Revolutionary Love: Creating a Culturally Inclusive Literacy Classroom

The concept of “revolutionary love” frames this primer on equity-driven, student-centered teaching and learning in the literacy classroom. “Educators cultivate revolutionary love when they see and honor the humanity, intelligence, ethnic and racial identities, and linguistic practices of their students and use them to build curriculum for and with their students.” Divided into three parts, the book first encourages readers to get to know themselves, their practices, and the systems in which they operate, including discussions of identity, stereotypes, racism, bias, historical and political context, and curricula. The second part of the book focuses on engaging with students, families, and communities in ways that honor students’ full identities. The third offers suggestions for “liberating literacy instruction” with a focus on languages, reader’s workshop, and writer’s workshop. Self-examination activities throughout the book help readers reflect on themselves and their practice. Resource lists, text sets, sample lesson plans and curriculum, and examples from the authors’ experiences both in and out of the classroom are also included. Many of the recommended texts and sample lessons are drawn from the elementary level but could be adapted or expanded upon to better suit additional grade levels.