Student Texts
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Our searchable library of short texts offers a diverse mix of stories and perspectives. This multigenre, multimedia collection aligns with the Common Core's recommendations for text complexity and the Learning for Justice Social Justice Standards.

Choose from informational and literary nonfiction texts, literature, photographs, political cartoons, interviews, infographics and more. You can also filter by text type, grade level, subject and topic.

“The leveled texts have really helped me engage students and introduce them to complex topics in a way they can understand.”

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Social Justice Domain
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278 Texts

Informational

Letter From Fanny Ward

This advertisement, published in the Southwestern Christian Advocate in 1883, was included in the "Lost Friends" section of the newspaper. Advertisements like this were published after emancipation by African Americans seeking their relatives. Families of enslaved people were often separated during enslavement. Here, Fanny Ward seeks information about her family, which was separated during slavery.
by
Fanny Ward
Grade Level
6-8
Topic
Subject
History
Social Justice Domain
September 4, 2018
Visual

S. L. Jones Searching for Relatives

This advertisement, published in the Southwestern Christian Advocate in 1883, was included in the "Lost Friends" section of the newspaper. Advertisements like this were published after emancipation by African Americans seeking their relatives. Families of enslaved people were often separated during enslavement. Here, S. L. Jones searches for his or her relatives.
by
S. L. Jones
Grade Level
6-8
Topic
Subject
History
Social Justice Domain
September 4, 2018
Multimedia

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

This performance of Swing Low Sweet Chariot is part of Nashville Public Television (NPT) and the Renaissance Center's presentation "Tennessee Civil War 150" a series of documentaries delving into life in Tennessee during the Civil War.
by
The Fisk Jubilee Singers
Grade Level
Topic
Subject
History
Social Justice Domain
December 14, 2017
Informational

Advertisement by Clarissa Reed

This advertisement, published in the Southwestern Christian Advocate in 1883, was included in the "Lost Friends" section of the newspaper. Advertisements like this were published after emancipation by African Americans seeking their relatives. Families of enslaved people were often separated during enslavement. In this advertisement, Clarissa Reed seeks her relatives.
by
Clarissa Reed
Grade Level
6-8
Topic
Subject
History
Social Justice Domain
September 4, 2018
Informational

Choices

This essay places side by side the historical oppression of African Americans in the South and the recent surge of African Americans moving back to the South of their own free will. In her discussion, Maya Angelou questions why such choices are considered remarkable.
by
Maya Angelou
Grade Level
Subject
History
Geography
Social Justice Domain
July 2, 2014