Social Activism Diverse Book List for Grades PreK-8

Social Activism diverse reading list

LEE & LOW BOOKS is proud to announce the launch of our Social Activism Diverse Reading List for Grades PreK–8!

Social activism is work that students can do to enact change in their communities, whether it’s for an issue relating to gender, the economy, race, the environment, or politics. Students can collaborate and motivate each other to make a difference! Considering today’s political climate, Social activism is a way that students can incite change in their immediate school, larger community, or the entire country.

Read-alouds are wonderful ways to model proactive behaviors through determined characters and their respective cause(s). The mentor texts provided in the Social Activism list can inspire students to address an issue that they are passionate about, whether it’s a similar cause presented in the text or another cause that the book made them think about that’s relevant to their own lives.

Our Social Activism list was curated by our Literacy Specialist and is divided by grade band:

Within the grade band, the texts are tagged with specific themes to help educators select which texts are relevant for their classroom needs:

  • GenderSocial Activism
  • Environment
  • Making Change
  • Race
  • Historical Experience
  • Peace
  • Fiction
  • Biography

Download our printable PDF to see each theme separated into grade bands: Grades PreK-2, Grades 2-5, and Grades 6-8.

This list is an excellent tool to help you include not only diverse books in your classroom, but diverse books that feature characters that are standing up for a worthy and important cause to encourage social activism in your classroom.

Click on the following links for more resources about Social Activism work with students: