Social+Studies+Texts

**Chasteen, John Charles. (2006). //Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America (2nd Edition)//. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.**

//Born in Blood and Fire// attempts to unify the diverse experiences of Latin America’s countries into one concise history. The author claims that from the first encounter between indigenous groups in the Western Hemisphere and European explorers, Latin American history is one of struggle. Once a struggle between slave and slaveholder, colonized and colonizer, and rich and poor, Chasteen connects the historic class and race conflict to today’s conflict between nationalism and liberalism. The theme of struggle and conflict provides the structure within which the unified history of Latin America is told.

The events within this text cover a significant portion of Latin America from colonization all the way through neoliberal economic policies of the latter part of the 20th century. The roughly 330-page book is organized chronologically into 10 chapters, as well as a glossary with defined key terms, acknowledgments, and an index. The book is intended for beginning-level college social science courses, particularly in subfield of Latin American history. Given the density of the text, instructors at the high school may consider selecting only some portions of the book or using it in upper-level courses. Though the content is interesting, the topics addressed may not be engaging and accessible to a number of secondary students without supplemental materials and activities to increase comprehension.

**Goff, Brent. (2008). //History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals.// Rancho Cordova, CA: Teachers’ Curriculum Institute.**

This textbook covers United States History from the pre-revolutionary colonial America to the aftermath of 9/11. The 60-chapter text covers 18 units, all of which are organized chronologically. While each chapter begins with an essential question that focuses the content, the authors also connect each chapter to the general theme of the book—//pursuing American ideals//. The connection to broader themes allows teachers to integrate enduring understandings of historical content across time and space.

The structure of the content within each chapter aids in comprehension. Chapters are relatively brief and divided into subheadings. This allows teachers to break up reading into manageable sizes. Additionally, every chapter also includes a brief, one-paragraph summary and key vocabulary words with definitions at the end.

The language of the text may be difficult for students below grade level in reading comprehension. The vocabulary is challenging at times, and the dryness of the text may decrease engagement.

The publishing company, //Teacher’s Curriculum Institute//, offers a number of online resources, including subscriptions to read the text online and links to lesson plans related to the book’s content. Teachers may also use the //TCi// website to search for standards correlations for each state, grade level, and subfield.

**Zinn, Howard. (2003). //A People’s Hisotry of the United States: 1492—Present.// New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.**

//A People’s History//is a written history of the United States of America from the perspective of typically underrepresented voices. The text covers more than five centuries, from the first encounter between Columbus and the Arawak people up through the post-9/11 “War on Terror” during the Bush Administration. Written chronologically, the twenty-five chapters (plus an afterward) each cover a different period in history. Alongside a more traditional U.S. history textbook, this text is useful to teach diverse perspectives on historical events. As indicated by the author, the historic content is expressed through the lense of historically margnalized people, namely women, immigrants, African-Americans and slaves, Native Indians, and other persons of color. The book’s factual information is derived from both primary and secondary source documents, all of which are categorized in the bibliography by chapter.

This book is appropriate for upper-level secondary classes and above only. Though the vocabulary is not excessively challenging or jargon-laden, the nearly 700-page text is significantly dry and dense. Due to the chronological breakup of history in separate chapters, instructors may easily use isolated sections of the book to supplement course materials. Furthermore, the text is available online free of charge, making it more accessible to a variety of school contexts.

** Kennedy, David M., and Thomas A. Bailey, eds. //The American Spirit//. 11th. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. Print. **

// The American Spirit // is designed to be used as a supplemental text to any US History survey text. It is a comprehensive reader that houses primary source documents on a variety of important issues spanning the early history of the United States from its colonial legacy through Reconstruction in the years following the Civil War. //The American Pageant// explores American history through the use of key documents in political and diplomatic history alongside important topics of social and cultural history. Each section has a prologue written by the editors and is concluded with “thought provoking” questions to engage the students and bring history to life.

// The American Spirit // is written for use primarily in an Advanced Placement classroom. Because the documents are primary sources, the language can be difficult for students to discern. The documents are often written in antiquated language that is beyond the comfort level of many readers. The editors offer up description of the issues at hand so that students have a basis on which to analyze each source. One of the most important skills for a social scientist to possess is the ability to extract meaning from primary sources. This text facilitates students in achieving that goal.

Though this text uses a variety of sources, it is important to remember that it is designed to supplement a survey history text. The language is difficult, and teachers would be well advised to select only the most appropriate sources for classroom exploration and analysis. Resources and additional information can be found on the publishers website.


 * Leeson, Susan M., et al. //We The People: The Citizen and the Constitution//. Calabasas, CA: Center for Civic Education, 2009. Print. **

This text provides an investigation of the Constitution and our responsibilities under it as citizens of the United States. It is designed to be used in a government or civics class, but can be adapted to other classes. This is the primary text used by the Constitution Team at Grant High School in Portland, Oregon to help them prepare for local, state, and federal competitions. The text has a friendly structure that breaks six units up into six or seven lessons. The six units in the text examine important concepts including:


 * Historical and philosophical foundations of our country’s ideas about constitutional government.
 * Creation of the Constitution
 * Expansion of rights since the ratification of the Constitution in 1788
 * Organization of the national government
 * Meanings of the various rights guaranteed in the Bill of rights
 * Roles of citizens in American democracy

The chapters are designed to facilitate student understanding. Every lesson includes a “what do you think” exercise and one or more “critical thinking exercise.” The structure and layout of this text makes it extremely considerate of the reader and divergent abilities. It is designed for a high school civics course, but the ease of use makes it appropriate for younger high school students as well as older ones. Students who use this text in their government course will be well-informed citizens who are well aware of their rights and responsibilities.

The primary goal of We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, as described by the publisher, is to promote civic competence and responsibility among the nation’s upper elementary and secondary students. The design of the instructional program, including its innovative culminating activity, makes the program successful with both teachers and students. The program enjoys the active participation of members of Congress, as well as support from educational, professional, business, and community organizations across the nation. Since the inception of the We the People program in 1987, more than 30 million students and 90,000 educators have participated in this innovative course of study.