Reading Beyond the Book with Primary Sources

COLUMN Dr. Grace Enriquez | Editor Reading Beyond the Book with Primary Sources Noreen Naseem Rodríguez, Anna Falkner, Elizabeth Tetu Bohl T Beyond the Book is anchored in a nonfiction text and considers how the text’s narrative can be extended through the use of primary sources. Sharing primary sources about a specific event or place before reading a book aloud may elicit students’ wonderings about a topic and can establish the connections students make to previous experiences in their communities and in school. Inserting primary sources in the middle of a read-aloud can juxtapose the events of a text with different actors, settings, or moments in time, allowing students to make comparisons and contrasts between the visual and written text of the book and the contents of the primary sources. Sharing primary sources after a read-aloud can offer greater context to the narrative found in the story and may launch student investigations into areas of further interest. Below, we share examples that go Beyond the Book by integrating primary sources at different points before, during, and after read-alouds. he well-documented decrease in science and social studies instructional time (Blank, 2013; Heafner & Fitchett, 2012) may result in a lack of student understanding of the context that surrounds nonfiction topics. Alongside the illustrations and endpapers that surround the main text of a picturebook, also known as the peritext (McNair et al., 2021; Witte et al., 2019), primary sources can add further depth and firmly establish the real, lived experiences of people and the sociohistorical and geopolitical contexts in which they occurred. Primary sources can also spark ideas about contemporary connections and implications. Primar y sources are firsthand ar tifacts and accounts. These include photographs taken during a particular moment in time; interviews, journal entries, and letters by people who experienced the event in question; maps and newspaper articles; and items like identification cards, tickets, and posters. Primary sources are distinct from the secondary sources that tend to dominate school texts, especially in elementary grades, which are written by people without firsthand knowledge of an event and may summarize sources created and written by others. As digital access to museum exhibits and public archives increases and social media becomes more pervasive, educators have a wealth of primary source collections available that can deepen the narratives found in the books they read with students. When using primary sources, teachers can engage in historical thinking with students. Historical thinking is the ability to analyze and use primary sources to construct a complex understanding of historical events. As teacher educators, we are acutely aware of the important role that youth literature plays in supporting students with engaging content and the possibilities it offers for content area integration and interdisciplinary approaches. We recognize that not all educators have equal access to new releases and may feel obligated to utilize particular books due to their inclusion in basal readers or district- mandated curriculum. The strategies we offer here work well with any nonfiction text and are part of a project that we created in fall 2021 with our preservice teachers called Beyond the Book. The Reading Teacher Vol. 75 No. 6 pp. 749–754 Connections to STEM and Civil Rights Groundbreaking astronaut Mae Jemison’s life is one which is rife with possibilities for students to learn about how the Civil Rights Movement and the arts impacted Black women in STEM fields. Most picturebooks focus on her journey toward becoming the first Black woman in space, but may only briefly mention her work as a scientist, physician, dancer, activist, and entrepreneur. Yet, Dr. Jemison has spoken often about the diversity of her experiences. Her autobiography for young people, Find Where the Wind Goes Noreen Naseem Rodríguez is an assistant professor of Teacher Learning, Research and Practice in the School of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA; email noreen.rodriguez@colorado.edu. Anna Falkner is an assistant professor of Instruction and Curriculum Leadership in the College of Education at the University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA; email anna. falkner@memphis.edu. Elizabeth Tetu Bohl is a doctoral candidate of Teacher Learning, Research and Practice in the School of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA; email elizabeth.bohl@colorado.edu. 749 doi:10.1002/trtr.2105 © 2022 International Literacy Association. COLUMN (Jemison, 2020), highlights how her creative endeavors influenced her. Mae Among the Stars (Ahmed, 2018) tells the story of Jemison’s encounter with an early teacher who told her she should aspire to be a nurse, not a doctor, and how her love of the stars inspired her to become an astronaut. Women in Science and Technology: Mae C. Jemison— The First African- American Female Astronaut (Pincus & Bia, 2019) offers more details about Jemison’s life. Pairing these texts with primary sources will allow students to explore Jemison’s life in nuance and think about her contributions as part of larger, collaborative movements. In telling Mae Jemison’s story, teachers may wish to highlight Black women in the space program by pairing books about her with other texts such as Hidden Figures: The True Story of Black Women in Space (Shetterly, 2018). Teachers can also highlight Jemison’s journey toward becoming the first Black woman in space and how that journey was made possible. One famous photo of Jemison shows her floating aboard the space shuttle Endeavor, a smile on her face (see Figure 1). It is a beautiful photograph, but she is pictured alone. In