Voyage of the Dream Weavers:
Discovering the American Dream and the Dreams of People of Other Nations-
A Shared Interdisciplinary Curriculum for the Sixth Grade
Tina Di Chiara
The sixthe social studies curriculum focuses on the basic history of countries in the Eastern Hemisphere. As a language arts teacher, it is my desire to align the content of my courses with that of the social studies courses in order to reduce fragmentation of learning and help students in their development of a more unified view of their education. My original intention was to create a yearlong literature-based curriculum using texts that expand, extend,and enrich what was being learned in history.
A dilemma presented itself in that I also wished to make the content of my classes more relevant to the lives of my students. To focus on the Eastern Hemisphere would be to stray far from my initial aim to explore the cultural histories my students could most identify with, such as the cultures of Latin and North America. However, after much consideration, it became clear that the basic study of Eastern Hemispheric countries lends itself wonderfully to a yearlong comparative view of the U.S. culture(s) and the principles that drive the American Dream.
Under the metaphorical theme of a voyage, students will travel to foreign places and times, and they will read and hear the stories of people their own age from the pages of novels, short stories, biographies, and works of nonfiction.
As a precursor to venturing out and exploring other cultures, students will spend the first few weeks observing their own culture and what it means to be "American’. Terms will be established and the context from which they will compare cultures to their own will be introduced. The introduction to the rest of the year’s curriculum is comprised of three separate units, each lasting approximately two to three weeks in duration.
In their social studies classes, students will be introduced to a country’s political structure, education system, religion(s), and arts. In their literature class, students will be challenged to extract the hopes and dreams of the average citizen of that place and time after having read or listened to accounts of what life was like for the average citizen during that time. The same important questions will arise each time another country is explored:
1. What does the average citizen of that time and place dream for himself of herself?
2. What does the average citizen of that time and place dream for his or her country?
3. What dream do the leaders of the country have for their people?
4. How does education play a part in reaching these dreams?
5. What are the other factors that play a part in these dreams?
With these questions in mind, students will remain focused on comparing the American dream to that of the dreams of other nations.
The Academic Setting
School Setting
Garfield Middle School is located in a predominantly Hispanic community whose families have been there for generations, when the North Valley was primarily made up of small family-owned farms.
Two-thirds of the student body qualify for free lunch and breakfast programs and two-thirds qualify for the Title I program. Overall, Terra Nova scores are lower than the district average.
Class Setting
The class this curriculum is designed for is a sixth grade language arts and literature block consisting of mostly regular education students. At Garfield, that could mean a group of 20 students with reading and writing skill levels ranging from second to seventh grade.
A quarter of the class is usually classified as being limited in English proficiency and about a quarter of those will be taking half the block in their native language, which is Spanish. Title I is being phased out at Garfield, so regular education teachers will have more students in their classes who have lower skills.
The sixth grade curriculum at Garfield Middle School is somewhat unique in that students have two required courses devoted to language arts and literature. This was implemented in 1998 in order to address district-wide literacy aims. As of yet, I’ve been unable to overlap instruction between the two classes because students who receive ESL services join us in the literature section without having attended the language class. For this reason, students focus primarily on communication and composition skills in one class, and in the other they practice reading strategies and skills. While the composition class will fall under the same theme and will explore identity through writing, it will be the reading class that will be wholly devoted to extending the history content.
Objectives
Curriculum Objectives
Students will:
- be able to identify themselves in connection
to two or more cultures.
- acknowledge their dreams and the dreams of
their families in relation to that of our nation’s dream.
- have a more accurate view of their rights
under the Constitution and they will be
- more likely to appreciate them in comparison
to the rights others have or don’t have in other countries.
- be exposed to the views of many people of
various cultures. This will form a solid base for learning more about these cultures and
in forming a world
view in the following years.
Introductory Unit Objectives
Students will:
- become familiar with the language needed in
order to communicate their dreams and the dreams of their families within the larger
context of the
world.
- be introduced to the words, thoughts and
ideas of American citizens who are bi-cultural and who have diverse ideas of what it means
to be American,
broadening their view of the American Dream.
