LM_NET: Library Media Networking
Dear LM_Netters,
Here are the results of the following questions that were previously posted=
:
I am examining nonfiction library books for lower elementary grade=
s
for a research project. There is a feeling that because students at this ag=
e
level lack historical understanding few history books are published at this
level.
Based on your library collection, do you find this to be true?
Also, publishers are not interested in publishing children's books dealing
with topics before WWII. They also feel that discussions of conflicts in
history may make the books controversial. Should authors of history books
write controversial history books for children? Why or why not.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------=20
Response 1:=20
I would highly recommend all the books by Jean Fritz, i. e. "Ssh! We=92re
writing the Constitution" or " What's the big idea Ben Franklin?" Also
David Adler & others wrote for a series First Biographies, i.e. "My first
biography: Martin L. King. Fritz also wrote a longer book for 3rd graders,
"The double life of Pocahantas". I like her writing best of all because sh=
e
puts interesting less known facts and makes the stories really exciting for
young students. "A Day in the Life of Samuel Eaton" & " A Day in the life o=
f
Sarah Morton" are wonderful stories of children who came to America as
Pilgrims.
Response 2:
I my opinion we desperately need history books written for the elementary
level. It is one of the weakest parts of my collection and one where
children are consistently asking for information. I don't see books of thi=
s
nature as being controversial, we don't need opinion books about history or
the pros.coms of an issue we just need factual books suitable for elementar=
y
age children that tell about history.
Response 3:
As a preK-1 Media Specialist, I never miss an opportunity to let publishers
know that, based on my experiences, they're dead wrong on this one! Every
year I have several children-mostly boys- with a keen and voracious appetit=
e
for nonfiction historical titles. As an example, this year I have one child
with a profound interest in post-medieval military warfare up to about the
time just before WWI. I have another with a fascination for anything having
to do with Ancient Egypt- especially female rulers! It's they=92re interest=
ed
in, it's the facts- things like how castles were built or mummies were made=
,
what a drummer boy or page's day was like, what a mace or a madrigal looked
like. Something along the lines of a Dorling Kindersley visual dictionary
crossed with Gail Gibbons and the Magic Tree House series. As far as
conflict and controversy goes, many of my "history" students tell me that
they became interested in history because of movies they've seen:
Braveheart, The Last of the Mohicans, etc. Everything from those films to
that awful WB cartoon (Histeria!) offers a perspective of history as told b=
y
Hollywood. This concerns me greatly- I think we need well researched,
carefully written and illustrated options which weren't designed to boost
box office ratings or sell sugar cereals. I'm not sure I've expressed mysel=
f
well; let me know if you were looking for something more specific as a
response.
Response 4:
I agree that there are not too many history books for lower elem. grades. A
couple that I particularly love are so You Want to Be President (lots of
history in an amusing format) and How we crossed the West: the adventures o=
f
Lewis & Clark by Schanzer, Rosalyn. On the Mayflower, Tapemun's day, Samuel
Eaton's day, and Sarah Morton's day by Kate Waters are excellent.=20
I do think good biography is a terrific way for kids to be
introduced to history and of course historical fiction can be powerfully
educational. (Like The Drinking Gourd by Monjo to introduce the Underground
Railroad.)
Response 5:
You are asking a very important question. We need to promote the study of
history, biography and geography for kids ages 4 to 8. "Historical
understanding" changes with every age, but all ages love and retain stories=
.
The personages they hear about in grades K-3 will be all the more vivid and
important to them when they encounter them again in grades 4-9. At lower
elementary we lay the groundwork for a love of history. Do they understand
time and distance the way 5th graders do? No. But I've changed my concept o=
f
space and time over my adult years, as well. Don't let a need for
"historical understanding" get in the way of storytelling, and
history-telling.=20
The Core Knowledge Foundation (http://www.coreknowledge.org) uses this
approach. Their K-8 curriculum teaches American and World History and
Geography in every level from Kindergarten up. Here are some good titles.
All will suit gr.2-3; some are good for younger kids, too:
HISTORY
Finding the Titanic by Ballard (Hello Reader Level 4). Excellent photos and
text.
