Pride Month celebrates the LGBTQ+ community and recognizes its many contributions, as well as the progress made since the Stonewall Riots in 1969. While we’ve come a long way, the ongoing fight for equal rights reminds us that our work is far from over. Discrimination and bias persist, making it all the more important that we create inclusive environments for all students.
Access to quality resources for teaching about Pride—at any time of year—is essential. When students learn about LGBTQ+ history and the significance of Pride, they are more likely to respect and accept all individuals, no matter what they look like, their gender identity, or who they love.
With the right tools and thoughtful approaches, educators can foster inclusive classrooms where every student feels seen, valued, and supported.
Check out the resources below.
Lesson Plans
- LGBTQ History and Why It Matters
Facing History and Ourselves provides a lesson plan for teaching about LGBTQ+ history, which includes essential questions, an overview, materials, teaching strategies, activities, and extensions for use in the classroom. This plan calls upon classes to reflect on the stories previously learned in history and literature classes, assess the information they know about this topic, create a human timeline of LGBTQ history, reflect on the value of including LGBTQ voices in the study of history, and more. The duration required for this lesson is one 50-minute class period, but if students bring up good conversations on the subjects discussed, it may take longer, so be sure to set aside enough time. - LGBTQ History Month Lesson Plans and Resources
Share My Lesson has a large variety of lesson plans and resources for educators to bring to the classroom or educate themselves about LGBTQ+ inclusion, creating safe spaces for LGBTQ+ students, analyzing gender bias in the classroom (and ways for educators to help), and other topics. The goal of all of these lessons is “to make every day a safe and welcoming place for all your students” because all students, regardless of their sexual orientation, deserve the same understanding and respect. - LGBTQ Pride Month and Education Resources
The Anti-Defamation League has assembled an extensive list of lesson plans, education resources, and children’s books about LGBTQ+ Pride Month for educators, parents, families, and caregivers. Plans are supplied for different grade levels, starting at grade 4, and cover everything from marriage equality to transgender identity and issues to the Stonewall Uprising. ADL recognizes that LGBTQ+ Pride Month is a great opportunity to talk with students about the struggles the LGBTQ+ community has faced through the journey to receive equal rights. By reading about LGBTQ+ people in history (many of whom have been overlooked), analyzing homophobia along with its causes and solutions, and reading literature that features LGBTQ +individuals, students will leave the classroom with a greater understanding of the topics discussed and ideally become more aware of the unfairness and discrimination that many around them, even some of their classmates, face today.
Articles
- As More States Require Schools to Teach LGBTQ History, Resources for Teachers Expand
This article starts off with discussing the experiences of Larah Helayne. Helayne realized she was attracted to women and, after coming out, started a LGBTQ affinity group at a local high school as she found that her story spurred others to begin sharing their own. Helayne, like many others, searched for materials on the history of LGBTQ individuals, which led to the main topic of the article: as time goes on and more schools are required by the state to teach about LGBTQ history, there are more resources available for educators to help them teach about the subject. The journey to building the curriculum of LGBTQ history and educators learning about this history themselves is also discussed. - Celebrate LGBT Pride Month With Perspectives!
Teaching Tolerance has published an article providing a few different resources for celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month in the classroom. The topics of the lessons vary, but the main themes are the freedom of choice, rights and responsibilities, and the struggles faced and progress made by the LGBTQ community. (To access these resources, all you have to do is create a free Teaching Tolerance account.)
Informational Sites
- LGBTQ Rights Milestones Fast Facts
CNN takes a look at LGBTQ milestones in the United States laid out on a timeline. Events include when Maryland became the first state to ban same-sex marriage in 1973, when Ellen DeGeneres became the first leading character (of her own TV Series) to come out on a prime time network television show, when the first transgender individual joined the military, and more. - LGBTQ Pride and History Months
The Library of Congress provides information on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Pride Month, including a brief overview, public laws and presidential proclamations, images, events, resources, and audio/video related to the LGBTQ+ community and pride month.
Social Media and Online Resources for LGBTQ+ Kids
- The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project is the leading suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ young people. Youth can reach a trained counselor 24/7, free and secure at 1-866-488-7386. - The GenderCool Project
This youth-led movement is helping replace misinformed opinions about transgender youth. - Queer Youth Assemble
Queer Youth Assemble is a nonprofit organization by and for queer and trans youth. - Real Mama Bears
Real Mama Bears supports, educates, and empowers families with LGBTQ+ members and advocates for the LGBTQ+ community. More info. - Safe Space
The Instagram and TikTok accounts for the podcast Safe Space lift up queer stories, news, history, and ways to support other queer people. - Rainbow History Class
Rainbow History Class offers queer and trans history styled as lessons most schools don’t teach on Instagram and TikTok - It Gets Better
The It Gets Better Project is empowering LGBTQ+ youth to define their own journey.