- be given a 3-week introduction to
civics-based content, in order to provide the context from which the rest of the
year’s readings will be built
upon in
literature and in social studies.
- acquire information from primary and
secondary sources.
- evaluate information for objectivity,
accuracy, and point of view.
- develop critical-thinking skills to
make informed and responsible decisions.
- work cooperatively with others.
- develop a sense of effectiveness in the role
of community advocate.
- consider the balance between rights and
responsibilities.
Goals
By the end of the school year, students will:
- gain a larger vision of the world
- find commonality among the hopes of many
peoples
- find diversity to be interesting and valuable
- discover a new meaning of the word freedom
- gain a greater appreciation for law,
government and education
- make connections between individual dreams
and the guiding principles of a state
- have a greater awareness of U.S. culture and
the effect it has on their own dreams
- gain a more accurate view of their rights
under the law
- learn more about citizenship and
responsibility
A Comparative Look at the Dreams of Nations
Curricular Rationale
The metaphorical theme of a voyage will encourage children to investigate the world around them in an interesting and pleasurable way.
To further enhance students’ potential for learning, I’ve decided to create a curriculum that is strongly connected to the instruction they receive in other classes, most notably social studies. Interdisciplinary instruction is widely regarded as effective because it reduces the fragmentation of learning, it facilitates the teaching of thinking and interpersonal skills that are often overlooked in conventional instruction, and it helps students develop a unified view of their education. Personally, I feel empowered as a teacher when I’m able to collaborate with others to ensure our students are getting a fair shot at success. Interdisciplinary instruction enhances the learning experience of students because it provides a way of teaching that reflects the interconnectedness of the real world.
Sixth grade students need to be familiar with the basic principles upon which their nation was built upon. They need to know their rights as defined by the laws and they need to be introduced to the value of education in a way that is neither condescending, nor paternal.
Garfield Middle School surveyed students for the first time this year, asking questions such as "Why are you in school?" and "Why is education important?"
The response varied with answers such as "I come to school because my parents make me," or "To get a good job when I grow up." Not one student made the connection to citizenship, which is what the original aim of public schooling was.
Civics is usually introduced at the seventh grade level by way of a focus on American history in the social studies curriculum. However, young people must learn how to participate in a democracy at an earlier age. They need a foundation from which they can begin to understand their community and its institutions, develop decision-making and evaluative skills, learn the ins and outs of public policy, and know the value of service. Civic responsibility is not an intuitive process. Students must be taught so that as they mature, they may address social problems in an informed, committed, and positive manner. The attitudes they develop will shape the quality of life for all of us.
Civic responsibility can best be developed when teachers work toward linking civic education, community service, and learning outcomes. This approach is called "service learning" and its aim is to forge strong links between classroom work, community service, and civic education. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) lists certain traits important to democratic life. Those include respect, empathy, tolerance, trust, responsibility for oneself and others, and cooperation. Half of these traits are consistent with the Albuquerque Public School’s Character Counts initiative, which is a program designed to encourage educators to incorporate character education into their curriculums. For this reason, service learning will be a major component in the instructional approach of this curriculum.
Citizenship involves the ability to understand and participate within a national culture that is bonded by some sort of common goals, no matter how diverse the population. In learning about what culture is, what American culture may be, what the American Dream means to different people, and exploring the dreams of other peoples in other nations, students will be engaged in a yearlong discussion of what it means to be a citizen of the United States. Making connections to their own country every time they approach a different region of the Eastern Hemisphere will naturally steer them toward a continuous review of our government, the education system, and the various coexisting subcultures here in America.
Initially, students will become familiar with the Declaration of Independence, the
Constitution and the Bill of Rights. These will be revisited every quarter as we examine
the vital doctrines of other nations and how those principles compare to ours. For this
reason, what will most likely be retained from this course are the all-important broader
concepts that encompass it. Those concepts are American ideals, rights, duties, and the
value of education and diversity.
Other Equally Important Reasons
Young people need to know the facts when it comes to their rights under the law. Too often, they make sweeping generalizations based on what they perceive to be their rights, stemming, perhaps, from their view of what "freedom" means. For this reason, a very basic introduction to civics is necessary at this grade level.