contrast, images of Jemison with her flight crew (see Figure 2) may allow students to consider Jemison’s experience as the only Black woman on the crew and to think about the significance of her flight. To expand, teachers can use images, graphs, and charts from “How the ‘Right Stuff’ has Changed” (Treat et al., 2020) to compare and contrast astronaut crews over time and contextualize Jemison’s achievements. Mae Jemison points both to civil rights legislation and to the activism of women like Star Trek actress Nichelle Figure 2 STS-47 Endeavour Crew. In Front, Mission Specialist (MS) Jerome Apt and Pilot Curtis L. Brown, Jr. Left to Right, Rear: MS N. Jan Davis, MS and Payload Commander Mark C. Lee, Commander Robert L. Gibson, MS Mae C. Jemison, and Japanese Payload Specialist Mamoru Mohri. Mohri is Representing The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). Portrait by NASA JSC Contract Photographer Robert G. Markowitz. (High-Resolution Image Available Here: https://commons.wikimedia. org/wiki/File:STS-47_crew.jpg) Figure 1 NASA Astronaut Mae Jemison on Space Shuttle Endeavour in September 1992. (Image Credit: NASA) Nichols as essential to her admission into the space program. In order to receive federal funding, NASA had to have an equal opportunity program. Documents from the NASA Office of Equal Opportunity can help children explore the organization’s commitment to recruiting and hiring women and People of Color over time. Nichelle Nichols was famous for portraying Lieutenant Uhura, a Black woman in space, on the original Star Trek series (Roddenberry et al., 1966–1969). Teachers can use clips from the documentary, Woman in Motion (Thompson, 2019), which feature Nichols sharing how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. impressed upon her the groundbreaking nature of her role, and inspired her to use her celebrity to put pressure on NASA to hire women and People of Color. Nichols’ work, alongside that of many others, made it possible for Mae Jemison to become an astronaut. Jemison paid homage to Nichols and the role of science fiction in reimagining the field of space exploration when she became the first real astronaut to appear on a Star Trek (Roddenberry et al., 1987–1994) episode. Note. The color figure can be viewed in the online version of this article at http://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com. The Reading Teacher Vol. 75 No. 6 May/June 2022 Note. The color figure can be viewed in the online version of this article at http://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com. 750 literacyworldwide.org COLUMN Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, her enrollment in it, and the opportunities she was afforded as a result. Areli is a Dreamer offers readers a compelling, firsthand account from an undocumented immigrant. But as the book stops at the end of Morales’ elementary school career, readers may have many unanswered questions about immigration and DACA. Therein lies the potential for educators to go beyond the book by sharing more information about DACA and the different ways that undocumented immigrant youth like Morales have worked to demand a pathway to citizenship, such as the passage of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act that was first introduced in Congress in 2001. Websites for the organizations United We Dream, Define American, and Immigrants Rising are created and led by immigrant activists and contain comprehensive information about immigration broadly and undocumented immigration specifically. The United We Dream website has multiple sections about completing DACA paperwork that students can explore to understand the depth of the process and renewal as well as its financial costs—these legal forms are primary sources that many learners rarely access. The stories section on Define American, as well as their YouTube account, offers viewers a wealth of firsthand video accounts of immigration experiences that are set in present day as well as other video content that addresses important issues like the border wall and the impact of COVID-19 on a range of communities. Once students have a basic understanding of why DACA status is essential to providing opportunities for young undocumented immigrants, primary sources can illustrate the ways activists have protested when DACA legislation has been threated. To do this, teachers can: Biographies are a way for teachers to disrupt dominant narratives by sharing the trajectory of those individuals who are not often included in the traditional curriculum. Sharing individuals’ stories in depth offers a way for students to see parallels in their own lives and to imagine possibilities for their own impact on the world (McNair et al., 2021; Young & Miner, 2015). When we pair biographies with primary sources, it opens up possibilities for centering individuals’ agency while also exploring larger socio-political movements. To do this, teachers can: ■ Begin discussion of primary sources by asking, “What do you notice? What do you wonder?” These open- ended questions prompt students to practice their skills of observation and use evidence to make inferences. It also creates space for curiosity and further inquiry. ■ Use follow- up questions to draw students’ attention to particular details relevant to the book, such as the date on a newspaper, the main character, or similarities in illustrations. ■ Highlighting key differences between primary sources and the book may also prompt critical discussions related to power and storytelling. For instance, teachers might ask, “Why do you think the author did not talk about Dr. Jemison’s race?” Our next two examples focus on more recent movements as experienced by young activists. Connections to Contemporary Issues in Immigration The teaching of immigration