In honor of Pride Month, AdoptAClassroom.org has compiled a list of free LGBTQ education resources and supply suggestions. We hope the list below will help you integrate more LGBTQ history and books into your lessons and provide tools to better support queer students.
The Trevor Project reported that LGBTQ+ students who had a supportive school environment reported lower rates of attempted suicide. Creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for queer students is essential to their overall health and well-being.
There is legislation in many states limiting teacher’s ability to talk about LGBTQ topics, so please be mindful of your school’s policies before using these resources.
If you’re a teacher and you have a resource that has been helpful to you, please email us at [email protected] and we may add your resource to our list.
Please note: AdoptAClassroom.org is sharing these resource(s) with the intent to spread awareness and promote conversation among educators. Sharing a resource is not an endorsement of the resource for classroom use. Educators are the experts on their students’ needs, their school’s policies, and the policies in their state. Please always be mindful if a resource is a good fit for your classroom.
The stock and availability of the following items may fluctuate. AdoptAClassroom.org cannot guarantee the availability of any of the items below.
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AdoptAClassroom.org’s Teacher Leaders include educators from across the country who share their expertise and teaching experience with the wider AdoptAClassroom.org educational community. We just launched this program, so you can now access these free resources from fellow educators by logging in to your AdoptAClassroom.org account.
Resources from Teacher Leaders are provided by our Spotlight Funds, which support areas/school subjects of greater need.
Did you know? AdoptAClassroom.org offers grants as part of our Inclusive Classroom Fund to help teachers access resources for their classrooms. Our Inclusive Classroom fund can support GSA Clubs at high schools, teachers looking to get more LGBTQ+ books for their students, or other classroom needs as teachers strive towards inclusivity. Click here to register your classroom and be the first to hear about our grant opportunities.
Free LGBTQ Education Resources
Best Practices for Supporting LGBTQ Students
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The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) offers a guide for schools and teachers on how to support trans students
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Learning for Justice offers a webinar and pdf guide on how to best support LGBTQ+ students in your classroom and curriculum.
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This resource was suggested to a teacher reaching out to [email protected]! Recommendations for creating inclusive school campuses by a clinical psychologist.
Pronouns
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GLSEN Pronoun Form is an important LGBTQ education resource to have on hand. It’s a simple template to ask students for their pronouns next school year.
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The NEA offers a Pronoun Guide that is a simple and helpful explanation of why using the correct pronouns is important.
Questions about LGBTQ+ Topics
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The Human Rights Campaign offers a pdf to help teachers define LGBTQ+ terms in ways appropriate for elementary school students.
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Students often use LGBTQ+ identities as put-downs, or may have questions about LGBTQ+ identities. The HRC also offers a guide to help teachers prepare for these sometimes tense moments.
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Students absorb what’s going on in current events from their caretakers and the internet. The Anti-Defamation League offers a lesson plan for high school students who may be asking “Why are states trying to ban transgender student athletes?”
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The ADL also offers a high school lesson plan on wedding cakes and discrimination against same-sex couples.
LGBTQ+ History
A quick note: It’s important to remember that LGBTQ people have always existed and to include a person’s LGBTQ+ identity when teaching about them in context of history lessons throughout the year.
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GLSEN offers MP3 recordings of interviews of individuals who were present for important events in LGBTQ+ history, like the Stonewall uprising and the AIDS epidemic. These recordings are accompanied by lesson plans for students grades 6-12.
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Facing History and Ourselves offers a lesson plan, activity, and extensions on the past two millennia of LGBTQ+ history by creating a human timeline. This activity is appropriate for middle and high school students.
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Queer America, a podcast from Learning for Justice, has an episode on “Incorporating LGBTQ+ History into your Curriculum” for history teachers in K-12.
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The National Museum of American History designed videos for elementary students to develop critical thinking skills around museum objects. One of these videos focuses on a Pride-related artifact and includes a link to a lesson plan in the video bio.
Teachers: We’re looking for more free LGBTQ education resources to highlight in this blog! Please contact [email protected] if you have a resource you’d like to add. Make sure you put “Resource for Pride month blog” in your subject line.
LGBTQ Education Resources from our Marketplace Vendors
AKJ Education
AKJ Education’s mission is to reduce the barriers—namely time and money—between you and the best quality supplemental materials for your classroom.
Featured: “Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag” by Rob Sanders
Harvey Milk was a pioneering gay activist and important figure in LGBTQ+ history. This book, which is appropriate for older elementary students, covers his lasting legacy of the Pride flag, which most students will recognize. You can use this free lesson plan from the Human Rights Campaign when reading this book.
For middle and high school students, AKJ Education has a number of queer YA books, including the popular “The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School” and “Felix Ever After.”
Lee and Low
Lee & Low Books is the largest multicultural children’s book publisher in the U.S., as well as one of the few minority-owned publishing companies in the country.
Featured: “When Aidan Became A Brother” by Kyle Lakoff
The winner of a Stonewall Book Award, “When Aidan Became a Brother” is the story of a young trans boy who has to get used to the idea of being an older sibling. This story will be relatable to many students’ changing family structures.
Lee & Low also has a number of YA level stories like “Gabi, A Girl in Pieces” and “Jaya and Rasa: A Love Story.”
Lerner
Lerner Publishing Group creates fiction and nonfiction for children and young adults. Founded in 1959, Lerner Publishing Group is one of the nation’s largest independent and family owned children’s book publishers with fourteen imprints and divisions.
Featured: “Just Ash” by Sol Santana
Few YA novels focus on an Intersex main character, but #ownvoices author Sol Santana crafted a compelling teen dealing with the realities of his body and how that changes how others view him. As he deals, Ash becomes obsessed with his ancestor Bridget Bishop, who was executed in his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts, for witchcraft.
Lerner has a number of LGBTQ education resources, including more queer YA novels and nonfiction books about historical queer figures like “No way, they were gay?: Hidden Lives and Secret Loves.”
Kaplan
From furniture to elementary curriculum materials, Kaplan Early Learning is your resource for early childhood education materials and school supplies.
Featured: What Makes a Family – Bundle of 4 Books
For elementary school students, learning about different kinds of families is a great way for them to expand their knowledge of different kinds of people in the world.
Interested in these school supplies for Pride month and beyond? Register your classroom on AdoptAClassroom.org to gain access to our online fundraising platform and the catalog of Teacher Leader resources. Plus, registered educators are eligible for donation matches and giveaways throughout the year!