Social:
Author: Dale Apple
School/Organization:
Lewis C. Cassidy Academics Plus School
Year: 2012
Seminar: "But Mostly I Lie A Lot" - The African American Short Story in the 21st Century
Grade Level: 4-6
Keywords: oral history, photographs, smart phones, social media, stories
School Subject(s): Social Studies, Technology
This unit will emphasize using photography to make connections to African American Short Stories. It will employ a variety of cutting edge technologies for digital photography, apps on smart phones, social media implications in relation to sharing media, movie making and podcasting. With an audience of upper elementary school students, it is designed for students in Grades 4, 5 and 6 but can be adapted for any upper grades through Grade 12.
Students will collect oral histories handed down through generations to explore their family identity, research how their families came to live in the United States, origins and meanings of their names, and explore connections to their communities using the Pennsylvania Historical Society archives along with family documents and stories.
Students will explore three short stories from the seminar that deal with issues they experience in their own lives: Toni Cade Bambara- “The Lesson” and economic disparity comparing lives of people who come from different socioeconomic backgrounds utilizing ,photographs from the Depression that showcase such disparity such as Migrant Farm Workers series by Dorothea Lange from the rural southwest and Walker Evans’ images of wealthy urban families during this same time period; Jamaica Kinkaid- “Girl” exploring mother/child relationships and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. Students will look at photographs by contemporary African American photographer, Carrie Mae Weems, to see how she portrays relationships in families, particularly her Kitchen Table series.
Students will also consult Roy De Carava’s collaboration with Langston Hughes, The Sweet Flypaper of Life. Finally, they will study the work of Jamel Shabazz, a more contemporary “Hip Hop” photojournalist and compare it to their own family photo albums, as well as the phenomenon of “Instagram”.
Students will create their own photographic stories of their home life using the technology available to them: cell phone cameras, digital cameras, computer cameras and digital camcorders.
Lastly, using the interviews with families and stories about their ancestors, students will write stories about their lives; as well as create podcasts and/or movies using digital slideshows to conceptualize the soundtrack they feel best coincides with their lives.
Download Unit: DApple-2012-Unit.pdf
Did you try this unit in your classroom? Give us your feedback here.
Photography is one of many ways to tell a story, and it is often the images themselves that are indelibly imprinted on our minds when we recall events from history since the age of photography began recording these events in the 1800s. “A photograph has the ability to convey emotion, mood, narrative, ideas and messages – all of which are important elements of story telling”1 “A photograph is a voice for the people who have no voice, a permanent record of one moment frozen in time, a connection to a bygone era and to people who were once on this earth, and whose memory will live on forever.2 With an emphasis on the medium of photography this unit will seek to guide students to make connections between the literary mode of the African American Short Story, using a variety of cutting edge technologies: computers, digital photography, applications on smart phones, social media implications in relation to sharing media, movie making and podcasting. With an audience of upper elementary school students, I have chosen to design this unit for students in Grades 4, 5 and 6. This unit was conceived upon hearing Dr. Herman Beavers’ introduction to the concept of micro-stories or flash fiction. The idea of creating stories consisting of exactly 55 words, no more or less would be a challenge for students at any level, and especially so for primary aged students. Together with conventional methods of writing in the elementary core curriculum, this unit relies on multimedia resources available through the form of podcasts from NPR, short stories recorded through Story Corps and This American Life, and a book, It All Changed In An Instant– More Six-Word Memoirs By Writers Famous & Obscure by Rachel Fershleiser and Larry Smith. As a child who observed the world around me more than in the books in front of me, my teaching style often drifts toward Howard Gardner and his theories of Multiple Intelligences, to reach the child who learns differently. I identify with the child who learns by doing, and thus work to include a variety of activities to accommodate different learning styles in the classroom. I emphasize experiences that explore life, making connections to events taking place before our eyes, events that will be tomorrow’s history. As a teacher of technology with an art background, I am drawn to creative expression as a means of demonstrating understanding. I often field questions of how this came to be, but for me, it was a natural progression, since both include creativity and science. I incorporate many opportunities for creativity in my classroom, as well as avenues for the student to exhibit their strengths. Technology allows a person to incorporate a variety of these strengths through the inclusion of text, artwork, photographs, sound and images. For example, students who are visual learners can use organizers, create photographs, create visual metaphors through movie making, make digital illustrations and use color. Those with verbal intelligence can write or retell stories, write