teacher’s guide

Is the Prohuman Curriculum Right for Your Students?

The Prohuman Curriculum has been designed to meet the needs of a wide range of learners in multiple educational environments: 

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• Homeschools
• Alternative educational settings, such as juvenile detention
• Charter Schools
• Public Schools
• Private Schools
• Religious Schools
• Classical Schools

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What Makes the Prohuman Approach Unique?

The Prohuman Foundation team spent months reviewing the leading curricula in English Language Arts, Character Education, and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). The combination of the following factors makes the Prohuman approach unique:

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• Free 

Unlike most curricula, which are prohibitively expensive, ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars, the Prohuman Curriculum is completely free.

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• Combines ELA, Character Education, and SEL

The Prohuman Curriculum develops students’ skills in all three areas simultaneously. 

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• Constructive Dialogue  

This curriculum is informed by, and teaches, the specific methods of constructive dialogue used by our co-founder, Daryl Davis, an African American musician who inspired over 200 white supremacists to leave the KKK.

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• Civic Engagement 

The Prohuman Curriculum teaches the character strengths required for effective civic engagement, including fairness, respect, volunteering, and contributing to the common good. Students practice demonstrating the virtues and habits to know the difference between what is fair or unfair, to respect the rule of law, to treat all people with respect, courtesy, and dignity (especially individuals from different cultures, religions or ethnicities), to regularly volunteer and serve others, and to contribute their time and talents to the common good. 

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• Virtuous Exemplars  

Because research supports "engagement with virtuous exemplars" as an effective means of teaching character, the Prohuman Curriculum focuses on historical figures and literary characters who embody important character strengths.

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• Character Strengths 

The Prohuman Curriculum teaches a unique combination of character strengths we haven’t seen combined in any other Character Education curriculum. Each month of the academic year highlights one character strength:

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• Flexible Framework

Designed with flexibility in mind, the curriculum can be integrated into the classroom in many ways. Teachers can choose to use as little as one lesson or as much as the complete curriculum. The full curriculum consists of one unit per month, with four lessons per unit, amounting to one lesson per week.

• Nuanced Approach

The Prohuman Curriculum addresses extremely difficult topics—colonialism, slavery, the Holocaust, and other injustices—and focuses on the incredible human capacity for grit, agency, and hope by profiling lesser-known people who thrived and made extraordinary contributions.

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• Unsung Heroes

This curriculum includes profiles of many incredible, lesser-known historical and contemporary individuals, including many children.

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• Global Perspectives 

Embracing global perspectives, the curriculum features inspiring people from America and around the world, including Ghana, Malawi, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Morocco, Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Canada, England, and more.

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• Broad Appeal 

Designed for broad appeal, the Prohuman Curriculum has focused on achieving a gender balance in the texts featured for each grade level. 

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• Core Knowledge Texts

The Prohuman Curriculum includes many classic and modern works with timeless themes and enduring appeal, many of which are part of the Core Knowledge Sequence. 

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Curriculum Philosophy

The Prohuman Curriculum is grounded in teaching the foundational truth that every person is a unique individual united by our shared humanity. By reading both classic and contemporary works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, students learn fundamental character strengths—gratitude, optimism, grit, curiosity, courage, compassion, fairness, understanding, and humanity—by discovering how virtuous exemplars embodied these strengths. 

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Lesson Plan Techniques 

The lesson plans incorporate several techniques outlined in Teach Like a Champion: 63 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College, by Doug Lemov. These techniques include:

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1. Ratio - the proportion of the cognitive work students do in your classroom. A successful lesson is rarely marked by a teacher getting a good intellectual workout at the front of the room. Push more and more of the cognitive work out to students as soon as they are ready, with the understanding that cognitive work must be on-task, focused, and productive.
   
