Summary: This book has information about the Women's Suffrage movement. It has pictures, facts and a timeline. The book is seperated into different sections and discusses important figure, shows a timeline of events and then goes over the gist of the history behind this movement.

Theme Connection: Women getting the right to vote created a more diverse voter outcome and and later, a more diverse government. This movement helped to make women heard more in society and bring them more into the world and not just in the home for the time. Seneca Falls was held in NY and the major convention that is known for the Women's Suffrage movement. By discussing women fighting for their rights and discussing the significance of a fmaous event held in NYS, the students are learning about the diversity of our government and society in regards to gender, as well as significant NYS events in history.

Complexity: This book is full of a lot of crucial information in regards to Women's Suffrage.

Instructional Uses: Students will write a brochure to highlight the key details of the women's suffrage movement. They will have a section for important people, a section for the timeline presented in the book and a section for important facts which they will bullet. The students will also add in a bonus section to discuss Seneca Falls in a brief paragraph.

Summary: This book is full hostorical facts, documents, images, and a timeline to present to the reader all of the amazing information connected this large group of Native Americans. It answers many questions and discusses many topics regarding the Irquois.

Theme Connection:  The Iroquois were one of the two major groups of Native Americans that lived in the NY area. Due to their diverse culture and influence on this state, it is crucial to acknowledge them as a diverse group that has a rich culture.

Complexity: Much like the Algonquin website, this book is full of facts about the Iroquois and be hard to follow if one does not read carefully. There are also content specific words relating to the Iroquois that can seem confusing if misinterpreted or not explained properly.

Instructional Uses: As part of the lesson for NYS Native Americans, students will focus on both the Algonquin and Iroquois tribes. After filling out graphic organizers for both, children will then take this information and write a compare and contrast essay between the two groups. The students will also use this information to create a poster board to present their facts with the help of visuals. Students will present this assignment plus other projects in this Theme during our classroom diversity fair where they will invite students of other classes/grades, faculty and friends/family to come in to see their work.

Summary: This is a kid friendly book designed to explain the most imortant information in regards to Ellis Island. Through pictures, documents and other interesting information presented in the text, students can read and learn about the place that a large portion of the country has connections to.

Theme Connection: Ellis Island was a place where many diverse groups came over by ship to enter a fulfilling new life in America. This place saw various types of groups of people, each with their own unique story and reason behind coming to America. 

Complexity: This text is full of information but on the easier side for 4th graders to easily follow and pick up a lot of amazing information about Ellis Island.

Instructional Uses: Students will read over the information in this text and another informational text and be given a writing prompt. They will try to convince other immigrants to come over to America and come through Ellis Island. Almost like a travel guide, they will explain all of the great things that can come from being processed throough Ellis Island and traveling like any future American would.

Summary: This book has information all about the good and the bad behind Ellis Island. It gives a lot of interesting facts about the major immigration processing center and helps the reader to fully learn more about the Ellis Island experience.

Theme Connection: Ellis Island was a place where many diverse groups came over by ship to enter a fulfilling new life in America. This place saw various types of groups of people, each with their own unique story and reason behind coming to America. 

Complexity: This informational tradebook is full of information about Ellis Island. Recommended for grades 3-5 and a level Q, this seems like the perfect book for someone exactly at the grade 4 reading level. Students on the lower end of the reading scale may need extra scaffolding from the teacher in the process of reading.

Instructional Uses: Students will read over the information in this text and another informational text and be given a writing prompt. They will try to convince other immigrants to come over to America and come through Ellis Island. Almost like a travel guide, they will explain all of the great things that can come from being processed throough Ellis Island and traveling like any future American would.

Theme Connection: Seneca Falls is not only a major event in NYS history but also in American history. This event brought both men and women together to discuss and fight for a cause to help women be heard and be apart of the United States government. The movement for Women's Suffrage was a major turning point in allowing women to have a voice in a society that expected them to be complacent and obey their husbands. Seneca Falls is noted as one of the earliest events of this movement and was a major turning point.

