Text Set

This text set has been extremely valuable for me to compile and I am excited to share it with you. Similar to many of my colleagues, I feel that my content area (the social studies) lends itself so well to a huge diversity of texts. Exposing my students to texts that are not only from the past but also from our present is very important to me. Texts that allow students to realize connections that they may not have had before speak directly to my purpose for teaching. Texts that can be used to inspire students to make a change in their world are what I want to incorporate most in my teaching.

Text 1: Facebook. As a teacher of the social sciences, I find this tool for social interaction a text that my students can and do freely access. I argue that through Facebook (and other social media), we can see a change in the history of social interaction and significant social change. One lesson plan I wrote last semester pushes students to plan and implement a school-wide activity embracing diversity. What better way to engage their peers than through a Facebook event? I also think it is important to teach students how to use social media like Facebook with discretion and to their advantage. Not to their own or to others' disadvantage.

Text 2: The Grapes of Wrath: Film, 1940. This film is one that literally changed my study of US History. Now, I understand that the book is excellent, too, but I feel that students should learn how to analyze film and understand it in their world. This film has the potential to prove to young students that black and white movies aren't boring. :) The Grape of Wrath also contains so many political and social concepts that can be discussed as parts of this film are shown.

Text 3: The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation This graphic adaptation of the United States Constitution really is an example of many graphic adaptations, histories, or historical fictions. I have been exposed to several in my teaching and I think students can learn to read these adaptations well. Because of the digital literacy that many of our students are so skilled with, they quickly grasp the interplay between text and graphics. This skill is an important one to develop for students and I like the added ability I have to differentiate using such texts in the social studies.

Text 4: Grunt: Pigorian Chant from Snouto Domoinko de Silo I love this album! I heard a couple of these songs in a history class. These "Pigorian" chants are in PigLatin and are a humorous and engaging way to explain the concept of Gregorian chants in class, or can be used as background to group work during a unit of study.

Text 5: Too Late to Apologize: A Declaration I honestly think this text speaks for itself, however, I will elaborate. This video offers another humorous representation of a historical concept, which seems to be something that is trending. I like this one in particular because if my students laugh, I know they will understand the concept of the oppressed and over-taxed and under-represented colonists.

Text 6: Our Documents This government website is an excellent source for students and I love it as a text. The website contains 100 of the United States' "milestone" documents along with descriptions, background, photos of original documents, and of course transcriptions. All of the additional information provided allows students to really gain deeper understanding and frankly, can make my job of explaining documents as an educator in US history a little bit easier. I also appreciate the fact that included on the website is an explanation of why these 100 were the ones chosen.

Text 7: Number the Stars: Lois Lowry, 1989. The reason I like Number the Stars as a text is because it is written at a 4th grade reading level, but addresses advanced concepts. I also like this story because it is fiction and the author does a good job of relating the life of the character to young readers.

Text 8: The World Map- Maps are critically important in all of the social sciences, not just geography. This map shows a different perspective on the world than students in the United States usually see. I like it because not only does it force students to really know the world map (and I will always have a globe in my classroom, as that is the most accurate way to present the world map), but it forces students to question why this is so different from the world map they have seen their whole lives. What does it mean to have the United States and Europe at the "top" of the map all the time? Now, labeling this map as "upside-down" defeats the purpose, so I would have one in my class without that label, but you get the idea.

 Text 9: Political Cartoons in relation to current events- This political cartoon is an example of one that could be used as a text. When reading this cartoon, there are so many different things a student has to understand about current events, about the picture itself, and those being represented. Political cartoons are another opportunity to assess whether or not students grasp something by whether or not they laugh. The title of this cartoon is
"New Secret Service Detail."

Text 10: Driving Miss Daisy: Film, 1989. The reason why I like this film as a text is because it does not at any point say anything about the Civil Rights Movement explicitly. Students have to be able to read situations. One of the best scenes for portraying the violence that was going on in the South during the 1960s is when Hoke is driving Miss Daisy to her synagogue and traffic is all backed up. Hoke goes to investigate and discovers that the place of worship has been set aflame. 

Texts 11 and 12: The news. In this world of increasing polarization, it is so important for my students to be able to read and understand and have an opinion about the news. They need to understand political bias and motivations in the news and they also need to know how important it is to get their own news from a variety of sources and search out truth. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/ and http://www.foxnews.com/ can often offer different ways of telling the same story. I hope that my students can come to appreciate why the news is so important and also learn to always question. 

Text 13: The Animaniacs: Presidents, State Capitols, and Nations of the World. Now I understand that these videos are really silly. But so will my students. These texts can help students in social studies classes- legitimately- because I can use them to engage students. Not only can I engage students, but I can ask them, "If you know these were made in the 1990s, what do you notice has changed since then?" Students should then be encouraged to notice names and borders of countries in Africa in the Nations of the World video, obviously two more presidents have been in office (and maybe 3 by the time I can use these in a class). I also want to students to continue asking questions, "What underlying messages does the Presidents video support and why?" "What countries get enunciated clearly and slowly at the beginning of the Nations of the World video and which ones get rushed through near the end? Why?"