   There are several methods to improve your ratio:
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   • Unbundle: Break questions into smaller parts to share the work out to more students and have them react to each other. 
   • Half-statement: Rather than speaking in complete sentences, express half of an idea and ask students to finish it. 
   • Repeated examples: Teachers often ask for examples, but they less often ask students for a different example than the first. For example, a teacher could ask, “Who is exploited in Macbeth?” Then, the teacher could ask for another example with another character or in another way.  
   • Rephrase or add on: Second drafts are better than first drafts because some of the most rigorous thinking goes into making ideas more precise, specific, and rich. Replicate this in the classroom by asking students to rephrase and improve an answer they just gave or by asking a student to revise or improve a peer’s answer. 
   • Whys and hows: Asking why or how instantly pushes more, and more rigorous, work onto students by forcing them to explain their thinking.
   • Supporting evidence: There’s far more cognitive work to be done in supporting an opinion than in holding one. Ask your students constantly to explain how the evidence supports them. You can also give them a position or a variety of opinions and ask them to assemble evidence in support.
   • Discussion framework: The Prohuman Curriculum provides discussion questions that students answer on their own before the class discussion. This provides a clear framework for the class discussion. 
   • Batch process: As students progress in the grades and into broader discussions, it's important for the teacher to strategically step out of the way and not comment on and validate every student comment. Instead, teachers should allow a short series of student comments to be made directly following, and ideally in response to, one another. This process is sometimes described as playing volleyball rather than ping-pong. Provide students with phrase starters to use in interacting such as:
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     • I agree with x because…
     • I want to say more about what you said…
     • That’s true because…
     • I understand what you’re saying, but I have a different point of view…
     • What evidence can you give to support your position?

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2. Everybody Writes - Set your students up for rigorous engagement by allowing them to reflect first in writing before discussing. As author Joan Didion said, “I write to know what I think.” There are several benefits to this approach: 
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   • It allows you to cold call students simply and naturally since you know everyone is prepared. 
   • It allows you to give every student, not just those who get their hands up first, a chance to be part of the conversation. 
   • Processing thoughts in writing refines them, a process that challenges students intellectually, engages them, and improves the quality of their ideas and their writing. 
   • You set standards or steer students in a direction you think is especially fruitful. 
   • Students remember more of what they are learning if they write it down by hand, as researchers have found. 

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English Language Arts Learning Outcomes 

• The Prohuman Curriculum is aligned to the Common Core English Language Arts (ELA) Standards.
• Using the curriculum in English Language Arts (ELA) develops students’ reading comprehension skills by reading classic and contemporary texts: fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. 
• Students develop their writing skills by producing narratives, informational texts, and opinion pieces. 
• Students provide examples of each of the Prohuman character strengths by referring to works of literature and nonfiction read in class.
• Students produce writing that articulates their understanding of the Prohuman character strengths.

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Character Education Learning Outcomes 

• The Prohuman Curriculum is aligned to the Character and Social Emotional Development (CSED) National Guidelines. The curriculum develops multiple dimensions of character:

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• Moral character — the character strengths of honesty and integrity, caring and compassion, gratitude, and the courage to take initiative. 
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  • Outcomes: Demonstrate the habits and virtues of honesty and integrity; the compassion to never underestimate the power of a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, or the smallest act of caring for others who may need their help and support; to be grateful to people (and places) that nourish their talents and spirit; and to use their leadership and “courage muscle” to stand up for what is fair and right. 

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• Performance character — the character strengths of self-discipline, responsibility, goal setting, and grit. 
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  • Outcomes: Demonstrate the habits and virtues to always give their best effort because there are no shortcuts to any place worth going; to be seen by others as trustworthy, dependable, and reliable; and to become their “best possible self” by showing the passion and perseverance toward a noble goal that will require them to get outside their comfort zone.

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• Intellectual character — the character strengths of curiosity, carefulness, intellectual autonomy and humility, open-mindedness, and critical thinking.
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  • Outcomes: Demonstrate the virtues and habits of mind to be critical thinkers who ask great questions and are curious about learning new things; to strive for accuracy and avoid being sloppy or careless; to think independently and learn from their mistakes; to make reasoned judgments after objectively analyzing pertinent facts and information;  and to be creative and practice “outside the box” thinking.
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• Civic character — the character strengths of fairness, respect, volunteering, and contributing to the common good. 
  
  
  • Outcomes: Demonstrate the virtues and habits to know the difference between what is fair or unfair; to respect the rule of law; to treat all people with respect, courtesy and dignity (especially individuals from different cultures, religions or ethnicities); to regularly volunteer and serve others; and to contribute their time and talents to the common good for intrinsic reasons (their own sense of purpose, care and concern for others, etc.).