Young people are constantly bombarded by messages through the media from profiteers of the "culture industry." The products they sell hold value to students as a means of raising status within their culture. Advertisers know this. It is my hope that in discussing the American dream, students may become cognizant of what motivates them to want these products.
It would be easy to approach this content with an Anglo-centric perspective; however, students will see each nation or culture through the words and eyes of everyday citizens outside the American culture. They will read or listen to the stories of everyday life and stories that may reveal the hopes and desires of their people. Activities and discussion ensue which will focus on commonalities as well as the richness of differences compared to Americans.
Sixth graders are at a precipice when it comes to understanding abstract concepts. They understand the extremes of good and evil and the hero vs. the villain, but when asked to take sides, they very rarely admit or state that they simply are unsure or they don’t know. Everything is either black or white, yes or no. It’s important for students, who are ripe for the jumping, to intuitively sense the irony in a given situation.
For instance, students will be exposed to narratives of citizens who hold their nation’s hopes and dreams as their own, but they will also read and listen to the stories of those individuals whose dreams were in opposition to that of their leaders’. And when discussing influences on dreams, we may find such things as fear and ignorance (i.e. Hitler’s dream for the Aryans). It’s important for these paradoxes to arise for those students who are ready to see the irony.
Another connection which will be revisited every quarter as we compare national cultures is that of ethnic identity within America and on a smaller, more local scale, within the North Valley, which is where Garfield is located. There was a poll taken in preparation for an "International Day" at our school, and the question of ethnicity was raised. Students were asked to check off the ethnic groups they identified with. They were confused because "Hispanic" was listed more than once and each one had a different country attached to it, such as Spain or Mexico. I observed them asking their friends about it and when their friends, who were recent immigrants from Mexico claimed to not understand, they opted for "white/Anglo." Others watched quietly because they, too, were confused. They did the same and marked as the others did. As misguided as the poll was, it did reveal a disturbing fact about the fear, shame, and ignorance surrounding ethnic identity at Garfield. I believe a curriculum that addresses diversity as beneficial to a healthy society would stave off some of the fear and shame. Cultural recognition and validity through exploration would alleviate not only fear, but the ignorance as well. We are inherently scared of what we don’t know or understand. In understanding that most humans, regardless of race, religion, gender, age, etc. all have similar hopes and aspirations, a bridge may well be gapped in the minds of students to those who seem different to them in all other regards.
Subject Content
There are two integral components to this proposed curriculum. One is the basic introductory units, which address culture, our system of government, and the American dream. The other equally important component is the student bibliography, which is a list of novels and short stories that can be used throughout the year to introduce students to the lives, dreams, voices, and stories of people their own age from all over the world, and from different eras. These narratives can be used to draw constant connections between the hopes and dreams of people around the globe with these of their fellow Americans.
The Introductory Units- "Discovering the American Dream"
Unit Overviews
The introduction provides the context from which the rest of the year’s content will be drawn from.
The Culture Unit (the focus of this proposal)
- Culture — what is it? What makes up a culture? Is there a Garfield culture? A youth
culture? A female culture? A New Mexican culture? A gang
culture?
- What is your culture? What are the cultures you identify
with most?
- American culture — what defines us? What makes
Americans as a people different from other nations? American government, education,
mannerisms.
The Civics Unit
- Declaration of Independence — 3 principles, what do they mean? What DID they mean
to the writers?
- The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights — Laws, "rights"
- Citizenship — duties, responsibilities
-. System of government
- Education system — history, what were the aims of public education. Why are you
here?
The American Dream Unit
- The American Dream- what is it to you? To a recent immigrant from Mexico? To a business
owner? To a just-married couple? To a homeless
family?
Is it a myth or is it a reality?
As directed by the sixth grade social studies curriculum for the state of New Mexico, each
quarter’s focus will be on a different region of the Eastern Hemisphere. Here’s
the breakdown:
1st quarter- Ancient civilization
Egypt, Greece, Rome, India, China
2nd quarter- Europe and Russia
3rd quarter- Middle East and Africa
4th quarter- Asia and the Pacific
Each region (or in the first quarter’s instance, each civilization) will be considered a "focus area." As a focus area is being addressed in social studies, we’ll explore the average citizen’s daily life through storytelling, whole-class readings, literature circles, mystery guest readers, book talks, author studies, reader’s theaters, class plays, and excerpts for modeling genre, literary devices, and writing styles.
