Diverse Early Literacy Books for Social Studies by Jane M. Gangi

Note: This is a bibliography of early literacy books focused on social studies topics and the description of a way to share texts (Check It Out! Circle) that my friend and colleague Jane M. Gangi created and presented at a education conference a few weeks ago.  Jane's are of expertise is in children's literature. She is the author of numerous articles and three professional books including:

Genocide in Contemporary Children's and Young Adult Literature: Cambodia to Darfur (Children's Literature and Culture)   (Routledge, 2014)
(You can read more about this text here.)


Deepening Literacy Learning: Art and Literature Engagements in K-8 Classrooms (Teaching-Learning Indigenous, Intercultural Worldviews) 



Encountering Children's Literature: An Arts Approach. 

Diverse Books for Young Children: Connecting Social Studies and Literacy

Presenter:

Jane M. Gangi: jane.gangi@msmc.edu

Division of Education

Member, Collaborative for Equity in Literacy Learning (CELL)

Hudson Hall, 109D

Mount Saint Mary College

330 Powell Ave

Newburgh, NY 12550

Phone: 845-569-3529

AGENDA

Mirror and Window Books and the Proficient Reader Research

Check It Out Circle: Children’s Literature and the Social Studies. Sibberson and Szymusiak, (2003):

A Check It Out! Circle is another way to support book choice.  We use this activity when we want to highlight a certain author or genre.  If we notice that very few students have read a biography, for example, we will organize a…Circle to introduce them to some biographies that we hope they will choose to read independently. 

Before we begin a …Circle, we collect the same number of books in the genre we are highlighting….as there are students in the class.  Then we have the children sit in a large circle on the floor.  We walk around the circle, give each child a book, and ask them to silently preview the book.  After just a minute, we ring a bell and have the children pass the book to the child on their right.  We continue doing this until every child has had a chance to briefly look at each book.  We limit the amount of time because it gives students just enough time to find something interesting, but not enough time for them to read the books.  As a result, they are often eager to get their hands on the books that particularly interested them.

Following the activity, we usually ask two questions: “Which books did you see that you want to go back to during independent reading time?” and “How did you go about previewing the book in such a short time?” (p. 95)

C3 FRAMEWORK FOR THE SOCIAL STUDIES. Retrieved from http://www.socialstudies.org/system/files/c3/C3-Framework-for-Social-Studies.pdf

Civics: Civic and Political Institutions; Participation and Deliberation; Processes, Rules and Laws

 ¡Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can! Janitor Strike in L.A by Diana Cohn; Francisco Delgado, illustrator

from The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families 

Economics: Decision Making; Exchange and Markets; National and Global Economy

1. Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo by Kevin Lewis, illustrated by Daniel Kirk
2. The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough by Katie Smith Milway, illustrated by Sylvie Daigneault
3. If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World’s People (2^nd ed.) by David J. Smith, illustrated by Shelagh Armstrong
4. The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore
5. One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference by Katie Smith Milway, illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
6. Quinito’s Neighborhood/El vecíndario de Quinito by Ina Cumpiano, illustrated by José Ramírez
7. Seeds of Change by Jen Cullerton Johnson, illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler

from How Far Do You Love Me? 

Geography: Spatial Views; Place, Regions and Culture; Population; Global Interconnections

1. Alphabet City by Stephen T. Johnson
2. Amazing Faces, poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrated by Chris Soentpiet
3. Animal Poems of the Iguazú/Animalario del Iguazú by Francisco Alarcón, illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez
4. Bein’ with You This Way by W. Nikola-Lisa, illustrated by Michael Bryant
5. Celebrate! Connections Among Cultures by Jan Reynolds
6. Efraín of the Sonoran Desert by Amalia Astorga, as told to Gary Paul Nabhan, illustrated by Janet K. Miller
7. A Full Moon Is Rising, poems by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Julia Cairns
8. The Gum Chewing Rattler by Joe Hayes, illustrated by Antonio Castro L.
9. How Far Do You Love Me? by Lulu Delacre
10. Listen to the Desert/Oye al desierto by Pat Mora, illustrated by Francisco X. Mora

from Shi-shi-etko 

11. Shi-shi-etko by Nicola I. Campbell, illustrated by Kim LaFave

12. Talking Walls by Margy Burns Knight, illustrated by Anne Sibley O’Brien

13. Tan to Tamarind, poems by Malathi Michelle Iyengar, illustrated by Jamel Aikb
By Jan Reynolds:

1. Amazon Basin  
2. Down Under
3. Far North
4. Frozen Land
5. Himalaya
6. Mongolia
7. Sahara

 

from Yum!¡MmMm! Qué rico¡ America’s Sproutings 

History: Change, Continuity, and Context; Perspectives; Sources and Evidence; Causation and Argumentation

1. Drumbeat in Our Feet by Patricia A. Keeler and Júlio T. Leitão
2. My Papa Diego and Me: Memories of My Father and His Art/Mi papa Diego y yo/Recuerdos de mi padre y su arte  by Guadalupe Rivera Marín and Diego Rivera
3. Yum!¡MmMm! Qué rico¡ America’s Sproutings by Pat Mora, illustrated by Rafael López

 

Bebop Books Leveled Books: https://www.leeandlow.com/imprints/2

Resources for Children’s and Young Adult Literature: http://cell.msmc.edu/literature/

There are multiple resources for young children at this site.

Publishers of Multicultural Books:

Lee & Low Books: https://www.leeandlow.com/

Cinco Puntos: http://www.cincopuntos.com/

Groundwood Books: http://groundwoodbooks.com/

Reference

Sibberson, F & Szymusiak, K.  (2003).  Still learning to read: Teaching students in grades 3-6.  Portland, ME: Stenhouse.