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After completing the Prohuman Curriculum, students will be able to: 

• Articulate the foundational truth that every person is a unique individual united by our shared humanity.
• Demonstrate a commitment to this foundational truth in their interactions with their teacher, classmates, family, and community.
• Define each of the Prohuman character strengths.
• Provide examples of the Prohuman character strengths by referring to examples in the texts, people in the school community, family, and friends.
• Discuss times they have demonstrated the Prohuman character strengths.

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Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Learning Outcomes 

• The Prohuman Curriculum is aligned to the Character and Social Emotional Development (CSED) National Guidelines. These standards develop multiple SEL skills, which are also a focus of CASEL SEL 3 Signature Practices Playbook: 
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• Self-awareness — the ability to recognize, understand, and express one’s thoughts, emotions, mindsets, and personal strengths, including how emotions can affect thoughts and actions. 
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  • Outcomes: Demonstrate the ability to understand and express their own feelings, to recognize how their feelings can impact others, and to identify and develop what makes them special (their personal strengths).
• Self-management — the ability to consistently manage and regulate one’s impulses, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations. 
  
  
  • Outcomes: Demonstrate the ability to regulate the butterflies they get in their stomachs before reading in front of the class; to manage the anxiety, frustration, fear, or anger they may experience with friends; to develop a “growth mindset” rather than defaulting to current likes or dislikes; and to recognize there are people they can talk to when they need help or support.

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• Social awareness — the ability to empathize and take the perspective of others, including demonstrating awareness of cultural differences and respect for human dignity. 
  
  
  • Outcomes: Demonstrating the ability to put themselves in another person’s shoes; to appreciate differences (in people, cultures, traditions); and to treat everyone the way they would like to be treated.

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• Interpersonal and relationship skills — the ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals and groups; to communicate clearly, actively listen, collaborate, and cooperate; to manage conflict constructively; to seek and offer help when needed; and to resist inappropriate peer pressure. 
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  • Outcomes: Demonstrate the ability to have friends and be a good friend, to actively listen, to be a great teammate, to help others in need, to seek support when they need help or support, to stand up and say “no” and still keep their friends.

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• Responsible and ethical decision-making skills — the ability to make constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on ethical principles, safety concerns, appropriate social norms, respect for self and others, and the likely consequences of decisions.  
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  • Outcomes: Demonstrate the ability to make decisions based on their values and principles rather than succumbing to risk-taking impulses, peer pressure, or the failure to anticipate the consequences of their choices.

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Recommended Phonics, Grammar, and Writing Textbooks 

While the Prohuman Curriculum provides literacy instruction, it is not a comprehensive grammar and phonics curriculum. For phonics and grammar instruction in Grades K-2, the Prohuman Foundation recommends the Primary Arts of Language: Reading-Writing Complete Package from the Institute for Excellence in Writing.

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For supplementary writing instruction for Grades 3-8, the Prohuman Foundation recommends the Writing and Rhetoric series from Classical Academic Press. Receive a 20% discount by using the code ProHuman20.

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A Note on Videos

The Prohuman Curriculum contains links to many YouTube videos. It is highly recommended that teachers use SafeShare, which makes it easy to generate a web page that's focused only on a specific YouTube or Vimeo video. This technology reduces any advertisements, annotations, or links to other potentially inappropriate videos to a minimum. To create a SafeView, you simply copy & paste the URL of a YouTube or Vimeo video.  

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Kindergarten Overview

The Kindergarten curriculum teaches the Prohuman character strengths through classic fables, contemporary texts, hands-on activities, short videos, and writing activities. The readings include several of Aesop’s fables: The Tortoise and the Hare, The Lion and the Mouse, and The Crow and the Pitcher. Other classic fables include the Tale of the Two Frogs, the Little Red Hen, and the Three Little Pigs. Contemporary texts teach the character strengths of gratitude, courage, compassion, and understanding (see the complete book list below).

In their writing activities, students will write many lower-case and upper-case letters, sound out and spell words phonetically, copy the correct spelling of each character strength, copy sentences, use frequently occurring nouns and verbs, and take sentence dictations from the teacher to practice translating the sounds they hear into symbols they have learned to associate with those sounds.

Hands-on activities include: Glass Half Empty or Half Full?, Threading Beads, Class Gratitude Tree, the Crow and the Pitcher, Imagine Yourself as a Superhero, Compassion Hands, Sharing Cookies Fairly, Optical Illusion, and Children of the World. 

