Maria Carrillo and Mili Cardenas

ECE 4403

Literature List

Fifth Grade: Key people, events, and developments between 1950- 1975.

Coles, R., & Ford, G. (2010). The Story of Ruby Bridges. New York: Scholastic. (Non-Fiction)

The book follows the life of Ruby Bridges quest for an equal education. Ruby Bridges

was one of four children selected to attend a white school, William Frantz Elementary School, in

New Orleans. Ruby Bridges and her family were grateful that she was chosen to attend the

elementary school. Ruby Bridges was escorted to her empty classroom by United States marshals

because white people protested the court order. After a year of Ruby entering first grade, two

white students joined her in the classroom because they were losing an education for opposing

the court order. Ruby Bridges persevered with her education and continued to pray for those who

hated her for trying to receive an equal education.

A teacher can utilize this book by reading the book to his/her class when starting a lesson

on Brown v. Board of Education. The students need to see how the unjust Jim Crow laws

affected children and families and how people reacted to the verdict of Brown v. Board of

Education. The book can be used as a reference for an assessment where the students will write a

paper about the actions they would take if they were in Ruby Bridges position. The book can

turn into a project where students can write letters to Mrs. Bridges.This book is compelling

because the book uncovers the injustices that occurred for a very long time.

Farris, C. K., & Soentpiet, C. K. (2013). My brother Martin: A sister remembers growing up

with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Columbus, O.H.: Zaner-Bloser. (Non-Fiction)

Christine King Farris retells the early life of her brother Martin Luther King Jr. and their

family. Martin Luther King Jr. was the second child in his immediate family. The three siblings,
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Christine, Martin, and Alfred, were very close growing up. The three children played with white

children and realized the injustices that occurred around them. Martin was influenced by both of

his parents and decided that he wanted to change the world. Years later, Martin Luther King Jr.

changed the world in ways his ancestors would have never imagined.

The book written by Christine King Farris provides a different narrative about the life of

the historical figure, Martin Luther King Jr. The book can serve as another resource for students

to use for a project about the biography of a historical figure. Also, the teacher can read the book

at the beginning of a lesson about Martin Luther King Jr. This book lets the readers learn about

how Martin Luther King Jr.s upbringing shaped the man he became and how that upbringing

influenced his leadership in the Civil Rights Movement. The book is a useful guide for students

to use during this unit.

Floca, B. (2012). Moonshot: The flight of Apollo 11. New York: Scholastic. (Non-Fiction)

The book follows the flight of the historic Apollo 11 and the historic landing on the moon

by the three American astronauts. The author lets the readers see how the astronauts prepared for

the flight. The country and NASA prepared for the historic launch of the Apollo 11. Armstrong,

Collins, and Aldrins journey was filled with excitement because they were able to land on the

moon while many people around the world watched them. The book shows the readers the

astronauts adventure back to their beloved home, Earth. The book is simply told so children can

learn about the flight to the moon.

Kittinger, J. S. (2010). Rosa's Bus. Honesdale , PA: Boyds Mills Press, Inc. (Non-Fiction)
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Bus #2857 had a crucial part in the arrest of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus

Boycott. The tale narrates about the segregated bus that ran through Montgomery, Alabama.

Rosa Parks rode Bus #2857 when she was arrested for not giving her seat to a white man. The

arrest was the last action that the black community needed to start the bus boycott. Martin Luther

King Jr. led the bus boycott which lasted for 382 days until the buses were desegregated. Bus

#2587 was forgotten for many years but a man named, Donnie Williams, restored the bus and

took the bus to the Henry Ford Museum. The bus was an instrument in the fight for equality

during the Civil Rights Movement.

The book shows a different point of view that many students have not experienced. The

book is a resource for the Civil Rights Movement and the enormous sacrifices made by Rosa

Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, and those who supported the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The

teacher can read this book when starting the Civil Rights Movement semi-unit. The teacher can

ask the students to use the book as an aid for a writing prompt. The students would write from

the perspective of the bus and describe what happened during the boycott, arrest of Rosa Parks,

and feelings the bus felt about the injustices it saw during its many rides. This book is an

excellent resource for students to learn about the different actions that made up the Civil Rights

Movement.

Krull, K., & Morales, Y. (2013). Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez. Columbus, O.H.:

Zaner-Bloser. (Non-Fiction)

Harvesting Hope narrates the life of Cesar Chavez, the struggles he faced growing up,

and the fight for better working conditions. The leader and his family were migrants who worked

and lived in different farms following the crops in California. Cesar Chavez struggled in school
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and faced discrimination by the white-only society in California. Cesar Chavez started to gather

information about the injustices in the camps and decided to start organizing. Cesar Chavez and

other farm workers organized, marched and struck with the United Farm Workers for better

working conditions in the fields. The farm workers won their fight for humane working

conditions.

The author wrote about the story of the historical figure Cesar Chavez and his journey to

fight for humane working conditions. The book provides a different perspective that is rarely

seen in the east of the United States. The book can be read at the beginning of the lesson or read

little by little each day while teaching about the Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers.

