Student Texts
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Our searchable library of short texts offers a diverse mix of stories and perspectives. This multigenre, multimedia collection aligns with the Common Core's recommendations for text complexity and the Learning for Justice Social Justice Standards.

Choose from informational and literary nonfiction texts, literature, photographs, political cartoons, interviews, infographics and more. You can also filter by text type, grade level, subject and topic.

“The leveled texts have really helped me engage students and introduce them to complex topics in a way they can understand.”

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Social Justice Domain
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179 Texts

Literature

Papalotzin and the Monarchs: A Bilingual Tale of Breaking Down Walls

When a wall is built between the Great North and the Great South, nothing can pass by it, not the clouds or the wind or even the monarch butterflies. When both sides begin to suffer, Papalotzin, Royal Butterfly, breaks down the Great Wall.
by
Rigoberto González
Grade Level
Subject
Civics
History
Economics
Geography
Social Justice Domain
July 2, 2014
Informational

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas

Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the opinion for Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, a groundbreaking case that overturned the "separate but equal" standard set forth in Plessy v. Ferguson. The Supreme Court decided this case unanimously on May 17, 1954.
by
Earl Warren
Grade Level
Subject
Civics
History
Social Justice Domain
July 2, 2014
Informational

A Girl and a Word

Laura Linn's article explores how Rosa Marcellino, a nine-year old with Down syndrome, and her family worked to eliminate the phrase "mentally retarded" from official use. "Rosa's Law" is living, legislative proof that their hard work paid off.
by
Laura Linn
Grade Level
3-5
Subject
Civics
History
Social Justice Domain
July 2, 2014
Informational

An Address to the Slaves of the United States of America

Henry Highland Garnet was an African-American abolitionist, minister, educator and newspaper editor. Garnet delivered “An Address to the Slaves of the United States of America” at the National Negro Convention in Buffalo, N.Y., on Aug. 16, 1843.
by
Henry Highland Garnet
Grade Level
Subject
History
Social Justice Domain
July 2, 2014
Literature

Ninth Ward

The narrative voice belongs to Lanesha, a 12-year-old girl growing up in New Orleans. Lanesha is frequently picked on and teased because she has a special gift—the ability to see ghosts and spirits. Used to being bullied herself, in this scene Lanesha is a witness when someone else is the target.
by
Jewell Parker Rhodes
Grade Level
Social Justice Domain
July 2, 2014