Complexity: This article is very in-depth about the event and all the components surrounding it. Although it may not seem complex for a older reader, this text is still quite a complex for a 4th grader and may require some close reading/ scaffolding. There are also a lot of major figures metioned throughout the piece, which may be confusing to remember.

Instructional Uses: As a class, we will read this article together and make sure the students understand the text. I will go over any questions with the students. The students will then use this article to help them with their brochure. This will be an especially helpful tool for the Seneca Falls section of the brochure.

Summary: This is a website full of facts and history reated to the Algonquin Native Americans. It is separated into questions and keeps the information very sort and to the point which is great since it has so much infromation to look over!

Theme Connection: The Algonquin were one of the two major groups of Native Americans that lived in the NY area. Due to their diverse culture and influence on this state, it is crucial to acknowledge them as a diverse group that has a rich culture.

Complexity: Although very straight forward and to the point, this text does unload A LOT of information onto the reader. There is some vocabulary specific to the content of the Algonquin tribe and may cause some confusion if not explained or if misinterpreted.

Instructional Uses: As part of the lesson for NYS Native Americans, students will focus on both the Algonquin and Iroquois tribes. After filling out graphic organizers for both, children will then take this information and write a compare and contrast essay between the two groups. The students will also use this information to create a poster board to present their facts with the help of visuals. Students will present this assignment plus other projects in this Theme during our classroom diversity fair where they will invite students of other classes/grades, faculty and friends/family to come in to see their work.

Summary: With a description of all the great successes waiting for African Americans up North, this article, written by a man of color, persuades the reader about the multiple benefits of blacks moving out of the south and the future this holds for the African American. In comparison to the anti-rhetoric of the articles written by white americans, this one explains all the positive outcomes for the African Americans in places throughout America and the bright futures they could have.

Complexity: This text is meant for much higher readers so it would need a lot of scaffolding in terms of vocabulary. Words and phrases such as negro, Divinity, grave fears, hitherto, etc. may cause some confusion in the reading. I will look through the extensive article and create a helpful word list with definitions for the words that I think the students may find difficult. I will also give the students sets of dictionaries to use if theres a word not included on the list that they need help understanding. We will also spend some time discussing what was in the article to clear up any misconceptions or confusions. 

Instructional Uses: As an explanatory writing piece, students will take the two viewpoints of the white Americans and the African Americans of this time. They will read articles with their opinions and concerns and then write their own newspaper article explaining the information they read in the original articles. The students will sent out their classroom newspaper to the other 4th grade classes, publish it on the school website and display it for guests at the diversity fair.

Summary: This is a webpage that is connected to the Ellis Island museum. This foundation wanted to store pieces of this important history in this website by interviewing any remaining immigrants that went through Ellis Island. There are over 1900 oral interviews from actual immigrants that passed throuhg Ellis Island on their way to America.

Theme Connection: Each immigrant has their own unique story. These oral histories allow us to hear thier stories from years to come and listen to their personal experiences. These stories are important becasue they helped to shape the diverse place that is America.

Complexity: Overall, this page is easy for a 4th grader to decipher. The students will be listening to assigned recordings so I would suggest they take notes for their assignment.

Instructional Uses: I would have the students write a narrative story based on the story that they just heard. They would make it look like a picture book and have both the story written with images to support it. Not only will they be able to share this story with their guests at the diversity event, but they will also be allowed to travel to classrooms of younger grades (with permission from those teachers) to read aloud their story to the class.

Summary: Duke Ellington was one of the many famous jazz musicians during the Harlem Renaissance. This is one example of the the type of music he composed. 

Theme Connection: When learning about different groups of people, it is important to look at the contributions made by the significant figures of that time. 

Complexity: This is a very simple text as students will just be listening to the audio of this musicians music.

