Teaching Diversity and Inclusion Through Children's Books

Using Books To Teach Diversity and Inclusion In The Classroom

All around us, especially these days, there is a push to incorporate more supports diversity in the classroom. Each student in the classroom brings in different cultures and we must become familiar with other cultures aside from our own, and appreciate each one. Recognizing and understanding these concepts is essential to growth as a student, but also in the classroom. By embracing other cultures and adding those lessons into the curriculum it allows for students to become more inclusive and learn valuable information about what each student's story brings into the classroom. 

Three young kids reading

There are many ways in which a teacher can bring more diversity and culture into the classroom, but one beneficial way of doing this is through children's books. Children's books have more to offer than just growth in reading skills as they also hold the power to tell stories children remember and learn from. Over the past few years, authors have stepped away from the classic American picture books and focused on creating books that talk about different cultures and encourage the inclusion of all different races, socio-economic status, citizenship, and the list goes on. Books on diversity and inclusion can serve as an anchor text to build an entire lesson plan around the classroom and allow for children to share their individual stories. 

My Experience With Books Supporting Diversity

I believe that books have a big impact on students especially those of a younger age as I have witnessed in my time with kids in the classroom. For some kids topics about diversity and inclusion are foreign to them, and introducing the conversations through a picture book with characters that show emotion is a perfect way to do so. I think that as a school system there could be more of a push to add in conversations around different cultures that allow for students to share their own. Having a set curriculum may create limits on what is taught in the classroom, so if there were to be a curriculum I believe that there should be some flexibility. So far, my experience with seeing kids learn about diversity and inclusion through books in the classroom and stories I have heard seems to be a unique and effective way to teach children to appreciate all cultures. Some of my favorite books that have been used in the classroom have been linked.