GLSEN Rainbow Library Elementary Lesson Plans

All children deserve to see themselves in what they learn. Yet, according to GLSEN’s 2021 National School Climate Survey, less than 1 in 5 students said that they were taught an LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum. LGBTQ+ youth of color are even less likely to see themselves represented in school books and lessons. When an inclusive curriculum is in place, LGBTQ+ students are less likely to feel unsafe because of their sexual orientation or gender expression, they have higher self-esteem and lower levels of depression, and they have higher GPAs.

GLSEN’s Rainbow Library English and Spanish lesson plans support educators to use Rainbow Library books in their instruction. Aligned to Common Core ELA Standards, Learning for Justice Social Justice Standards, and National Council for the Social Studies C3 Social Studies Standards, the lessons can be taught across a range of subjects (such as reading, humanities/social studies, or SEL), and connect to a variety of units and topics.

Seventeen of the below lessons are in English, and three are in Spanish. Each Spanish lesson plan has an English lesson counterpart, facilitating usage in bilingual/multilingual classrooms.

Additionally, each lesson has recommended accommodations and modifications, as well as other grades listed that the lesson can be adapted for.

If your school hasn’t requested a set of free Rainbow Library books from GLSEN yet, fill out this form here.

ACCESS LESSONS HERE

Kindergarten

  • Aim – Students will figure out characters’ feelings by noticing key details in the text and illustrations.
  • Common Core ELA Standard – RL. K.7 – With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).
  • Learning For Justice Standard – DI.K-2.7 – I can describe some ways that I am similar to and different from people who share my identities and those who have other identities.
  • C3 Social Studies Standard – D2.CIV.2.K-2 – Explain how all people, not just official leaders, play important roles in a community
  • Text & Author – One of a Kind Like Me by Laurin Mayeno
  • Enfoque – Los estudiantes descubrirán los sentimientos de los personajes al notar detalles clave en el texto y las ilustraciones.
  • SLA Estándar Common Core – RL. K.7 – Con sugerencias y apoyo, describen la relación entre las ilustraciones y el cuento en donde aparecen (por ejemplo: qué momento de un cuento representa la ilustración).
  • Estándar de la justicia social – DI.K-2.7 – Puedo describir algunas formas en las que soy similar y diferente de las personas que comparten mis identidades y de aquellas que tienen otras identidades.
  • C3 Estándar de los estudios sociales – D2.CIV.2.K-2 – Explicar cómo todas las personas, no sólo los líderes oficiales, desempeñan papeles importantes en una comunidad.
  • Texto y Autor – Único como yo por Laurin Mayeno
  • Aim – Students will discuss how characters are similar and different by noticing what they think, say, and do.
  • Common Core ELA Standard – RL. K.9 – With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories.”
  • Learning For Justice Standard – ID.K-2.1 – I know and like who I am and can talk about my family and myself and name some of my group identities.
  • C3 Social Studies Standard – N/A
  • Text & Author – What Are Your Words? by Katherine Locke

First Grade

  • Aim – Students will learn about Lakota traditions by figuring out the story’s central message.
  • Common Core ELA Standards – RL.1.2 – Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
  • Learning For Justice Standards – ID.K-2.1 – I know and like who I am and can talk about my family and myself and name some of my group identities.
  • C3 Social Studies Standard – D2.CIV.2.K-2 Explain how all people, not just official leaders, play important roles in a community
  • Text & Author – 47,000 Beads by Angel Adeyoha & Koja Adeyoha
  • Aim – Students will understand that it’s important to care about the feelings of people with similar and different group identities.
  • Common Core ELA Standard – RL 1.1 – Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  • Learning For Justice Standard – DI.K-2.9 – I know everyone has feelings, and I want to get along with people who are similar to and different from me.
  • C3 Social Studies Standard – D2.CIV.2.K-2 – Explain how all people, not just official leaders, play important roles in a community
  • Text & Author – My Rainbow by Trinity Neal & DeShanna Neal
  • Aim – Students will figure out how a character feels about something by noticing key details.
  • Common Core ELA Standard – RL.1.4 – Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
  • Learning For Justice Standard – ID.K-2.2 – I can talk about interesting and healthy ways that some people who share my group identities live their lives.
  • C3 Social Studies Standard – N/A
  • Text & Author – The Boy & The Bindi by Vivek Shraya