in journals, make books, do research, make presentations and participate in creating theater. Students who are kinesthetic learners can perform in plays or stories from their lives. For the logical learner, sequencing of events from their family history and critical thinking skills will be an appropriate avenue. For the student who responds through music or rhythm, creating soundtracks or raps to accompany slideshows, presentations and videos will be a perfect fit. Those who are self-smart–intrapersonal learners–will do well with journals or individual presentations, while those with interpersonal intelligence–people smart–will enjoy brainstorming, taking charge and initiating cooperative learning experiences. In this unit, we will explore how cultures are defined. Where do the lines begin and end with color, race and religion? Are there definitive answers? What about stereotypes? When we seek to answer questions about ourselves, our families and we ask ourselves “Who are we?” where do we begin? Do we define our nationality, our race, our religion, our values, our economic status, our gender, our ethnic origin, and our sexuality? If we have parents from more than one distinction, how do we answer that? These are questions we need to ponder when we prepare to write stories from our lives, from our families, our ancestors. Where do we start? How far back do we go? Students will compare themes from a collection of short stories to similar themes in their lives. They will make connections from the past to the present with an increased understanding for the future by exploring their family history and their place in the world. They will discover how some people immigrated here to create a better life while others were brought here without their consent. They will be able to see similarities to some of the experiences in their own lives. History is defined as the study of past events. Through our own stories, we are able to get a firsthand account of the impact of these events on people and communities. History is a collection of stories from the past of how these events have changed the course of our lives, and our own stories are ways of making connections to the past and how our lives and those of our descendants were interwoven. I am interested in exploring the stories of our lives, our families, our descendants–how we got here and how we got to where we are now. Every family has stories and making connections to events that shaped our history will make them more relevant for young people to understand. Were family members who were deeply in love separated by wars, service to their country or other events that changed the course of their lives? Were any family members or ancestors forced to flee their homelands due to extraordinary conditions–religious persecution, political reasons, poverty, natural disasters or slavery? These are the types of questions that will help children learn about their family and make connections to events in history which had an impact on the paths they chose. Students will be guided in researching these stories using a variety of strategies. One such method will be to question family members to learn about events in history to which their family members were witnesses. They will discover whether they have relatives who have special talents, notoriety, distinguished awards, medals of honor, as examples. Students will seek to learn and document anecdotal stories of first loves, marriages, children, courtships or loss. Through oral histories, students will explore how their families came to live in the United States, origin of names–meanings of names or who we are named after. If names are not familial, how were they chosen? It is also important to find local connections to their history in order to make it more relevant to their lives. Students will be encouraged to research connections to their communities as well, using the Pennsylvania Historical Society archives along with family documents and stories. In sharing stories with their peers, students may encounter family traditions or beliefs, which are different from their own. This often presents situations where students may disagree or even ridicule, as some students are not tolerant or versed in sharing these personal feelings. It is important for students to learn how to share their beliefs and understand others without disagreement. Students should practice respectful conversation. The purpose of this unit is to teach students how to tell stories through visual means, and to increase student’s awareness and understanding of other generations and cultures. Students will also learn how their cultural history is important and how they contribute to society. They will explore some of these themes: Students will learn how to take clear, narrative photographs that tell stories by varying camera angles and points of view of the camera to manipulate the tone. Students will also improve their multimedia skills by creating multimedia presentations, incorporating sound, photographs, text, images and special effects to tell their stories. This unit will encourage peer collaboration using individual strengths to construct the final presentations, which will improve team building, a skill necessary in order to be a contributing member of society.Introduction
Overview
Rationale
Objectives
