Guidelines for a Gender-Balanced Curriculum in English Language Arts Pre-K to Grade 6

Prepared by the Women in Literature and Life Assembly (WILLA) of NCTE 1995

Gender equity does not exist in business, in academics, or athletics. One other place it does not exist is in children's literature. In part, the inequity in the literature is one of invisibility-fewer female than male protagonists are represented in books written for children. Additionally, few of those young female protagonists are strong enough of mind, body, or will to serve as positive role models for girls both in and out of our classrooms. Another facet of the inequity in literature is that many characters are not shown as multi-dimensional human beings with strengths as well as weaknesses. Instead, both males and females display behavior and traits which reflect stereotypical roles, responsibilities, and expectations. Although there may be segments of our society which are redefining gender roles, the female and male characters children read about are often locked into traditional jobs and behaviors. As teachers and adults who work with children, we advocate wide reading of good literature as one way for children to have vicarious experiences in which they can identify with strong characters across a wide range of human experiences which cross traditional gender boundaries. But . . . if children's books and the characters in them remain gender-bound, the ideas which might cause children to develop expectations for the future, responses to life's events, and stances on issues may also remain stereotypically gender-bound. We must all search for books which will initiate conversations and questions about gender roles and the perceptions of appropriate behavior and activities. Through these conversations and questions, teachers and other caring adults can be instrumental in helping the students reflect on gender expectations, reflection that can lead to appreciation and implementation of gender fairness and equity. Although we need to share books which validate the present experiences of the readers' lives, we also need to challenge those experiences by showing options and alternatives. Doing this will enable readers to begin to challenge the inequities they find in their real worlds. The booklist, the activities, and the list of teacher resources which follow provide a starting place for these discussions. We invite each of you to continue to find other resources and to share them with your students and your peers.   A selected booklist for a gender-balanced curriculum in English language arts:  Pre-K to Grade 6 (Titles which might serve as a model for student writing in "womanist" modes such as diary, letter, journal, are followed by a "W.") Fiction: Picture storybooks Alexander, Sally Hobart. Maggie's Whopper Allinson, Beverly. Effie Andrews, Jan. The Very Last First Time Bedard, Michel. Emily Blume, Judy. The Pain and the Great One Bunting, Eve. The Wednesday Surprise Brett, Jan. Trouble with Trolls Browne, Anthony. Piggybook Caines, Jeannette. Just Us Women Coerr, Eleanor. Sadako _______. Josephia Story Quilt Cooney, Barbara. Hattie and the Wild Waves _______. Only Opal (W) _______. Miss Rumphius de Paola, Tomie. Fin M'Coul: The Giant of Knockmany Hill _______. Oliver Button Is a Sissy _______. Strega Nona's Magic Lessons (and others in the series) _______. The Legend of Bluebonnet Dorros, Arthur. Abuela Emberley, Michael. Ruby Flournoy, Valerie. The Patchwork Quilt Fox, Mem. Hattie and the Fox _______. Koala Lou _______. Night Noises _______. Possum Magic _______. Shoes from Grandpa _______. Time for Bed _______. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge Gay, Marie-Louise. Midnight Mimi Gilman, Phoebe. Grandma and the Pirates Goble, Paul. The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses Godden, Rumer. The Story of Holly and Ivy Heyward, DuBose. The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes Henkes, Kevin. Chester's Way _______. Chrysanthemum _______. Jessica _______. Sheila Rae, the Brave Hoffman, Mary. Amazing Grace _______. Henry's Baby Hooks, William. The Ballad of Belle Dorcas Hopkinson, Deborah. Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt Houston, Gloria. My Great Aunt Arizona Howard, Elizabeth. Aunt Flossie's Hats (and Crab Cakes Later) Huck, Charlotte. Princess Furball Hughes, Shirley. Up and Up Joosse, Barbara M. Mama Do You Love Me? Jones, Rebecca. Matthew and Tilly Keats, Ezra Jack. Maggie and the Pirates Kellogg, Steven. The Island of Skog Kesselman, Wendy. Emma Khalsa, Dayal Kaur. Cowboy Dreams ______. I Want a Dog ______. Tales of a Gambling Grandma LeGuin, Ursula. A Ride on the Red Mare's Back Little, Jean. Jess Was the Brave One McCully, Emily Arnold. Mirette on the High Wire McKissack, Patricia. Flossie and the Fox MacLachlan, Patricia. Mama One, Mama Two Martin, Rafe. The Rough-Face Girl Merrill, Jean. The Girl Who Loved Caterpillars Morgan, Allen. The Magic Hockey Skates Muller, Robin. Mollie Whoopie and the Giant _______. The Nightwood _______. Tatterhood Munsch, Robert. The Paper Bag Princess Nash, Ogden. The Adventures of Isabel Polacco, Patricia. The Keeping Quilt _______. Pink and Say _______. Baboushka's Doll _______. Mrs. Kate and Tush _______. Chicken Sunday _______. Just Plain Fancy _______. Thunder Cake Paterson, Katherine. The King's Equal Pomerantz, Charlotte. The Chalk Doll Rathman, Peggy. Ruby the Copycat Reinggold, Faith. Tar Beach Schroeder, Alan. Ragtime Tumpie Sheldon, Dyan. The Whales' Song Stanley, Diane. Fortune Steig, William. Brave Irene Stinson, Kathy. Red Is Best Uchida, Yoshiko. The Bracelet Waber, Ira. Ira Sleeps Over Willard, Nancy. The High Rise Glorious Skittle Skat Roarious Sky Pie Angel Food Cake Williams, Vera. Music, Music for Everyone _______. Something Special for Me _______. A Chair for My Mother Wood, Audrey. Heckedy Peg Yee, Paul. Roses Sing on New Snow: A Delicious Tale Yolen, Jane. The Emperor and the Kite _______. Owl Moon _______. The Ballad of the Pirate Queens _______. Sleeping Ugly Young, Ed. Seven Blind Mice Zolotow, Charlotte. This Quiet Lady _______. William's Doll   Fiction: Novels Alexander, Lloyd. Philadelphia Adventure _______. Westmark (and sequels: The Kestrel, The Beggar Queen) Avi. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle _______. Bright Shadow _______. Blue Heron Babbitt, Natalie. Tuck Everlasting Banks, Lynne Reid. The Farthest Away Mountain Barron, T. A. Heartlight _______. The Ancient One _______. The Merlin Effect Blos, Joan. A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal 1830-1832 (W) Brink, Carol Ryrie. Caddie Woodlawn Brooke, William. Telling of the Tales Bruchac, Joseph, and Gayle Ross. The Girl Who Married the Moon Buffie, Margaret. Who Is Frances Rain? Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden Byars, Betsy. The Glory Girl Campbell, Ann. Once Upon a Princess and a Pea Cassedy, Sylvia. Behind the Attic Wall Choi, Sook Nyul. Year of Impossible Goodbyes Clapp, Patricia. Witches' Children Cleary, Beverly. Ramona the Brave (and sequels) _______. Strider Coerr, Eleanor. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes Cushman, Karen. Catherine, Called Birdy Dahl, Roald. Matilda _______. The BFG Ellis, Sarah. Pick Up Sticks _______. The Baby Project Estes, Eleanor. The Hundred Dresses Field, Rachel. Calico Bush Fitzhugh, Louise. Harriet the Spy (W) George, Jean Craighead. Dear Rebecca, Winter Is Here (W) _______. Julie of the Wolves Garrigue, Sheila. The Eternal Spring of Mr. Ito Guy, Rosa. The Friends Hahn, Mary Downing. Stepping on the Cracks _______. Daphne's Book Hamilton, Virginia. Cousins _______. Plain City Hautzig, Esther. The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia Heide, Florence Parry. Growing Anyway Up Hesse, Karen. Letters from Rifka (W) Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki, and James D. Houston. Farewell to Manzinar Hudson, Jan. Sweetgrass Hughes, Monica. The Isis Trilogy _______. The Tomorrow City Hurmence, Belinda. A Girl Called Boy Innocenti, Robert. Rose Blanche Johnson, Angela. Tell Me a Story, Mama _______. Toning the Sweep Johnston, Julie. Adam and Eve and Pinch Me (W) _______. Hero of Lesser Causes Harris, Dorothy Joan. Don't Call Me Sugarbaby Kendall, Carol. The Gammage Cup Kherdian, David. The Road from Home Kinsey-Warnock, Natalie. The Canada Geese Quilt Konigsburg, E. L. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler Laird, Elizabeth. Kiss the Dust L'Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time (and others) Lisle, Janet Taylor. Afternoon of the Elves Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars _______. Anastasia Krupnik (and sequels) Lunn, Janet. Shadow in Hawthorn Bay _______. The Root Cellar Lyon, George Ella. Borrowed Children Lyons, Mary E. Letters from a Slave Girl: The Story of Harriet Jacobs (W) McKinley, Robin. Beauty _______. The Blue Sword _______. Deerskin _______. The Hero and the Crown McCaughrean, Geraldine. One Thousand and One Arabian Nights MacLachlan, Patricia. Sarah, Plain and Tall _______. Cassie Binegar _______. Unclaimed Treasures Mahy, Margaret. The Changeover Marsden, John. So Much to Tell You (W) Matas, Carol. The Burning Time _______. Lisa (in U.S.: Lisa's War) Miles, Betty. The Real Me ______. Maudie, Me & The Dirty Book Mills, Lauren. The