ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

This is an annotated bibliography of nine sources that I feel are useful in the context of teaching
social curriculum in the classroom. The topic I chose for my first three evidence-based research
sources is teaching empathy in the classroom. I then annotated two sources relating to equity in
the classroom, and found four pedagogical resources that I felt furthered my education in
humane or empathic education.

Evidence-Based Research in Empathy
Cress, S.W., Holm, D. (2000). Developing empathy through childrens literature.
Education, 120, 593-597.
This article suggests reading stories in which characters display empathy towards others
as a social curriculum to engage students in discussions and provide fictional role models of
empathetic behavior. Its intended audience seems to be school authorities who perhaps do not
know too much about empathy in the classroom, as it goes into depth about the definition of
empathy, but also goes on to focus on ways in which teachers can improve on teaching empathy.
It does not give explicit instructions on how to incorporate literature into class lessons, so it is
not intended to provide a lesson plan for a teacher but rather to introduce an idea to someone
who is invested in childrens education. It does not include eye-catching images or attempt to be
visually appealing, so the reader is expected to be already interested in the topic, which is natural
because it is presented in an academic journal on Education. The authors, Susan White Cress,
and Daniel T. Holm are instructors in Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education,
respectively, at Indian University South Bend. Cress research focuses on early childhood
literacy, so she has expertise in the positive effects of reading in elementary age children. The
article focuses on Hoffmans research about the stages of development of empathy in children
and goes beyond this work to suggest that an elementary school teachers responsibility in this
development is to help children transfer their practice of empathetic responses in primary school
into empathetic behavior in real-life situations. While children will develop some skills in
empathy naturally through development, teachers can actively solidify these skills through
narrative story telling with childrens literature.
I chose this article because I think that narrative stories are a valuable way for children to
develop empathy. While this article cites academic studies that support its conclusions, the
statements drawn from these studies are broad and could use further integration into this report.
They do, however, provide more studies that would be interesting to look into to pursue the topic
of empathy in the classroom. I appreciated about this article that it lists examples of childrens
literature and their general plots which cover a variety of situations in which empathy would
improve a social situation. For example, in one story a child wonders why his mother does not
read to him and then discovers his mother cannot read. This is an important lesson in
understanding differences, and provides an example of empathetic behavior when the son helps
his mother in her attempts to read. I believe I could use any of the stories listed to help my
students develop empathy.

Smolen, L.A., Martin, L. (2010). Integrating global literature into the elementary social
studies curriculum. International Journal of Learning, 17(11), 183-192.
In this article Smolen and Martin detail the use of a global literature text set in the
education of elementary school children in cultural differences and empathy. Dr. Lynn Atkinson
Smolen is a professor of literacy and teaching English as a second language at the University of
Akron in Ohio and has experience as an elementary school teacher. Dr. Leisa Martin is an
assistant professor in middle level education at the University of Akron, and worked previously
as a middle school social studies teacher. They have completed research in global literature and
international citizenship, and related it to what an elementary school teacher can do in a social
studies lesson in which to encourage cultural understanding and global citizenship. The text set
Smolen and Martin chose as an example is called Promoting Global Citizenship, Peace, and
Social Justice. In this article, they summarize each book in the set (most of which are picture
books that are appropriate to elementary level students) and provide examples of preparatory and
follow-up activities that help students understand the cultural background of each story and the
kinds of lives the characters lead. The stories are either nonfictional or fictional but based on real
people, and focus on individuals who come from a struggling community and take a step to
challenge their situations and make a difference to their communities. After reading each text,
teachers are encouraged to give their students hands-on activities in which they work to make a
difference in their own community, or raise awareness for the topic in the story and strategize
ways to involve their own community in the well being of those in the story. The article is
divided into response activities based on each text in the set, following an introduction on the
value of using such text sets in the classroom and methods for dividing students into discussion
groups to have productive conversations about what they have read.
I value this approach to teaching social studies. I think that in many social studies
programs teachers focus on the history aspect and lean on textbooks to transfer information to
their students, a method which is widely unappreciated by students because of the emphasis on
reading material which they dont feel emotionally invested in. Combining history with social
emotional learning is the perfect way to make history relevant to students and make them more
interested in the topic. It also incorporates current events, which are often even more poignant to
students because they have the opportunity to put themselves in the shoes of other children living
in the same time period but in situations of strife that American children often are not even aware
of. Using global literature is a great way to make students invested in their learning and to create
passion for international movements, as well as show children how they can make a difference in
their communities. I like that global literature text sets are available for children of all ages,
whether in the form of picture books for younger children or more heavy narrative chapter books
for older children. Something I enjoyed as an elementary school student myself were book
groups in which we were divided into groups to go over discussion questions. I would like to
divide students into groups with different books from a text set and then have each group present
to the rest of the class. I feel that this would be a great learning experience for students to be able
to present a story from the point of view of a person from another culture, and help others
understand the situation of someone different from themselves.

