Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges: Critical Discussion of Social Issues

Lesson Plans

Student Interactives

Calendar Activities

Strategy Guides

Professional Library

 

LESSON PLANS

Grades   7 – 8  |  Lesson Plan  |  Unit

Accountable Book Clubs: Focused Discussions

Students form literature circles, read Esperanza Rising or Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Muñoz Ryan, use a Critical Thinking Map to discuss social issues, and use a class wiki.

 

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STUDENT INTERACTIVES

Grades   K – 12  |  Student Interactive  |  Organizing & Summarizing

Venn Diagram

This interactive tool allows students to create Venn diagrams that contain two or three overlapping circles, enabling them to organize their information logically.

 

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CALENDAR ACTIVITIES

Grades   9 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  September 23

Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, was integrated in 1957.

After viewing some footage from the actual event, students jot down thoughts and feelings of the Little Rock Nine. Students then write a bio-poem that might have been written by one of these students on this historic day.

 

Grades   5 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  May 19

Malcolm X was born in Nebraska in 1925.

Students write about the origin of their name and explore the names that Malcolm X used during this life.

 

Grades   3 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  February 20

Actor Sidney Poitier was born in 1924.

Students do a journal entry about barriers that have been broken–such as age, race, and gender–that might impede them in the future, and how they can break through those barriers.

 

Grades   5 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  December 1

Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus.

Students make believe that the year is 1955 and they just heard about Parks' arrest. Students write newspaper editorials with their points of view on segregation.

 

Grades   5 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  October 8

Faith Ringgold was born on October 8, 1930.

Students use Ringgold's books as a springboard for a discussion of race, gender, and civil rights, and then write and illustrate original picture books on these topics.

 

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STRATEGY GUIDES

Grades   6 – 12  |  Strategy Guide

Socratic Seminars

This strategy guide explains Socratic seminars and offers practical methods for applying the approach in your classroom to help students investigate multiple perspectives in a text.

 

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PROFESSIONAL LIBRARY

Grades   2 – 6  |  Professional Library  |  Book

Literary Discussion in the Elementary School

This book offers a rich resource for preservice and practicing teachers who want to build, extend, or enliven a program in which students explore the expanding world of children’s literature.

 

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