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http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-slam/#gsc.tab=0
Author: Walter Dean Myers
Publication Date: 1996
Genre: Fiction
Interest Level: 6-8, 9-12
Text Level: 750L, Guided Reading W, DRA 60
Brief Teaser: Life is like a game of basketball - it can be won or it can be lost. In this story, Slam, a 17 year old basketball player from Harlem, shows us eventually that there is more to his life than just basketball.
Teaching Idea: Have students read Slam! by Walter Dean Myers and have each of your students reflect on the character of Greg "Slam" Harris. Have them reflect on how his character changed throughout the story, and then ask them to write an essay about how they relate to his character.

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Author: Marilyn Nelson
Illustrator: Philippe Lardy
Publication Date: April 4th, 2005
Genre: Non-fiction
Interest Level: Grades 6-8, 9-12
Text Level: NP
Brief Teaser: A young black 14 year old boy was horribly murdered in 1955 because he allegedly whistled at a white woman. This young man's name was Emmett Till. This poem speaks out against the violence and horror of this event.
Teaching Idea: After reading this poem, have the students think about the symbolism used in this book. What is the meaning of the title, A Wreath for Emmett Till? Have the students discuss the symbolism of flowers and plants in the poem and art.
http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/readers_guides/nelson_wreath.shtml

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12 Rounds To Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali

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12 Rounds To Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/770257.Twelve_Rounds_to_GloryAuthor: Charles R. Smith Jr.
Illustrator: Bryan Collier
Publication Date: November 13th, 2017
Genre: Biography
Interest Level: Grades 3-5
Text Level: NP
Brief Teaser: Rap-inspired verses are bound to keep your attention. This story journeys through the life of Muhammad Ali, the famous boxer.
Teaching Idea: Have your students read 12 Rounds to Glory and become familiar with the story of Muhammad Ali. After reading the story, discuss with students about the genre of biographies and different way that biographies can be written. Have the students write a biography about their life.

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Author: John Lewis and Andrew Aydin
Illustrator: Nate Powell
Publication Date: August 13, 2013
Genre: Non-fiction
Interest Level: 6-8, 9-12
Text Level: DRA 60, Guided Reading W, Lexile GN760L
Brief Teaser: Who knew comic books could be educational? This graphic novel shows John Lewis's journey of becoming an activist for African American civil rights in the form of a fun comic book!
Teaching Idea: In this lesson, I would have students search for, define, and discuss slang and idioms that were used to demean Blacks. Compare and contrast these words to words used today to demean Blacks, Whites, Jews, Asians or any other “different” culture.

http://cbldf.org/2014/02/using-graphic-novels-in-education-march-book-one/

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Teaser: Even the smallest of comic strips can teach a lot about history and language! In this comic strip, Martin Luther King Jr. discusses nonviolent protests.
Teaching Idea: Use this comic strip to explain to the students about the nonviolent protests that Martin Luther King put together in the Civil Rights Movement.

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https://youtu.be/LuB5R5xWn1I
Teaser: This song is taken from an excerpt of Dr. Martin Luther King's I Have Dream speech. The catchy song makes it easy to remember the speech.
Teaching Idea: "Free At Last, Free At Last Thank God Almighty I Am Free At Last" is a line that Dr. Martin Luther King used in his "I Have a Dream Speech". Use this video as an introductory to the story I Have a Dream.

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https://www.thoughtco.com/i-have-a-dream-childrens-picture-book-627350
Author: Dr. Martin Luther King
Illustrator: Kadir Nelson
Publication Date: October 9th, 2012
Genre: Non-Fiction
Interest Level: Grades 1-2, 3-5
Text Level: 1030L
Brief Teaser: Every third Monday of January, we celebrate an important holiday called Martin Luther King Day. Many of you probably recognize this holiday because you get an extra day off of school and a long weekend, but Martin Luther King Jr. was an extremely influential figure in our country’s history. This story illustrates his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
Teaching Idea: Before reading the story, cut up excerpts from Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech and have students get into groups of 4 and analyze the excerpt. Have them look up any unfamiliar words used in their part of the speech. Then when they are finished reading the story have them get back into their groups and discuss what it was that Martin Luther King believed in.

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Author: Marilyn Nelson
Illustrator: Hadley Hooper
Publication Date: January 14th, 2014
Genre: Non-fiction
Interest Level: Grade 6-8, 9-12
Text Level: NP
Brief Teaser: Writing poetry can be a great emotional outlet. In this set of 50 poems, the author describes her life growing up in the Civil Rights era and how it affected her.
Teaching Idea: Have the students read How I Discovered Poetry and then do a lesson on poetry. Explain to the students that there are many different forms of poetry including sonnets, rhyming, haiku, prose, etc. Have the students write a 14 line poem of their own, similar to the ones written by Hadley Hooper.