Upright, R.L. (2002). To tell a tale: The use of moral dilemmas to increase empathy in the
elementary school child. Early Childhood Education Journal, 30(1), 15-20.
In this article, Richard Upright demonstrates a step-by-step process in which a teacher
may use a moral dilemma as an exercise in empathy. By creating a story with a what should
____ do? ending, children are given the opportunity to make a decision and defend it. By
altering a story or adding details, a teacher can show his or her students the importance of
empathy in understanding why people make certain decisions, and what might cause a person to
make a decision that others dont agree with. Upright encourages teachers to take nine steps
starting with gauging a class moral level before learning takes place. The other steps include
choosing a relevant story, providing background, appropriate presentation (usually by oral
storytelling), asking initiating discussion questions, group work, story expansion when the
original story does not create the intended initial conflict to promote discussion, setting an
environment for reflection, and recording responses for future reference. Upright suggests that
empathy is a process which requires practice and does not occur naturally.
This article provides a useful technique for incorporating moral dilemmas into a social
emotional curriculum toward empathy. Though role-play is difficult for older children to take
seriously, it comes naturally to younger children, and is also appealing to them as a learning
technique because it draws in what is many childrens preferred form of play. As a teacher, I
think it is very valuable to find a social curriculum method that connects other subjects, as
Upright does in his moral dilemma lesson using the Boston Tea Party. There are many subjects
which could incorporate empathy, such as ethics in science and possible reasons behind
decisions made in history. It is valuable for children to think critically about these situations, and
teaching empathy is a good way to do that. It is also important for children to realize that social
lessons are a part of every field, not just the ones that they generally associate it with, like
literature in which teachers typically have reading groups with more emotional discussion
questions. Unlike the Cress article I chose, Upright makes it seem as though empathy is
completely taught and does not occur naturally, which I personally disagree with, but despite this
difference I do agree that there should be lessons in which teachers explicitly teach moral lessons
like those which he provides steps for.

Equity in the Classroom
Lumpkins, B., Parker, F., Hall, H. (1991). Instructional equity for low achievers in
elementary school mathematics. Journal of Educational Research, 84, 135-139.
In this article, Lumpkins et al. detail a complex math teaching set up in which children
are not divided by achievement level but are instead split amongst four teachers in such a way
that the same amount of students are given time in small group settings in which they can receive
one-on-one help and receive help with personal difficulties. Using only 20 minutes more of math
instructional time than the traditional set up, these four teachers managed to increase math scores
substantially for both previously low achieving and high achieving groups. Bob Lumpkins is the
Department Chair of Elementary and Early Childhood education at Henderson State University
in Arkansas. Hurst Hall was a Psychology professor at Northwestern State University in
Louisiana, and Fred Parker a professor at Southeastern Louisiana University. Their study took
place in one school, where they involved the school administration and provided special
seminars for the teachers involved in which to prepare them for their specific teaching strategy.
The study only took place over one year, as the school personnel changed the next year and was
unwilling to continue.
Although this is an article from 1991, I still feel that it is very relevant to classrooms
today. Despite research done in the 1980s, classrooms persist to be divided by achievement
level, and like the article says, the gap in academic performance between low and high
achievers increases each day. Unfortunately this kind of investment in an equitable math
teaching practice requires the entire school to be invested in its completion, and for groups of
teachers to work well together to create a combined lesson plan. Based on the results, I think this
could make a huge difference to students who are struggling in math (not to mention those who
are already high achievers and do better as well). Having closer attention from a teacher in small
group settings is very valuable in a subject like math. I like this article because it is an example
of the radical changes we can make to the traditional school system that in turn have radical
effects on childrens learning, and the difference it can make to a community when the school
administration is willing to invest in and follow through on these changes.
Jackson, C. (2013). Elementary mathematics teachers knowledge of equity pedagogy.
Current Issues in Education, 16(1), 1-14.
In this article, Christa Jackson, an assistant professor of education from the University of
Kentucky, compiles a list of pedagogical approaches from interviews with eight teachers who
have proven to be effective teachers for classrooms with at least 20% African American students.
Jackson asks for strategies that these teachers use to engage their African American students, and
provides excerpts from these interviews as examples of methods that work. The seven effective
methods that she selects are relevance, variety of instructional techniques, positive classroom
community, relationships beyond the classroom, adapting instruction to cultural needs,
identifying with students, and high expectations that extend beyond the classroom. Beyond these
techniques, Jackson argues that all teachers should have knowledge of equity pedagogy. While
she did not have the opportunity to sit in on class sessions with these teachers, she noticed that
all eight effective teachers had background in equitable pedagogy. She argues that teacher
credential programs should have classes that specifically concentrate on teaching mathematics to
African American students.
I like that this study focuses on what teachers need to change in their teaching styles
rather than on supposed deficiencies in academics in some African American communities. I
liked many of the teaching strategies suggested because it was something of a social emotional
learning experience for the teachers rather than changing academic content. For example, one
teacher attended childrens sports games outside of class and found that they consequently
became more motivated in their schoolwork because they felt closer to her and knew that she had
seen their skill in another area. Although this article also focuses on mathematics, I feel that the
study has extended beyond a mathematics approach and more into a complete pedagogical
approach that would make a difference to students and teachers in any subject. Creating a safe
classroom environment is a good way to include students of any background in any classroom,
not just in a mathematics classroom. I would refer back to this article to find strategies for
cultural relevance for struggling minority students, especially after having a firmer knowledge
base in equitable pedagogy.