Instructional Uses: For my unit on the Harlem Renaissance I will create small group stations for the students to travel to with their table groups and work on each activity. The groups will be based around the different types of art displayed in the Harlem Renaissance. For this specific musical group, students will listen to the music they are given and then create paintings based on how the music made them feel or what they feel best depicts each song. They will then write a small paragraph describing why they made their paintings the way that they did. They will display their work at the diversity fair, as well as having them displayed outside the classroom afterwards.

Summary: Louis Armstrong was a famous jazz musician during the Harlem Renaissance. This is one of the many songs he contributed to jazz music and diplays the type of music that he made.

Theme Connection: When learning about different groups of people, it is important to look at the contributions made by the significant figures of that time. 

Complexity: This is a very simple text as students will just be listening to the audio of this musicians music.

Instructional Uses: For my unit on the Harlem Renaissance I will create small group stations for the students to travel to with their table groups and work on each activity. The groups will be based around the different types of art displayed in the Harlem Renaissance. For this specific musical group, students will listen to the music they are given and then create paintings based on how the music made them feel or what they feel best depicts each song. They will then write a small paragraph describing why they made their paintings the way that they did.They will display their work at the diversity fair, as well as having them displayed outside the classroom afterwards

Summary: This is a recording of Langston Hughes reciting his famous poem, I, Too. It is a poem portraying how he also feels that he contributes to American culture even though he may be seen as  race that is considered lesser than. This piece also makes references to certain situation black slaves had to face and the struggle blacks may face during the period of the Harlem Renaissance.

Theme Connection: When learning about different groups of people, it is important to look at the contributions made by the significant figures of that time. This piece specifically describes the viewpoint many African Americans had during this time. 

Complexity: The vocabulary is simple for 4th grade but students must decipher the message of the piece. Although fairly short, students tend to have a hard time with poetry so it is crucial they listen very carefully and may need to listen a few time.

Instructional Uses: For my unit on the Harlem Renaissance I will create small group stations for the students to travel to wiht their table groups and work on each activity. The groups will be based around the different types of art displayed in the Harlem Renaissance. For this piece, I would like the students to decipher the message that Langston Hughes is trying to portray in his poem. Students will then find 2 details from the poem (may need to relisten) to support their claim.

Summary: This a map using arrows to show the routes people took and the places they may have migrated to call home during The Great Migration. This is just a map for the early 1900s ending in 1930 and shows a small piece of the migration up North.

Theme Connection: Students will use this map to better understand the movement of the groups from the South to the North. The show where most people came from and where they ended up and the routes they typically took to get there. 

Complexity: Students must again use the key to decipher each pathway and that although this is depicted, the paths aren't concrete for every families story.

Instructional Uses: This map will be shown along with the other Great Migration map after reading The Great Migration by Jacob Lawrence. This lesson will help to introduce the Great Migration and the idea of African Americans migrating North so we can slide into our unit on Harlem.

Summary: This is a video of Count Bassie, a famous pianist from the Harlem Renaissance, playing his song, Bassie Boogie.

Theme Connection: When learning about different groups of people, it is important to look at the contributions made by the significant figures of that time. 

Complexity: This is a very simple text as students will be listening and watching this musicians play his music.

Instructional Uses: For my unit on the Harlem Renaissance I will create small group stations for the students to travel to with their table groups and work on each activity. The groups will be based around the different types of art displayed in the Harlem Renaissance. For this specific musical group, students will listen to the music they are given and then create paintings based on how the music made them feel or what they feel best depicts each song. They will then write a small paragraph describing why they made their paintings the way that they did. They will display their work at the diversity fair, as well as having them displayed outside the classroom afterwards

Summary: This is a brief video descibing the ins and outs of Ellis Island and what it was like to be processed there. Through pictures and explanation, the viewer is taken through the process that immigrants had to deal with and the lengths they went to get into America. 

