What would it mean to truly get free
as an educator? How can we identify and challenge bias in our reading and writing curriculum and instruction? How can we support students in becoming empathetic, engaged individuals who can communicate with the world through reading and writing skills developed with compassion and critical thinking? Answering these questions requires deep personal reflection and intentional daily practice - and it's crucial today more than ever, when students are overwhelmed with misinformation and disinformation. Drawn from decades of classroom experience and founded on the scholarship of social justice educators, the author provides a framework that can help teachers implement transformative, anti-bias literacy instruction in middle- and high school classrooms. This book offers educators strategies for scaffolding literacy instruction in ways that center students' identities and experiences, and help them develop a more inclusive understanding of literature and writing; classroom structures and routines that support critical listening and open, authentic conversation and writing responses; and invitations for teachers to re-examine curriculum and instructional practices, based on a deeper sense of who we are and what we bring to every reading and writing experience. To develop stronger reading, writing, and critical thinking skills, antibias literacy instruction is essential. This is the book for teachers, new and experienced, who know that classrooms can be transformative, liberatory spaces where students better understand themselves, others, and the world. Imagine the possibilities if we could just get free...