Activities and discussion ensue which will take us further into an understanding of that country’s diverse population.
Throughout, we revisit these questions, all the time, trying to fill in the pieces of
the puzzle just as an archaeologist would:
1. What does the average citizen of that time
and place dream for himself of herself?
What does the average citizen of that time and place dream for his or her country?
2. What dream do the leaders of the country
have for its people?
3. How does education play a part in reaching
these dreams?
4. What are the other factors that play a part
in these dreams?
Unit Breakdown
The Culture Unit
Terms
culture- A set of unique ideas, customs, values and skills shared among a group of people.
values- principles, goals, standards most desirable. (liberty, freedom, democracy, an
educated public)
ideas- beliefs, opinions, or plans. (God, education, system of government)
customs- habits or traditions (holidays, food, shopping, music, art, celebrations)
skills- abilities (to think, organize, communicate, learn, and create)
Implementation
First, we'll look around at our own classroom and try to find examples for each term.
Our reason for being in the class is that we're all needing to practice how to communicate through reading and writing. We'll call it the "Room 17 Culture" and we'll first decide what it is we desire the most from this class — these are our values. Possible answers would be good grades, better reading and writing skills, and preparedness for the seventh grade. These are goals.
Then, we'll ask what are some beliefs or opinions we all share about our goals/values. Possible answers would be that learning how to read or write more effectively will help us communicate, that learning is something we need to do, that if we're not prepared for the next grade, our grades will be affected and that to meet our goals, we have to work hard.
The traditions we share are habits such as being seated before the bell rings, listening to the teacher, raising hands to speak, following instructions, and respecting others.
Skills that are most valued in our culture are listening, following directions, paying attention, note-taking, reading, and writing.
After using the classroom as an example of a culture, we can discuss whether or not these things would be true of other classes. First, we’ll discuss things that make a culture different from other cultures, for instance; foods, diet, religions, ways of thinking (group vs. individual), ways of communicating, celebrations, and language. If certain aspects are true of other classrooms, then we may want to cross them off our list because they do not distinguish us as being unique. For instance, valued skills in "Room 17 Culture" are skills that are valued in all other classrooms. We may decide to think further on what skills make us more unique as a classroom culture. It may be that we decide our focus on literature and writing makes us unique from the other classes. And we may change answers completely once the "what-makes-us-unique" question arises. For traditions, we may want to omit everything and list that we write in our journals for the first ten minutes of class, unlike the other classes.
In groups, we will then make the same lists for youth culture and New Mexican culture. We'll come together as a class and list answers on the board. This will open up discussion about the various cultures that coexist within New Mexico and at Garfield Middle School. What about the indigenous cultures and other minorities here in our community. Why is it important for us to consider and include other cultures besides the dominant culture?
The next part of this unit will introduce ethnicity and the various ethnic cultures
here in New Mexico. We'll focus on the five main groups and brainstorm about our
perceptions of these ethnic cultures. The five groups will be "Anglos",
"Latinos", "Indians", "Blacks" and "Asians." These
labels are highly disputed by many groups and we will discuss this after we do a bit of
research. First, however, we will list our impressions of these ethnic groups using our
"culture" charts (see handout #1). Students will be instructed to steer away
from any negative stereotypes and to fill in the chart according to what they percieve is
the answer for each group. The students will then turn in their sheets. Each group of
students (there should be five groups) will get a box of books to look through. Each box
will hold five or six heavily illustrated non-fiction books about an individual ethnic
group. For instance, the first group will have a box of books on Latino cultures. The
groups will have thirty minutes to gather as much data as possible on their assigned
ethnic groups and fill in their answer sheets as they go along (see handout #2). Students
will be given roles within their groups to assist in their discoveries and a rubric will be handed out so that students know what is expected of
them.