Text 14: Dr. Suess: The Lorax, The Sneetches, and The Butter Battle Book
To me, Dr. Suess is an excellent source of texts, even and I would argue especially, for older students. These three books are a few of the ones that I find particularly meaningful for the social studies classrooms. The Lorax can be used in a sociology or economics class easily and The Sneetches can be used in a US history class during a unit on the Civil Rights Movement. The Butter Battle Book offers one of the best representations I have encountered in text or in film of the Cold War and can be used in a world or US history class.

Text 15: The Right Stuff: Film, 1983. This movie is a long one, so I would only be using pieces of it in the classroom. The history of the start of the NASA space program is outlined in this film and there are great vignettes of Lyndon B. Johnson. This is again a great Cold War text.

Text 16: Go for Broke! Film, 1951. Okay, I know there seem to be a lot of movies in my text set, but I feel that they are such excellent ways for students to learn to read their world. This movie tells the story of the U.S. 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a Japanese-American Battalion of soldiers that fought in World War II. One of the biggest issues that can be discussed as a result of this film is the racial segregation of troops. This film can also accompany a sub-unit on Japanese-American internment and relocation.

Text 17: A Rumor of War: Philip Caputo, 1977.  This book is a soldier-journalist's memoirs from the Vietnam War. Used with discretion in the classroom, I think think this book can provide a really different and interesting perspective on the war. It doesn't have all of the negative commentary that other journalists from the period give, but at the same time, doesn't glorify the war. Certainly portions of this book could be used.  

Text 18: The Jungle: Upton Sinclair, 1906.  This book is another one that would have to be used with discretion, just like any source we bring into the classroom. What this book offers is not only a snapshot of late 19th and early 20th century America for an immigrant family, but it is also a piece of history in and of itself. The book was a catalyst for change in the meatpacking industry in the 20th century and it changed the way a lot of Americans viewed big businesses. 

Text 19: "Allegory of the Cave," The Republic: Plato, c. 380 BCE. Some of you may be thinking, "Isn't Plato a little advanced for our students?" My argument is simply, no. This particular piece of philosophical work can be used to teach so many concepts. Not only can we teach what an allegory is and how we see it in literature throughout history, but we can teach about power through this text. Who holds power and why? What gives power? I read this first as a junior in high school and as a class, we drew pictures representing what was going on in the text.

Text 20: ARTstor. Many of you have possibly heard of Jstor, an online resource of scholarly journal articles. ARTstor is similarly an online resource but instead of journal articles is a vast digital image library. This is an amazing resource not only for teaching, but also for students in their study of pretty much anything in my content. Images are SO important as a text in my content. 

Text 21: American Progress: John Gast, c. 1872. One of the images that I find fascinating is this one, an American propaganda painting. This painting has so many different pieces that have to be analyzed when "reading" this text that I really appreciate not only its value as a painting but the commentary it provides on majority thought during the period.

Text 22: Topography of Faith, USATODAY interactive map, 2007. This map is an important type of a text. There are so many maps that students encounter every day, and many of them include a breakdown by state. Students need to be able to interpret data and understand what maps like this represent. As an Alaskan, however, this map doesn't sit very well with me... as a student in Alaska, I was often offended that we (and Hawai'i) just got left out because we weren't a contiguous state. So I will make sure that my students realize that there are in fact two states on this map that got left out.

Text 23: This Day in History. The reason why I like "This Day in History" as a text is because it goes through some major points in the video presentation they have each day. It also allows students to click on different things that interest them (down the left hand side of the site). They can see what happened "this day in history" in music history, automotive history, Hollywood history, etc.

Text 24: The Smithsonian Institutionion This website is an excellent text. Online exhibits like this one from the  American History Museum allow for students to explore exhibits and read (in English and in Spanish!) about different artifacts. There are so many resources just from this one website that teachers and students can use.

Text 25: American Experience is probably one of my favorite historical documentary series'. PBS does a great job of telling stories accurately and interestingly. Many of the episodes are available online and can be accessed freely. One of my favorites is called "Triangle Fire."

Text 26: The Interesting Narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano, 1794. This book gives a distinctively different perspective on slavery. I like the fact that Equiano credits literacy as the one thing that really helped him gain success.

Text 27: Awakenings: Film, 1990. This is one text that I would use in a psychology class. If you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend it. Awakenings encourages students to ask questions directly related to understanding psychology and the application of the field in real situations.

Text 28: Crash Course: World History. I discovered these 14 YouTube episodes recently and pretty much fell in love with them. As far as understanding world history goes, if students can grasp everything in one of the 9 to 13 minute episodes, they really have to understand the overarching themes and concepts.

Text 29: Library of Congress I know I keep saying that I love my texts, but I really do love this text because it is a million texts in one! The Library of Congress website has prints and photographs, historic newspapers, sound recordings, film clips, and so much more. This text, like several of the others I have listed, is not just for use in a social studies classroom, but can be used all across the content areas.

Text 30: "Strange Fruit" Billie Holiday, 1939. This song is one that I think is very important. If I were to use this in a class, I would make sure to have a print-out of the lyrics for my students to read along with as I play the audio.

The moral of this story: There are SO many texts to use in the social studies and they can be found everywhere. I am more excited to be a teacher and to incorporate literacy in my classroom after having compiled this text set.