Gargoyles by Dussling. (All Aboard, Level 2) Sculptures on medieval
churches.=20
The Great History Search by Khanduri. An "I Spy" type book from BC to
1930's.=20
Sea of Ice: The Wreck of the Endurance by Kulling (Step Into Reading Level
3)
A Street Through Time: A 12000 Year Walk Through History by Millard. K-up
will pour over these pages where the same landscape changes over time.=20
The Trail of Tears by Bruchac (Step Into Reading Level 4) Cherokee forced
march.
The Trojan Horse: How the Greeks Won the War by Little. (Step Into Reading
Level 4)
HISTORICAL FICTION:
Baseball Saved Us by Mochizuki. (Japanese family interned in US during
WWII.)
Little House books by Wilder.
Mailing May by Tunnell. (In early Idaho, pa sends May to grandma by train's
mail car.)
Redcoats and Petticoats by Kirkpatrick (Based on fact, about spies in the
American Revolution)
BIOGRAPHY
Abe Lincoln's Hat by Brenner (Step Into Reading Level 2) K-up would like
this.
Columbus Day by Liestman (Accurate account of Columbus for gr. 2-3)
Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express by Wetterer. 19c. rescue of train in
storm.=20
Passage to Freedom: the Sugihara Story. Japanese consul helps Jews in WWII.
Teammates by Golenbock. Jackie Robinson and Peewee Reese. Baseball
integration.
The Story of Ruby Bridges by Coles. Integration of school in LA.
I sent off my answer to you a few hours ago, but I see I didn't answer your
most interesting questions. I think you are right that publishers are guide=
d
by the attitudes of the educational community who don't realize how
interested young children are in history. For this reason, American student=
s
are not exposed to history at primary except for old and tired
interpretations of Columbus, the first Thanksgiving, and Martin Luther
King's I Have a Dream speech. What are we to do? Myself, I read to first an=
d
second graders a lot of the books on the list I just gave you, and I create=
d
a time line in the library so they could see where the stories fit
historically. I used a world map to show where the folktales I read came
from. But should publishers produce controversial books for primary readers=
?
I think so. Liestman's book, Columbus Day, does show Columbus as a
flawed person and does point out that American Indians did not benefit from
his conquest. My own experience with the book, however, is that the primary
teachers were mostly reluctant to use the book. We have a long way to go to
help schools expose controversial topics. Joy Hakim's series of U. S.
history books, A History of US, for upper elementary also confront
controversial topics, though not so blatantly as to create a cynical
attitude in children.=20
I have many great books on the shelf dealing with history
before WWII. Many students do not take them out as much because they are
usually more difficult to read. Students take them out for projects.=20
History books as in public libraries are usually checked out for reports an=
d
not fun reading. In the American Revolution and early life in America. So=
,
my collection would reflect the research needs of the elementary students.=
=20
If anything, I really don=92t have many books after WWII
My response to above:
Its surprising though that I've gotten very mixed answers. Some feel that
teachers are reluctant to do or say anything controversial out of concern
for the parents=92 reaction.
"The personages they hear about in grades K-3 will be all the more vivid an=
d
important to them when they encounter them again in grades 4-9." =20
This is a great statement!=20
I agree with you wholeheartedly. I used to teach on high school level and I
was so dismayed at some of the myths and inaccurate information that had
been fed to them during elementary school.=20
Here are a few picture books that can be used to talk about Vietnam War:
The Wall by Eve Bunting
Sweet Dried Apples: A Vietnamese Wartime Childhood by Rosemary Breckler
Response 5 in response to above:
I used the Wall successfully once with third graders. I wonder if it's too
painful for K-2?=20
You know, the fact that teachers are feeding "myths and inaccuracies", as
you rightly say, to elementary kids is largely because: a) the teachers wer=
e
taught these non-facts and believe them to be true, and b) the teachers
don't have good textbooks for history to rely on. I still think the Core
Knowledge Foundation is our hope for history. More schools should know abou=
t
it. What Core K. has done is to create a curriculum of core facts that a
teacher can use along with the district curriculum. Each year the Core
Knowledge Foundation hosts a conference where teachers bring lesson plans
and pass on ideas to each other, and refine the scope and sequence. Some
entire schools and districts have adopted Core Knowledge, and in some place=
s
individual teachers are adding elements of Core Knowledge on their own to
their class work.
Marjorie Pettersen
Library Media Specialist
East School
Torrington,CT
mpettersen@torrington.org
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