After the fact-finding mission, each group will report their findings as the teacher writes their answers down for all to see on an overhead projector. The entire class may add on to the lists after each group has presented their findings. Groups must add on to their lists the items that were suggested by their classmates.
For the next two weeks, groups engage in literature circles, where they read four short stories and discuss them in their groups and complete activities that draw connections among main characters. The activities and projects focus on the hopes and dreams of their characters and how culture plays out in their lives. For instance, the first group, who were originally assigned to search for information regarding Latino cultures in America, will read memoirs by Latino authors and they will be expected to revise their original handout as they partake in discussions regarding the lives of the authors. One example of a final project would be to have students choose selections from the readings that support their findings about Latino cultures in America and present them in a short series of monologues.
The next part of the "culture" unit will ask students to identify two cultures that they identify with most. First, after having identified micro-culture (classroom), school culture, state culture as well as ethnic cultures, we will list on the board the many other cultures we know about (i.e. youth culture, male or female culture, hip-hop culture, etc.). A weekend homework project will require students to create a collage that will visually represent the two chosen cultures. They will choose images that portray values, ideas, customs, and skills their self-identified cultures practice. A variety of models will be presented to offer ideas and a rubric will be handed out so that students know what elements are required for their project. The purpose of this assignment will be for students to reflect on themselves and their cultural backgrounds. Also, they will have an opportunity to introduce themselves to their classmates using a creative medium. These projects will not be judged on artistic ability, but rather on their having included everything on the rubric (see the "Assessment" part of this proposal for a sample rubric).
The final part of the first unit will focus on American culture. What does it mean to be American? What makes Americans different from the people of other nations. The class will list on the board the four terms we’ve used thus far: values, ideas, customs, and skills. It would be likely that at this stage, students will not have enough prior knowledge to draw from in order to create a bountiful list. Therefore, this information may be presented by introducing members of the community who have traveled to other countries. They could present slide shows of their trips (carefully selected to show opposing values, ideas, customs, or valued skills). These volunteers could be members of the students’ families, or they could be school staff members. After the guest speakers and a question and answer period, we would brainstorm answers for our list on the overhead. What follows is a list of possible answers when brainstorming for what it is that makes us different:
Values: democracy, education, family, healthy environment
Ideas: equality, freedom/liberty, religious freedom, free education
Customs: shopping, entertainment, vacations, Sundays off, fashion/dress, dating,
diet/nutrition, waste disposal, holidays and celebrations
Skills: spoken languages (English, Spanish), reading and writing, computer
knowledge, the arts (theater, music, visual art)
The Civics Unit (in brief)
The culture unit serves as segue to the next unit, which is a very basic introduction to civics. The most unique aspect of American culture, it should be pointed out, is the system of government that is in place. The founding principles of the Constitution — liberty, self-government and equality — form the base of many Americans’ hopes and dreams. In this unit, students will be introduced to a very basic history of the conditions that led to the creation of documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. The three founding principles of American sovereignty are introduced: liberty, self-government, and equality. Also, duties and responsibilities of the nation’s citizens will be approached. Students will discuss the issue of rights and what they perceive their rights to be in terms of the law.
In this unit, a project will arise where students will need to demonstrate comprehension of the unit content by synthesizing much of what was discussed and learned by interviewing various people. They will be asked to answer the questions that will be posed throughout the year, after learning about other cultures and nations:
1. What does the average citizen of that time and place dream for himself of herself?
2. What does the average citizen of that time and place dream for his or her country?
3. What dream do the leaders of the country have for its people?
4. How does education play a part in reaching these dreams?
|5. What are the other factors that play a part in these dreams?
For the first time, students will answer these questions as they apply to Americans. On
a continuous basis, they will revisit these answers and compare them to the answers they
come up with after learning about other countries or cultures.
The American Dream Unit
The civics unit leads to a focus on the American dream. What is it? What are the dreams and hopes of students and how does the American ideal play a part in it? Do all Americans have the same dream? What is the dream for a recent Mexican immigrant? For a new business owner? For a retired man who goes back to school to get his GED? We’ll read stories to expose the students to different points of view and to generate discussion. Students will be asked to interview the adults in their lives to find out what their hopes and dreams are, and they will be asked to present their findings in creative ways.
