Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca.
In this role play students analyze who is to blame for the illegal, mass deportations of Mexican Americans and immigrants during the Great Depression.
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Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 9 pages.
Students are invited to solve a mystery, using historical clues, about the real story of the Draft Riots.
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Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 10 pages.
This role play activity on the famous 1892 Homestead Strike, explores the possibility of solidarity among workers of very different backgrounds and at different levels in the workplace hierarchy.
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Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools. 5 pages.
A trial role play helps students reflect on responsibility for the deaths of Irish peasants during the so-called potato famine.
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Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond.
Role play on the 1912 Bread and Roses strike in Lawrence, Mass.
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Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson. Rethinking Schools. 4 pages.
Using photographs to spark creative writing and critical thinking about child labor issues and social justice.
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Teaching Activity. By WorldOregon's Young Leaders in Action.
In this role-play, students explore the challenges and perspectives of people — climate refugees — who have "no option except escape" from homes devastated by climate change.
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Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools. 3 pages.
Discussion questions and teaching ideas for examining the history of the Pledge of Allegiance and the political milieu in which it was written.
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Teaching Activity. By Moé Yonamine. Rethinking Schools. 18 pages.
Poetry, photography, and text are used in this role play to teach about the seldom told history of Japanese Latin American internment during WWII.
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Teaching Activity. By Rosemarie Frascella. Rethinking Schools.
Our extractive fossil fuel-based economy has always demanded that some people’s homes and health be sacrificed for the benefit of more privileged and powerful others. This article explores how one teacher engages her students in thinking about how “sacrifice zones” play out in their lives.
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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.
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Teaching Guide. Edited by Catherine Sunshine and Keith Warner. 2005. 240 pages.
Literature and essays about Caribbean life in the United States.
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Teaching Guide. By Bill Bigelow. 2006. 160 pages. Rethinking Schools.
Lessons for teaching about the history of U.S.–Mexico relations and current border and immigration issues.
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Teaching Guide. By The National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. 2004. 320 pages.
Lessons on immigration, labor, and organizing for high school and adult education.
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Picture book. Written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh. 2013. 32 pages.
An age-appropriate story that brings to light the hardship and struggles faced by thousands of families crossing the border.
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Picture book. By Jorge Argueta. Illustrated by Alfonso Ruano. 2016. 36 pages.
Poems written in Spanish and English address the struggles of child refugees fleeing Central America for the United States. Grade 2+.
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Book — Non-fiction. By Elizabeth Martinez. 2007. 899 illustrations.
Stories and photos of Chicana/Mexican-American women in politics, labor, art, health, and more.
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Book — Non-fiction. By Elizabeth Martinez. 1991 (2nd Edition).
Chicano history as told through hundreds of pictures and bilingual text.
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Book — Historical fiction. By Donna Jo Napoli. 2010. 288 pages.
Historical fiction for young adults based on the true story of the lynching of Italian Americans in late 19th century Louisiana.
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Book — Non-fiction. By Russell Freedman. 2014. 96 pages.
An account of Angel Island, California, the entry point for one million Asian immigrants in the early 20th century.
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Book — Non-fiction. By Kelly Lytle Hernández. 2022. 384 pages.
Taking readers to the frontlines of the magonista uprising and the counterinsurgency campaign that failed to stop them, Kelly Lytle Hernández puts the magonista revolt at the heart of U.S. history.
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Book — Fiction. By Edwidge Danticat. 2004. 192 pages.
A riveting novel detailing the struggles of a young Haitian girl as she adjusts to life in New York.
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Book — Fiction. By Marie Raphael. 2007. 217 pages.
Historical fiction about the life of the Irish in New York City at the beginning of the 20th century for ages 12+.
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Book — Non-fiction. By Bruce Watson. 2006. 352 pages.
The riveting story of one of the most remarkable strikes in U.S. history.
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Book — Fiction. By Katherine Paterson. 2006. 275 pages.
Moving young adult historical-fiction novel based on a major strike in Lawrence, Mass., in 1912.
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