[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-582558-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":80,"doc-detail-582558-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","facilitating-conversations-on-difficult-topics-in-the-classroom-teachers-stories-of-opening-spaces-using-childrens-literature","Facilitating Conversations on Difficult Topics in the Classroom - Teachers’ Stories of Opening Spaces Using Children’s Literature","","This Occasional Paper Series edition explores how children’s literature can serve as a foundation for deep, meaningful classroom conversations about difficult topics. Educators share practice-based stories showing how books act as mirrors and windows, enabling rich dialogue around real life challenges children experience. The introduction situates the work within Bank Street College’s developmental-interaction approach and highlights narrative, social justice, and critical inquiry as core values guiding teachers and teacher educators.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/facilitating-conversations-on-difficult-topics-in-the-classroom-teachers-stories-of-opening-spaces-using-childrens-literature/582558/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/facilitating-conversations-on-difficult-topics-in-the-classroom-teachers-stories-of-opening-spaces-using-childrens-literature/582558.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Mia  ","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":33},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"How does the paper connect children’s literature to classroom conversation?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"It argues that books are a base for enabling rich, deep conversations in classrooms. Educators use children’s literature as mirrors and windows to prompt dialogue about real life challenges.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"Which educational philosophy and institutional values does the introduction emphasize?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"The introduction highlights Bank Street College’s developmental-interaction approach, centered in constructivism, as well as a focus on narrative, social justice, and critical inquiry.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"What kinds of difficult topics do educators address using children’s literature?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"The paper covers sensitive areas children experience, including socio-emotional challenges, gender identity and expression, climate change, difficult histories, LGBTQ+ topics, and conversations around death and grief.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},582558,1792886693,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":33,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},687207024478,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","| Occasional Paper Series | 11. 2020 |\n| --- | --- |\n|  | 44 |\n\nFacilitating Conversationson Difficult Topics in the Classroom: Teachers’ Stories of Opening Spaces Using Children’s Literature  \nIntroduction  \nMollie Welsh Kruger  \nSusie Rolander  \nSusan Stires  \nEssays by  \nCarolina Soto Bonds  \nCatherine-Laura Dunnington  \nShoshana Magnet  \nKerry Elson  \nKindel Turner Nash  \nYsaaca D. Axelrod  \nDenise Ives  \nRachel Weaver  \nNoreen N. Rodríguez  \nShelby Brody  \nKathryn Struthers Ahmed  \nNida Ali  \nChiara Di Lello  \nCarla España  \nArianna Banack  \nStephen Adam Crawley  \nCara E. Furman  \nTable of Contents  \nIntroduction  \nFacilitating Conversations on Difficult Topics in the Classroom: Teachers’ Stories of Opening Spaces Using Children’s Literature  \nMollie Welsh Kruger, Susie Rolander, and Susan Stires  \nStorytime is a Sunrise: Employing Children’s Literature to Mediate Socio-Emotional Challenges in the Life of a Young Child  \nCarolina Soto Bonds  \nAngry Like Me  \nCatherine-Laura Dunnington and Shoshana Magnet  \nTaking a Journey to the Land of All: Using Children’s Literature to Explore Gender Identity and Expression with Young Children  \nKerry Elson and Kindel Turner Nash  \nWe Are All Learning about Climate Change: Teaching with Picture Books to Engage Teachers and Students  \nYsaaca D. Axelrod, Denise Ives, and Rachel Weaver  \nFocus on Friendship or Fights for Civil Rights? Teaching the Difficult History of Japanese American Incarceration through The Bracelet  \nNoreen N. Rodríguez  \nGender-Inclusive Children’s Literature as a Preventative Measure: Moving Beyond a Reactive Approach to LGBTQ+ Topics in the Classroom  \nShelby Brody  \nWhat Do You Do When You Don’t Know