Our school, Lewis C. Cassidy Elementary is located in West Philadelphia, in the Overbrook section of the city. Much of the neighborhood remained farmland well into the early 1900s, but with the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad providing easy access to the city, development of the land was planned for residential housing. Engineers drew up plans to bury the entire Mill Creek underground, and combine it with the underground sewer system. The sewer work began in 1867, and construction of the town began in 1892. This is how the train station and the neighborhood received their name, as it was built over the brook and diverted below the station. The neighborhood consists of four smaller neighborhoods, some with large mansions, some with row homes, some with semi-detached or twin homes and others with a variety. Overbrook consists of middle and working class families of a culturally diverse population. The area where our school resides was once an Italian-American community but now consists primarily of African-American families, most with children. There continues to be a changing population consisting of immigrants from Haiti, Mexico, Africa and the Middle East. I am interested in what brought our school and community families to Overbrook, and the experiences they have had that shaped their personal histories. In order to find these stories, students will:
Students will read three short stories that deal with issues in their lives from our seminar: “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara. The narrator of this story is a young girl who goes on a group outing to Fifth Avenue in New York and discovers for the first time what it means to be poor, but also that she lives in a much larger world than the one on her block. Potential Themes: Stereotypes: rich/poor; black/white, urban/suburban. Supplemental resources: Dorothea Lange, Migrant Farm Workers and Walker Evans, photographs of wealthy urban families. Objectives: Developing critical thinking skills through the use of comparison, examining personal beliefs and biases, creating suppositions and drawing conclusions “Girl” by Jamaica Kinkaid. The story is narrated by the girl’s mother, as she gives her daughter advice on growing up to be a stereotypical woman who takes care of her man and stays out of trouble. It could be the advice of any mother to her daughter prior to the late 1960s. Potential Themes: Mother/child relationships, conflict of career versus child rearing, changing roles in parenting over generations. Supplemental resources: Kitchen Table by Carrie Mae Weems. Series of 20 photographs, which examines family relationships using the kitchen table as the backdrop for completing daily tasks. Objectives: Developing critical thinking skills through the use of comparison, examining personal beliefs and biases “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. Presents a conflict between a mother and her daughters, one of whom who has rejected family traditions in the past, and now wants family quilts for her wall, rather than for their intrinsic value. Potential Themes: Mother/daughter relationships, family values, traditions. Objectives: Develop critical thinking skills through analysis of true meaning of the value of quilts, interpret relationships of daughters and their mother To further explore these themes, students will be introduced to the work of Roy De Carava, most notably his street life photographs and book collaboration with Langston Hughes, The Sweet Flypaper of Life. We will study the work of Jamel Shabazz, a more contemporary “Hip Hop” photojournalist whose photos of New York streets, before crack addiction, showed happier times. Students will relate to his style of candid and posed shots that will resemble their own family photo albums. We will look at the phenomenon of Instagram in the same vein of his style as candid shots are taken and posted on social networking sites for wide exposure. These are photographs that capture a moment in time and upon analyzing this type of photograph, much can be ascertained about the subjects and their immediate environments. Students will create their own photographic stories of their home life using technology available–cell phone cameras, digital cameras, computer cameras and digital camcorders. Students will also write stories about their lives, families and ancestors based on interviews and will create podcasts and/or movies using digital slideshows with a soundtrack to their lives. One idea for stories is things their family members carry–in their pockets, their handbags (good luck charms, talisman, comfort, necessities). This ties in to the first seminar class, when we read the John Wideman micro-stories, particularly “War Stories,” where the author talks about the things men carried to battle. What stories would be told about inspection of these items? To me, the possibilities are exciting and students would be able to surmise much about the people in their lives as well as spin tales about what these objects mean. Another rich source might be looking into drawers in common areas of our homes and coming up with ideas for stories, real or imagined. As a child, I remember spending hours looking through closets, drawers, old trunks, boxes and crevices as an explorer whose imagination went wild with endless sources for fantasy. Why not use this resource and natural curiosity about the people we live with and love as a source of inspiration? Students will be introduced to stories and podcasts from NPR’s Story Corps series, Driveway Moments, and This American Life, as inspiration for beginning stories of their own. Many children are used to dramatic, fictional stories in literature while some of the finest stories that can be told are the small moments, the quiet victories, and the subtle lessons that we all experience in our daily lives. Story Corps is an American non-profit organization whose mission is to record, preserve, and share the stories of Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs. The stories are kept at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. They may be accessed online as podcasts, and downloaded to computers via iTunes or other media players from http://storycorps.org/listen/. Driveway Moments are stories aired on NPR that are so compelling that, even when you are driving in your car and have reached your destination, you do not exit your car until the story is over. You’re driving along, listening to a story on NPR. Suddenly, you find yourself at your destination, so riveted to a piece that you sit in your idling car to hear it all the way through. That’s a Driveway Moment. (http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/driveway/) These stories are also available via podcast or streaming through the internet. This American Life includes writers who weave real stories from real people. The stories range from heart-warming accounts to the bizarre, and all are based on real American ways of life. These may be listened to at the NPR website or downloaded via podcast as well, at http://www.thisamericanlife.org/. What The Unit Will Consist of: Who The Target Students Are: This unit is designed for students in Grades 4, 5 and 6, but may be adapted for any age group. Students will explore their family stories, traditions and history and will use interviews as a starting point for their stories, asking family members to recall stories that are handed down. Introduction Many students use worn out words when using descriptive language. In this exercise using photographs, each child will write a paragraph to describe one photograph from a series with the same subject matter, and classmates will guess which photograph they are describing. Students will learn how important it is to use specific details and to put away “worn out words”. Objectives Time Needed 2 45-minute periods Resources Sets of photographs of two subjects–nature, and people from different backgrounds from their neighborhoods Photographs by Ansel Adams to compare to landscape photographs from their neighborhood Dictionary Thesaurus Computers Journals Classroom Activities Introduction Dorothea Lange once said “Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.” How true that is, as we often view history by studying these events recorded by photographers and photojournalists. In this lesson, students will learn to recognize how a photograph can tell a story with just one moment captured. Students will begin by looking at a children’s book whose premise is that the walls built by man over time all over the world hold the stories and histories of its people. Our world is made of many countries, each with unique customs, cultures and traditions that define its people. As technology provides ways for people to move about, these lines are blurring and some countries such as the United States have become melting pots of many different cultures and traditions. While we change, there are still places that show how these countries have provided ways for its people to stay together as a community by living within walls, and by keeping others out. With a book by Margery Burns Knight, students will learn about some of these ancient and not so ancient ways that people were held together. Objectives Time Needed 2-4 45-minute periods Resources Talking Walls, a book by Margy Burns-Knight Photograph series by Henri Cartier Bresson of street candids Photograph series by Carrie Mae Weems called Kitchen Table Series, 1990 Photograph series by Jamel Shabazz of New York before crack cocaine All can be obtained online from researching the internet Classroom Activities Differentiated Instruction For students with different learning styles, this project lends itself to inclusion of many avenues to exhibit the multiple intelligences. Extended Learning Assessments Introduction Every family has a beginning, and a story to tell. Some of our ancestors came here to make a better life for themselves and family members, while some of them found themselves here against their will. Some were forced to flee homelands to escape oppression and violence or religious persecution, or were brought here in slavery or indentured servitude. Whatever brought them here is part of who we are, and much of that is also the life we make for ourselves given the tools we have to find our way. As a way of finding out who we really are, students will research their beginnings through the process of inquiry. Students will begin by asking their families stories about them when they were little. This necessitates conversations with parents–that jogs memories, relives good times, helps them remember facts and feelings they may have forgotten and creates a positive way for families to interact and remember the past. This creates bonds and a respite to ease the stresses of daily life. Objectives Resources James Baldwin’s “Come Out The Wilderness” (rich in imagery) Cameras Smart document camera Scanner Tape Recorders Digital devices such as cell phones, smart phones, camcorders, iPads Computers and Internet Access Software Applications- iMovie, iPhoto, Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel, Keynote, PhotoBooth Flash drives CDR’s for burning files Podcasts from NPR from Story Corps, Driveway Moments and This American Life Time Needed 4-8 weeks, meeting once or twice a week for 45-minutes each period Classroom Activities Assessment A rubric will be assigned for each final project as a way for students to monitor the expectations and their own learning. Students will be encouraged to consult with each other for ideas in completing the final projects because of the variety of strengths students may possess with their learning styles. Students who consult with classmates to utilize other strengths will be rewarded with extra points for collaboration, even though each story/project will be unique due to family histories and experiences.
