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by Grace Y. Kang (Editor), Sonia M. Kline (Editor)
This book invites educators to rethink writing instruction in ways that are joyful, purposeful, and justice-driven. Grounded in humanizing pedagogy, critical literacy, and culturally sustaining pedagogy, this book affirms the brilliance of elementary children and their teachers, positioning them as powerful storytellers, thinkers, and changemakers.
Focusing on elementary education-a space often underrepresented in social justice education-this volume features contributions from both emerging and established equity-centered educators and scholars. Each chapter explores one of ten interrelated concepts: identity, translanguaging, raciolinguistics, trauma, multimodality, pop culture, play, activism, resistance, and love. This book is more than a collection of strategies-it's a flexible framework, a set of generative pathways, and a call to action. Together, these elements honor teachers' autonomy and local knowledge while inviting educators to examine assumptions, deepen understanding, and reimagine writing pedagogy in ways that are both critical and humanizing. Written for pre-service teachers, classroom educators, and teacher educators, this book weaves together insights from critical theory-ideas that illuminate power, identity, and justice-with concrete classroom practices. Ultimately, this book invites educators and students to co-create writing communities rooted in agency, justice, and joy.Author Biography
Dr. Grace Kang is Professor of Elementary Education and Literacy at Illinois State University. Both her teaching and research focus on critical and humanizing perspectives and culturally sustaining pedagogies and practices around literacy. Specifically, her research centers on and elevates critical orientations in teaching writing in the elementary grades, as well as in teacher education. Dr. Kang is the co-founder of the Diversity and Equity cohort, where she has developed a partnership with Champaign Unit 4 schools and Illinois State University. She serves on the Language and Litearcies for All Board. Additionally, she has written over 20 peer- reviewed articles and book chapters, and has over 20 presentations at professional conferences and professional development sessions. Currently, she is one of the co-editors of the Literacy Research Association Journal, Literacy Methods Research Teaching and Practice.
Dr. Sonia Kline is Professor of Elementary Education and Literacy at Illinois State University. She advocates for approaches to teaching that involve valuing students' social, cultural, and linguistic resources and highlighting issues of power, equity, and social justice. She engages learners in critical inquiry, deep reflection, and collaborative learning, making visible the complex processes of literacy teaching and learning. The overarching purpose of Dr. Kline's research is to illuminate broad and disrupt narrow understanding of literacy. Her scholarship centers on literacy in teacher education and writing as a sociocultural and sociopolitical activity. Dr. Kline has published articles and book chapters in many venues, including Language Arts, the Reading Teacher, and the Teacher Education Quarterly. She is currently a co-editor of the Literacy Research Association Journal, Literacy Methods Research Teaching and Practice.
