Search

Creating welcoming classrooms for young children of LGBT families.

Trauma shows many faces. Schools that recognize them can be places of healing.

Practice restorative justice with these role-playing scenarios.

Mix It Up at Lunch Day is all about diversity. It celebrates the diversity of America’s classrooms. And it shows the diverse ways teachers can tackle cliquishness in schools. We were inspired by some of the great stories the day has generated. We thought we’d share three of them with you here.

This toolkit for “Expelling Islamophobia” outlines a six-step lesson plan using the short film American Muslims: Facts vs. Fiction. The purpose is to foster all students’ religious literacy and improve school climate for Muslim students and other vulnerable student groups.

Last spring, a fifth-grade girl approached me in the lunchroom with a question. Asalah is a Muslim student from Yemen. Our connection had started right there in the school cafeteria two years ago. I was passing out trays and sporks when the third-grade version of Asalah approached me with a question about whether or not the “ham” sandwich was really pork. I told her no, that it was turkey, and shared with her that my religion, Judaism, has dietary laws as well and that I don’t eat pork either. We’ve been pals ever since.

Earlier this year I spoke with a group of teachers who reported seeing a dramatic increase in the number of Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) in their school district. Among their common concerns was a fear of not being able to effectively communicate with the students and their families. These teachers wanted to reach all their students and make them part of their class communities. And, they were very concerned with meeting the adequate yearly progress (AYP).

This Teaching Tolerance magazine piece leads readers through the process of planning and conducting a disclosure meeting as a way of helping students relate to a peer with a hidden disability. Before doing that, however