Lesson Plans
Lesson One: Do You See What I See–Improving Storytelling Through Observation of Details
Lesson Two: If Pictures Could Talk
Lesson Three: A Life Remembered–My Family Has a Story, Too
Annotated Bibliographies DeCarava, Roy, and Langston Hughes. The Sweet Flypaper of Life. New York: Hill and Wang, 19671955. Print. This collaboration between Roy DeCarava and Langston Hughes told the story of a positive side of Harlem, one with beauty and warmth, through the relationships of people using black and white photographs of its residents in daily activities. This book is no longer in print but is available through certain college libraries. Fershleiser, Rachel. “What’s Your ‘Six-Word Memoir’? NPR.” NPR: National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. National Public Radio, n.d. Web. 21 June 2012. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123289019>. Smith Magazine invited writers “famous and obscure” to distill their own life stories into exactly six words. It All Changed in an Instant is the fourth collection of very, very brief life stories from Smith. The tiny memoirs are sometimes sad, often funny, and always concise. Fershleiser, Rachel. It All Changed In An Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure. New York: Harper Perennial, 2010. Print. Authors told their amazing stories in only six words in a very thought provoking way. Gates, Henry Louis, and Nellie Y. McKay. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1996. Print. This huge literary anthology of more than 2,000 pages includes the works of many historical figures as well as important authors from the whole history of black writing. Hughes, Langston. The Best Short Stories by Black Writers: The Classic Anthology From 1899 to 1967. Boston: Little, Brown, 1967. Print. This is a compilation of wonderful stories from African American writers from 1899-1967. Katz, William Loren. Eyewitness: A Living Documentary of the African American Contribution to American History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. Print. In the book, recollections are the words of men and women who witnessed or were there in the making of this history. Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. New York: New Press, 1995. Print. This book is an interesting read that stirs up a great deal of controversy. Whether you agree or disagree, it is an eye opener. It will challenge what you were taught in history books. Moline, Steve. I See What You Mean: Visual Literacy, K-8. Second Edition. Second Edition ed. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers, 2011. Print. This book is a revised edition for teachers to change their thinking from using visual means such as diagrams, mapping and charts, not just for visual learners, but for all learners. He feels that reading and writing ARE visual and must be taught this way. Rae, Noel. Witnessing America: the Library of Congress Book of Firsthand Accounts of Life in America 1600-1900. New York: Penguin Reference, 1996. Print. The book is a compilation of diaries, letters, memoirs, articles, ads, and more of ordinary men and women. Shabazz, Jamel, Charlie Ahearn, and Terrence Jennings. Jamel Shabazz – A Time Before Crack. New York: PowerHouse Books, 2005. Print. This book of photographs highlights through images, the changes in one neighborhood, when times were good. His style of photography is very much like old Polaroids and candid shots, and will appeal to the “Instagram” generation. Shabazz, Jamel, and Lauri Lyons. Seconds Of My Life. Brooklyn, NY: PowerHouse Books, 2007. Print. I found this book of photographs to be uplifting and very revealing of the people within its pages. You felt like you knew some of the people personally, as you entered their homes through the photographs. Smith, Michael. Spirit World, Patterns In The Expressive Folk Culture of African-American New Orleans, Photographs and Journal. Gretna: Pelican Publishing Company, 1992. Print. Expressive black and white photographs show the variety of residents from New Orleans–through celebrations, rituals, ceremonies and prayer. It is a book, which illustrates the colorful personalities of its inhabitants using a monochromatic palette. “Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.” Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Smithsonian Institute, n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2012. <www.si.edu/folklife/ The Smithsonian Center for Folklife is an educational institution that promotes the cultures of many grassroots organizations all over our country and the world. They produce the festival, recordings, exhibitions, documentaries and other means of providing support for their mission. “StoryCorps.” StoryCorps. National Public Radio, n.d. Web. 21 June 2012. <http://storycorps.org/>. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind, whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. Each story is recorded on CD and stored at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. “StoryCorps.” StoryCorps. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 June 2012. <http://storycorps.org/>. Swope, Sam, and Barry Root. “Wired 14.11: Very Short Stories.” Wired.com . N.p., n.d. Web. 21 June 2012. <http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.11/sixwords.html>. To quote the website, “33 writers. 5 designers. 