Theme Connection: Ellis Island was the center for the start of American for many diverse groups of people. These various types of people came here for a new beginning and this was the place where they first step foot onto American soil with the intention of staying.

Complexity: This video is fairly straight forward and does a pretty good job at explaining any vocabulary that may seem confusing (e.g. trachoma). Although there is alot of information, it does not seem too difficult as it will be used as an introduction.

Instructional Uses: This video will be used as a introduction for Ellis Island. After reading the book Coming to America, I will explain to the students that we will be learning more about Ellis Island and show them this video that explains all the basic information. 

Summary: In relation to the Great Migration and the viewpoints of white people from the south, the south was growing more annoyed at the thought of the blacks moving up North and leaving behind a multitude of jobs that are now not filled. They felt as though it was an attack on their economy and way of living. 

Theme Connection: When studying different groups of people and their movements, it is always important to look at the different viewpoints of other groups and how they thought of the movement in the groups from the outsiders viewpoint.

Complexity: There are some vocabulary words that they may not know the meaning such as negro, exodus, and labrorer. They may also need help understanding the geogrpahy of the places mentioned.

Instructional Uses: As an explanatory writing piece, students will take the two viewpoints of the white Americans and the African Americans of this time. They will read articles with their opinions and concerns and then write their own newspaper article explaining the information they read in the original articles. The students will sent out their classroom newspaper to the other 4th grade classes, publish it on the school website and display it for guests at the diversity fair.

Summary: This is an aritcle that discusses the souths (mainly the white south) disapproval of the incresingly immense departure of African Americans to the North. They see it as an attack on their economy and seem to think that only the unfit workers are staying in the south.

Theme Connection: When studying different groups of people and their movements, it is always important to look at the different viewpoints of other groups and how they thought of the movement in the groups from the outsiders viewpoint.

Complexity: This is a short article but does use words such as negro, spasmodic, deceived, thrifty and industrious that may be out of the range of the 4th graders vocabulary. This piece would need some extra vocabulary review with the teacher so the students can better comprehend the text. Also the students will need an explanation about the "Mason and Dixon line" in regards to this article.

Instructional Uses: As an explanatory writing piece, students will take the two viewpoints of the white Americans and the African Americans of this time. They will read articles with their opinions and concerns and then write their own newspaper article explaining the information they read in the original articles. The students will sent out their classroom newspaper to the other 4th grade classes, publish it on the school website and display it for guests at the diversity fair.

Summary: This brief video discusses some of the key information about Seneca Falls. It is a great way to introduce the topics and highlight the significant information for the students.

Theme Connection: Seneca Falls was a major event in NYS and American history that was one of the catalyst for the women's suffrage movement. 

Complexity: The content specific vocabulary referring to the major people may be confusing to the tsudents intitially but overall, this is a pretty straightforward video. It does have a lot of information mentioned in a short amount of time so students will have to pay attention.

Instructional Uses: This video will be an introduction to Seneca Falls and its impact on history. This may make it easier for students to remember the facts or recognize the facts later on when we read it and allow them to already have some background knowlege in hopes that it won't make the entirety of the reading to overwhelming. Although students won't have access to the video during the brochure project, they can refer to it for information if they remember anything.

Summary: This is a short video with a brief look into the history behind New York's Native American history. It discusses the basic information behind this history and gives an introduction to those who are just learning about these people.

Theme Connection: This video discusse the history behind one of the major groups of people that helped to shape NY and its culture. It talks about the baisc information regarding the Native American groups and how they impacted NYS. 

Complexity: This is very simple and easy to follow although the unfamiliar vocabulary words relating to the different tribes may be confusing initially for the students. The video explains these content specific words and will hopefully translate for the students.

Instructional Uses: After discussing what the students will be learning about in this lesson and introducing the image of the map, students will then watch this brief video before breaking off into thier table groups and working on their compare and contrast papers about the Iroquois and Algonquin Native Americans. This video will give them a basic overview of Native American history in NY.

