Grade 5
at a glance

Literature text: We Shall Overcome: The Story of a Song by Debbie Levy

Video: Can Kids Change the World? | The Civil Rights Movement by Scholastic (~7 min)   

Nonfiction text: “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” by Frederick Douglass

Video: Frederick Douglass: First African American Nominated for Vice President by Biography (~3 min)

Video: “What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July?”: Descendants Read Frederick Douglass' Speech from NPR (~7 min)

Writing: informative

Literature text: Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine

Nonfiction text: Excerpts from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by The Fitzwilliam Museum (~8 min) 

Video: Olaudah Equiano Biography by The Daily Bellringer (~5 min) 

Writing: Narrative

Fiction text: The Table Where Rich People Sit by Byrd Baylor 

Nonfiction text: Native American Heroes: Osceola, Tecumseh & Cochise by Ann McGovern  

Video: So Live Your Life - Chief Tecumseh by RedFrost Motivation (~3 min)

Writing: Opinion

Fiction text: A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl by Patricia C. McKissack 

Nonfiction text: Dear Benjamin Banneker by Brian Pinkney

Video: Benjamin Banneker, Astronomer by Biography (~3 min)

Writing: informative

Video: The Underground Railroad: On the Road to Freedom by Untold History (~2 min) 

Fiction text: Steal Away Home by Lois Ruby

Nonfiction text: William Still and His Freedom Stories: The Father of the Underground Railroad by Don Tate 

Video: William Still, The Underground Railroad by The Gist of Freedom (~2 min) 

Video: The Hero's Journey according to Joseph Campbell - video by Matthew Winkler and Kirill Yeretsky by Ueber-Brands (~3 min)

Writing: narrative

Fiction text: Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship & Freedom by Tim Tingle  

Nonfiction text: Timeline History of the Trail of Tears by Alison Behnke 

Video: Trail of Tears: One Minute History by One Minute History (~1 min) 

Video: John Ross, Father of the Cherokee Nation by GPB Education (~3 min)

Writing: Opinion

Video: Deborah Sampson - The Brave Soldier Who Faked Her Identity by Weird History (~3 min)

Literature text: The Secret Soldier: The Story of Deborah Sampson by Ann McGovern 

Nonfiction text: The Rosenwald Schools: Progressive Era Philanthropy in the Segregated South 

Video: Impact of Rosenwald schools on education and how they changed the lives of Black Americans by CBS Mornings (~6 min)

Writing: Informative

Literature text: Patience Wright: America's First Sculptor and Revolutionary Spy by Pegi Deitz Shea 

Video: Meet Your Revolutionary Neighbors: Patience Lovell Wright by Crossroads of the American Revolution (~2 min)

Video: George Washington Carver - Comments by Daryl Davis (~1 min) 

Video: George Washington Carver "The Plant Doctor" Revolutionized Farming Industry by Biography (~4 min)

Writing: Opinion

Video: The incredible escape that turned a slave into an American hero by BBC Global (~5 min)

Literature text: The Escape of Robert Smalls: A Daring Voyage Out of Slavery by Jehan Jones-Radgowski 

Nonfiction text: Elizabeth Blackwell: America’s First Woman Doctor by Trina Robbins 

Video: Meet the country’s first female doctor: Elizabeth Blackwell by NY-Presbyterian Hospital(~4 min) 

Writing: narrative