Second Grade

  • Aim – Students will explain how a person’s traits can help them become a leader.
  • Common Core ELA Standard – RL 2.3 Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
  • Learning For Justice Standard – JU.K-2.15 – I know about people who helped stop unfairness and worked to make life better for many people.
  • C3 Social Studies Standard – D2.Civ.6.K-2. Describe how communities work to accomplish common tasks, establish responsibilities, and fulfill leadership roles.
  • Text & Author – Sharice’s Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman by Sharice Davids & Nancy K. Mays
  • Aim – Students will ask and answer questions to understand how Aidan helps his family get ready for his new sibling.
  • Common Core ELA Standard – RL 2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate
    understanding of key details in a text.
  • Learning For Justice Standard – ID.K-2.5 – I see that the way my family and I do things is both the same as and different from how other people do things, and I am interested in both.
  • C3 Social Studies Standard – D2.CIV.2.K-2 Explain how all people, not just official leaders, play important roles in a community
  • Text & Author – When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff
  • Enfoque – Los estudiantes harán preguntas y las responderán para comprender cómo Aidan ayuda a su familia a prepararse para el nuevo bebé.
  • SLA Estándar Common Core – RL 2.1 – Formular y responder a preguntas como quién, qué, dónde, cuándo, por qué y cómo para demostrar comprensión de los detalles clave de un texto.
  • Estándar de la justicia social – ID.K-2.5 – Entiendo que la forma en que mi familia y yo hacemos las cosas es igual y diferente a la forma en que otras personas hacen las cosas, y me interesan ambas.
  • C3 Estándar de los estudios sociales – D2.CIV.2.K-2 – Explicar cómo todas las personas, no solo los líderes oficiales, desempeñan papeles importantes en una comunidad.
  • Texto y Autor – Cómo Aidan llegó a ser un hermano por Kyle Lukoff

Third Grade

  • Aim – Students will recount a story about a boy who learns to take part in a Mexican tradition, the serenata.
  • Common Core ELA Standard – RL.3.2 – Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
  • Learning For Justice Standard – DI.3-5.6 – I like knowing people who are like me and different from me, and I treat each person with respect.
  • C3 Social Studies Standard – D2.Civ.6.3-5 – Describe ways in which people benefit from and are challenged by working together, including through government, workplaces, voluntary organizations, and families.
  • Text & Author – When We Love Someone, We Sing to Them by Ernesto Javier Martínez
  • Enfoque – Los estudiantes recontarán una historia sobre un niño que aprende a participar en una tradición mexicana, la serenata.
  • SLA Estándar Common Core – RL.3.2 – Contar historias, incluidas fábulas, cuentos populares y mitos de diversas culturas; determinar el mensaje, lección o moraleja central y explicar cómo se transmite a través de detalles clave en el texto.
  • Estándar de la justicia social – DI.3-5.6 – Me gusta conocer personas como yo y diferentes a mí, y trato a cada persona con respeto.
  • C3 Estándar de los estudios sociales – D2.Civ.6.3-5 – Describir las formas en que las personas se benefician y enfrentan el desafío de trabajar juntas, incluso a través del gobierno, los lugares de trabajo, las organizaciones voluntarias y las familias.
  • Texto y Autor – Cuando Amamos Cantamos por Ernesto Javier Martínez
  • Aim – Students will use key details to ask and answer questions about Bayard Rustin and the ways others treated him.
  • Common Core ELA Standard – RI.3.2 – Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.
  • Learning For Justice Standard – JU.3-5.13 – I know that words, behaviors, rules and laws that treat people unfairly based on their group identities cause real harm.
  • C3 Social Studies Standard – D2.His.3.3-5. Generate questions about individuals and groups who have shaped significant historical changes and continuities.
  • Text & Author – A Song for the Unsung: Bayard Rustin, the Man Behind the 1963 March on Washington by Rob Sanders and Carole Boston Weatherford
  • Aim – Using sequence and cause/effect vocabulary, students will figure out how Bayard Rustin brought more justice and fairness to the world.
  • Common Core ELA Standard – RI.3.3 – Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
  • Learning For Justice Standard – JU.3-5.15 – I know about the actions of people and groups who have worked throughout history to bring more justice and fairness to the world.
  • C3 Social Studies Standard – D2.His.1.3-5. Create and use a chronological sequence of related events to compare developments that happened at the same time.
  • Text & Author – A Song for the Unsung: Bayard Rustin, the Man Behind the 1963 March on Washington by Rob Sanders and Carole Boston Weatherford
  • Aim – Students will uncover the meanings of unknown words to understand how Gavin Grimm fought injustice and changed his school’s rules.
  • Common Core ELA Standard – RI.3.4 – Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
  • Learning For Justice Standard – AC.3-5.19 – I will speak up or do something when I see unfairness, and I will not let others convince me to go along with injustice.
  • C3 Social Studies Standard – D2.Civ.12.3-5. Explain how rules and laws change society and how people change rules and laws.
  • Text & Author – If You’re a Kid Like Gavin by Gavin Grimm and Kyle Lukoff

