Social Studies

General

FAIR Education Act: “The FAIR Education Act updates California’s education guidelines to integrate age-appropriate, factual information about the role and contributions of people with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people into social studies and history lessons. These education guidelines already include the contributions of both men and women, people of color, diverse ethnic communities and other historically underrepresented groups. Signed into law on July 14, 2011, these updated guidelines went into effect on January 1, 2012″ (GSA Network).
FAIR Education Act FAQ (from the California Department of Education)

Books, Textbooks, Timelines, Lesson Plans, & Other Resources

A Compilation of Elementary School Curricula in line with the FAIR Education Act (from www.faireducationact.com) (NOTE: You may have to do a minimal amount of sifting through this sites curricula to find more LGBT-focused materials since the FAIR Act also mandates the teaching of the contributions of people with disabilities, recognizing, of course, that ‘LGBT’ and ‘disabled’ are not mutually exclusive.)

A Compilation of Middle School Curricula in line with the FAIR Education Act (from www.faireducationact.com) (NOTE: You may have to do a minimal amount of sifting through this sites curricula to find more LGBT-focused materials since the FAIR Act also mandates the teaching of the contributions of people with disabilities, recognizing, of course, that ‘LGBT’ and ‘disabled’ are not mutually exclusive.)

GLBTQ Social Sciences Resource Compilation: Subject Index – A-E, F-L, M-Z

Unheard Voices: Stories of LGBT History (see righthand column for curriculum links): Sections include –

Gay America: Struggle for Equality: A textbook that chronicles the struggle for gay rights in US history, for grades 7-12.

Living Memory LGBT History Timeline: A timeline from the twentieth century through 2006 that includes historical figures, historical events and laws, and other LGBTQ moments in history.

LGBTQ Icons of History Bio Pages: A collection of the biographies of 31 LGBTQ icons through history, including but not limited to George Washington Carver, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Kiyoshi Kuromia.

No Name-Calling Week Resource Kit: Lesson plans for elementary, middle, and high schools.

Teaching Tolerance: A Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center: A collection of lesson plans, activities, professional development resources and more. Themes range from race to sexual identity to immigrant rights.

Timeline of LGBT History: A timeline from the twenty-fifth century BCE through 2006 about historical figures, historical events and laws, and other instances of LGBTQ moments in history.

Creating an Anti-Slur Policy: Lesson for Grades 5-8

Building Empathy Through Reflection: Lessons for Grades 5-12

When I Grow Up, I Want to Be A …: Moving Beyond Gender Barriers in Our Lives: Is inclusive not just of women, but all people who behave in gender-nonconforming ways.

Children, Families and Immigration: Chapter Books (LGBT-inclusive)

Looking at Gender Through Folktales & Stories – Draws from numerous regions and cultures, including from the U.S., Mexico, Senegal, India, Japan, Russia, Sweden, and Germany.

Biographies: Determined Girls, Successful Women — Boys and Men Determined to Live Their Dreams – “Biographies to Help Children Know Their History and Expand Their Dreams” (Human Rights Campaign)

ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives – The world’s largest research library on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered heritage and concerns.

Films with Discussion Guides and/or Lesson Plans

That’s A Family
That’s A Family: Discussion and Teaching Guide
All God’s Children: This presents a political, social, & religious analysis of sexual orientation within the context of the traditional African-American values of freedom, inclusion & the Christian ethic.
Let’s Get Real
In My Shoes
Bullied: This film tells the story of a school district that was taken to court for their inability to protect a bullied gay student.
Don’t Erase my History: A group of Bay Area youth take us on a quest for the very history that has “no name” in their schools.
In My Shoes: Stories of Youth with LGBT Parents: A student-made film that explores the lives of five youths with one or more LGBTQ parents.
Out in the Silence: A Campaign for Fairness & Equality in Rural and Small Town America: Follows a small town ignited by controversy over the announcement of a same-sex marriage and the bullying of an LGBTQ teen.

Films without Discussion Guides and/or Lesson Plans

De Colores: A 28-minute bilingual documentary about how Latino families are replacing the deep roots of homophobia with the even deeper roots of love and tolerance.
Two Spirits: This movie explores the cultural context of gender identity through the Navajo tradition of honoring those people with the body of one gender but the spirit of another, including the murder of Fred Martinez, one of those honored people, by a white outsider.