Recommended Resource Materials List Annotated - New Page 4

An Annotated List of Recommended
Secondary-Level Instructional Materials
for Teachers, Students, and Parents
(Grades 6-12) "Character Through The Arts" Books for Teachers and Students, Guidebooks, Resource Books,
Music Cassettes, Music CDs, Videos, Art Prints,
Curriculum Materials, Teacher Guides,
Instructional Lessons, Instructional Units Prepared by
Gordon Vessels, Project Director Recommended Resource Materials List for Grades 6-12
|Title/Author/Publisher |Type |For |Grade|Rat|Comments & Cost |
| | |Whom |s |e | |
A Gathering of Flowers Edited by Joyce Carol Thomas for The Center for
Learning, P.O. Box 910, Villa Maria, PA 16155 (800) 767-9090
www.centerforlearning.org |13 lesson plans
49 handouts |Teachers |Grades 9-12 |10 |This is a collection of
multicultural stories that chronicle growing up in America. It represents
Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and African
Americans as they blend their diversity into American culture. It includes
portfolio writing, writing a short story or play, an evaluation of
symbolism, similes, and metaphors in the stories, writing a human interest
story for the school paper, and a focus on compassion, respect, and
responsibility. $18.95 | |A Native American Encyclopedia: History,
Culture, Peoples by Barry M. Pritzker, 2000, (Editor), Oxford University
Press, 198 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016 (212) 726-6000 |Book
|Teachers Students |All grades |10 |Dispelling myths, answering questions,
and stimulating thoughtful avenues for further inquiry, this readable
reference book provides specific information about all known North American
Indians. Readers will enjoy the narratives about everything from notable
leaders and relations with non-natives to customs, dress, dwellings, and
weapons, to government and religion. Addressing over 200 groups of Native
American groups in Canada and the United States, A Native American
Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and People is at once exhaustive yet
readable, covering a myriad of aspects of a people spread across ten
geographical regions. I could not find this through Oxford but did find it
on Amazon. From $21.00 new. | |A Sympathetic Understanding of the Child:
Birth to Sixteen (3rd Edition) by David Elkind, 1994, Allyn and Bacon,
3209 San Tomas Drive Oceanside, CA 92056 (800) 917-4112
www.dealsdealsdeals.com |Book |Educators |All grades |10 |This is a child-
centered introduction to child development. It is practical and research-
based without being research-oriented. Looking at children over small time
periods, it reveals patterns of growth and development at each age. The
text strives to convey a sympathetic understanding that parents and
teachers can use in their interactions with young people. $40.00 new and
from $10.50 used on Amazon. | |Active Citizenship: Empowering America's
Youth Published by the Center for Multicultural Cooperation, P.O. Box
1385, Coarsegold, CA 93614 (800) 432-3618 www.activecitizenship.org
|Curriculum |Teachers |Grade 8-12 |9 |In this unit, students are
introduced to the knowledge, skills and values of responsible citizenship.
Lessons lead to the Active Citizenship Project whereby students identify a
real political problem, research it, and propose a solution. Part I looks
at foundational documents and introduces students to the political problem-
solving process; Part II exposes students to American values and religious
freedom; Part III looks at the value of dialogue and critical thinking;
Part IV looks at political problems (violence, racism, hate crimes, equity,
conservation); Part V has lessons and activities related to a) perceptions
of democracy in school, b) perceptions of the media, and c) uses of
propaganda. The activities address character education, particularly the
rights and responsibilities of citizens. All the appealing lessons
emphasize democratic principles, justice and due process. Diverse points of
view are allowed. Attention is given to development of students' higher
level thinking. | |Advisor/Advisee Character Education: Lessons for
Teachers and Counselors by Sarah Sadlow, Available from the Character
Development Group, P.O. Box 9211, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-9211 (919) 967-
2110 www.charactereducation.com |Book |Educators |Grades 6-12 |9 |The
book brings character education into the homeroom or advisee/advisor
environment with 24 lessons on the basic tenets of character. Lessons are
particularly applicable for middle and high school teachers and counselors.