Planned Assessment Strategies
Grades will be based on a point system. Each unit will consist of 500 points broken down as follows:
| Assignment | Points |
| Participation | 100 |
| Individual Final Unit Projects | 100 |
| Reading Homework | 100 |
| Reflective Learning Log Entries | 100 |
| Group Project | 85 |
| Peer Evaluation from Group Project | 15 |
| Total | 500 |
Grades are based on the following scale:
450-500= A
400-449= B
350-399= C
300-349= D
Participation
This is an interactive, experiential class. Students are expected to engage actively in class discussion, learning exercises, and group activities. There are many ways to participate including active listening, thoughtful inquiry, as well as verbal and non-verbal communication. Lecture and class discussion will cover material not included in the readings. Attendance is absolutely critical to meeting the overall course objectives.
Reading Homework
The purpose of the reading homework is to supplement and augment material covered in class. Class discussion and activities will build from the homework readings so it is assumed that the homework has been completed before the assigned date.
Individual Projects
These are projects designed to have the student demonstrate mastery of content based on the principles of Bloom’s taxonomy. The culture unit will require all students to choose at least two cultures they identify strongly with and present a collage that represents those cultures in a personal way.
Group Projects
Group projects involve a team approach to investigating and presenting a topic or issue which is of concern and importance to the class. The purpose of the group project is to practice working collaboratively, to actively engage in inquiry and to creatively present the finding. Students randomly choose cards for group role assignments. Peer evaluations are based on a set of criteria given to students before the group begins work.
Learning Log Reflections
Every few days, students will be given a choice of prompts to respond to that have to do with what was discussed and presented in preceding days. This is meant to be mostly a review as shared responses present summaries of what has been learned or remembered by fellow students.
Rubrics
Rubrics are a set of criteria and standards that accompany a few models that demonstrate the desired standard (see Handout #3 for a sample rubric).
Holistic Assessment
Each unit is allotted 500 points for a "unit" grade; however, other points are added using holistic scoring methods, based on activities and strategy practice sessions for reading comprehension skills, genre studies, literature circles, and other activities that are literacy related, but may not have anything to do with the comparative theme for the year.
Year-end Objectives
Students will reflect on what they discovered throughout the year in their language arts, literature, and social studies classes using learning logs, notes, and materials created throughout the year. A class-generated rubric will set the criteria for a personal essay.
Quarterly Objectives
Students will demonstrate what was learned during the quarter in the form of a quarterly project. A list of high-interest projects is provided at the start of the quarter. Projects have a range with regard to modalities and talents with special consideration given to synthesis and evaluation of content.
Weekly Objectives
Students will reflect in their Learning Logs at the end of each week adding questions, comments, suggestions, concerns, etc. They will be required to summarize the week’s lessons and respond with their own thoughts.
Weekend homework will consist of students using their Learning Logs, which include
class notes, to teach someone at home what was learned during the week. "Student
teachers" must have their student summarize what was learned.
Handout #1
Culture Anglo Asian Black Indian Latino
Values-
goals,
principles,
standards
Ideas-
beliefs, opinions,
plans
Customs-
traditions, habits,
behaviors
Skills-
most valued
abilities
Handout #2
Directions: Your group has 30 minutes to find as much information as you can about your assigned ethnic group using the books in this box. Choose your group roles and record them here.
Recorder (writes the information down on the handout)______________________
Task Leader (keeps everyone focused and on track)______________________
Reporter (reports the information to the rest of the class) _____________________
Representative (asks the teacher questions, if needed) _______________________
Communicator (makes sure no one interrupts others) _______________________
Your group has been assigned to research facts about the cultures within America. Fill in the chart with as much information as you can.
| Values- | Ideas- | Customs- | Skills- |
| goals, principles, most desirable standards |
beliefs, opinions, plans |
traditions, habits behaviors |
most valued abilities |
Handout #3
Sample Rubrics
Cultural Collage Rubric Possible Points Your Points
Name on collage…………………………….10 pts. ________
Chose 2 or more cultures……………………10 pts. ________
Chose pictures that represent
the values of each culture…………………..
15 pts.
