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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343 Texts

Literature

Life in the Iron Mills

This short story—acclaimed as one of the earliest examples of American realism—paints a bleak picture of industrial workers' lives in the mid-1800s.
by
Rebecca Harding Davis
Grade Level
Topic
Subject
History
Social Justice Domain
July 7, 2014
Informational

1947: Jackie Robinson Integrates Baseball

Suzanne Bilyeu details how Jackie Robinson's gift for playing ball eventually united a team of 30 men and gave hope to hundreds of thousands of African Americans. These feats came at a great cost to Robinson physically, mentally and emotionally as he endured hate and hardships on and off the field
by
Suzanne Bilyeu
Grade Level
Subject
History
Social Justice Domain
July 7, 2014
Informational

Una Vida de Esperanza

In this interview, Luis Rodriguez describes how the systemic demoralization he faced in school and society at a young age drove him to join a street gang and how writing his book, Always Running, was an attempt to call his son and other young people in similar situations to change their lives.
by
Luis Rodriguez and Sara Bullard
Grade Level
Subject
Civics
Social Justice Domain
June 20, 2016
Informational

Judgement of the Supreme Court of the United States in Plessy v. Ferguson

In the matter of Plessy v. Ferguson, the United States Supreme Court upheld practices that perpetuated Jim Crow segregation, declaring that “separate but equal” accommodations were legal. Nearly 60 years later, the Court overturned the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
by
Mr. Justice Brown and Mr. Justice Harlan
Grade Level
Subject
Civics
History
Social Justice Domain
March 3, 2016