to young learners often begins and ends with Ellis Island, failing to address contemporary immigration or explain how immigration policies have changed over time (Rodríguez & Swalwell, 2021). Areli is a Dreamer (Morales, 2021) is an autobiographical picturebook written by Areli Morales and illustrated by Luisa Uribe that describes Morales’ childhood experiences being raised by her grandmother in Mexico before joining her parents and older brother in New York. As an undocumented immigrant, Morales was bullied by her peers at school and struggled to navigate life in a new country where some people viewed her as illegal. The book ends after Morales’ fifth-grade class takes a trip to Ellis Island and she learns that immigrants are a part of the United States’ history. An Author’s Note brings the reader to the present, as Morales explains the Deferred The Reading Teacher Vol. 75 No. 6 May/June 2022 ■ Ask students which perspectives are privileged in the media and consider how social media might broaden our understandings of how different groups perceive and experience events. ■ Use hashtags to curate social media collections. For example, when President Trump attempted to eliminate the DACA Act in 2017 (see Figure 3), undocumented youths and their allies participated in the #WalkToStayHome, marching across six states over 15 days before arriving in Washington, D.C. to demand the protection of DACA. An exploration of the #WalkToStayHome hashtag on social media results in a wealth of videos and posts created by the protestors. While educators should carefully filter results, they can result in powerful 751 literacyworldwide.org COLUMN Figure 3 A 2017 Immigration Rally in San Francisco. Photo by Pax Ahimsa Gethen, Wikimedia Commons Note. The color figure can be viewed in the online version of this article at http://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com. firsthand accounts of recent events from those who participated in them. ■ Select primary sources that might offer more information to readers of a picturebook. For example, the peritext of Areli is a Dreamer only includes a glossary. After learning about DACA and the long struggle to pass the DREAM Act, what additional information and timelines might students want to add to the book? Connections to Indigenous Perspectives and Movements for Environmental Protection We Are Water Protectors (Lindstrom, 2020) is a picturebook inspired by Indigenous-led movements for environmental protection. While its lyrical style bridges the genres of narrative nonfiction and poetry, the text makes direct reference to the contemporary struggles against the construction of oil pipelines near Indigenous land and water, representing a pipeline as a “black snake.” The book, written from the perspective of a young Indigenous person, highlights the interconnectedness of living things, the belief that “water is life” (or Mni wiconi), and the responsibility of human beings to be protectors of the environment. In an endnote, the author makes explicit the connection between the “black snake” metaphor and the “many tribal nations that are fighting oil pipelines from crossing their tribal lands and The Reading Teacher Vol. 75 No. 6 May/June 2022 waterways,” including the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) at the Standing Rock Reservation. The text by Carole Lindstrom and illustrations by Michaela Goade in We Are Water Protectors are captivating, illuminating both the beauty of the natural world and the activism of Indigenous communities. However, students may not understand that the book references current events or that the “black snake” represents an oil pipeline that could threaten the water supply of real Indigenous people today. Indigenous people are often presented in curricula as existing in the past, and Indigenous ways of knowing framed as myths or folktales (Jaime & Russell, 2019; Sabzalian, 2019). Going beyond the book, teachers can provide context that enables students to understand not only that Indigenous communities continue to flourish in the United States today, but that Indigenous people and youth are leaders in contemporary movements for environmental protection. Another nonfiction children’s picturebook, Young Water Protectors (Tudor & Tudor, 2018), offers a firsthand account of Aslan Tudor, an Indigenous child, who participated in protests against the DAPL. It also includes primary sources such as maps and photographs, from which students can gain background knowledge about the issues at the heart of the protests. Teachers could read the opening pages of Young Water Protectors to students before reading We Are Water Protectors, in order to introduce the recent events to which the book responds. After reading, teachers have an opportunity to extend student’s understanding of the ways that Indigenous people have responded to the construction of the DAPL and other environmental issues. Returning to Young Water Protectors, teachers can show how Indigenous adults and kids gathered in camps to join the protests, highlighting the thriving communities that formed in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. To further support students’ understanding of the context for Indigenous activism, teachers can: ■ Use maps, such as the New York Times’ graphic of conflicts along the DAPL route (Aisch & Lai, 2017), to explain what an oil pipeline is and its function of transporting fossil fuels across long distances. ■ When multiple sources are available, consider conducting a “primary source flood” before reading, giving students time to explore, analyze, and ask questions. ■ Juxtapose illustrations, like the one of people engaged in protest on the last page of We Are Water Protectors, with real photographs of protests (see Figure 4). 