The Truth About Helen Keller
Article. By Ruth Shagoury.
A review of children's picture books about the life of Helen Keller reveals the omission of any description of her active role in key social movements of the 20th century.
Continue reading
A review of children's picture books about the life of Helen Keller reveals the omission of any description of her active role in key social movements of the 20th century.
Re-examining the Revolution
Background Reading. By Ray Raphael. 7 pages.
Based on his book Founding Myths, Raphael critiques the textbook portrayal of the American Revolution. The textbooks say that "a few special people forged American freedom" which "misrepresents, and even contradicts, the spirit of the American Revolution."
Continue reading
Based on his book Founding Myths, Raphael critiques the textbook portrayal of the American Revolution. The textbooks say that "a few special people forged American freedom" which "misrepresents, and even contradicts, the spirit of the American Revolution."
American Indians in Children’s Literature
Website. By Debbie Reese.
Critical perspectives of Indigenous peoples in children's books, the school curriculum, popular culture, and society-at-large.
Continue reading
A Lesson on the Japanese American Internment
Teaching Activity. By Mark Sweeting. Rethinking Schools. 4 pages.
How one teacher engaged his students in a critical examination of the language used in textbooks to describe the internment.
Continue reading
How one teacher engaged his students in a critical examination of the language used in textbooks to describe the internment.
Presidents and the Enslaved: Helping Students Find the Truth
Teaching Activity. By Bob Peterson. Rethinking Schools. 7 pages.
How a 5th grade teacher and his students conducted research to answer the question: “Which presidents owned people?” Available in Spanish.
Continue reading
How a 5th grade teacher and his students conducted research to answer the question: “Which presidents owned people?” Available in Spanish.
Testing, Tracking, and Toeing the Line: A Role Play on the Origins of the Modern High School
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools. 13 pages.
A role play on the origins of the modern high school allows students to question aspects of schooling they often take for granted, such as tracking (“ability grouping”) and standardized testing — and to reflect on the racial biases of these so-called reforms.
Continue reading
A role play on the origins of the modern high school allows students to question aspects of schooling they often take for granted, such as tracking (“ability grouping”) and standardized testing — and to reflect on the racial biases of these so-called reforms.
The Politics of Children’s Literature: What’s Wrong with the Rosa Parks Myth
Article. By Herbert Kohl. Rethinking Schools.
A critical analysis that challenges the myths in children's books about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Continue reading
A critical analysis that challenges the myths in children's books about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Daughter of Earth: Reading, Writing, and Social Class
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 7 pages.
Students read a poignant excerpt from Agnes Smedley's novel, Daughter of Earth, and use it to think and write about how schooling—their own included—teaches lessons about social class.
Continue reading
Students read a poignant excerpt from Agnes Smedley's novel, Daughter of Earth, and use it to think and write about how schooling—their own included—teaches lessons about social class.
Walkout
Film. Produced by Moctesuma Esparza. 2006. 111 minutes.
Walkout tells the true story of the Chicano students of East L.A., who in 1968 staged several dramatic walkouts in their high schools to protest academic prejudice and dire school conditions.
Continue reading
Walkout tells the true story of the Chicano students of East L.A., who in 1968 staged several dramatic walkouts in their high schools to protest academic prejudice and dire school conditions.
Pump Up the Blowouts: Reflections on the 40th Anniversary of the Chicano/a School Blowouts
Teaching Activity. By Gilda L. Ochoa. Rethinking Schools. 5 pages.
Reflections on teaching students about the 1968 walkouts by Chicano students in California.
Continue reading
Reflections on teaching students about the 1968 walkouts by Chicano students in California.