eSource: Free Teaching Guides

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Cover: Red Bird Sings: The Story of Zitkala-Ša, Native American Author, Musician, and Activist

Red Bird Sings

“I remember the day I lost my spirit.” So begins the story of Gertrude Simmons, also known as Zitkala-Ša, which means Red Bird. Born in 1876 on the Yankton Sioux reservation in South Dakota, Zitkala-Ša willingly left her home at age eight to go to a boarding school in… View →

 
Cover: Rivers: A Visual History from River to Sea

Rivers

This breathtaking journey along the most important rivers in the world takes us from the Nile to the Amazon, the Mekong Delta to the Mississippi, the Murray to the Waikato. Our seas and rivers tell a compelling story about our planet. Through tracking the life source of… View →

 
Cover: Room for One More

Room for One More

For twelve-year-old Rosetta Wolfson, the war in Europe seems very far off from her home in Canada. Then Mr. Schwartzberg comes to tea and asks Rosetta’s parents if they will take in a young war refugee. Isaac joins the family and becomes a ready-made brother to Rosetta and her two… View →

 
Cover: Ruth and the Green Book

Ruth and the Green Book

The picture book inspiration for the Academy Award-winning film The Green Book Ruth was so excited to take a trip in her family’s new car! In the early 1950s, few African Americans could afford to buy cars, so this would be an adventure. But she… View →

 
Cover: Ruth First Never Backed Down

Ruth First Never Backed Down

Ruth First was born in South Africa, where her Jewish family fled from danger in Europe in the early 1900s. South Africa was a safe place for Jews, but not for Black people. Inspired by her parents’ example, a teenage Ruth started a secret book club with her friends to talk about… View →

 
Cover: Documents of Freedom: A Look at the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the U.S. Constitution

Searchlight Books ™ — How Does Government Work?

As part of the Searchlight Books™ collection, this series sheds light on an important civics question—how does government work? Informative text, interesting photos, and useful examples will help you find the answer. View →

 
Cover: Understanding Credit

Searchlight Books ™ — How Do We Use Money?

This series helps elementary students build strong critical thinking and financial literacy skills in order to make good decisions about how they use money now. It also prepares them for making more complex decisions in the future. Students will learn about earning, budgeting, spending,… View →

 
Cover: How Can We Reduce Agricultural Pollution?

Searchlight Books ™ — What Can We Do about Pollution?

Pollution is a hot topic in the news. This real-life science series from Searchlight Books™ walks students through the causes and effects of pollution and explains how we can work together to help the environment. Elementary students will come away with a strong… View →

 
Cover: Tools and Treasures of Ancient China

Searchlight Books ™ — What Can We Learn from Early Civilizations?

Introduce students to six major ancient civilizations in Searchlight Books™—What Can We Learn from Early Civilizations?. Readers will discover where the civilizations were located, what daily life was like for people of these groups, what cultural… View →

 
Cover: Using Physical Maps

Searchlight Books ™ — What Do You Know about Maps?

Introduce intermediate and upper-elementary readers to all kinds of maps, from political and topographic to climate and economic maps—even maps on a GPS! Each chapter deals with a specific topic related to maps, and informative captions encourage readers to… View →

 
Cover: Digital Safety Smarts: Preventing Cyberbullying

Searchlight Books ™ — What Is Digital Citizenship?

What does it mean to be a good digital citizen? Students will learn how to identify and prevent cyberbullying, how to research effectively online, and how to evaluate websites and advertising, all while staying safe in today’s digital, connected environment. Vivid photos, clear… View →

 
Cover: Deadly High-Risk Jobs

ShockZone ™ — Deadly and Dangerous

ShockZone™—Deadly and Dangerous features the most lethal jobs, creatures, destinations, and daredevil travels and hobbies known to humankind. With extreme stats and facts, engaging visuals, and fast-paced, accessible text, this series is sure to appeal to kids who want… View →

