[MOSAIC] novels & social studies

[Feix, Susan]

I just sent a test.  Technical difficulty here, so I'll try again.

I am a 6th grade reading teacher in Kentucky, and I have been teaching
for many years.  Novels are a great way to relate to social issues.  I
have used many in the past.  Although I certainly have not used all of
these, I think they would be effective for a particular purpose.

*** "Weedflower" - deals with the Japanese internments during WII

**** "Yellow Star" - beautiful story dealing with a young Jewish girl
and her family in the Lodz ghetto in Poland.  Poetry form.  Based on a
true story.

"Across Five Aprils" - Civil War

"Aleutian Sparrow" - Aleutian islander during WWII in American
internment camp- to protect from invading Japanese

"Amos Fortune" - 18th century African prince brought to America

"Bat 6" - deals with girls on a softball team during WWII concerning
Japanese prejudice

** "Becoming Naomi Leon" - California/Mexican connection

"The Birchbark House" - perils for Native American in the Lake Superior
region in 1847

*** "A Break With Charity" - great account of the Salem Witch Trials

"Bull Run" - account of Civil War from many perspectives

** "Hattie Big Sky" - beautiful story of a young girl who goes to
homestead in Montana in 1918, reference to prejudice of Germans during
WWI 

** "Canyons" - action packed novel dealing with Apache/Government
interaction in the mid 1800s

*** "Code Talker" - great story of Navajo history with particular
emphasis on their instrumental involvement in WWII

**** "Day of Tears" - strong story of the largest slave sale in history

*** "Eyes of the Emperor" - Japanese-American soldiers train K-9 units
to hunt Japanese during WWII

"The Fighting Ground" - young boy in the Revolutionary War

"Gideon" - Warsaw ghetto - WWII

* "Hear the Wind Blow" - children travel during the final days of the
Civil in search of their mother

*** "Hoot" - environmental issue with nesting owls

*** "Flush" - environmental issue with dumping waste into the ocean

* "A House of Tailors" - German immigrants to America in 1871

* "The Island of Bird Street" - Warsaw ghetto - WWII

"Jacob's Rescue" - Jewish survival - WWII

"Many Thousand Gone" - black slaves journey to freedom on the
underground railroad

*** "Milkweed" - story of a young smuggler in the Warsaw ghetto during
WWII

"A Month of Seven Days" - Yankee invasion of Georgia during the Civil
War

"Moon Over Tennessee" - Tennessee boy and his father go to join
Confederate forces

*** Music From a Place Called Half Moon" - great present day story
dealing with Native American prejudice

"Night Crossing" - family of Jews escaping from Austria into Switzerland
during WWII

* "Nightjohn" - great story describing the brutal lives of slaves

**"Nory Ryan's Song - survival during Ireland's potato blight in 1845

*** "Number the Stars" - Jewish survival in Denmark during WWII

* "The River Between Us" - racial issues of the Civil War connected to a
future time

"Saturnalia" - interesting account of trying to enslave a Native
American

"Seedfolks" - group of people from varying backgrounds work together to
produce a garden

" Sign of the Beaver" - young pioneer boy helped by a Native American 

* "Soldier's Heart" - boy's realization of the tragedy of war - Civil
War

** "Sing Down the Moon" - Native American story of survival

"Steal Away" - journey of two 13-year-old slaves as they escape to the
north

"Three Against the Tide" - Civil War - after the death of their mother,
two young children leave their plantation to find their father

" The Truth About Sparrows" - during the drought in Missouri in 1933, a
family moves to Texas to survive

** "The Watson's Go To Birmingham" - containing the account of the
church bombing in Birmingham in 1963

"Witness" - small Vermont town in 1920's - KKK trying to infiltrate the
town


* - Denotes my favorites - the more * - the more I liked the book


Mildred Taylor is an excellent author and gives a true picture of the
plight of the African Americans.  

Of course, if you choose non-fiction material, Russell Freedman, Susan
Bartoletti and Jim Murphy are some of the best for this age group.

Hope this helps,
Susan

-----Original Message-----
From: mosaic-bounces at literacyworkshop.org
[mailto:mosaic-bounces at literacyworkshop.org] On Behalf Of Ruth Devoll
Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2007 3:03 PM
To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group
Subject: [MOSAIC] novels & social studies


I have a friend that teaches sixth grade in Texas.
she writes to me that:

I try to connect novels that we read to our social studies unit.
I use several for WWII.  I use a couple for the study of the major
religions, which is the first 6 weeks.
I coud use some new  books for the religion study, as "Number the Stars"
and "The Devil's Arithematic"  can overlap into tthe WWII study.

Also, I could use  a novel for Africa.   Australia/NewZealand  is our
Oceania study and I could use something.

Any suggestions out there?????????
Thanks,

Ruth DeVoll
Title One
Lawrence Elementary
Mesquite, Tx
________________________________________

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