The students can use the book as a guide when researching about the migrant community in the

United States for a research project. The students would connect the struggle of the UFW and

different worker organizations that fight for better working conditions and rights. ( Examples of

current organizations fighting for better working conditions are the Coalition of Immokalee

Workers and Migrant Justice.) The students would benefit from reading this book about Cesar

Chavez and the UFW.

McWhorter, D. (2004). A dream of freedom: the civil rights movement from 1954 to

1968. New York: Scholastic. (Historical)

This book is about the historically significant events surrounding the Civil Rights

Movement from 1954, the year of Brown vs. Board of Education, to 1968 when Martin Luther

King Jr. was assassinated. The book discusses major events leading up to the Civil Rights

Movement following the end of the Civil War. Other major events highlight the book, and the
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author presents key figures, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesse Jackson, as well as lesser-

known civil rights leaders at the time.

As we work on our civil rights movement, this book can be read in class to give students

more clarity of what happened.The book goes into detail about every event and has lots of facts

that can be useful to students during research. The book also has an abundance of pictures that

will provide students with a visual of what happened as well. This book can be a resource that

the students can use to get more information for their projects. The book goes over many topics

so it can also be integrated with the social studies lesson.

Lai, T. (2013). Inside out & back again. New-York: HarperCollins. (Historical Fiction)

This novel follows the relocation and escape of a Vietnamese family during the invasion

of Saigon by North Vietnamese communists. It follows Ha and her family during her relocation

to the United States during the occupation of South Vietnam. Has mother decides to stay in

Alabama and recommends that they assimilate to American life. This is difficult as it takes some

time for her neighbors in Alabama to warm up to her family. Eventually, life becomes smoother

for Ha and her family, and they move on with their lives in America, while still remembering

their past lives left behind in Vietnam.

This book would make a great lesson for immigration. Fifth graders are old enough to

keep up with current news and what is currently going on in the world. One huge topic going on

right now is immigration. Immigration wasnt as talked about before, but it has been going on

but a while, this book can help my lesson by showing how immigration is the basis of this

country. For language arts, students can write a paper comparing how this ten-year-old compares
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to them. Even if the students were born in this country, they would still find some relation to her

because everyone goes through struggles in their lifetime.

Prentzas, G. S. (1994). Thurgood Marshall. New York: Chelsea Juniors. (Biography)

The book goes over the biography of Thurgood Marshall and his position in the civil

right movement. It goes over how he went from being a lawyer to representing the NAACP

(National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). He became known as one of the

civil right leaders for defending African-Americans who were wrongly accused. He was also

involved with the Brown v. Board of Education case. He was the first African-American

Supreme court judge.

After reading the book as a class students could reenact Thurgood marshalls journey to

become the first African American to serve on the highest court in the country as one of their

plays for our drama section. That means that they will have to research him. Each student will be

assigned a relevant persona, and they will each write down at least ten facts that were not

discussed in class about them. The students could also create a video about his life, and what it

took to become the first African American to serve on the highest court in the country. If they

create a video, they will still need to write down ten facts each since they will still get a persona

assigned.

Wiles, D. (2013). Countdown: a novel. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc. (Historical fiction)

The novel is about an 11-year-old girl named Franny Chapman and is set during the 1962

Cuban Missile Crisis. Franny is part of a military family and explores her life and relationships

during this tumultuous time in history. Children in school are taught about how to prepare for an
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attack, and there is a sense of distrust and animosity among her family and friends. Her older

sister, Jo Ellen, has become secretive and her relationship with her friend Margie begins to

deteriorate over a boy named Chris. The situation in Cuba de-escalates and Franny starts

repairing her relationships with friends and family.

Each week the students will read five chapters. At the end of the week, the students will

read their thoughts on those five chapters with the class. They will also turn in those reflections

to the teacher for a grade. As students progress through the book, different lessons will be added

on top of the reflection papers. A lesson on how to prepare for disasters will be added. Students

can go over on how to behave and what to do when there's a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, not

only at school at home as well.

Spigel, L., & Curtin, M. (1975). The Revolution wasn't televised: sixties television and social

conflict. New York: Routledge. (Period Piece)

This book follows the effects of television on social conflicts and everyday life during the

1960s. It was during this time that television was becoming more prominent in American homes

and it often was met with criticism over its influence on topics such as race, child raising,

technology, gender roles, and education. The book also studies the effects television on the

political tensions during the Vietnam War.

Television is an important part of our daily lives. Most students dont know where, how,

and why television was created. Through this lesson, students will learn about how television

played a huge part back in the 1960s. After reading the book as a whole in class, students will be

assigned a group project. Students will work on creating their own televised news. The students

can pick from a list of events provided by the teacher and recreate them. They will do research
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and write down a script that will explain the event in detailed. This book also fits in with their

science unit where students create a circuit for their television.