 
Cover: The Brain-Boosting Benefits of Gaming

ShockZone ™ — Games and Gamers

This fascinating, fact-filled series on video games will engage young fans of this incredibly popular pastime. Reflecting the look and feel of their subject, the books cover various high-interest aspects of video games, including how they work, how they developed, stars of the industry,… View →

 
Cover: Surviving Natural Disasters

ShockZone ™ — True Survival Stories

ShockZone™—True Survival Stories features some dangerous situations and describes how people survived them. With extreme stats and facts, engaging visuals, and fast-paced, accessible text, this series is sure to appeal to kids who want their high-interest subjects served View →

 
Cover: Gangsters, Bootleggers, and Bandits

ShockZone ™ — Villains

ShockZone™―Villains introduces the most vile criminals, killers, and corrupt leaders the world has ever seen. Narratives weave together the freakish facts and antics of these tyrants, exposing the filthy rotten scoundrels that each set of characters truly was. Engaging… View →

 
Cover: Why Did the Pilgrims Come to the New World?: And Other Questions about the Plymouth Colony

Six Questions of American History

Explore pivotal moments in US history, from colonial times to the Civil War. Discover the who, what, where, when, why, and how of important events such as the Pilgrims settling at Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Abraham Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. Writing exercises at the View →

 
Cover: Small Shoes, Great Strides: How Three Brave Girls Opened Doors to School Equality

Small Shoes, Great Strides

On November 14, 1960, first graders Leona Tate, Tessie Prevost, and Gail Etienne stepped into history by going to school. Escorted by U.S. Marshals and facing swarms of shouting protestors, they became the first children in New Orleans to integrate a previously… View →

 
Cover: Something to Prove: The Great Satchel Paige vs. Rookie Joe DiMaggio

Something to Prove

In 1936, the New York Yankees wanted to test a hot prospect named Joe DiMaggio to see if he was ready for the big leagues. They knew just the ballplayer to call—Satchel Paige, the best pitcher anywhere, black or white. For the game, Paige joined a group of amateur African American… View →

 
Cover: Sounds Good!: Discover 50 Instruments

Sounds Good!

An interactive introduction to musical instruments with 50 original compositions to listen to—from the kazoo to the bassoon. What does a double bass or a sitar sound like? What’s the difference between bongos and congas? Which instrument has only one… View →

 
Cover: Swish: The Quest for Basketball's Perfect Shot

Spectacular Sports

Sports fans will cheer for these exciting titles, which capture some of the most thrilling moments in college and professional sports. From buzzer-beater basketball shots and amazing trick football plays to soccer’s World Cup goals and baseball’s World Series home runs, these View →

 
Cover: Stokes: The Brief Career of the NBA's First Black Superstar

Stokes

Stokes tells the story of the NBA’s first Black superstar, Maurice Stokes, who is not as well known as he should be in part because of a career-ending injury. Coauthors and basketball enthusiasts John Coy and Ty Chapman highlight what a standout Stokes was: he was 6’7”… View →

 
Cover: Economics through Infographics

Super Social Studies Infographics

Infographics require sophisticated data interpretation and present information that taps into students’ critical thinking skills. See how eye-catching “data art”—including timelines, graphs, maps, and more—can enhance the learning of key facts about history, geography,… View →

 
Cover: Tales from the Top of the World: Climbing Mount Everest with Pete Athans

Tales from the Top of the World

The journey up Mount Everest is never easy. Climbers risk their lives as they struggle around jagged towers of ice, over snow-covered boulders, and across gaping crevasses. Pete Athans knows these dangers well. He has climbed Mount Everest fourteen times and reached the summit seven… View →

 
Cover: Ancient Transportation Technology: From Oars to Elephants

Technology in Ancient Cultures

How did early peoples around the world approach construction, communication, computing, transportation, agriculture, machinery, medicine, and warfare? This fascinating, easy-to-read series gives young readers a close-up look at how the ancients got things done. Each book takes a basic… View →