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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278 Texts

Informational

Remarks on Signing the Immigration Act of 1965

The Immigration Act of 1965 abolished the "country-of-origin" immigration quota system and established a system of entry based on skills and family relationships with U.S. residents. In addition to his remarks about these changes, President Johnson announced asylum for Cuban refugees.
by
Lyndon B. Johnson
Grade Level
Subject
Civics
History
Economics
Social Justice Domain
June 11, 2015
Multimedia

Dealing with depression -- through faith and acupuncture

“Esperanza is an undocumented Mexican immigrant in Compton, California. She suffers from fears and anxieties caused by her four previous deportations and her high-stress role as her family’s caregiver. Esperanza doesn’t see depression as a health problem. When she shares her struggles with a local priest, she discovers a network of support that ranges from her compadres to a free clinic.”
by
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Grade Level
Subject
History
Social Justice Domain
June 26, 2019
Informational

“We Lived in a Bubble”

Elizabeth MacQueen is the sculptor of Four Spirits, a monument built to memorialize the four girls killed in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. In her memoir, she discusses how the project revealed to her how sheltered she had been as a child growing up in Birmingham.
by
Elizabeth MacQueen
Grade Level
Subject
History
Social Justice Domain
November 18, 2014
Informational

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas

Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the opinion for Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, a groundbreaking case that overturned the "separate but equal" standard set forth in Plessy v. Ferguson. The Supreme Court decided this case unanimously on May 17, 1954.
by
Earl Warren
Grade Level
Subject
Civics
History
Social Justice Domain
July 2, 2014