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"We Knew That the Role of the Police Was to Protect White Supremacy"
Informational Article
Diverse Text

3rd Text: This article follows Angela Davis as she discusses police brutality, peaceful protests of recent events, living as an activist for POC, and her life as a young girl under racial segregation. She talks about growing up in Alabama during the Civil Rights Era, how to be anti-racist, and violence vs. peace when it comes to racism. I chose to use this article last because it is a little more difficult to comprehend and will require some foundational knowledge before jumping into it. It is really powerful and shows a great perspective on the racial injustices that have happened recently and throughout history in the U.S.

Question: Angela Davis says that she is feeling hopeful after the past peaceful protests. Are you feeling hopeful to? Why or why not?

Aspects of Difficulty:
Vocabulary- There is a lot of unknown vocabulary in this article. Some students may be familiar, but most would not be. I would have the students read through/skim the article and circle any words that they are unsure of, then I would go over these difficult words so they can understand the reading.
Sentence Structure- Sentences in this article had a lot of different structures and some that 4th graders may not be used to seeing everyday. I would address this by having students highlight sentences that are confusing to them and explaining them.
Word Count- This article has 998 words in it. I might cut it down or have the students read it in sections so they can focus on what they're reading and comprehend it all.

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Fictional Picture Book
Diverse Text

1st Text: This book is a picture book that follows a child around while narrating their thoughts. The child is exposed to racial injustices and police brutalities but is told by her parent, "It's okay we don't see color". The book continues to describe why people of color are important and why we should notice these events happening. The book discusses how racism is a problem and our society can only deal with it once we choose to look at it. I would read this first because it directly covers human rights and racial injustices but presents it in an engaging way that will keep the interest of students.

Question: Why do you think the adults in the story were ignoring the problems?

Aspects of Difficulty:
Background knowledge- the book explains a lot of difficult topics to grasp that deal with racism. Unfortunately, many students may not relate to the incidents that take place, but almost all have been exposed to them.

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Non-Print Based Text
Diverse Text

2nd Text: This Ted Talk is given by a young individual explaining how he has been victimized due to his skin color. This Ted Talk discusses the Black Lives Matter movement versus the All Lives Matter Movement. It also explains how anyone can work to bring awareness to racial injustices and racism in our world and country. I would use this as the second text because it helps explain and bring a real world individual's perspective on topics explained in the first reading.

Questions: What connections do you see between Ellis Fearon and situations that happened in "Not My Idea"? How can you advocate more against racism?

Aspects of Difficulty:
Vocabulary: There are certain acronyms such as BLM (Black Lives Matter) that are used in this video that students may not fully understand. To combat this I would go over certain words that may be used and needed to understand this text better.

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Why Black Lives Matter NOW | Ellis Fearon | TEDxYouth@AEL

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2020 was a year full of racial injustices and tough conversations. Many students found themselves in the midst of these situations or conversations. Some students unfortunately relate to the committed racial injustices and are exposed far too often to racism. This is a text set that will help students understand the events of the world around them and emphasize that racism is not tolerated.

For the 4th grade, there is one standard that the text set focuses on. Participation and Deliberation: Applying Civic Virtues and Democratic Processes SS.CV.3.4: Identify core civic virtues (such as honesty, mutual respect, cooperation, and attentiveness to multiple perspectives) and democratic principles (such as equality, freedom, liberty, and respect for individual rights) that guide our state and nation. This standard requires students to distinguish human rights of individuals.