6-word science fiction.” Exciting. “Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture | The New York Public Library | The New York Public Library.” Welcome to The New York Public Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 June 2012. <http://www.nypl.org/locations/schomburg>. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture provides an online site with access to a multitude of research papers, photographs, artifacts and audio from people from Africa and the African Diaspora Willis, Deborah. Early Black Photographers, 1840-1940: 23 postcards. New York: New Press, 1992. Print. This book of 23 postcards shows some of the early pioneers in photography, even before slavery. The black and white images are beautiful. Resources for Children Greenfield, Eloise. Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir. New York: Harper Collins, 1993. Print. In her book, Ms. Greenfield recounts three generations of black women during their childhood as they grow up-a grandmother, mother and daughter. The book is for students in Grade 4 and up. Hamanaka, Sheila. All The Colors of The Earth. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1994. Print. This book is geared for children from ages 4 and up. It talks about the colors of people in lyrical terms to encourage the joy of how unique each one of us is. Hamilton, Virginia, Leo Dillon, and Diane Dillon. Her stories: African American folktales, fairy tales, and true tales. New York: Blue Sky Press, 1995. Print. It is refreshing to read a book about women’s stories, especially strong women. This book is written for children in Grades 2 and up. Katz, William Loren. Eyewitness: a living documentary of the African American contribution to American history. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. Print. In the book, recollections are the words of men and women who witnessed or were there, in the making of this history. Knight, Margy Burns, and Anne Sibley Brien. Talking walls. Gardiner, ME: Tilbury House Publishers, 1992. Print. This book is written for children but there is also a teacher’s guide to assist children in making connections to other cultures and subjects across the curriculum. Meltzer, Milton. The Black Americans: A History in Their Own Words, 1619-1983. New York: T.Y. Crowell, 1984. Print. This book is for children and presents an excellent overview of where African Americans have come from and where they are going from the voices of their people. Naylor, Gloria. Children of the night: the best short stories by Black writers, 1967 to the present. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1995. Print. This is the children’s version of short stories. Shepard, Ray Anthony, John Ross, Clare Romano, and Charles W. Chesnutt. Conjure Tales. [1st ed. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1973. Print. Works Cited Annotated Bibliographies DeCarava, Roy, and Langston Hughes. The Sweet Flypaper of Life. New York: Hill and Wang, 19671955. Print. This collaboration between Roy DeCarava and Langston Hughes told the story of a positive side of Harlem, one with beauty and warmth, through the relationships of people using black and white photographs of its residents in daily activities. This book is no longer in print but is available through certain college libraries. Fershleiser, Rachel. “What’s Your ‘Six-Word Memoir’? NPR.” NPR: National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. National Public Radio, n.d. Web. 21 June 2012. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123289019>. Smith Magazine invited writers “famous and obscure” to distill their own life stories into exactly six words. It All Changed in an Instant is the fourth collection of very, very brief life stories from Smith. The tiny memoirs are sometimes sad, often funny, and always concise. Fershleiser, Rachel. It All Changed In An Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure. New York: Harper Perennial, 2010. Print. Authors told their amazing stories in only six words in a very thought provoking way. Gates, Henry Louis, and Nellie Y. McKay. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1996. Print. This huge literary anthology of more than 2,000 pages includes the works of many historical figures as well as important authors from the whole history of black writing. Hughes, Langston. The Best Short Stories by Black Writers: The Classic Anthology From 1899 to 1967. Boston: Little, Brown, 1967. Print. This is a compilation of wonderful stories from African American writers from 1899-1967. Katz, William Loren. Eyewitness: A Living Documentary of the African American Contribution to American History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. Print. In the book, recollections are the words of men and women who witnessed or were there in the making of this history. Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. New York: New Press, 1995. Print. This book is an interesting read that stirs up a great deal of controversy. Whether you agree or disagree, it is an eye opener. It will challenge what you were taught in history books. Moline, Steve. I See What You Mean: Visual Literacy, K-8. Second Edition. Second Edition ed. