Unpack Your Impact: How Two Primary Teachers Ditched Problematic Lessons and Built a Culture-Centered Curriculum

 Reimagine social studies through culture, diversity, and inclusivity for all primary students

Primary educators know that little kids can do big things. So why teach the same old lessons when we can expose students to impactful, interesting, and beautiful ideas about the real world? In an era of heightened political tensions and narrowed curricular focus, superstar educators Naomi O’Brien and LaNesha Tabb have found a surprising way to expose our youngest learners to more perspectives, center culture in the primary classroom, and take the need—and potential—for teaching about citizenship seriously: social studies!

By laying out their revolutionary approach to teaching social studies, O’Brien and Tabb explain how to provide students with a deep but achievable understanding of global social systems as they’re transformed by history, sociology, economics, geography, and civics. And, because the Unpack Your Impact curriculum can be folded into existing lessons for almost any topic, students garner an inclusive and interdisciplinary appreciation for how all learning shapes, and is shaped by, a diverse array of human cultures. Inspiring, optimistic, and empowering, Unpack Your Impact shows that primary teachers can make a positive impact—individually and globally.

Unpack Your Impact delivers a profound and fresh perspective on cultural integration in social studies classrooms. It equips readers with meaningful and tangible methods to have honest discussions while exploring topics that have been desperately missing from traditional textbooks. Personally, my favorite aspect of the book is that LaNesha and Naomi present eye-opening ways to provide historical meaning across various subjects. —Dr. Valerie Camille Jones, mathematics specialist and Presidential Award winner

LaNesha and Naomi have done it again! As educators, they understand what steps are needed to help teachers rethink their practices. The duo continues to push educators to do better for ALL kids! —Vera Ahiyya, educator and book curator

This is what I wish I had in my early years of teaching. It is practical, inspiring, relevant, and needed! I encourage all educators to read this book and learn from two of the best! —Shaun Woodly, PhD, author, educator, speaker, and found of the movement Teach Hustle Inspire