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Kindergarten Book List:

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1. The Classic Treasury of Aesop’s Fables
2. Gratitude is My Superpower by Alicia Ortego 
3. I Am Courage: A Book of Resilience by Susan Verde 
4. The Little Red Hen by Pie Corbett
5. The Three Little Pigs 
6. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka 
7. I Am Human: A Book of Empathy by Susan Verde

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Grade 1 Overview

Along with classic and contemporary books (see the complete list below), the Grade 1 curriculum includes several short, grade-level appropriate profiles of kids who exemplify the Prohuman character strengths: 

• Alex Scott, who raised $1 million to help cure childhood cancer
• Jakhil Jackson, founder of the non-profit Project I Am to serve the homeless
• Jaylen Arnold, founder of the nonprofit Jaylen’s Challenge to stand against bullying
• Gitanjali Rao, who, at age 11, patented a device to detect lead in drinking water to help victims of the Flint water crisis
• Ryan Hreljac, who started the Ryan’s Well Foundation at age 6 to raise money to build wells and sanitation systems throughout the world

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In writing, students take sentence dictations from the teacher to practice translating the sounds they hear into symbols they have learned to associate with those sounds. Students also write basic sentence responses to questions about each text. Additionally, students will learn and practice the conventions of informative, narrative, and opinion writing aligned to Grade 1 Common Core ELA Standards. Students will improve their reading fluency by reading their texts aloud to a small group. They will improve their attention and social skills by listening to their classmates’ texts. Students receive feedback from the teacher on all writing. 

Hands-on activities include: Optimism Jars, Spaghetti Tower Marshmallow Challenge, Gratitude Tour, Curiosity Walk, Dinosaur Fossil Dig, Showing Courage on the Playground, Stuffed Animal Party, Compassion Coupons, Candy Fairness Challenge, Fairness Posters, Optical Illusions, Class Portrait, and Clean Water Activity.

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Grade 1 Book List:

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1. The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
2. Yes I Can!: A Story of Grit by Mari Schuh
3. Emmanuel’s Dream by Laurie Ann Thompson 
4. We Are Grateful | Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell 
5. Curious George: Curiosity is… by H.A. Ray
6. Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist by Linda Skeers
7. Come With Me by Holly McGhee
8. Malala’s Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai
9. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams  
10. Justin Keeps It Fair by Kristin Johnson
11. Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Jan Brett
12. Believe Me, Goldilocks Rocks! by Nancy Loewen

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Grade 2 Overview

The Grade 2 curriculum includes  classic and contemporary books (see the complete list below), along with short, grade-level appropriate nonfiction profiles of several outstanding kids from around the world: 

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• Yash Gupta, who created a nonprofit to donate eyeglasses to kids worldwide
• Isabella Nicola Cabrera, who was born with a deformed arm and expressed gratitude for a prosthetic arm to help her play violin
• Kelvin Doe, a self-taught engineer from Sierra Leone
• Nicholas Lowinger, founder of a nonprofit, Gotta Have Sole, that gives homeless youth brand new shoes
• Nkosi Johnson, a South African activist for the rights of children with HIV/AIDS
• Easton LaChappelle, founder of Unlimited Tomorrow, which makes high-quality, low-cost bionic prosthetic arms easily accessible 

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Students continue to develop their reading comprehension and writing skills by composing short responses to questions about the texts. Additionally, students will write informative, narrative, and opinion texts aligned to ELA Common Core Standards for Grade 2. Students will also read their texts aloud to classmates, listen to their classmates’ texts, and receive feedback from the teacher on their writing. 

Hands-on activities include: Collaborative Class Friendship Illustrations, Locating Countries, Beanbag Toss, Child-Safe Dart Board Challenge, 30-Day Gratitude Challenge, Artwork Interpretation, Sticky Balloon Trick, Responding to Photographs, Walking in Someone Else’s Shoes, Candy Fairness Challenge, Class Treasure Hunt, Optical Illusion, and Class Mural.

