Literature as a Catalyst for Social Action: Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges

Lesson Plans

Student Interactives

Calendar Activities

Professional Library

 

LESSON PLANS

Grades   3 – 5  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

Critical Perspectives: Reading and Writing About Slavery

Students critically explore the moral issue of slavery through reading fiction and nonfiction children's literature about the Underground Railroad, and they extend their understanding through creative writing projects.

 

Grades   4 – 7  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

Boars and Baseball: Making Connections

In this lesson, students will make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections after reading In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. After sharing and discussing connections, students choose and plan a project that makes a personal connection to the text.

 

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STUDENT INTERACTIVES

Grades   K – 12  |  Student Interactive  |  Organizing & Summarizing

Story Map

The Story Map interactive is designed to assist students in prewriting and postreading activities by focusing on the key elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution.

 

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   7 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  April 9

In 1939, Marian Anderson was denied permission to sing at Constitution Hall.

Students view Eleanor Roosevelt's resignation letter to the DAR in response to Andersen being denied permission to sing. Students write a letter to a newspaper editor about social injustice.

 

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.

 

Grades   3 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  January 23

Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in the US to earn a MD degree in 1849.

"Famous Firsts" are researched by students, followed by small group research and multimedia presentations to report research results.

 

Grades   7 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  January 31

Jackie Robinson was born on this day in 1919.

Students read messages sent to the White House from Jackie Robinson and discuss his role as an athlete and a civil rights activist, as well as the role of athletes in society.

 

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.

 

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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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