Overview

Making School with Children: Engaging Learners to Think Critically envisions a hopeful future where communities unite to support one another and create a better world. Inspired by Comber's (2016) reminder that young people should learn to work for justice from the outset of schooling, this book showcases a whole-school response. Readers will explore stories from K-6 classrooms, where students and teachers collaborated across grade levels to build critical literacy through civic-minded social action projects, driven by the children's inquiry questions, interests, and passions. Making School with Children reflects Vasquez's (1994, 2014) belief that learners thrive when their education is relevant to their lives. By centering children's experiences, the book aims to foster what Routman (2023) describes as a ""joyful culture of trusting relationships, respect, and celebration of learners' strengths."" This approach not only enhances curriculum but also nurtures a dynamic relationship with the world, promoting change, progress, and the creation of new ideas. The book is divided into two sections. The first section, comprising seven chapters, details the work done in each grade from kindergarten to sixth grade to negotiate civic-minded literacy learning that transcends mandated curricula. It concludes with lessons learned and their implications for other educational settings. The second section offers a collection of resources, including recommended children's books, teacher resources, teaching tips, and lesson plans, to support similar work in the readers' own settings.

Full Product Details

Author:   Carolyn Clarke (St Francis Xavier University, Canada) ,  Vivian Maria Vasquez (American University, USA)
Publisher:   Emerald Publishing Limited
Imprint:   Emerald Publishing Limited
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.60cm , Length: 23.40cm
ISBN:  

9781805923268

ISBN 10:   1805923269
Pages:   284
Publication Date:   28 November 2025
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Explorations of Fair and Unfair: Making School with Kindergarten Students Chapter 2. The Lego Project: Making School with Grade One Students Chapter 3. Fair is Not Always the Same - Explorations from the Personal to the Social: Making School with Grade Two Students Chapter 4. 3D Printing to Flowers for Ukraine: Making School with Grade Three Students Chapter 5. Advocating for Self and Others: Making School with Grade Four Students Chapter 6. The Boomer Bucks Anti-Bullying Campaign: Making School with Grade Five Students Chapter 7. The Generative Kindness Campaign: Making School with Grade Six Students Chapter 8. A Final Word About Making School with Children Beginning with the Everyday Chapter 9. Postscript Classroom Resources to Begin Making School with Children 

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Author Information

Carolyn Clarke is an Assistant Professor of Education at St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada.  Vivian Maria Vasquez is a Distinguished Professor of Education at American University, Washington DC, USA. 

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