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For Educators

Bring history and justice to life in your classroom!

Looking for a fun way to teach fairness, Wisconsin history, and civic engagement? These two classroom activities engage students with the question at the heart of Shirley for Justice—what does it mean to be fair? Use my contact form to schedule a visit and receive complete activity guides.

Order in the Library! (2nd-3rd Grade)

After reading Shirley for Justice, students step into history to hear the real Shirley, in her own voice, remember the day the library turned her away. Then the class talks about the experience and works to set things right.  By the end, the whole class can finish Shirley’s sentence: “Books are for EVERYONE!

  • Design a library card: Every student decorates and personalizes their own library card.
  • “Thunk” the date: Students get to use a heavy, old-fashioned library date stamp—like the one used on Shirley’s card in 1942—to “thunk” their card.
  • Lend like a librarian: Every student receives a free copy of Shirley for Justice, complete with an old-fashioned library book pocket and date-due slip inside so they can lend their book to family and friends—just like a real librarian.

You Be the Judge! The Case of Tootsie the Goldfish (3rd-4th Grade)

Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson often said that courts are the least understood branch of government. She created her Tootsie the Goldfish lesson to fix that problem. In this version, your classroom transforms into a courtroom.

  • The conflict: The town has a law: no pets allowed in apartment buildings. But a tenant has a beloved Goldfish named Tootsie. Is a goldfish a pet? The law doesn’t say.
  • All rise: Three students briefly act out a trial reading their lines from a printed card. The judge wears a robe and bangs a gavel.
  • Take the oath: The rest of the class is sworn in as judges. They take the judicial oath, debate the definition of the word “pet,” and learn why being fair means setting aside your personal feelings.
  • Issue a decision: Each student decides the case and signs an official-looking judicial decision to take home as a souvenir of their time on the bench.