How to Respond? Supporting Pre-Service Teachers to Use Picture Books to Facilitate Difficult Conversations  \nKathryn Struthers Ahmed and Nida Ali  \nChoosing Difficult, Choosing Important in Fifth-Grade Read-Aloud Chiara Di Lello  \nShattering, Healing, and Dreaming: Lessons from Middle-Grade Literacies and Lives Carla España  \nDiscussing Race, Policing, and Privilege in a High School Classroom Arianna Banack  \nIf I Knew Then What I Do Now: Fostering Pre-Service Teachers’ Capacity to Promote Expansive and Critical Conversations with Children’s Literature Stephen Adam Crawley  \nConversations about Death that are Provoked by Literature Cara E. Furman  \n3  \n9  \n17  \n25  \n37  \n48  \n60  \n68  \n80  \n90  \n101  \n110  \n121  \nIntroduction  \nFacilitating Conversations on Difficult Topics in the Classroom: Teachers’ Stories of Opening Spaces Using Children’s Literature  \nMollie Welsh Kruger, Susie Rolander, and Susan Stires  \nEducators have long extolled the brilliance of Rudine Sims Bishop (1990) and her exploration of how books can serve as both mirrors and windows for children—mirrors in which children can see themselves and windows that widen their world. What if we broadened her formulation to include the realm of conversation? We assert that books are the base and what follows is the possibility of rich, deep conversations in classrooms.  \nFor this edition of the Bank Street Occasional Paper Series, we invited educators to share stories from their practice: times when they utilized children’s literature and conversations to address real life; the difficult topics that children experience through the mirror of their own experiences or the windows of their peers, communities, or world.  \nAs guest editors for this issue, we (Mollie, Susie, and Susan) are strongly influenced by Bank Street College, an institution that values the intersection of academic learning and the real world. In fact, the credo states,“The mission of Bank Street College is to improve the education of children and their teachers by applying to the education process all available knowledge about learning and growth and by connecting teaching and learning meaningfully to the outside world”(Mitchell, 1951).  \nThis edition underscores these beliefs. These stories are the stories of educators who have tried, and","cbCaimthrdf45AEq","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimthrdf45AEq","pdf",4167966,131,"English","# Introduction\n## Facilitating Conversations on Difficult Topics in the Classroom: Teachers’ Stories of Opening Spaces Using Children’s Literature\n## Storytime is a Sunrise: Employing Children’s Literature to Mediate Socio-Emotional Challenges in the Life of a Young Child\n## Angry Like Me\n## Taking a Journey to the Land of All: Using Children’s Literature to Explore Gender Identity and Expression with Young Children\n## We Are All Learning about Climate Change: Teaching with Picture Books to Engage Teachers and Students\n## Focus on Friendship or Fights for Civil Rights? Teaching the Difficult History of Japanese American Incarceration through The Bracelet\n## Gender-Inclusive Children’s Literature as a Preventative Measure\n## What Do You Do When You Don’t Know How to Respond?\n## Choosing Difficult, Choosing Important in Fifth-Grade Read-Aloud\n## Shattering, Healing, and Dreaming\n## Discussing Race, Policing, and Privilege in a High School Classroom\n## If I Knew Then What I Do Now\n## Conversations about Death that are Provoked by Literature","[{\"question\":\"How does the paper connect children’s literature to classroom conversation?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that books are a base for enabling rich, deep conversations in classrooms. Educators use children’s literature as mirrors and windows to prompt dialogue about real life challenges.\"},{\"question\":\"Which educational philosophy and institutional values does the introduction emphasize?\",\"answer\":\"The introduction highlights Bank Street College’s developmental-interaction approach, centered in constructivism, as well as a focus on narrative, social justice, and critical inquiry.\"},{\"question\":\"What kinds of difficult topics do educators address using children’s literature?\",\"answer\":\"The paper covers sensitive areas children experience, including socio-emotional challenges, gender identity and expression, climate change, difficult histories, LGBTQ+ topics, and conversations around death and grief.\"}]","Facilitating Conversations on Difficult Topics in the Classroom - Teachers’ Stories of Opening Spaces Using Children’s Literature | PDF",1792043770,330]