Rag Coat Mohr, Nicholasa. Felita _______. Going Home? Montgomery, L. M. Anne of Green Gables Mori, Kyoko. Shizuko's Daughter Morris, Judy K. The Kid Who Ran for Principal Naidoo, Beverley. Journey to Jo'burg _______. Chain of Fire O'Brien, Robert. Z for Zachariah O'Dell, Scott. Black Star, Bright Dawn _______. Island of the Blue Dolphin _______. Sing Down the Moon O'Neal, Zibby. The Language of Goldfish Orlev, Uri. Lydia, Queen of Palestine Paterson, Katherine. Flip-Flop Girl _______. The Great Gilly Hopkins _______. Jacob Have I Loved _______. Lyddie Paulsen, Gary. Nightjohn Pearson, Kit. The Sky Is Falling Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Kid Power Pullman, Philip. The Ruby in the Smoke Rappaport, Doreen. Trouble in the Mines Reiss, Johanna. The Upstairs Room Rinaldi, Ann. In My Father's House _______. The Last Silk Dress _______. A Break with Charity _______. The Fifth of March Roberts, Willo Davis. The Girl with the Silver Eyes Rocklin, Joanne. Dear Baby (W) Rylant, Cynthia. Missing May Schlee, Ann. Ask Me No Questions Sebestyn, Ouida. Words by Heart Siegel, Aranka. Upon the Head of the Goat Smucker, Barbara. Underground to Canada Snyder, Zilpha Keatley. Libby on Wednesday Speare, Elizabeth. The Witch of Blackbird Pond Spinelli, Jerry. There's a Girl in My Hammerlock Staples, Suzanne Fisher. Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind _______. Haveli Takashima, S. A Child in Prison Camp Taylor, Cora. Yesterday's Doll (first published as The Doll) _______. Julie Taylor, Mildred, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (and sequels) Taylor, Theodore. The Trouble with Tuck Thomas, Marlo, et al. Free to Be, You and Me Toll, Nelly. Behind the Secret Window: A Memoir of a Hidden Childhood During World War Two (W) Turner, Anne. Nettie's Trip South (W) Uchida, Yoshiko. Journey to Topaz: The Story of the Japanese-American Evacuation Voigt, Cynthia. Dicey's Song _______. Homecoming _______. The Callender Papers Vos, Ida. Hide and Seek Walsh, Jill Paton. A Parcel of Patterns Webster, Jean. Daddy Long Legs (W) _______. Dear Enemy (W) White, E. B. Charlotte's Web Yolen, Jane. The Devil's Arithmetic   Informational Books Ayer, Eleanor H. Margaret Bourke-White: Photographing the World Bisel, Sara C. The Secrets of Vesuvius Bondar, Roberta. On the Shuttle: Eight Days in Space Brooks, Polly Shyer. Queen Eleanor, Independent Spirit of the Medieval World: A Biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine Chang, Ina. A Separate Battle: Women and the Civil War Cummings, Pat. Talking with Artists (biographies of children's book illustrators) Edeen, Susan, and John Edeen. Women Mathematicians Felton, Harry. Deborah Sampson: Soldier of the Revolution Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl Freedman, Russell. Children of the Wild West _______. Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery Fritz, Jean. Homesick: My Own Story Gardner, Jeanne Lemonnier. Mary Jemison, Indian Captive Hyman, Trina Schart. Self-Portrait: Trina Schart Hyman Igus, Toyomi, ed. Great Women in the Struggle (Series: Book of Black Heroes) Jackson, Guida. Women Who Ruled Jakes, John. Susanna of the Alamo: A True Story Konigsburg, E. L. A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver (on Eleanor of Aquitaine) Krensky, Stephen. Four against the Odds Lanker, Brian. I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America Little, Jean. Little by Little: A Writer's Education Lyons, Mary E. Sorrow's Kitchen: The Life and Folklore of Zora Neale Hurston McGovern, Ann. The Secret Soldier: The Story of Deborah Sampson McKissack, Patricia and Frederick McKissack. Sojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman? Margolies, Barbara A. Rehma's Journey Mills, Jane. Womanwords: A Dictionary of Words about Women Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. How I Came to Be a Writer Rappaport, Doreen. American Women: Their Lives in Words Reimer, Luetta, and Wilbert Reimer. Mathematicians Are People Too Rolka, Gail Meyer. 100 Women Who Shaped History Rowland, Della. Sacajawea, Guide to Lewis and Clark Seager, Joni, and Ann Olson. Women in the World: An International Atlas Shiels, Barbara. Winners: Women and the Nobel Prize Stanley, Diane. Cleopatra Stanley, Diane, and Peter Vennema. Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth I of England Stanley, Fay. The Last Princess: The Story of Princess Ka'iulani of Hawai'i Stevens, Bryna. Frank Thompson: Her Civil War Story Uchida, Yoshiko. The Invisible Thread: A Memoir Veglahn, Nancy. Women Scientists Webb, Michael. Marie Curie: Discoverer of Radium   Poetry Adoff, Arnold. In for Winter, Out for Spring Carlstrom, Nancy White. Wild Wild Sunflower Child Anna de Regniers, Beatrice Schenk. A Week in the Life of Best Friends and Other Poems of Friendship Giovanni, Nikki. Spin a Soft Black Song Greenfield, Eloise. Honey I Love, and Other Poems Hoberman, Mary Ann. Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers Joe, Rita. Song of Eskasoni: More Poems of Rita Joe Johnson, E. Pauline. Flint and Feather: The Complete Poems of E. Pauline Johnson Kuskin, Karla. The Rose on the Cake Livingston, Myra Cohn. I Never Told and Other Poems Martz, Sandra, ed. When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple Thomas, Joyce Carol. Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea Turner, Anne. Grass Songs: Poems of Women's Journey West Viorst, Judith. If I Were in Charge of the World, and Other Worries   Selected teacher resources: a beginning bibliography (Books and journals which address the issue of gendered literature) Fox, Mem. "Men Who Weep, Boys Who Dance: The Gender Agenda between the Lines of Children's Literature" Language Arts 70 (1993): 84-88. McCracken, Nancy, and Bruce Appleby, eds. Gender Issues in the Teaching of English. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton Cook, 1992. Rehard, Karen. "Girl Power" Book Links (July 1993): 53-56. Sadker, Myra, and David Sadker. Failing at Fairness: How America's Schools Cheat Girls. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994. Streitmatter, Janice. Toward Gender Equity in the Classroom. New York: SUNY, 1994. Temple, Charles. "'What if Beauty Had Been Ugly?' Reading against the Grain of Gender Bias in Children's Books." Language Arts 70 (1993): 89-93.   Ideas for building a more balanced language arts curriculum for your classroom 1. Weave books about, for, and by women/girls into every aspect of the curriculum. 2. Take a global view of language by valuing the stories and writing of people of all cultural groups and walks of life. 3. Privilege the more feminine styles/forms of writing by asking students to read and write in many formats, including diaries, journals, and dramas. 4. Include nonprint media which present girls/women/men in positive and non-stereotypical roles in the curriculum. Especially important here is selection of materials that show people involved in work-related scenarios which are inclusive, rather than exclusive, in demonstrating that both men and women are able to select any profession for their life's work. If old materials which tend to depict people in gender stereotyped career roles (i. e., male truck drivers and female secretaries, male astronauts and female homemakers) are the only materials available to suit your content objectives, be certain to comment on these depictions to your class and ask them to tell how these are narrow interpretations of career roles. 5. Seek out stories, books, and other materials which show girls and women as active participants in life, not passive observers and recipients of the actions and decisions of others. Let readers see that both boys and girls can instigate action, make choices, take the lead; to succeed, both girls and boys must see that passive strategies such as hoping and waiting allow others to make choices for us. 6. Seek out stories, picture books, and other materials which portray girls as able to succeed in any endeavor. 7. Pair books with similar themes or topics to include both a male and a female protagonist. For example when reading a survival story with a male character such as Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, also read a survival book with a female character such as Island of the Blue Dolphins or Black Star, Bright Dawn, both by Scott O'Dell. 8. Seek out stories, picture books, and other materials which show adults interacting with child characters in roles other than those stereotypically female or male. Dad may make the lunch while Mom fixes the car; a favorite teacher may be a male, while a favorite doctor may be a female. 9. Select literature purposefully so readers identify enough with the characters to understand that the admirable qualities possessed by both male and female characters are qualities they may wish to emulate in their lives. For example, either a boy or girl may wish to be as determined as Grace in the picture storybook Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman, or as caring of her dogs as the girl Iditarod competitor in Black Star, Bright Dawn by Scott O'Dell. 10. When teaching classical or traditional works, provide opportunities for discussion of the female characters' point of view.   This position statement may be printed, copied, and disseminated without permission from NCTE.