Summary: This is a map that shows the changes in percentages of Africans Americans in the south as compared to the North throughout the Great Migration.  The circles highlighting the areas and the percentages will change on the image. This is more like a time lapse gif than a picture.

Theme Connection: Students will use this map to better understand the movement of the groups from the South to the North. The percentages will show the increase or decrease of African Americans in each state and the dots will expand based on the population of African Americans in that state for each decade.

Complexity: Students must be able to understand a map key to better understand the differentiations of colors. They may also need to watch the map a few times to fully grasp the change in numbers and populations for each decade. 

Instructional Uses: This map will be shown along with the other Great Migration map after reading The Great Migration by Jacob Lawrence. This lesson will help to introduce the Great Migration and the idea of African Americans migrating North so we can slide into our unit on Harlem.

Summary: This "Roll of Honor" signifies the key people at the meeting. These people were the ones that signed the "Declaration of Sentiments," which was the ideas set up by the leaders at Seneca Falls to introduce their reasoning behind the convention and the movement. 

Theme Connection: As Seneca Falls was a major historical event, it is important for students to see that although a convention for women's rights, men still attended and supported the movement as well. People within both genders wanted to see a change for women which is a significant discovery when it comes to issues of diversity. It shows that an issue doesn't have to personally effect you for you to find any significance or validity to it. 

Complexity: Overall, this visual is a very simple document. The students may become confused with all of the names but it is not required for them to remember all of them. They may also need help in understanding what the "Declaration of Sentiments" is in regards to Seneca Falls. 

Instructional Uses:
This is just a visual for the stduents to understand that ther were both men AND women wanted to allow women the right to vote. Students will also have access to this for their brochure and may use it as a visual within their brochure.

Summary: This is a map showing the many different tribes that resided in the state of NY during its earlier years before European colonization. As mentioned on the side, the two main froups by 1100 A.D. were the Algonquin and Iroquios which are the two groups we will be focusing on.

Theme Connection: This map shows the immense amount of diverse natuve tribes that lived in NYS before colonization. It demonstrates that even though the early residents were all considered Native American among two ruling groups (Iroquois and Algonquin), they were still apart of their own culture and government with many differences.

Complexity: This map may seem complex if students do not look closely to the key on the side that explains the divide in color across the map. Also the state is split up into multiple pieces and may take a second for students to process the visual of the state divided in this way. Certain tribes cross over borders of other states and that may confuse the viewer at first. Overall, I think it may seem initially complex but once you understand the key and division, it will make it much clearer for the viewer about what they are seeing.

Instructional Uses: This map will be used as part of my introduction to the students on the Native Americans tribes that resided in NY. Then I will explain that we will be focusing on the two major groups known as the Algonquin and Iroquois. While introducing the topic, this map will be the first thing I show the students in relation to my lesson on Native Americans. Hopefully, this visual will stick with them so they can better see the locations of the tribes we talk about.

Summary: Jacob Lawrence was a famous African American painter. He used his art to portray African American life. In this story, alongside his art, Lawrence tells the story of his journey through the great migration from the south to the north and depicts the journey that many African Americans took in the late 1800s to early 1900s.

Theme Connection: The Great Migration led to a rise in African American people moving North and West. This led to more diverse communities forming. This book depicts the movement of these people to these communities. One well known community from this migration was Harlem. 

Complexity: This book has some images without text so it is crucial that, although I allow students time to interpret, I also explain the meaning behind these pictures. I would also need to explain certain concepts such as the living conditions of African Americans down south after the Civil War and the struggles they went through prior. I would also show students on the map the places the migrants were going. The story itself does not seem complex but the concepts and geography behind it may be unknown to some 4th graders.

Instructional Uses: This book would be used as an introduction to the unit on The Harlem Renaissance. In order to explain the sudden boost in African American culture in Harlem during the early 1900s, students must learn about how the African American people arrived there.