Pedagogical resources
Charney, R.S. (2002). Teaching children to care: Classroom management for ethical and
academic growth K-8, Revised Ed. Turner Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children.
Teaching Children To Care is a methods book for teachers providing techniques for
creating a positive classroom environment that challenges some traditional teaching methods and
encourages an understanding and attentive teaching style. The book is organized into five
sections: how to create your learning environment, how to keep it up, the difference deliberate
language can make in the classroom, techniques for approaching children with difficult behavior,
and teaching with clear positives. There are many subsections within the chapters, outlining
ways in which teachers can face multiple situations in both subtle and explicit fashions. This
provides teachers with tips to keep a positive learning environment going throughout the year.
Each section is complete with examples of behaviors and what we can do to challenge them in a
positive and meaningful way. Charneys method emphasizes a working classroom based not in
firm control by the teacher but rather in a mutual respect between students and teacher and
students with each other.
This is a valuable resource for creating a lasting positive environment for your classroom,
which provides solid examples and covers the entire year rather than simply focusing on the set
up. I appreciate that it follows through with examples from throughout the year and how to
maintain expectations while straying away from punishment. I value the understanding aspect of
teaching she uses where she gives the students the benefit of the doubt and holds individual
meetings with students rather than punishing them with consequences inappropriate to the
situation. One of the lessons I found most valuable was in having logical consequences. Many
teachers, frustrated after a long day, find themselves giving a child a time-out or holding them in
from recess if they misbehave, but this does not teach the child realistic consequences for their
actions. In her chapter on logical consequences, Charney lists pages of realistic classroom
situations and appropriate teacher responses that can act to change the behavior rather than hold
it off temporarily. I can see myself using many of the strategies that she lists in order to create a
safe and understanding learning environment for my students. While she does not explicitly
talking about teaching empathy in most sections, her teaching style perfectly aligns with creating
a community for empathetic learning.

