Picture Writing

Appendix: District Academic Standards

The Bayshore Elementary School District is transitioning from California State Standards to the Common Core Standards. The CA State social studies-history standard 5.6.3 specifies understanding the different roles women played during the Revolution. Otherwise, the standards require general knowledge of American history. Both these standards are met by this unit.

This unit also fulfills the Common Core literacy standards that require students to "read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text." Children love picture books. Informational texts are often dry. Picture-book biography is engaging. My unit shows that students who are given repeated access to picture books develop their observation and conversation abilities. They talk about what interests them. They voice their questions, comments, and opinions. These are the seed ideas for writing and research. Children with a question about a picture will seek answers from other students and from the teacher. This is the teachable moment. Teachers can provide supplemental books, teach how to use a student-friendly database, and bring up images and on the computer. This unit naturally leads to deeper reading and ultimately to writing.

One of the Common Core standards involves teaching point of view: "Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described." Teachers can prompt discussion about point of view when they are reading a book together with their students. In this unit certain books lend themselves to introducing young children to the concept of seeing an event from multiple viewpoints. I have mentioned the book on Sacajewea that actually changes voice from chapter to chapter. In the student reference list I give three books about Marian Anderson's Lincoln memorial concert: When Marian Sang, Sweet Land of Liberty, and Eleanor, Quiet No More all bring up the concert and each individual's part in making it happen. This is a fine example of point of view. A teacher could easily take the lesson further to explore the racist thinking of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Common Core is encouraging teaching history in the direction of how historians think. Seeing point of view is a critical thinking skill and the guiding principle in the field of historiography. It is also an important tool for children to use to recognize bias in everyday life.

Inspiring Women of American History therefore specifically addresses both CA State and Common Core standards. This unit is especially useful to teachers of multicultural classes. It addresses issues connected to second-language acquisition. It is also designed to be a source of good books for children.