752 literacyworldwide.org COLUMN Figure 4 A 2017 Protest in Washington, D.C. Photo by Vlad Tchompalov, Unsplash texts to people’s multi- dimensional and diverse lived experiences. REFERENCES Aisch, G., & Lai, K. K. R. (2017). The conflicts along 1,172 miles of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The New York Times. https:// www.nytimes.com/inter activ e/2016/11/23/us/dakot a- acces s- pipeline- protest- map.html Blank, R. K. (2013). Science instructional time is declining in elementary schools: What are the implications for student achievement and closing the gap? Science Education, 97(6), 830–847. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21078 Greene, E. (2016). ReZpect our water. Green America. https://www. greenamerica.org/drinking-water- risk/rezpect- our-water Heafner, T. L., & Fitchett, P. G. (2012). Tipping the scales: National trends of declining social studies instructional time in elementary schools. Journal of Social Studies Research, 36(2), 190–215. Jaime, A. M., & Russell, C. (2019). Tribal critical race theory. In K. T. Han & J. Laughter (Eds.), Critical race theory in teacher education: Informing classroom culture and practice (Reprint edition). Teachers College Press. Janks, H. (2018). Texts, identities, and ethics: Critical literacy in a post-truth world. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62(1), 95–99. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.761 McNair, J. C., Alexander, L. D., Boyle, C. E., Brown, J., Cornelissen, A., Crossley, J. S., McNamara, E. K., & Thomas, C. A. (2021). The end is only the beginning: Exploring endpapers in picturebook biographies. The Reading Teacher, 75(2), 207–218. https://doi. org/10.1002/trtr.2054 Roddenberry, G., Coon, G., Lucas, J., & Freiberger, F. (1966–1969). Star trek: The original series [TV series]. Desilu Productions, Paramount Television, Norway Corporation. CBS Paramount Television. Roddenberry, G., Berman, R., Hurley, M., Piller, M., & Taylor, J. (1987– 1994). Star trek: The next generation [TV series]. Paramount Domestic Television. Rodríguez, N. N., & Swalwell, K. (2021). Social studies for a better world: An anti- oppressive approach for elementary educators. W. W. Norton. Sabzalian, L. (2019). Indigenous children’s survivance in public schools. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429427503. Shetterly, M. L. (2018). Hidden figures: The American Dream and the untold story of the Black women mathematicians who helped win the Space Race. Harper. Thompson, T. (Director), Millin, J., McCall, J., & Crump, B. (Writers). (2019). Woman in motion. [Film]. Stars North, Space Florida & Production Media Group. Treat, J., Bennett, J., & Turner, C. (2020). How the “right stuff” has changed. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeograp hic.com/science/graphics/charting-how-nasa-astronaut- demog raphics- have- changed- over-time Young, T. A., & Miner, A. B. (2015). Guiding inquiry with biography breaks and the C3 framework: Can one person make a difference? The Reading Teacher, 69(3), 311–319. https://doi. org/10.1002/trtr.1415 Witte, S., Latham, D., & Gross, M. (Eds.). (2019). Literacy engagement through peritextual analysis. American Librarian Association Editions. Note. The color figure can be viewed in the online version of this article at http://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com. ■ Highlight primary sources about the role of young people in social movements, such as images of the Oceti Sakowin youth who ran a relay from the Standing Rock Reservation to Washington, D.C. to deliver a petition to the federal government (Greene, 2016). Conclusion Going beyond the book through primary sources offers readers, both students and teachers, the opportunity to read both with and against texts (Janks, 2018) and can raise questions for teachers about whose perspectives to include when complicating or contextualizing the stories in nonfiction children’s books. Primary sources, like all texts, are created with specific purposes in mind. Some teachers intentionally choose primary sources that feature voices that are often silenced or excluded from the curriculum. Other teachers may be required to teach particular perspectives about an issue. In these cases, primary sources can add multiple dimensions, such as considerations of power or injustice. Either way, primary sources offer opportunities for critical discussion about how an author’s views and motivations shape the construction of text. Regularly using the strategy of going Beyond the Book may help students develop historical thinking skills and knowledge of sociopolitical issues. Beyond the Book also encourages students to seek complexity and nuance in historical narratives and offers experiences for students which tether nonfiction The Reading Teacher Vol. 75 No. 6 May/June 2022 C H I L D R E N ’ S L I T E R AT U R E R E F E R E N C E S Ahmed, R. (2018). Mae among the stars. HarperCollins Publishers. Jemison, M. (2020). Find where the wind goes: Moments from my life. Scholastic New York. 753 literacyworldwide.org COLUMN Lindstrom, C. (2020). We are water protectors. Roaring Brook Press. Morales, A. (2021). Areli is a dreamer. Random House Kids. Pincus, M., & Bia, E. (2019). Women in science and technology: Mae C. Jemison—the first African- American female astronaut. Rourke Educational Media. Tudor, A., & Tudor, K. (2018). Young water protectors …A story about standing rock. Eaglespeaker Publishing. WEBSITE REFERENCES ■ Define American: https://www.defineamerican.com/ ■ Immigrants Rising: https://immigrantsrising.org/ ■ United We Dream: https://unitedwedream.org/ ILA’s Literacy Glossary Together, we can define our profession, one word at a time Learn more and share your feedback at literacyworldwide.org/glossary The Reading Teacher Vol. 75 No. 6 May/June 2022 754 literacyworldwide.org