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Grade 2 Book List:

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1. Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Loebel
2. Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans by Phil Bildner
3. Storm Run: The Story of the First Woman to Win the Iditarod Sled Dog Race by Libby Riddles
4. I Am Thankful: A Positive Power Story by Suzy Capozzi 
5. The Three Questions (Based on a story by Leo Tolstoy) by John J. Muth
6. Standing on Her Shoulders: A Celebration of Women by Monica Clark-Robinson
7. I Am Ruby Bridges by Ruby Bridges
8. Hey, Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose 
9. Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio
10. The Doctor with an Eye for Eyes: The Story of Dr. Patricia Bath by Julia Finley Mosca
11. Hey, Wall by Susan Verde 
12. If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World's People by David Smith

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Grade 3 Overview

The Grade 3 curriculum includes classic and modern classic works of children’s literature (see the complete list below). There are also short, grade-level appropriate  nonfiction texts that profile the character strengths of: 

• Alice Walker, the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize
• Sarah Loguen Fraser, one of the first African American women to earn a medical degree
• Carter G. Woodson, who created Negro History Week
• Joshua Williams, who created Joshua’s Heart Foundation when he was only 4 years old, to fight against global hunger and poverty

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Students will continue to improve their reading comprehension and writing skills by composing sentences in response to questions about each text. Students will also write informative, narrative, and opinion writing skills, aligned to Grade 3 Common Core ELA Standards. Students will read their texts aloud to a small group of classmates and listen to their classmates’ texts, which will improve their reading fluency and communication skills. To further improve their writing, students will receive feedback from the teacher on all assignments. 

Hands-on activities include Optimism Walk, Tug of War, Bean Bag Toss, 30-Day Gratitude Challenge, Responding to a Photograph, Charlotte’s Web - Compassion Spider Webs, and Locating Countries.

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Grade 3 Book List:

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1. Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
2. Lift as You Climb: The Story of Ella Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell
3. The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum, adapted by Deborah Hautzig
4. The Boy Who Grew a Forest: The True Story of Jadav Payeng by Sophia Gholz
5. Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco  
6. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, adapted by Deborah Hautzig
7. Brave Irene by William Steig 
8. Fly High: The Story of Bessie Coleman by Louise Borden
9. Charlotte's Web: Wilbur's Prize by Jennifer Frantz
10. Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh
11. Beatrice Zinker Upside Down Thinker by Shelley Johannes 
12. Saving the Day: Garrett Morgan's Life-Changing Invention of the Traffic Signal by Karyn Parsons
13. A Ticket Around the World by Natalia Diaz  

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Grade 4 Overview

Along with a variety of classic and contemporary texts (see the complete list below), the Grade 4 curriculum features short, grade-level appropriate nonfiction profiles highlighting the character strengths of:

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• Cicero, a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and orator
• Dr. George Carruthers, a space physicist and engineer
• Mary McLeod Bethune, an African American educator and civil rights leader

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To advance their reading comprehension and writing skills, students will compose short-answer responses to questions about each text. Students will also continue to develop their informative, narrative, and opinion writing skills, aligned to Grade 4 Common Core ELA Standards. To strengthen their fluency, lengthen their attention spans, and improve social skills, students will read their texts aloud to a small group of classmates and listen to their classmates’ texts. Students will receive feedback from the teacher on all writing assignments. 

Class activities include Languages of the World, 30-Day Gratitude Challenge, What’s Going on in this Picture?, Image Viewing & Response (Images from NASA, National Geographic, the LA Times, and the State Archives of Florida, and more), Class Brainstorming, Chinese Paper Lantern Making, and Locating the Countries Featured in the Readings on a Map (Mexico, China, Pakistan).

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Grade 4 Book List:

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1. An Angel for Solomon Singer by Cynthia Rylant
2. Doctor Esperanto and the Language of Hope by Mara Rockliff
3. A Thousand No’s by DJ Corchin
4. The Girl Who Ran: Bobbi Gibb, the First Woman to Run the Boston Marathon by Kristina Yee
5. Gracias/Thanks by Pat Mora
6. The Girl With Big, Big Questions by Britney Winn Lee 
7. I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis 
8. Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean's Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating
9. Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech
10. Ruby’s Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges
11. Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
12. Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare 
13. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
14. La Frontera by Alfredo Alva and Deborah Mills 
15. Iqbal: The Little Carpet Boy, a short graphic novel by Magnus Bergmar, illustrated by Jan-Åke Winqvist 

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Grade 5 Overview

Students are introduced to texts that address the complex historical context of European settlement in America, slavery, immigration, and the founding of the United States. Students read engaging books about courageous and inspiring figures (see the complete book list below). 

