With the emphasis on the Common Core Standards coming down the pipeline, I've been on the lookout for good nonfiction to use for read aloud time, as well as literature that can be used across the disciplines. Here are a few I've read to the class in recent weeks that specifically address social studies:
And here are the children's learnings we charted after reading: A third book that made quite an impression on the class this month was Jane Yolen's Encounter, a retelling of Christopher Columbus's landing in the Americas told from the perspective of one of the natives. I first showed the class a cute, brief video that rehashed the general details that everyone is familiar with in terms of the historical context of Columbus Day. Then as we settled down to read Encounter, I made a point of explaining to my students that the way we view events in history depends a lot on a person's point of view. In this case, the young native boy who tells the story about Europeans coming and taking away his people's land and culture tells his side of the story in a very tragic way. The story is quite poignant, told in a lyrical style, and great for teaching students the literary concept of point of view. As one of the boys in my class declared after we had finished and were heading out to P.E., "Ms. Long, that story was sooo sad!" (After this comment, I did make a mental note to read something humorous the next day.)
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