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ANDCAITLIN L.RYAN  \neople are sometimes shocked by the notion that teachersshould address lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender,andqueer(LGBTQ)topics in elementary schools.Maybe theythink children those ages are tooyoung,that those conver-sations are better had at home,or that the whole topicis simplyinappropriate.Such concerns often arise becausepeople assumetalking about people who identify as LGBTQmeans talking aboutsex.That is not what we believe atall.  \nInstead,when we advocate for elementary school teachersto address LGBTQ topics,we simply want them to talkabout thediversity of families and relationships and communities in waysthat include LGBTQ people.After all,public schools are foreveryone,yet many elementary schools are too frequentlyunwelcoming and unaccommodating ofall children,especiallychildren of LGBTQ parents or those who are or may be LGBTQthemselves.LGBTQ people exist in children's lives in myriad  \nways.If children themselves don'thave LGBTQ parents,perhapsthey have a peer with two moms at daycare or a relative whocomes out as gay,or maybe they've heard a story about trans-gender rights on the news.Elementary schoolstudents are sur-rounded by these experiences,but their teachers are oftenunderprepared when it comes to realizing why LGBTQ topicsmight matter to their work as elementary school teachers andhow they might make their classrooms more inclusive.  \nAs queer-identified women and former elementary schoolteachers who now work in universities as teacher educators,we've spent the past decade developing a range of approachesto help elementary school teachers integrate LGBTQ-inclusivepractices into their teaching:expanding representations ofLGBTQ people,questioning categories with regard to gender andsexuality,and questioning representations within LGBTQ-inclu-sive texts.We know that no two states,districts,schools,norteachers are exactly alike;we know that what works one placemight be impossible or ineffectiveinanother.But we also believethat every teacher can do something to help make her or hisclassroom saferand more inclusive to better serve LGBTQ chil-dren and families.These approaches provide options to helpeveryone find something that works no matter the context.  \nBelow we explain why LGBTQ-inclusive elementary schoolinstruction matters,outline the approaches we have developed  \nAMERICAN EDUCATOR |SPRING 201917  \nLLUSTRATIONS BY GWENDA KACZOR  \nand have usedin real-life classrooms,and suggest resources forteachers as they do this work.This article draws from our book,Reading the Rainbow:LGBTQ-Inclusive Literacy Instruction inthe Elementary Classroom,wherewe also provide examples fromour work as coteachers and researchers with second-,fourth-,and fifth-grade teachers in Michigan and Ohio to illustrate whateach of these methods can look like in practice.  \nIncluding LGBTQ topics inelementary school classroomsis important to do for allchildren.  \n## Why LGBTQ-Incusive Cuniculum Malters inElementary Schools\n\nResearch shows that including LGBTQ topics in elementaryschools makes apositive difference to the learningenvironmentDfa wide variety of students.For example,75.2percent ofLGBTQstudents in schools with an inclusive curriculum said their peerswere accepting of LGBTQ people,compared with 39.6 percentof those without an inclusive curriculum.'This acceptance isparticularly important for the estimated 6million people withone or more LGBTQ parents.²  \nHowever,only half ofelementary school teachers(49 percent)say a student with alesbian,gay,or bisexual parent would feelcomfortable at the school where they teach,and only 42percentthink that would be true for a student with atransgender parent.³Even though most elementary school teachers address familydiversitygenerally,only2in 10 elementary students(18 percent)actually learn about families with two moms or two dads.Thissilence sends a message to ","cbCaip45fuid3aOC","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaip45fuid3aOC","pdf",1110119,"English","# Why LGBTQ-Inclusive Curriculum Matters in Elementary Schools\n## Research on Learning Environment and Student Acceptance\n## Teacher Confidence and Student Exposure\n## Impact on LGBTQ and Bullied Students\n## Transgender Children’s Needs and School Responsibilities","[{\"question\":\"Why do the authors say teachers should include LGBTQ topics in elementary classrooms?\",\"answer\":\"They argue that inclusion helps classrooms reflect the diversity of families and communities, making schools more welcoming for all children, including LGBTQ children and children of LGBTQ parents.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the article say about the effect of an inclusive curriculum on students?\",\"answer\":\"It cites research showing higher peer acceptance toward LGBTQ people in schools that use an inclusive curriculum, compared with schools that do not.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the article describe the harm caused by silence or hateful language?\",\"answer\":\"It explains that silence can signal that LGBTQ families are not “real” or accepted, while slurs and lack of teacher intervention can shame or increase bullying and affect children for years.\"}]","Reading and Teaching the Rainbow - Including LGBTQ Topics in Elementary School Classrooms | PDF",1792070322,15]