Hawaiʻi Island elementary teacher creates K-5 social justice bibliography

The list is a simple Google Spreadsheet that hopes to be a “helpful tool for teaching elementary-age learners about place, along with some of the issues that impact our communities.”

The titles include themes such as native land species (plants and animals), native ocean species, Hawaiian values, monarchy, local food traditions, LGBTQ+, and more.

“I wanted books that reflect our kids, our communities, and our places.” Sobocinski said. “It turns out like there’s huge overlap between place-based education and social justice, and a lot of it has to do with supporting our kids, having positive identity formation by seeing themselves in stories and books, and learning about their own history, their own place.”

“And for kids who aren’t from here, or maybe have a different experience, to build empathy and understanding of other people’s experiences. Hawaiʻi needs all of us to love it and care for it and protect it,” she said.

Sobocinski has a vision and a hope for the list to have lessons and resources “if teachers have used that book to teach something, they could link their lesson or their materials with it.”

Creating the bibliography to ʻmeet kids where they’re at’

Sobocinski created the bibliography after receiving the $2,500 Hanahauʻoli Social Justice Educator Grant, a grant that seeks to bolster and encourage exemplary educator social justice work.

Sobocinski, who has a master’s degree in curriculum studies from the University of Hawaiʻi’s STEMS² program, grew up in Northwest Indiana, the daughter of a first-grade teacher.

“My mom is from Gary, Indiana, and she was one of the only white students in a predominantly Black community. She understood from a very young age what systemic injustice is and what it looks like […] So I think her having had that experience imparted a lot of those kinds of values onto me.”

Sobocinski was on Oʻahu when she found out she received the grant, and she immediately got to work curating the list.

By visiting local publishers such as Bess Press and Native Books, she compiled the bibliography using the publishers’ recommendations and expertise. She also visited public libraries to see and vet books for the list.

“I read through all the books, and that’s also what helped me categorize them, or give them, sort of like those keywords that folks could search for,” she said.

Sobocinski said that books that deal with complex issues, such as the Hawaiian monarchy system, or books representing Hawaiʻi’s diverse communities, often are at a higher reading level, so for elementary-aged kids, she wanted to prioritize accessibility for young learners.

“There are picture books for the younger kids. Oftentimes, it’s helpful to use picture books as a way to introduce or start conversations about hard things.”

“It’s really meant to be able to meet kids where they’re at,” she added.

How to use the bibliography

The K-12 social justice bibliography can be copied and pasted into your own Google spreadsheet if you would like to sort it alphabetically by title or author, or by target grade levels. You can also use your keyboard commands to find keywords that interest you or align with your lessons.

You may also submit titles that you believe would make a good addition via this Google form. Titles must adhere to at least one of the following criteria:

• The story is set in Hawaiʻi and/or shares information about our island history, culture(s), and/or ecosystems.
• The author is based in Hawaiʻi and/or identifies as Kanaka Maoli.
• The story, characters, and/or information reflect the experiences, history, identities, etc. of other ethnic groups that call Hawaiʻi home.
• The story, characters, and/or information features social justice issues that impact Hawaiʻi communities.

Looking for a neat way to share the bibliography? Request free stickers containing a QR code to the book list via the Google form or email jsobocin09@gmail.com.

Sticker art manaʻo: Like the ipu that holds wai—wai is wealth, and knowledge is wealth. Just as the ipu carries the potential to produce seeds that will sprout more ipu, the growth of these spaces creates more vessels to gather and share ʻike (knowledge, experience), sustaining the flow of knowledge and nurturing its seeds for generations to come. — Aleysia Kaha, @manaolana_art on Instagram.

Teaching complex concepts to young minds

Beyond the reading list, Sobocinski strives to teach complex subjects to her students in ways that are appropriate for their ages, recognizing that it’s the best way to find solutions to problems existing in our local community.

“We need to understand our unique place and how that plays out with some of the issues with racism and struggles that people have here, and how different ethnic groups are treated,” she said.

“There is a unique history to Hawaiʻi that needs to be talked about and taught about to our kids, or else we don’t have a full understanding of how we got into the situation we’re in. How are we going to find the solutions moving forward?”

She teaches her first graders about Queen Liliʻuokalani and imparts lessons of leadership, power, and the importance of caring for and loving one’s community.

During particularly difficult truths, like the Queen’s overthrow, she focuses on the Queen’s love for the children, her musical talents, and her desire to care for others, but then moves on to more provoking questions.

From there, she is “helping them understand, what is sovereign like? What is sovereignty? What are the things we love about our place? And, if we were in charge, what would we do?”

One of her most powerful classroom activities was a mock legislative session where students proposed and voted on classroom changes.

One student proposed a five-minute cleanup time, while another suggested purchasing healthy snacks for classmates who forget their own.

“It’s really just helping kids understand that there’s a civic responsibility, and there’s engagement in that, and for them to feel empowered to participate. If they see things happening that they don’t like, or they don’t think it’s fair, I tell them you have a way to voice that, and you can propose solutions or ideas to make those positive changes.”

“Kids have a sense of agency in the world, and I don’t think starting young is a bad thing. I’m teaching kids about democracy and how our system works,” she said.