Student Texts
Bookmarked 202 times

Our searchable library of short texts offers a diverse mix of stories and perspectives. This multigenre, multimedia collection aligns with the Common Core's recommendations for text complexity and the Learning for Justice Social Justice Standards.

Choose from informational and literary nonfiction texts, literature, photographs, political cartoons, interviews, infographics and more. You can also filter by text type, grade level, subject and topic.

“The leveled texts have really helped me engage students and introduce them to complex topics in a way they can understand.”

Filter Texts
Text Type
Grade Level
Social Justice Domain
Subject
Topic

118 Texts

Literature

Seventeen Syllables

Rosie's mother and father did not marry out of love, and her mother writes haiku as an escape. After entering a contest, a man comes to deliver her prize—a framed picture. Angered by this intrusion, Rosie's father destroys the picture. In her anguish, Rosie's mother explains her marriage to her daughter.
by
Hisaye Yamamoto
Grade Level
Subject
History
Geography
Social Justice Domain
July 7, 2014
Literature

My Name was Hussein

Hussein, the narrator of My Name Was Hussein, lives in Bulgaria. His Muslim family takes great pride in their religion and traditions. But soldiers soon arrive in their village and force all of the Muslims to adopt Christian names, thereby inhibiting their freedom and identities.
by
Hristo Kyuchukov
Grade Level
Subject
Civics
History
Economics
Geography
Social Justice Domain
July 7, 2014
Literature

Margaret Batchelder, Immigrant Inspector (1903)

Margaret Batchelder writes to President Theodore Roosevelt to tell him how women inspectors welcome immigrants—with smiles and encouragement. Although not allowed to question the immigrants, the women make a difference in the immigrants' first experiences on shore.
by
Gwenyth Swain
Grade Level
Subject
History
Social Justice Domain
July 7, 2014
Literature

An Angry Black Woman on the Subject of the Angry White Man

Jordan's poem takes on an sarcastic tone as she describes the duties, punishments, emotions and false promises endured by African Americans since slavery in response to Bill Clinton's description of affirmative action as "a psychologically difficult time for the so-called angry White man."
by
June Jordan
Grade Level
Subject
History
Economics
Social Justice Domain
July 7, 2014
Literature

Life in the Iron Mills

This short story—acclaimed as one of the earliest examples of American realism—paints a bleak picture of industrial workers' lives in the mid-1800s.
by
Rebecca Harding Davis
Grade Level
Topic
Subject
History
Social Justice Domain
July 7, 2014
Literature

The Yellow Wallpaper

This short story—an important piece in early American feminist literature—sheds light on 19th century attitudes toward women with physical and mental illness. In this excerpt, the speaker details her bedroom, a place where her husband and doctors come to encourage her to health. Her ailment is vague; the emphasis is on what others—all men—think and say.
by
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Grade Level
Subject
History
Social Justice Domain
July 7, 2014
Literature

A Room of One's Own

In this excerpt, Virginia Woolf declares that any talented woman born in the 16th, 17th, 18th or even 19th centuries would have been so hindered from sharing her gifts due to her sex--and if she somehow overcame this obstacle, her name would not have been tied to her work.
by
Virginia Woolf
Grade Level
Subject
History
Social Justice Domain
July 7, 2014
Literature

Sometimes

Toby and Clemmie love each other very much. Sometimes Clemmie has to go to the hospital though, and it can be scary. Luckily, Toby and Clemmie know how to make the best out of every situation—even ones that involve a trip to the hospital.
by
Rebecca Elliott
Grade Level
K-2
Topic
Social Justice Domain
July 7, 2014
x
A map of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi with overlaid images of key state symbols and of people in community

Learning for Justice in the South

When it comes to investing in racial justice in education, we believe that the South is the best place to start. If you’re an educator, parent or caregiver, or community member living and working in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana or Mississippi, we’ll mail you a free introductory package of our resources when you join our community and subscribe to our magazine.

Learn More