American History

Essential Question

How does American History influence our lives?

Texts

Informational

Always Running

In this excerpt from his memoir, Rodriguez provides a stirring recollection from his adolescence: the first time he experienced racism as a result of being an immigrant in America. As he says, the experience "stays with [him] like a foul odor."

Luis J. Rodriguez

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

Topic

Class Immigration

July 2, 2014

Literature

Echoes

You can see, hear, feel, and taste the injustice, frustration, and naiveté experienced at this ladies' get together.

Pat Mora

Grade Level

6-8

Topic

Class Immigration

July 3, 2014

Literature

We Live By What We See at Night

In this poem, the speaker addresses his father, recalling for him the lush Puerto Rican landscape that he grew up in. Now, this green can be seen only in his father's dreams.

Martin Espada

Grade Level

3-5 6-8

Subject

Geography

Topic

Immigration

July 3, 2014

Informational

Families

This excerpt explains that families are defined by love, caring and sharing, not the number or gender of its members.

Ann Morris

Grade Level

K-2 3-5 6-8

Topic

Religion Class Immigration

November 7, 2014

Teaching Strategies

Close and Critical Reading

Reading Against the Grain

In reading against the grain students analyze the dominant reading of a text and engage in alternative or "resistant" readings. Resistant readings scrutinize the beliefs and attitudes that typically go unexamined in a text, drawing attention to the gaps, silences and contradictions.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

RL.6-12.1, RL.6-12.2, RL.6-12.6, RI.6-12.1, RI.6-12.2, RI.6-12.6

July 19, 2014

Close and Critical Reading

Text-Dependent Questions

Readers must refer back to the central text to answer text-dependent questions and provide evidence from the reading to support their answers. Students provide accurate, relevant and complete evidence. To do this well, students will often need to re-read the text several times. This approach privileges the text over prior knowledge, personal experience and pre-reading activities.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

RL.6-12.1, RL.6-12.2, RL.6-12.4, RL.6-12.5, RL.6-12.6, RI.6-12.1, RI.6-12.2, RI.6-12.3, RI.6-12.4, RI.6-12.6

July 19, 2014

Student Tasks

Write to the Source

Are You Convinced?

Are You Convinced? asks students to demonstrate their argumentative and evaluative writing skills.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

W.6-12.1, W.6-12.4, W.6-12.9

July 19, 2014

Write to the Source

I'll Be the Judge

I’ll be the Judge asks students to demonstrate their argumentative and comparative writing skills.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

W.6-12.1, W.6-12.4, W.6-12.9

July 19, 2014

Plan Built By

Treedwards17

American History

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