Ellsworth, D. The Empathy Symbol. Retrieved from
http://www.empathysymbol.com/EmpathyInTheSchools.htm
This is an organization website was created by Deb Ellsworth, a teacher from Minnesota
whose childhood with activist parents and exposure to underprivileged groups made her
passionate about teaching empathy. This website is meant to be used by teachers and school
administrators, addressing ways you can use empathyin your school and with intellectual
phrasing and topics without a pretense of being child-friendly. In her blog on the site, Ellsworth
addresses topics such as the Ferguson story to emphasize the importance of an empathetic
society and teachers roles in its creation. The page linked in this citation is the websites tab for
educators, which lists effective strategies that different schools have used in order to target
inequity in their schools and create an understanding community amongst their diverse sets of
students. Additionally, there are tabs for free materials and media which teachers and
administrators can use to encourage empathy in their schools. The approach encouraged by
Ellsworth is to tackle empathy as a school-wide goal, so that every classroom has the same focus
and the entire school has an understanding of the empathy symbol, a circle divided in half with
an open hand reaching from either side to the other, symbolizing the importance of reaching out
to others and opening our minds to understand one other. The website is text-heavy, encouraging
an intellectual audience, and uses the power of words to tell stories and represent the importance
of empathy in society. Visitors to the website play a large role in sharing media sources they find
valuable in the classroom which Ellsworth shares on her website for the community at large to
use.
I chose this website because it is a community resource created by a teacher, and it
creates an environment through which teachers passionate about teaching empathy can share
ideas and effective lessons. While not based in formal research, I believe this is a helpful
pedagogical resource because teachers have valuable experience which they can speak to, even if
it is not tested outside of their classrooms. Every classroom is different, even with the same
teacher and a different set of students, so it is useful to have many ideas from different teachers
to help find lessons in empathy that would work with your students. I also appreciate Ellsworths
blog, where she is very open about her views on inequities in society without trying to stay
politically correct as many educational websites do. Reading her blog posts makes me think
about many different issues, like homelessness, disabilities, and racism, and while they are full of
passion and clearly fighting for one side, they are thought-provoking in a way that many biased
articles fail to be, so I think this is a website I would like to come back to when looking for new
topics to raise in lessons in empathy.

Reinelt, V. Teaching Empathy. Retrieved from
http://www.pinterest.com/hascoorats/teaching-empathy/
This is a Pinterest board which contains many ideas for teaching empathy in the
elementary school classroom. Vanessa Reinelt is a Pinterest user who is interested in education
and is involved with a small organization called Mamas Hands, which provides affordable
therapeutic products for children who suffer with emotional dysregulation. She also has Pinterest
boards on project-based learning and engaging ways to teach science, math, and history in
elementary school classrooms. This board provides a variety of resources, including team
bonding exercises for students, more tradition chart board lessons teachers can use to teach
appropriate social-emotional responses, links to useful websites in empathy, applications in
technology useful to counselors, and many more. Reinelt does not explicitly claim this board to
be for educators, but the pins attached are geared toward teachers and specifically teaching
empathy. Because the Pinterest layout has large pictures and small amounts of text (mostly in
titles) the board is colorful and easy to breeze through in order to find whatever activity best suits
your classroom.
Because this is a resource in social media, I do not take every pin to be a strategy founded
in evidence-based research. However, there are pins that come from organizations I am familiar
with (such as Edutopia), and many pins lead to articles from well-known sources. Other sources
are also useful because many Pinterest users are passionate about arts and crafts and provide
great ways to bring crafts into lessons plans to engage children more. I would use this Pinterest
board as inspiration for activities and without the firm expectation that they would work wonders
in the classroom because even in evidence-based research, what activities are there that will
work in every classroom without fail?

Taran, R. (2012, September 5). Activities to build social and emotional skills in elementary
students. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/sel-for-elementary-school-randy-
taran
This is a series of blog posts by Randy Taran, the founder of Project Happiness, a non-
profit organization that provides educational activities and resources for children to have
conversations about and learn how to find happiness. Taran began this organization after her
daughter told her I want to be happy, I just dont know how, and Taran decided that happiness
needed to be a significant part of every schools social curriculum, and based on a study by a
college professor, has found that 40% of happiness can be influenced by intentional activities.
This is a series of nine blog posts covering the letters of the word happiness, each of which
Taran has designated a different pillar of happiness: Happiness, Appreciation, Passions and
Strengths, Perspective, Inner Meanie Inner Friend, Ninja Mastery, Empathy, So Similar, and
Share your Gifts. Each blog post offers strategies for children to champion a skill set that, in
combination, may bring them greater happiness. This blog is located on Edutopia, which
supports a utopian view of education with evidence-based strategies for educators. The blog
posts are written for educators, laying out specific strategies for students that teachers can
provide structure for. It also provides suggestions for school administrators to lead the way for
teachers to feel ready for this kind of teaching.
I would definitely use these blog posts as inspiration for lessons in social-emotional
learning. These posts come from someone who is an outsider to the education system, but her
strategies are based on educational research, and it is clear that she is someone who is invested in
childrens learning and happiness. Edutopia is a website whose mission statement connects with
my own, and although I believe it will be years before the United States can achieve an education
system that focuses on project-based learning, social-emotional learning, and access to new
technology, I would like at least to take small steps toward this goal. I appreciate that the
website offers constructive and explicit examples of lessons, rather than simple idealistic articles
about what should be, as many other organizations pushing for educational reform do.