Fourth Grade

  • Aim – Students will use specific details to describe characters in Ana on the Edge.
  • Common Core ELA Standard – RL.4.3 – Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).
  • Learning For Justice Standard – ID.3-5.1 – I know and like who I am and can talk about my family and myself and describe our various group identities.
  • C3 Social Studies Standard – N/A
  • Text & Author – Ana on the Edge by A.J. Sass
  • Aim – Students will use specific details to describe events in Ana on the Edge.
  • Common Core ELA Standard – RL.4.3 – Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).
  • Learning For Justice Standard – ID.3-5.3 – I know that all my group identities are part of who I am, but none of them fully describes me and this is true for other people too.
  • C3 Social Studies Standard – N/A
  • Text & Author – Ana on the Edge by A.J. Sass
  • Aim – Students will determine the theme of Ana on the Edge by summarizing key events and character changes.
  • Common Core ELA Standard – RL.4.2 – Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
  • Learning For Justice Standard – DI.3-5.8 – I want to know more about other people’s lives and experiences, and I know how to ask questions respectfully and listen carefully and non-judgmentally
  • C3 Social Studies Standard – N/A
  • Text & Author – Ana on the Edge by A.J. Sass

Fifth Grade

  • Aim – Students will use key details to determine the structure of Answers in the Pages.
  • Common Core ELA Standard – RL.5.5 – Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem.
  • Learning For Justice Standard – DI.3-5.7 – I have accurate, respectful words to describe how I am similar to and different from people who share my identities and those who have other identities.
  • C3 Social Studies Standard – D2.Civ.10.3-5. Identify the beliefs, experiences, perspectives, and values that underlie their own and others’ points of view about civic issues.
  • Text & Author – Answers in the Pages by David Levithan
  • Aim – Students will quote from Answers in the Pages to make inferences and predictions.
  • Common Core ELA Standard – RL.5.1 – Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
  • Learning For Justice Standard – JU.3-5.12 – I know when people are treated unfairly, and I can give examples of prejudice words, pictures and rules.
  • C3 Social Studies Standard – D2.Civ.6.3-5. Describe ways in which people benefit from and are challenged by working together, including through government, workplaces, voluntary organizations, and families.
  • Text & Author – Answers in the Pages by David Levithan
  • Aim – Students will summarize the interwoven narratives of Answers in the Pages to explain the text’s theme.
  • Common Core ELA Standard – RL.5.2 – Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
  • Learning For Justice Standard – AC.3-5.20 – I will work with my friends and family to make our school and community fair for everyone, and we will work hard and cooperate in order to achieve our goals.
  • C3 Social Studies Standard – D2.Civ.11.3-5. Compare procedures for making decisions in a variety of settings, including classroom, school, government, and/or society.
  • Text & Author – Answers in the Pages by David Levithan
ACCESS LESSONS HERE

Additional Curricular Resources

Garden State Equality
and Make It Better for Youth

The LGBTQ+ organizations Make It Better for Youth and Garden State Equality developed LGBTQ+ affirming lesson plans that span subjects including English/Language Arts, social studies, science, math, visual/performing arts, and world languages, and currently range from 2nd through 12th grades. The resources can be accessed here.

GLSEN

GLSEN, the largest LGBTQ+ inclusivity education advocacy organization, has dozens of lesson plans and learning activities for grades K-12.

Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Safe Schools
Program for LGBTQ Students

The Massachusetts Safe Schools Program offers curricular materials to help schools provide for LGBTQ-inclusive lessons. These resources range from hour-long discussions to multi-day lessons, and “help students value the contributions of LGBTQ people and understand their place in history, literature, and other fields.” A list of topics the curricular materials cover is here, and the form to request the materials is here.

The Human Rights Campaign
Welcoming Schools Program

HRC’s Welcoming Schools Program focuses specifically on building LGBTQ+ inclusivity at the elementary school level. There are dozens of elementary lesson plans on their website that cover topics such as understanding gender, supporting transgender students, and welcoming all families. These lesson plans can be accessed here.

Penguin Classroom

Penguin has learning guides for LGBTQ+ affirming texts, including Darius the Great Is Not Okay (for middle school students), among other texts. Access those here.

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