Reading the K-8 Rainbow

Once upon a time, I got together with three powerhouses in educational research. Drs. Ryan and Hermann-Wilmarth are leaders in LGBTQIA+ inclusive teaching, blessing us with about a million articles and an amazing book, Reading the Rainbow: LGBTQ-Inclusive Literacy Instruction in the Elementary Classroom. Dr. Young, queer researcher and children’s literature guru, has more books in his brain than I’ve read in my life. Together, we formed a mighty alliance of four cool queers who want to make the world a better place and also do something fun because the world is on fire and we need to find joy wherever we can.

After a bit of brainstorming, we came up with the idea of a book club for teachers who want to improve the LGBTQIA+ inclusivity in their classrooms. How nice it would be to take some time to read good books with teachers and brainstorm instructional ideas; teachers and books are our jam, so it’s a perfect combo. Plus, we get to make a few classrooms better by expanding the teachers’ and children’s views of who gets their stories told and, thus, who is valuable in the world. Win-win.

Are you a K-8 teacher? Want to read/discuss LGBTQ-inclusive children’s literature w/ other teachers via Zoom? Join our book club research study! We’ll read different picturebooks and middle grades novels each month with a focus on #OwnVoices books. Spread the word to other teachers you know! Sign up here.

Dr. MikkakaComment