by Jackie Maris and Hannah “Hensch” Henschel

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This compendium includes both practical resources for teachers such as lesson plans, book lists, and guides for responding to FAQs about gender and sexuality, as well as cultural resources for fostering a welcoming environment of belonging for all students.

Resources for Educators

HRC’s Welcoming Schools: Bias-based bullying prevention program, providing LGBTQ+ and gender inclusive professional development training, lesson plans, booklists, and resources specifically designed for educators and youth-serving professionals.

• Resources for Gender and LGBTQ+ Inclusive Schools: Resources for educators, including books and lesson plans, to create affirming and welcoming school climates for all students
  • Gender and Children: A Place to Begin: A comprehensive checklist for a gender inclusive classroom, plus steps for school-wide action
  • Be Prepared: Responding to Kids’ Questions on LGBTQ+ Topics: Resources to help teachers give affirming, inclusive responses to children’s questions to interrupt gender stereotypes and prevent bias-based bullying
  • Lesson Plans to Welcome All Families in Your School Community: Lesson plans designed to help educators create classrooms and schools that foster a sense of belonging for all students and their families and caregivers. Topics include, “What Is A Family?,” “Where I’m From: Family, Community and Poetry,” “Diverse Families on Mother’s and Father’s Days,” and “Media Literacy: Analyzing Advertising – How Are Families Portrayed?”
  • Why Say Gay? K-3 Lesson and Resources: A fact sheet listing books with lesson plans, plus sample language for responding to questions and comments around gender identities, including responding to put-downs such as “That’s so gay.”

Additional Resources

GLSEN:

• 2019 National School Climate Survey: GLSEN’s flagship report on the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth in American schools. The report includes information on LGBTQ+ middle and high school students’ experiences with discrimination, biased language, and availability and utility of supportive school resources.
• Model Local Education Agency (LEA) Policy on Transgender and Nonbinary Students: This document provides a starting place to create policies on the treatment of transgender and nonbinary students.

Further resources:

• The Transgender Training Institute (TTI) K-12 Educators Trainings: TTI provides national training and consulting services that are informed and provided by transgender and nonbinary people for the benefit of transgender and nonbinary communities. These trainings’ topics (through Oct 18, 2022) are “Including Trans Topics Across K-12 Curriculum” and “Gender Inclusive K-5 Classrooms.”
• Gender Inclusive Classrooms: Resources on how to create a rainbow club for elementary schools (including a checklist to get started), plus recommended book lists by age group and an inclusive curriculum
• Gender-Inclusive Biology: Examples of adapting curriculum to Next-Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and gender-inclusive standards, as well as resources for advocating to administration and others. Topics include gender-inclusive ways of discussing X and Y chromosomes, meiosis and sexual reproduction, and other scientific curriculum content.
• Athlete Ally: Athlete Ally educates athletic communities at all levels — sport governing bodies, teams, and individual athletes — to understand obstacles to inclusion for LGBTQ+ people in sports and how they can build inclusive communities on their teams or within their organizations. They offer college campus trainings, partner with teams, and host awareness-raising events.

Keshet Resources

• Thrive: The Jewish Coalition to Defend Trans and LGBQ+ Youth: Keshet and SOJOURN’s coalition of organizations dedicated to the safety, fulfillment, and protection of trans and LGBQ+ youth across the country
• Youth: Keshet offers a variety of initiatives to support, empower, and celebrate queer youth ages 13-18 and 18-24. Currently, most of our programs and events are conducted online.
• LGBTQ-Inclusive Book List for Children Families: A list of books featuring LGBTQ+ characters perfect for families and children of all ages
• 101 toolkit:
  • What is an Ally? An excerpt from Keshet’s “allyship” training meant as a starting place and tool for conversation. Many of the tools and concepts described here are useful when talking about oppression and allyship for many historically marginalized groups. We have outlined the ways they often apply to LGBTQ+ people.
  • LGBTQ+ Terminology: A list of common terms related to LGBTQ+ identity and experiences
  • Mazal Tov and Welcome! You Are A Blessing: This resource is designed to welcome you to Keshet. It’s for people who are newly coming out, who are finding queer Jewish community for the first time, who have a loved one who came out to them, or anyone who wants to dive into what it means to be LGBTQ+ and Jewish. 
  • Coming Out: A guide designed to share reflections, tools, and ideas for young people who are considering coming out at work or in their communities
  • Love Others As Yourself: A Jewish Guide to LGBTQ-Affirming Sex Education: This guide was created as an LGBTQ+-inclusive addition to sex education curricula to teach youth in ways that are respectful, relevant, and empowering for youth of all gender and sexual identities.
  • Institutional Self Assessment: This audit tool for LGBTQ+ inclusion is a comprehensive checklist for institutions to use as a way to check how inclusive their institution is of LGBTQ+ people and their needs. It covers issues related to institutional environment, policies, programming, and publicity.