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers, 2011. Print. This book is a revised edition for teachers to change their thinking from using visual means such as diagrams, mapping and charts, not just for visual learners, but for all learners. He feels that reading and writing ARE visual and must be taught this way. Rae, Noel. Witnessing America: the Library of Congress Book of Firsthand Accounts of Life in America 1600-1900. New York: Penguin Reference, 1996. Print. The book is a compilation of diaries, letters, memoirs, articles, ads, and more of ordinary men and women. Shabazz, Jamel, Charlie Ahearn, and Terrence Jennings. Jamel Shabazz – A Time Before Crack. New York: PowerHouse Books, 2005. Print. This book of photographs highlights through images, the changes in one neighborhood, when times were good. His style of photography is very much like old Polaroids and candid shots, and will appeal to the “Instagram” generation. Shabazz, Jamel, and Lauri Lyons. Seconds Of My Life. Brooklyn, NY: PowerHouse Books, 2007. Print. I found this book of photographs to be uplifting and very revealing of the people within its pages. You felt like you knew some of the people personally, as you entered their homes through the photographs. Smith, Michael. Spirit World, Patterns In The Expressive Folk Culture of African-American New Orleans, Photographs and Journal. Gretna: Pelican Publishing Company, 1992. Print. Expressive black and white photographs show the variety of residents from New Orleans–through celebrations, rituals, ceremonies and prayer. It is a book, which illustrates the colorful personalities of its inhabitants using a monochromatic palette. “Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.” Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Smithsonian Institute, n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2012. <www.si.edu/folklife/ The Smithsonian Center for Folklife is an educational institution that promotes the cultures of many grassroots organizations all over our country and the world. They produce the festival, recordings, exhibitions, documentaries and other means of providing support for their mission. “StoryCorps.” StoryCorps. National Public Radio, n.d. Web. 21 June 2012. <http://storycorps.org/>. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind, whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. Each story is recorded on CD and stored at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. “StoryCorps.” StoryCorps. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 June 2012. <http://storycorps.org/>. Swope, Sam, and Barry Root. “Wired 14.11: Very Short Stories.” Wired.com . N.p., n.d. Web. 21 June 2012. <http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.11/sixwords.html>. To quote the website, “33 writers. 5 designers. 6-word science fiction.” Exciting. “Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture | The New York Public Library | The New York Public Library.” Welcome to The New York Public Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 June 2012. <http://www.nypl.org/locations/schomburg>. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture provides an online site with access to a multitude of research papers, photographs, artifacts and audio from people from Africa and the African Diaspora Willis, Deborah. Early Black Photographers, 1840-1940: 23 postcards. New York: New Press, 1992. Print. This book of 23 postcards shows some of the early pioneers in photography, even before slavery. The black and white images are beautiful. Resources for Children Greenfield, Eloise. Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir. New York: Harper Collins, 1993. Print. In her book, Ms. Greenfield recounts three generations of black women during their childhood as they grow up-a grandmother, mother and daughter. The book is for students in Grade 4 and up. Hamanaka, Sheila. All The Colors of The Earth. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1994. Print. This book is geared for children from ages 4 and up. It talks about the colors of people in lyrical terms to encourage the joy of how unique each one of us is. Hamilton, Virginia, Leo Dillon, and Diane Dillon. Her stories: African American folktales, fairy tales, and true tales. New York: Blue Sky Press, 1995. Print. It is refreshing to read a book about women’s stories, especially strong women. This book is written for children in Grades 2 and up. Katz, William Loren. Eyewitness: a living documentary of the African American contribution to American history. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. Print. In the book, recollections are the words of men and women who witnessed or were there, in the making of this history. Knight, Margy Burns, and Anne Sibley Brien. Talking walls. Gardiner, ME: Tilbury House Publishers, 1992. Print. This book is written for children but there is also a teacher’s guide to assist children in making connections to other cultures and subjects across the curriculum. Meltzer, Milton. The Black Americans: A History in Their Own Words, 1619-1983. New York: T.Y. Crowell, 1984. Print. This book is for children and presents an excellent overview of where African Americans have come from and where they are going from the voices of their people. Naylor, Gloria. Children of the night: the best short stories by Black writers, 1967 to the present. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1995. Print. This is the children’s version of short stories. Shepard, Ray Anthony, John Ross, Clare Romano, and Charles W. Chesnutt. Conjure Tales. [1st ed. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1973. Print. Works Cited