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• Excerpts from Olaudah Equiano’s autobiography The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (1789)
• Frederick Douglass’s speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” (1852)
• Short articles about the Rosenwald Schools, a network of nearly 5,000 rural schools built in the South between 1917 and 1932, primarily for the education of African American children

To improve their reading comprehension and writing skills, students will compose short-answer responses to questions about each text. Students will continue to develop their informative, narrative, and opinion writing skills, aligned to Grade 5 Common Core ELA Standards. In Grade 5, students are introduced to the Hero’s Journey, a narrative structure identified by mythologist Joseph Campbell. It is a story arc with a protagonist or main character who faces challenges, overcomes adversity, and is transformed. Students will learn the key elements of Hero’s Journey narratives. Then, students will write a Hero’s Journey. Students will receive feedback from the teacher on all writing assignments. 

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Grade 5 Book List:

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1. We Shall Overcome: The Story of a Song by Debbie Levy
2. Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine
3. The Table Where Rich People Sit by Byrd Baylor 
4. Native American Heroes: Osceola, Tecumseh & Cochise by Ann McGovern  
5. A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl by Patricia C. McKissack 
6. Dear Benjamin Banneker by Brian Pinkney
7. Steal Away Home by Lois Ruby
8. William Still and His Freedom Stories: The Father of the Underground Railroad by Don Tate 
9. Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship & Freedom by Tim Tingle   
10. Timeline History of the Trail of Tears by Alison Behnke 
11. The Secret Soldier: The Story of Deborah Sampson by Ann McGovern 
12. Patience Wright: America's First Sculptor and Revolutionary Spy by Pegi Deitz Shea 
13. The Story of George Washington Carver by Eva Moore 
14. The Escape of Robert Smalls: A Daring Voyage Out of Slavery by Jehan Jones-Radgowski 
15. Elizabeth Blackwell: America’s First Woman Doctor by Trina Robbins 

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Grade 6 Overview

Along with classic and contemporary books of fiction and nonfiction (see the complete book list below), the Grade 6 curriculum features short, grade-level appropriate nonfiction profiles of several extraordinary people: 

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• Anandabai Joshee, the first Indian woman to earn a medical degree in the US
• Susumu Ito, who in 1945 with the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, helped to liberate hundreds of Jewish prisoners from the Dachau concentration camp
• Chester Nez, who devised a secret code with a team of Navajo Code Talkers to help the Allies during WWII

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To advance their reading comprehension and writing skills, students will compose short-answer responses to questions about each text. Students will continue to develop their informative, narrative, and opinion writing skills, aligned to Grade 6 Common Core ELA Standards. In Grade 6, students will be introduced to peer review to develop their reading, writing, collaboration, and evaluation skills. Students will write a one-page peer review letter for each student in their group and participate in respectful discussions where they share the successful aspects of their classmates’ writing and provide constructive feedback for revision.

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Grade 6 Book List:

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1. The Diary of Anne Frank: The Definitive Edition by Anne Frank (Author), Otto M. Frank (Editor), Mirjam Pressler (Editor), Susan Massotty (Translator)
2. The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
3. The Giver by Lois Lowry
4. Everest: The Remarkable Story of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay by Alexandra Stewart (Author), Joe Todd-Stanton (Illustrator)
5. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
6. The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler by John Hendrix 
7. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
8. Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments From My Life by Mae Jemison 
9. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
10. The Girl Who Fought Back: Vladka Meed and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising by Joshua M. Greene
11. Wonder by R. J. Palacio 
12. We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration by Frank Abe (Author), Tamiko Nimura (Author), Ross Ishikawa (Illustrator), and Matt Sasaki (Illustrator)
13. The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin 
14. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry 
15. Heroes of the Holocaust: True Stories of Rescues by Teens by Allan Zullo and Mara Bovsun

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Grade 7 Overview

The seventh-grade curriculum includes classic and contemporary books, fiction and nonfiction (see the complete book list below). It also includes shorter articles that profile extraordinary individuals and important historical events, including:

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• Dashrath Manjhi—known as the “mountain man” in India—who spent 22 years carving a road through a treacherous mountain to help his community reach medical and other essential services
• Ibn Battuta, one of the greatest travelers of all time, who wrote about his experiences in wide swathes of the 14th-century Islamic world
• The little-known voyage of the St. Louis, a German ship with 937 passengers, almost all Jewish refugees. However, the governments of Cuba, the United States, and Canada were unwilling to admit the passengers. The St. Louis passengers were finally permitted to land in western European countries rather than return to Nazi Germany. Ultimately, 254 St. Louis passengers were killed in the Holocaust.

