Literacy Now

Reading, writing, and discussion are a core part of these practices. Numerous literacy goals—such as constructing explanations or engaging in argument from evidence—can be richly contextualized for students during authentic scientific inquiry. In addition, a variety of different text types can be utilized as children explore scientific phenomena:

• Informational texts
• Lab notebooks
• Narratives connecting science ideas with cultural traditions

Furthermore, when science goals drive the focus of instruction, students' reading and writing capture forms authentic to science. For example, students might formulate specific questions prior to reading or learn to recognize and use the language of procedural text. They might also learn to recognize evidence-claim relationships or construct their own. Thus, opportunities for disciplinary literacy can be developed.

Finally, leading with science inquiry offers a motivational aspect of integration that would be hard to mimic in an ELA unit. It allows space for children to ask questions about the world around them; read to figure out what others have already learned; document their data collection; explain their findings; and even write persuasive proposals to support policy changes. This kind of reading, discussion, and writing is motivational.

If content integration can be viewed as a dance, we argue there is greatest potential for rich knowledge building if we allow science to serve as the lead.

Foundational principles to knowledge building through science

To shift to a more science-centered approach to knowledge building, consider these four basic yet foundational principles:

• Start with science standards, grounding the unit in science and engineering practices. Beginning with a puzzling phenomenon or problem drives the learning and gives literacy learning purpose.
• Use a variety of written and digital sources to support students' inquiry and problem-solving. Using texts authentic to science provides opportunities to practice a wide range of literacy skills.
• Encourage communication of ideas, explanations, and conclusions for authentic purposes. Science-based purposes and audiences expand literacy learning.
• Support students in building disciplinary language as they actively work to make sense of and communicate their science learning. All students benefit from the chance to use and apply academic discourse in the context of meaningful use.

When science leads, students build rich knowledge that supports contextualized literacy learning and richer, deeper, and more coherent scientific understanding.

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Every minute of instructional time is critical. The concise format of small-group lessons facilitates other instructional grouping contexts throughout the day, including whole-class and individual teaching. Small groups are flexible, meaning that students are not locked into a static group; the teacher transitions them to different groups based on developing needs and interests. 

Yet, in recent years, the value of small-group reading instruction (SGRI) has become the subject of debate, causing confusion and misunderstandings about the power of this essential practice. In their September 2025 EducationWeek opinion piece, Mike Schmoker and Tim Shanahan argued that SGRI is not effective because it may limit instructional time for many students. Later that year, Nell Duke and Claude Goldenberg countered that SGRI—when done well—has many benefits and can be an important component of effective literacy instruction. 

When carefully planned and conducted, small-group reading instruction provides the Tier 1 context for effectively enhancing students’ reading achievement. For example, flexibly grouping students based on a specific skill or strategy need (e.g., decoding words or making inferences) allows the teacher to provide short, targeted lessons. This type of targeted instruction accelerates student learning because it provides explicit teaching in areas of need, while allowing the teacher to constantly monitor and assess student progress. 

In March 2026, the Institute of Educational Sciences (IES) released a toolkit for providing differentiated reading instruction in Grades K–3, based on recommendations from their research-based practice guide. The materials highlight evidence-based methods for establishing and managing small groups to provide opportunities for assessment-driven and targeted instruction. 

SGRI is most effective when teachers select texts that align with a specific teaching point and are highly engaging. Karianne Grønli and her colleagues have also demonstrated that SGRI allows teachers opportunities to provide each reader with targeted feedback to develop skills while also fostering student agency and motivation. Finally, well-designed small-group instruction fosters accountable, meaningful student talk and enables deeper engagement with texts. 

When these elements are in place, teachers can maximize instructional time to meet the needs of all of their students, solidifying the value of small-group reading instruction in today’s classroom.

This post was developed in conjunction with members of ILA’s Administrator Collaborative, which includes Heidi Becker, Nabat Erdogan, Lisa Hill, Aileen Hower, Kristin Johnson, and Jill Tussey. For more information, register for the webinar on September 30, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. ET, for an opportunity to explore SGRI more deeply and ask questions live.

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The Warren Fellowship for Future Teachers at the Holocaust Museum Houston offers a unique program for preservice teachers who want to learn more about how to teach the Holocaust and combat antisemitism. In today's world, where hatred and hostility are more prevalent than ever, we need to lay the foundation for empathy and understanding in the classroom. By learning about history and the decisions that led to this genocide, teachers can educate students more effectively and prepare them as stewards of a more humane world.

