Teaching Tough Topics

Teaching Tough Topics is a comprehensive guide to choosing and using the best children’s books to address sensitive but significant topics in the classroom.

This timely book shows teachers how to lead students to become caring citizens as they read and respond to quality children’s literature. It focuses on topics that can be challenging to teach, yet are key to building a better understanding of social justice, diversity and equity. Bullying, poverty, homophobia, gender issues, racism, death, Indigenous identities, the Holocaust and physical and mental challenges are just some of the themes explored.

Each chapter in this practical book deals with an important tough topic designed to help students consider their own identities and the identities of others. Detailed lessons throughout the book offer independent and interactive activities that support diversity, empathy and tolerance. The lessons incorporate key picture books, novels, poetry, scripts and nonfiction as sources for responding through talk, writing and the arts.