Summary: After fleeing Russia in 1919 due to harsh treatment of Jews, Rifka must face that she is now moving to an entirely new country and is saying goodbye to all she has known. Wiht her book of poetry by Alexander Pushkin, Rifka begins to document her thoughts as letters to her cousin that she left behind. The novel looks into the realities of the boat ride to Ellis Island, the examinations from doctors, and the harsh relaity of detainment. Rifka must deal with all these stressful events while adjusting to her life in a new country.

Theme Connection: This book is an account of a young immigrant girl going through the process of immigrating to Ellis Island and starting a new life in America. It highlights the struggles immigrants had to face in order to come to the accepting and promising country that they were hoping for. Due to the lack of acceptance from her old country, the main character must deal with her new life in America and the added difficulties that she faced at Ellis Island.

Complexity: This book is a level S on the F&P scale, which is considered high 4th grade. With assitace from the teach, the whole class will read and discuss this book. I will also go over any difficult vocabulary and discuss the specific words that may be used from the russian culture or the Jewish religion.

Instructional Uses: This book would be used as a whole class, read aloud book. This is so everyone in the class can experience this amazing story no matter which reading level they are. I would also make sure to scaffold enough for my strugging readers and ENL students, as well as allow time for questions and discussions.

Summary: This picture book is about the life of Augusta Savage. She was a famous sculptor apart of the Harlem Renaissnace and was one of the many influences during this time.

Theme Connection: Augusta Savage was apart of the Harlem Renaissance, one of the most historical movements for the Black community throughout history. It opened up spaces where African Americans could freely express themselves and creat a community that their people felt represented in. By adding their influence to America's society, the Harlem Renaissance helped to represent the Black Community and spread their thoughts and art throughout the country.

Complexity: Although not challenging in terms of vocabulary, students must be able to make inferences about her thoughts and feelings at certain points in the books. They must also try to understand how hard it was for Augusta to be a sculptor after her fathers disapproval and her conflict in regards to moving away from home to pursue her career.

Instructional Uses: For my unit on the Harlem Renaissance I will create small group stations for the students to travel to wiht their table groups and work on each activity. The groups will be based around the different types of art displayed in the Harlem Renaissance. For the table relating to Augusta Savage, I wil have the students read the story as a group to learn about this famous sculptor and her influence. Then the students will get a chance to sculpt their own piece of art using the clay provided. The students will write a one paragraph description of what they made and why. They will display this piece during our diversity fair.

Summary: This text is about all the many different ways that people try to get to America and make a life for themselves here. The book looks into all the many different groups and cultures that have came here, past and present. 

Theme Connection: This book is about various different groups of people coming to America if many types of ways. It also has a section of the book that explains the cocept of Ellis Island and the people that came here that way. By discussing all of the groups that make up America with their origin story, it really showcases the diverse groups that try to immigrant here.

Complexity: Although the text is fairly simple for a 4th grade student, there is some vocabulary (immigrant, nomad, etc.) that may need an explantion if not aready known by the students.

Instructional Uses: This book would be an introduction to immigration to America. It showcases all of the ways and reasons that people come here. It also has an entire section about Ellis Island in order to briefly introduce that significant topic.

Summary: This webpage is connected to the documents from Ellis Island. With a first and/or last name, you can seach the sites Passenger each and find out specfic information about any immigrant that came through Ellis Island.

Theme Connection: Many different people came to America and were processed through Ellis Island. This website allows people to search for any family or friends that they can connect to this databse and find out information such as their age at the time, where they came from, the ship they traveled on, etc.  

Complexity: With many different types of information on this site, we need to make sure the students are using it responsibly. Otherwise, this is a pretty simple webpage to use and the information is fairly easy to understand. Students may need help with locating the countries that they come across though.

Instructional Uses: Students will have time during class to search for any relatives they may think may be in the database. They will also be assigned an oral history person for another assignment and wil have time to try and find their information in the database.