We completed the Warren Fellowship in 2026. In our following reflection, we share the biggest takeaways for other preservice teachers and early stage educators looking for practical methods of teaching the Holocaust.

The power of personal narratives

Primary sources, such as personal testimonies, can help to remind students that these were real people with real lives and futures that were affected by the actions of Nazi Germany. We recommend using reflections from Holocaust survivor Naomi Warren to add a personal connection to these events.

Warren was born on September 1st, 1920, and grew up in Wołkowysk, Poland. She had a typical childhood until 1939, when World War II began. She endured experiences in various concentration camps, where she survived harsh conditions such as starvation and abuse. Her testimony emphasizes the importance of staying strong in spirit and hope. She said that, "Friendships in camp were very important because you had to have a moral support system." In difficult times, empathy, friendship, and understanding are powerful tools for survival.

Holocaust survivors are not just historical data, and Warren reminds us that every one of these people had their own unique stories. They were individuals with families, dreams, and relationships. Personal narratives such as Warren's can build students' ability to connect emotionally and develop critical thinking skills.

Selecting age-appropriate picture books

Finding age-appropriate sources can introduce difficult topics to elementary students in educational ways. Educators should focus on themes such as kindness, fairness, identity, and human responsibility. By carefully selecting literature and testimonials, educators can help students learn about prejudice and empathy in developmentally appropriate ways.

We recommend picture books such as The Whispering Town by Jennifer Elvgren, which introduces students to courage and helping others through a story about Danish citizens who protected Jewish families during World War II. Students should be encouraged to write and process their emotions, ask questions, and connect personally to historical themes.

In reflections, teachers might ask students questions such as:

• Why are personal stories important in history?
• What responsibilities do individuals have when witnessing injustice?

Children's literature can serve as both a mirror and a window for students by helping them see their own experiences through learning about others' lives. Picture books are powerful tools because they combine text and illustrations to scaffold difficult topics and foster empathy.

Becoming stewards of exceptional literacy instruction

We believe educators have a responsibility to teach difficult history thoughtfully and responsibly. Literacy instruction is not only about improving reading and writing skills. Literacy instruction helps students understand humanity, ethics, and the consequences of human choices.

Teachers can use meaningful discussions, primary sources, and personal narratives to help students build empathy and historical understanding. Encourage students to think critically about the world around them. Warren reminds us that, "It is important to understand that big changes, the kind that transform the way human beings handle being human, start with small changes."

Holocaust education should move beyond memorizing dates and statistics by centering personal narratives in literacy-based instruction. This begins with small classroom conversations and meaningful stories, all in an effort to teach empathy, kindness, and historical understanding.

As Warren Fellows, we are committed to taking this approach into our classrooms to help students better understand the past and ultimately encourage compassion between one another. By using developmentally appropriate literature, survivor testimony, diaries, and primary sources, we will create meaningful learning experiences that encourage empathy, critical thinking, and civic responsibility for future generations.

Editor's Note: Ella Alvarado, Manuel Barcenas, and Anna Fazio are all recent graduates of Texas Christian University who are currently pursuing master's degrees in Curriculum and Instruction: Language and Literacy.

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Beyond typical classroom uses for fluency and decoding practice, or as mentor texts for writing, quality children's literature creates the opportunity for readers to experience the world. Rudine Simms Bishop, who used the metaphor of books as windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors, described reading as a transformational experience. Books that serve as mirrors allow students to feel acknowledged and validated in their own experiences through characters like themselves. Books that serve as windows provide children with the opportunity to gain a glimpse into the lives of characters with different lived experiences. Books that function as sliding glass doors provide readers the opportunity to step into the lives and experiences of other people, allowing children to develop an awareness of the world beyond themselves. This experience is an important part of promoting tolerance and acceptance of differences.

The content of our libraries matters

Accurate and sensitive portrayals of characters in children's books are important because children learn about themselves and others through the literature to which they are exposed. Since children's literature provides opportunities for such profound experiences, educators have a powerful responsibility to provide students with excellent, high-quality texts. Because of this, it is necessary to examine the stories we introduce to our students.

Past research has examined representations of diversity in children's books, including the harmful effects of lack of representation and a persistent lack of diversity. When white, able-bodied characters are privileged while other races and abilities are either largely ignored or misrepresented, racism and ableism continue to be maintained and reinforced through the books children experience. Attitudes of ableism are also subtly maintained when diverse abilities are missing.