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To further develop their reading comprehension and writing skills, students will compose short-answer responses to questions about each text. Students will continue to develop their informative, narrative, and opinion writing skills, aligned to Grade 7 Common Core ELA Standards. In Grade 7, students are introduced to writing a fundraising letter to improve their understanding of audience and persuasive writing. Students will peer review to develop their reading, writing, collaboration, and evaluation skills. Students will write a one-page peer review letter for each student in their group and participate in respectful discussions where they share the successful aspects of their classmates’ writing and provide constructive feedback for revision.

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Grade 7 Book List:

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1. A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park 
2. Echoes of the Lost Boys of Sudan by Susan Clark, James Disco, and illustrated by Niki Singleton
3. The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman 
4. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
5. Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
6. Mathematician and Computer Scientist Grace Hopper by Andrea Pelleschi
7. I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
8. Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji-li Jiang
9. Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk 
10. Ajay and the Mumbai Sun by Varsha Shah
11. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
12. One Thousand and One Arabian Nights adapted by Geraldine McCaughrean 
13. Orange for the Sunsets by Tina Athaide
14. All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat

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Grade 8 Overview 

Along with several important works of fiction and nonfiction (please see the complete book list below), the eighth-grade curriculum includes shorter texts in multiple genres:

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• Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, Sonnet 29, and Sonnet 116, including modern recitations by hip-hop artist The Sonnet Man 
• Short essays by contemporary author Ashley Caveda about living with a disability 
• An interview with Daryl Davis, an African American musician and co-founder of the Prohuman Foundation, who inspired over 200 people to leave the KKK.
• Classic Harlem Renaissance poems: “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay (1919); “The Lynching” by Claude McKay (1922); “Strange Fruit” by Abel Meeropol and performed by Billie Holiday (1939)

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Students will continue to develop their informative, narrative, and opinion writing skills, aligned to Grade 8 Common Core ELA Standards. Students will compose a fundraising letter to improve their understanding of writing for an audience and improve their persuasive writing techniques. Additionally, students will continue peer reviewing their classmates’ writing to develop their evaluation skills. Students will write a one-page peer review letter for each student in their group and participate in respectful discussions where they share the successful aspects of their classmates’ writing and provide constructive feedback for revision.

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Grade 8 Book List

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1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
2. Born to Fly: The First Women's Air Race Across America by Steve Sheinkin 
3. A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen 
4. Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team by Steve Sheinkin 
5. Gratitude by Oliver Sacks
6. “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
7. Introducing the Enlightenment: A Graphic Guide, written by Lloyd Spencer and illustrated by Andrzej Krauze
8. Lord of the Flies by William Golding 
9. I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World by Malala Yousafzai and Patricia McCormick 
10. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
11. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 
12. The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin
13. Witness by Karen Hesse 
14. The Burning: Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 by Tim Madigan, adapted by Hilary Beard

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Recommended Pedagogy Books

Bauer, Susan Wise and Jessie Wise. 2024. The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (The Essential Edition). 

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Glaser, Joe. 2015. Understanding Style: Practical Ways to Improve Your Writing (Third Edition).

Graff, Gerald and Cathy Birkenstein. 2024. They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (Sixth Edition). 

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Himmele, Pérsida Himmele and William Himmele. 2011. Total Participation Techniques: Making Every Student an Active Learner. 

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Hirsch, E. D. 1996-2016. The Core Knowledge Series. 

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⸻. 2007. The Knowledge Deficit: Closing the Shocking Education Gap for American Children. 

⸻. 1988. Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know. 

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Lemov, Doug. 2021. Teach Like a Champion 3.0: 63 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College. 

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Wexler, Natalie. 2020. The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America's Broken Education System—and How to Fix It.