children’s March, an Oscar-winning documentary about the young people’s civil rights protest in Birmingham, Alabama.

Subscribe to our magazine.

Sign up for a subscription, and we’ll send your copy to your school. Published once a year, our magazine provides timely articles and resources to help educators build strong communities where all students have the opportunity to learn and thrive. 

3. Want to connect? Join our online community of more than 300,000 social justice educators. 

Follow us on social media.

Follow us on Twitter @learnforjustice, Instagram @learningforjustice and like us on Facebook.

Get our newsletters.

Sign up for our newsletters. Every week, we’ll send you updates, lessons and information on upcoming PD or grant opportunities! The Moment, a special feature on our website that presents resources on timely topics and breaking news, also has its own newsletter. We’ll let subscribers know whenever we update The Moment.

Learning for Justice resources are FREE—and always will be!

Start a Learning for Justice account.

Sign up for your LFJ account to access texts with restrictive copyrights; comment on articles; and draft, save and (if you like) share learning plans.

Check out a webinar.

We offer a few webinars each semester. Register in advance and participate in the virtual discussions and Q&As. Webinars are also available on demand—visit our archives to learn about topics like teaching about slavery, serving English language learners and their families, and facilitating courageous conversations.

4. Looking for ways to bring social justice content into your classroom? Check out our curricular frameworks and lessons for teaching social justice topics. Here are a few we love.

Teach digital literacy.

Our Digital Literacy Framework provides seven key understandings to help students develop digital and civic literacy skills. Applicable across subjects and accompanied by lessons for students K–12, the framework also includes professional development modules, an on-demand webinar and a set of short, student-friendly videos. Check out our podcast The Mind Online to learn more.

Teach the civil rights movement.

Learn more about the history of the movement with season three of our Teaching Hard History podcast. Push your students’ learning beyond Dr. King and Rosa Parks with The March Continues: Five Essential Practices for Teaching the Civil Rights Movement. Complemented by additional lessons, articles and resources for finding primary documents, The March Continues is a must-read for any educator working to engage students in the history of the U.S. civil rights struggle.

Teach the hard history of American slavery.

Our newest framework, Teaching Hard History: American Slavery, provides K-12 school teachers with the key content and concepts that students need to understand the history of slavery in British North America and the United States. Accompanied by a text library full of primary source documents, a set of inquiry design models and a podcast in which experts further explore and offer recommendations for teaching this hard history, this acclaimed resource is one that no history teacher should be without.

5.  Looking for ways to re-commit to social justice education? Check out a few of these publications recommending best practices to learn, try and share.

Read up on anti-bias education.

Critical Practices for Anti-Bias Education offers strategies K–12 teachers can use as they work to accomplish academic and social emotional goals side by side. Divided into four sections, the guide recommends ready-to-use strategies for instruction, classroom culture, family and community engagement, and teacher leadership. 

Check out practical steps you can take to improve school climate.

With its four-step guide to interrupting hateful speech or actions, Speak Up at School is perfect for sharing with colleagues or students. Let’s Talk! helps with facilitating critical conversations on topics like race, religion, sexual orientation and more. And Reading for Social Justice can help you start a reading group to bring students, families and educators together for conversation.

Support students throughout your school.

Check out LFJ’s guides Best Practices for Serving English Language Learners and Their Families and Best Practices for Serving LGBTQ Students.

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