A history of missing voices

Children's books have historically been challenged, especially when the topics and characters are diverse. The Cooperative Children's Book Center reported that the number of published diverse children's books dropped by 4% in 2025. Research has shown that diverse books face disproportionate bans, especially if they include BIPOC, LGBTQA+, and disability representation.

Authors and illustrators representing diverse backgrounds are also often left out of classroom libraries. For many students, the majority of the literature they encounter in school portrays white, middle class, able-bodied characters. In addition, some books that include specific cultural groups may be written from outsider perspectives and therefore do not always represent the reality of lived experiences.

With fewer diverse books overall in classroom and school libraries, there are fewer opportunities to see themselves represented and to practice empathy through stories.

Educator resources

Teachers are trained to use children's literature in their classrooms through read-alouds, think-alouds, as lesson hooks, for schema development, to start conversations, and for the shared experience of a story. Children's literature is the pivotal tool in this process. Research suggests, however, that even though educators tend to be book enthusiasts, they may be hesitant to use diverse literature due to unfamiliarity with resources. To that end, there are a variety of useful resources available for educators to help navigate the world of diversity in children's literature in a respectful and culturally responsive manner. 

One way to ensure the quality of books in educators' classroom is to locate award-winning books. The American Library Association (ALA) website is a resource that features an extensive database for ALA book, print, and media award lists and information on issues related to diversity, advocacy, and legislation. In addition to the more famous Newbery and Caldecott awards, there is recognition for different intersections of diversity. For example, the Schneider Family Book Awards honor representations of disability, the Coretta Scott King Book Awards are awarded to Black authors and illustrators, the Pura Belpré Award for excellent Latinx representation, and the Stonewall Book Awards for representations of the LGBTQA+ experience.

There are a variety of searchable databases dedicated to celebrating diversity in children's literature as well. The Diverse Families Bookshelf is a beneficial tool, as the collection is divided into specific categories and topics. For example, if an educator were looking for a quality book featuring multiracial families, the database would provide a list of matching titles. The IRIS Center is another searchable database for categories of varying abilities.

Perhaps one of the most valuable resources for educators is to learn directly from the voices of the people and cultures represented in children's books. Many blogs and websites feature the work of scholars, educators, and advocates who provide extensive reviews and recommendation lists of authentic and respectful children's literature. The authors of these blogs take the time to explain why certain books are considered offensive and inappropriate representations. The table below provides a list of recommended resources for educators interested in doing the work to eliminate bias from their classroom libraries. The works of these scholars and educators are essential resources for evaluating book collections.

Teachers can take steps to ensure diversity in their own classroom libraries, including reflecting on the content and accuracy of books and locating new texts. The transformational process of stepping through the metaphorical sliding glass door allows children to experience identities other than their own. The content of our libraries matters!

Selected resources on diversity in children's literature

Awards and book lists	Websites and blogs
ALA Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books	American Indians in Children’s Literature
American Indian Youth Literature Awards	American Library Association
American Indians in Children’s Literature Best Books List	CCBC Blog
Arab American Book Award	Diverse Families Bookshelf
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature	Hijabi Librarians
CCBC Kids' Book Choice Award	Indigo’s Bookshelf: Voices of Native Youth
Coretta Scott King Book Award	Latin@s in Kid Lit
Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award	Reading While White
Pura Belpré Awards	The Booklist Reader
Schneider Family Book Award	The IRIS Center
Stonewall Book Awards	The Open Book Blog

Further reading material

• "Portrayal of Characters with Dyslexia in Contemporary Children’s Fiction Picture Books" by Elizabeth Green
• "Through the Sliding Glass Door: #EmpowerTheReader" by Nancy J. Johnson, Melanie D. Koss, and Miriam Martinez
• "Interrogating Depictions of Disability in Children's Picturebooks" by Monica C. Kleekamp and Angie Zapata
• Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children's Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books by Philip Nel
• Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain by Zaretta Hammond
• Diversity in Youth Literature: Opening Doors Through Reading by Jamie Campbell Naidoo and Sarah Park Dahlen

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When children believe their ideas matter and their voices are heard, they experience belonging. Nurturing belonging in mathematics means valuing children's ideas, and simple routines—like inviting students to share their thinking, comparing multiple strategies, and listening before correcting—can strengthen mathematical belonging. As children explain how they solved a problem and hear others’ approaches, mathematics becomes a shared human endeavor.

