Annotated Bibliography

Faruqi, R. (2015). Lailah's Lunchbox. Thomaston: Tilbury House Publishers.

This book is a great book that introduces students to the Muslim faith. It tells the story of
a little girl who is fasting during Ramadan for the first time. She is in a new country away
from her friends so she is concerned about what others will think.
Flowers, R. & Flowers, A. (2014). There are seven houses on my street, a childs view on
religions. Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse.
This childrens book is about a boy named Ron. He talks about the families that live on
his street, and the different religions they practice. The book explains the deep, main
beliefs that each religion holds, and explains them in a way that younger children can
understand. This book may not be the best for upper elementary, since it only touches
on the very top of what each religion is, and we would want older students to have a
broader understanding. However, it is a good place for young students to start their
understanding of the differences between religions, as well as how all students can get
along despite religious differences.
James, J. Hauver, Schweber, S., Kunzman, R., Barton, K. C., & Logan, K. (2015). Religion in
the classroom : dilemmas for democratic education. New York: Routledge.
This book explains the difficulties that teachers face when thinking about teaching
religion in the classroom. The author really brings their own ideas into the book, relating
to their own life. Teachers should not be afraid of teaching religion in the classroom.
Kunzman, R. (2006). Grappling with the good: Talking about religion and morality in public
schools. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
This book discusses how teachers can help students discover how to best live together,
respectfully, towards the common good of all. Students need to learn how to look at
issues from multiple perspectives. To listen to others perspectives respectfully, we need
to be able to genuinely examine and try to understand their ethical frameworks.
Understanding where their beliefs are coming from is key to having a discussion where
each person and their beliefs are valued. Religious beliefs should be included as well,
and should not be shied away from.
Legal Information Institute. (1992). Cornell University Law School. Retrieved from Free Exercise
Clause: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/free_exercise_clause
This article discusses the history of the Establishment and the Free exercise clause of
the first amendment. It was used as a tool to help shed light on the underlying reasons
for the state of our education system.
Moore, D. L. (2010, April). Guideline for Teaching About Religion in k-12 Public Schools in the
United States. Retrieved from American Academy of Religion:
https://www.aarweb.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Publications/epublications/AARK-
12CurriculumGuidelines.pdf
In this article the author sets out to educate readers, teacher, and school boards about
how to teach on religion in constitutionally sound and intellectually responsible ways. It
also presents concrete and tangible guidelines for addressing questions about religion in
the classroom.
Smith, H. (2015). Shanghai Sukkah. Minneapolis, MN: Kar-Ben Publishing.
This book is a great book that promotes cultural and religious diversity. It takes Jewish
and Chinese customs and blends them together. Two people with different cultures and
languages learn to be friends and learn to celebrate one another.
Star, F. (2011). What do you believe: religion and faith in the world today. New York, NY: DK
Publishing.
This book is a bit better for upper elementary school students. It involves a decent
number of religions, and goes much more in depth on the beliefs, traditions, ceremonies,
 and symbols of different religions. Students could easily use this book to find some
information about a religion they are unfamiliar with, and then share that information
with classmates, so the whole class can gain a newer understanding of what each
religion stands for and believes. Having this deeper understanding of different relgions
can help students build respect for others, regardless of if they hold the same beliefs.
Starr, P. (2014, August 15). Education Expert: Removing Bible, Prayer from Public Schools Has
Caused Decline. Retrieved from CBS News:
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/penny-starr/education-expert-removing-bible-
prayer-public-schools-has-caused-decline
In this article, the author discusses what he believes to be the cause for the decline of
the public education system, the banning of public prayer in school. The author begins
with historical court cases that he believes has altered the course of the educational
system: cases whose outcomes were based on the religion clauses of the first
amendment.
Wicht, S. (2014, June 2). What Does the First Amendment Say About Displaying Religious
Symbols? Retrieved from Teaching Tolerance:
http://www.tolerance.org/blog/what-does-first-amendment-say-about-displaying-
religious-sYm
In this article the author addresses the dos and donts about displaying religious
symbols in schools and classrooms. As an upcoming and aspiring teacher, it is important
to learn about the rules and regulations of displaying religious figures so that we as
educators can ensure that we are not in violation of the first amendment.

These are the sources for our background pictures for the background pictures on our pages.
None of them were created by us, nor do we take credit for them.
https://images.washingtonpost.com/?url=http://img.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp-
content/uploads/2015/09/DSC_0644.jpg&w=1484&op=resize&opt=1&filter=antialias
https://netivist.org/uploads/forum/discussions/pictures/556c4a4455f4f710bcd89f80/should-
religion-be-taught-in-schools.jpg
https://misshanley.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/dsc00271.jpg
https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/styles/hero_big_wide_1200x528/public/field_banner_ima
ge/web15-siteimages-religiousliberty_0.jpg?itok=0kAv1Mfr
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9T4mFlPLn-
4/VZxdsoHfcyI/AAAAAAACEas/Lf2digEVh44/s1600/lesson-plans-and-aims.jpg
http://andreahill.org/images/coexist.jpg
http://www.turtleconservationcentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/xCroppedImage636347-
stakeholder-interview-600.png.pagespeed.ic_.MDUKoIjUgG.png