Welcome to Green Literacy
A new site is on the way, along with The Green Literacy Handbook. Check back soon.
We’re rebuilding our site to reflect our mission: empowering young people to read, write, and act for the planet. We've some information about how to preorder The Green Literacy Handbook and our summer professional developments.
Inspire Environmental Stewardship
Through Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing, Grades K–5
Click Below to PRE-ORDER TODAY Release August 2025
The Green Literacy Handbook blends environmental awareness with critical literacy, empowering educators to create lessons with thematic unit plans focusing on biodiversity, climate change, and systems thinking. Through hands-on implementation, students build better environmental responsibility and school community engagement.
Introducing Green Literacy, a way of teaching that cultivates critical thinking, reading, and writing about environmentalism through children’s books and digital media.
Students analyze multiple perspectives, engage in hands-on activities, and come to a deeper understanding of environmental issues. Supported through teaching models and thematic units, educators empower themselves and their students to develop environmental awareness toward sustainable change.
K–5 teachers can use this book to:- Explore environmental justice issues using familiar stories and digital tools to spark curiosity and new ideas with reading, writing, and drama strategies for engagement
- Engage students with activities on weather, ecosystems, and how nature connects individuals and develops systems thinking
- Encourage students to see environmental issues from all angles to deepen their understanding and empathy and move them toward sustainable change
- Be empowered with seed ideas about environmental issues, including classroom engagement strategies and professional development opportunities
Save the Date: Teaching Climate Justice Through Picture Books
July 10, Thursday 6:00-7:30 PM CT 90 Minute Online
In this workshop, we’ll dive into:
- Picture books that spark real conversations about climate justice and equity
- SEL-based practices that grow empathy, resilience, and collaborative courage
- Hands-on activities from The Green Literacy Handbook that connect reading to action
- Strategies to center student voice and community engagement
- A booklist that demands reflection and sparks change
- Ready-to-use lesson ideas and community activities
- Free resource guides and take-home tools
- A network of educators committed to reading, writing, and acting for a livable future
Jen Cullerton JohnsonJen Cullerton Johnson is an educator, author, and environmental advocate whose passion for trees has taken her from the urban forests of Chicago to planting trees in Kenya. With nearly two decades of teaching experience in, she integrates literacy, environmental justice, and critical thinking into her classrooms. Jen is the author of Seeds of Change and The Story of an Environmentalist (Lee & Low), and her work has earned support from the Illinois Arts Council and Morton Arboretum. She presents nationally on education, equity, and environmental storytelling.
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Mary K GoveMary K. Gove is professor emeritus at Cleveland State University and coauthor of Reading and Learning to Read, a widely used text in literacy education. With experience as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, and professional developer in urban schools, she has led numerous grant-funded programs focused on action research and teacher learning. Her scholarship includes articles, book chapters, and a coauthored contribution with Jen Cullerton Johnson in The Age of Inference (2023) titled Green Literacy K–5: Nurturing a Scientific Mindset. She continues to present at national conferences on literacy, critical thinking, and ecological education.
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