Belonging in mathematics often begins with stories. Whether in the home, community or school, or on laps, couches, or library carpets, educators can make mathematics a place of belonging through picture books. Let’s make belonging count using these five stories.

A cookie, a loop, and a prediction

Consider the enduring favorite If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff. Its charm lies in its circular structure: If you give a mouse a cookie, he’ll ask for milk. Milk leads to a straw. A straw leads to a mirror. Each event leads logically and sometimes hilariously to the next, until the narrative loops back to the cookie.

This playful chain of cause and effect is also mathematical. Children can notice:

• Sequence and order
• Predictable patterns
• If-then reasoning
• Cycles and loops

Pause during reading and ask:

• What do you notice about what keeps happening?
• What do you think will happen next?
• How do you know?

These questions invite children into patterning and logical reasoning. They position children as thinkers. Belonging begins with welcomed ideas. After reading, invite children to map the circular story, count the steps in the loop, or invent a new chain (“If you give a cat a cupcake…”). If children count differently, resist asking, “Who's right?” Instead ask, “How did you count?” The shift from correctness to curiosity builds confidence and community.

Counting together

Belonging grows when children share in mathematics. In Imagine Counting All the Stars by Raewyn Caisley, Maddie delights in seeing mathematics everywhere, from shells on the shore to stars in the sky. Yet she longs for someone to share that joy. When she finally finds a friend who shares her curiosity, counting becomes connection.

This story opens mathematical conversations:

• If we wanted to count all the stars, how might we organize them?
• Is there more than one way to count something very large?
• Where do you see math in your own world?

Children might suggest grouping by tens, making arrays, or estimating. When adults respond with “Show me your thinking,” rather than offering a faster method, they affirm that multiple strategies belong.

The story's deeper message echoes the mathematics: Counting is more joyful when done together. Mathematical belonging is relational.

Growing confidence

Belonging means being seen and affirmed. In Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love, Julián revels in imagination and joins a vibrant parade celebrating self-expression. This visually rich story invites mathematical noticing:

• How many costumes or mermaid tails can you count?
• What shapes do you see in the parade?
• How does the size of the crowd change from beginning to end?
• What changes over time in Julián’s confidence?

Children might compare colors, count parade participants, or notice repeating patterns in costumes. Adults can highlight that noticing differences and similarities helps us appreciate others. Value children's ideas with prompts:

• Show me how you counted.
• Where did you start?
• Could we try another way together?

Mistakes are part of learning and thinking evolves through dialogue. Children who feel safe to revise their ideas are more willing to take risks. Belonging is not about being right the first time. It is about valuing the process.

Building community

In Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev, a pet club excludes a child and his elephant. Rather than retreat, they create a new club where all beings belong. Read this story mathematically by asking:

• How many different pets are included in the new club?
• How does the size of the club change?
• What comparisons can we make between the first club and the new one?
• How many friends are needed to begin something new?

Children may count animals, compare group sizes, or track growth over time. The mathematics supports a clear message: Inclusion changes the numbers and the feeling of a group.

Protecting connections

Belonging extends beyond human communities to the natural world. In We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom, a community unites to protect water as a shared resource. This lyrical text invites mathematical exploration:

• How many people gather to protect the water?
• What patterns do you see in the waves?
• How far might water travel?
• How does the size of the group compare at the beginning and the end?

Children might notice repetition in illustrations, estimate distances, or compare scenes across time. Mathematics becomes a lens for understanding growth, scale, and collective action. Belonging is local and expansive.

Making it count: Five ways to foster belonging

Prompt with curiosity and care by having the following conversations with children:

• Ask open questions. Replace “What’s the answer?” with “What do you notice?”
• Celebrate multiple strategies. Explore different ways of counting.
• Normalize revision. Frame mistakes as opportunities.
• Connect to daily life. Bake, measure, compare, and estimate together.
• Reflect. Ask, “What math did we discover in this story?”

Weaving mathematics through shared reading is social and cultural. Children can see mathematics in cookies and constellations, in parades and pet clubs, in waves and water. When reading with children, whether it's about a mouse, the stars, a parade, or a debate about equality, pause. Ask what comes next. Count together. Listen closely to children’s reasoning.

These moments strengthen numeracy by saying: Your thinking matters. You belong. That is what truly makes it count.

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