The Story of Ourselves: Teaching History through Children's Literature / Ed. by Michael O.Tunnell. Book

Students across the country have tagged history as their number-one. most disliked subject in school. Much of the blame goes to history text books, reducing the spirited moments of our past, those filled with human joy and pathos. to a mere collection of dates and facts.An effective antidote is the use of children's and young adult trade books as essential source materials. In the hands of capable authors. the events and people of the past come to life with an impact and immediacy that engages students in the unfolding drama of history. By comparison, traditional history textbooks. presenting the same people and events, make them seem dusty, remote, even insignificantIn The Story of Ourselves. the contributors focus on the need for a history curriculum that is stimulating to students, with the application of children's trade book literature as an indispensable ingredient for such a curriculum. The book is a collection of writings by trade book authors and public school and college-level educators, designed to offer support and instruction for teachers who decide to use children's literature in their history/social studies programs. Included here are such well-known authors as Russell F reedman. Pam Conrad. Milton Nleltzer, loan Blos, and Leonard Everett Fisher.A section called "Practical Applications" provides several in-depth examples of teachers who have effectively employed a literature-based history curriculum in their classrooms. Most helpful is the lengthy yet selected. annotated bibliography of trade books about North American history. suggesting useful titles as well as new directions for approaching traditional topics.Read More