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https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/books/elijah-of-buxton-by-christopher-paul-curtis/
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Publication Date: February 1st, 2009
Genre: Fiction
Interest Level: Grades 3-5, 6-8
Text Level: Guided Reading W, DRA 60
Brief Teaser: Elijah is very special. He was the very first baby to be born free in a settlement located in Buxton. Although shy, this story progresses to show us his adventurous acts of bravery.
Teaching Idea: Explain to students the different parts of literature and then have the students get into groups. Once they are in groups, have each group analyze the structure of the story, including climax, falling action, etc.
http://www.bookrags.com/lessonplan/elijah-of-buxton/lessons.html#gsc.tab=0

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https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/brown-girl-dreaming-jacqueline-woodson/1118663253
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Publication Date: August 28th, 2014
Genre: Non-fiction
Interest Level: 3-5, 6-8
Text Level: Guided Reading U, Lexile 990L, DRA 50
Brief Teaser: It was a hard time for African Americans living in America in the 1960s. This memoir tells the life of Jacqueline Woodson and how she achieved her dreams.
Teaching Idea: Comparing and contrasting Jacqueline's life in the north and her life in the south with a Venn Diagram. Have each of the students write a short paper on Jacqueline Woodson's life and how she accomplished her dreams. Once the students are done with their papers, have them edit it with the editing checklist provided in the textbook.
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ilstu/reader.action?docID=1046808&ppg=40

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https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/copper-sun-sharon-m-draper/1102122554
Author: Sharon M. Draper
Publication Date: January 1, 2008
Genre: Fiction
Interest Level: 9-12
Text Level: Lexile AD820L
Brief Teaser: Can you imagine living a happy life at home one day and then the next day you are sold to the slave trade and shipped halfway across the world? This is a story of teenage Amari losing her freedom in Africa and having to work on a plantation in America. While at this plantation, her slave owner's wife falls in love with one of the slaves and ends up having an African American child. Through the process of trying to help the slave owner's wife, Amari finds her freedom.
Teaching Idea: In this lesson, while the students are reading they will be instructed to select unfamiliar words that they think are important to comprehending the text. They will then predict the meaning of this word and confirm the meaning with the dictionary. They will then share their words in groups and discuss how these words affected the text.
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ilstu/reader.action?docID=1046808&ppg=40

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Teaser: Rosa Parks, also known as the "First Lady of Civil Rights", is famous for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger.
Teaching Idea: I would hang this poster in my classroom, and before starting to read books about the civil rights movement, I would introduce this poster. I would do a brief lesson talking about Rosa Parks and introductthe civil rights movement.

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Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Publication Date: September 14th, 2004
Genre: Fiction
Interest Level: 3-5, 6-8
Text Level: Guided Reading U, Lexile 950L, DRA 50
Brief Teaser: Can you imagine living as an orphan without your father or your mother? In this story, the main charcter, Buddy sets out on an adventure to find his father, a famous jazz player.
Teaching Idea:
From: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/teaching-content/big-ideas-bud-not-buddy/
Step 1: Identifying the theme in a novel, story, or poem can be a challenging task for many students, because usually many ideas are interwoven together.

Step 2: Introduce this lesson by telling your students they are going to be party planners. They will plan a “pretend” party of their choice and choose a theme. Brainstorm what types of possible parties they can plan such as a Hawaiian theme, 4th of July theme, Super Bowl theme, 90s theme, etc. Remind them to think about their invitation, food menu, costumes/clothing, props/decorations, and activities etc. This activity can be done independently or in groups.

Step 3: Discuss their party theme and details of their party. This should be interesting.

Step 4: Explain that themes are located everywhere (different types of music, movies) but especially in the material they read.

Step 5: Then explain that a theme in reading material is basically like the theme in their parties with many details supporting a major big idea. Tell them identifying a theme can be difficult to detect at times and they must be detectives and use clues from the story.

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Author: Rita Williams-Garcia
Publication Date: April 21st, 2015
Genre: Fiction
Interest Level: 3-5, 6-8
Text Level: DRA 50, Guided Reading V, 740L
Brief Teaser: Delphine and her siblings are off to Alabama to visit their grandmother. When in Alabama, Delphine uncovers secrets about her family that explains why her grandmother and half sister do not get along. But when tragedy hits, it shows that the family bonds run deeper than she thought.
Teaching Idea: Be a Journalist. Have students research the Black Panther movement. What aspects of the organization were covered most prominently in the media? Does their public image match Delphine’s experience with them? Ask students to write a magazine or
newspaper article (or a letter to the editor) about the Black Panthers
from Delphine’s perspective.
From: http://645e533e2058e72657e9-f9758a43fb7c33cc8adda0fd36101899.r45.cf2.rackcdn.com/teaching-guides/TG-9780062215871.pdf

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26875552-as-brave-as-you
Author: Jason Reynolds
Publication Date: May 3rd, 2016
Genre: Fiction
Interest Level: Grade 4
Text Level: 750L
Brief Teaser: What does it take to be a man? As Brave As You digs into important topics such as death, divorce, mental illness, and post traumatic stress disorder and what it takes to be a man.
Teaching Idea: Before the students begin reading As Brave as You, have the students write in a reflection journal about what they think it takes to be a man. Have them reflect on male figures in their life. Then once finishing this story, have them reflect back on their initial definition and see how their definition has changed. Have them pair and share with a partner about their journal entries.