________
Chose pictures that represent
the ideas of each culture……………………
15 pts.
________
Chose pictures that represent
the customs of each culture………………...
15 pts.
________
Chose pictures that represent
the valued skills of each culture…………… 15 pts. ________
Personalized your collage to show
your own interests, hopes and dreams…………10 pts.
________
Presented your collage to the Class…...……….10 pts. ________
Project in on time……………………………. 10 pts. ________
Total 100 pts.
________
Student Bibliography
Baillie, Allan. Little Brother. New York: Viking, 1992.
Cambodia during the
Vietnamese War. Levels 3-7.
Baillie, Allan. Rebel. Di Wu, Illustrator. New York: Ticknor & Fields, 1994. Burma, 1970s. Levels 1-4.
Bawden, Nina. Henry. Joyce Powzyk, illustrator. 1973. New York: HarperCollins,
1992.
England during WWII. Levels 3-7.
Baylis-White, Mary. Sheltering Rebecca. New York: Lodestar, 1991.
England and Australia during WWII. Levels 4-6.
Beatty, John, and Patricia Beatty. Master Rosalind. New York: Morrow, 1974.
England, 1598. Levels 5-9.
Beatty, Patricia. Jonathan Down Under. New York: Morrow, 1982.
Australia, 1851. Levels 5-9.
Bellairs, John. The Trolley to Yesterday. New York: Dial, 1989.
Egypt and Turkey, 1453. Levels 4-6.
Berg, Lois Anne. An Eritrean Family. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner, 1996.
Ethiopia, non-fiction. Levels 5-7.
Bergman, Tamar. The Boy from Over There. Hillel Halkin, translator. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 1988.
Poland during WWII. Levels 5-8.
Bernheim, Mark. Father of the Orphans: The Story of Janusz Korczak. New York:
Lodestar, 1988.
Poland, biography. Levels 6-9.
Besson, Jean-Louis, author/illustrator. October 45: Childhood Memeories of the War. Carol
Volk, translator. San Diego, CA: Creative Editions,
Harcourt Brace, 1995.
Great Britain and France during WWII. Levels 4-8.
Bishop, Claire Huchet. Twenty and Ten. William Pene du Bois, illustrator.
1952. New York: Peter Smith, 1984.
France during WWII. Levels 5-9.
Boas, Jacob, ed. We Are Witnesses: Five Diaries of Teenagers Who Died in the
Holocaust. New York: Edge, Henry Holt, 1995.
Survivors of the WWII
Holocaust. Levels 6-12.
Bosse, Malcolm. The Examination. New York: Farrar, Straus &
Giroux, 1994.
China, 1448. Levels 6-10.
Bosse, Malcolm. Tusk and Stone. Emeryville, CA: Front Street, 1995.
Seventh-century India. Levels 6-10.
Breckler, Rosemary. Sweet Dried Apples: A Vietnamese Wartime Childhood.
Deborah Kogan Ray, illustrator. Boston:
Houghton Miffllin, 1996.
Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Levels 2-4.
Bresnick-Perry, Roslyn. Leaving for America. Mira Reisberg, illustrator.
Chicago: Childrens Press, 1992.
Belarus and America during WWII. Levels 1-3.
Brown, Gene. Anne Frank: Child of the Holocaust. New York: Blackbirch Press,
Rosen, 1991.
Holocaust. Levels 3-6.
Bunting, Eve. I Am the Mummy Heb-Nefert. David Christiana, illustrator. San
Diego, CA: Harcourt, 1997.
Ancient Egypt. Levels 3-6.
Bunting, Eve. Market Day. Holly Berry, illustrator. New York: Harper Collins,
1996.
Present-day Ireland. Levels K-2.
Bunting, Eve. Spying on Miss Muller. New York: Clarion, 1995.
Ireland during WWII. Levels 5-7.
Burgess, Melvin. An Angel for May. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.
England during WWII. Levels 5-7.
Burton, Hester. The Henchmans at Home. New York: Crowell, 1972.
England, 1890s. Levels 6-10.
Calvert, Patricia. Hadder MacColl. New York: Scribners, 1985.
Scotland, 1745. Levels 5-9.