$24.95 | |African American Voices in Young Adult Literature by Karen
Patricia Smith, 1994 & 2001, Scarecrow Press, 15200 NBN Way, P.O. Box 191,
Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214 www.scarecrowpress.com |Book |Teachers |All
grades |9 |Designed to be used by librarians and teachers who are exploring
works written by and for African Americans. This is a good professional
source to help in choosing literature for school libraries. It will fill
an important need for school and public libraries seeking a more scholarly
dialogue on African-American literature for teens. $42.00 new; $20+ used. |
|All Kids Are Our Kids: What Communities Must Do to Raise Caring and
Responsible Children and Adolescents by Peter Benson, 1997, Jossey-Bass,
350 Sansome Street, San Francisco, CA 94104 www.jossey-bass.com |Book
|Teachers |Grades 5-12 |9.5 |This book presents the "developmental assets"
approach to character building, which is communitarian and puts the
responsibility on all members of the larger community, not just teachers
and parents. Their survey research over 20 years with grades 6-12 is
impressive. $30.00 new; $13.69 used through Amazon. | |America in
Upheaval: The 1960's by teacher authors at The Center for Learning, P.O.
Box 910
Villa Maria, PA 16155 (800) 767-9090 www.centerforlearning.org
[This organization has hundreds of units and thousands
of lessons with handouts.] |10 Lessons 1 90 page guide 25 handouts
|Teachers |Grades 9-12 |10+ |This is an example of a unit that guides
students in the use of primary sources. Like all Center for Learning
units, it identifies virtues to be cultivated. Students analyze and
interpret historical documents to discover more about the political,
social, and economic movements in U.S. History. Each lesson contains at
least one primary source to encourage independent and collaborative
thinking. Lessons include organizing farm workers, American film, the rock
invasion, the Miranda Rights, and school prayer. $27.95 | |American
Promise Published by the Farmers Insurance Group, Inc., P.O. Box 514989,
Los Angeles, CA 90051-4989 (800) 204-7722 www.americanpromise.com
|Video Curriculum |Students Teacher |Grade 5-12 |9 |This video is a three-
hour documentary which describes the principles of democracy with stories
of citizens solving local problems. The Teaching Guide is a binder of
lessons, activities and resources that relate the stories to the rights and
responsibilities of citizenship. There is an emphasis on civic values.
After seeing each story, students are guided through activities that
include critical thinking, analyzing primary documents, simulations, and
service learning projects. When controversial issues are presented, the
approach is accurate and balanced. There is no literature component,
however there are interesting essays. There is a significant diversity of
cultural backgrounds presented. The Guide includes a new section on service
learning for social studies teachers. Price unknown. Free of charge. |
|American Social Issues, Produced by ABC-CLIO Publishing, 130 Cremona
Drive, Santa Barbara, CA 93117 (800) 368-6868 www.ABC-CLIO.com |CD-Rom
Software |Students |Grades 9-12 |9 |This reference program presents lots
of information about important social issues such as AIDS, civil rights,
domestic violence, etc. Primary source documents accompany the text, but
there is a lack of visuals to make it interesting. | |An Agenda for the
21st Century by Rushworth Kidder, 1987, Institute for Global Ethics, 11
Main Street, P.O. Box 563 Camden, ME 04843; (207) 236-6658
www.globalethics.org |Book |Teachers and Students |Grades 9-12 |9
|Rushworth Kidder questions 22 of the world's most compelling thinkers--
artists, scientists, politicians, and philosophers about their views on the
major issues that will face humanity in the 21st century. While the group
generally agrees on the set of issues most critically in need of
addressing, there is sharp disagreement over proposed action. $18.95. |
|An Asset Builder's Guide to Service Learning by the Search Institute, 7000
S. Third Street, Suite 210, Minneapolis, MN (877) 240-7251
www.search-institute.org |Book |Teachers |Grades 6-12 |9 |This book
describes different program approaches for different ages, steps to take,
and stories from successful programs around the country. $14.95 |
|Answering the Virtucrats: A Moral Conversation on Character Education by
Robert J. Nash, 1997, Published by Teachers College Press, 1234 Amsterdam
Avenue, New York, NY 10027 www.teacherscollegepress.com |Book |Educators
Social Scientists |Grades 9-12 |8.5 |Nash is a college teacher who really
understands different perspectives on moral education and who does an
excellent job of comparing, contrasting, and critiquing different schools
of thought. It realistically categorizes the popular sects of moral
philosophy and gives each one a fair yet tough analysis of strengths and
weaknesses. The writing itself is very good and makes a re