5 New YA Books on Native American Lives
Members of our staff are exploring these five new books published written by a group of Indigenous authors across North America for readers ages 12 and up and we invite you to explore them alongside us. These texts address themes including Indigenous youth navigating adolescent identity, community, and resistance.
Introducing Agency
Students explore the concept of agency, both in literature and in life, and examine the societal forces that play a role in an individual’s agency.
![Two Volta Elementary School students work at their desks.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-07/Chicago_Classroom_2019_%20FH2101627.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=Pd3sRqZO)
Agency, Choice, and Action
Students apply their thinking about power and agency to an analysis of four personal narrative essays written by young people.
![Uniformed students work together in class.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Chicago_Classroom_2019_FH2101464.jpg?h=0f4230fa&itok=eqY000u8)
The Power of Belonging
Students discuss the first half of Bethany Morrow’s short story “As You Were” and create character maps as a way of exploring the character of Ebony’s identity and sense of belonging in her school community.
![A student and teacher are in discussion.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-07/Chicago_Classroom_2019_%20FH2101408.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=lIhPr3AR)
Finding One's Voice
Through continued reflection on the short story “As You Were,” students consider the factors that impact power and agency in moments of decision-making and explore the possibilities and limitations of justice and reconciliation.
![Students engage in discussion in a San Francisco classroom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-07/San_Francisco_Classroom_2017_FH152714.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=dM3u491J)
What is Power?
Students define power and then analyze five perspectives about power in order to understand its many sources and the different ways it can be experienced.
![Two male students write at their desks.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Cleveland_Classroom_2019_FH2100139.jpg?h=78aab1d8&itok=eGCF5ua2)
The Power of Representation: Patsy Takemoto Mink, Shirley Chisholm, and Kamala Harris
Use this mini-lesson to help students learn about the groundbreaking careers of Patsy Takemoto Mink and Shirley Chisholm and to consider the significance of Vice President Kamala Harris’s election.
![Kamala Harris being sworn in as the 49th Vice President of the United States.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/USA-Biden%3AInauguration_2021_FH2143511.jpg.JPG?h=790be497&itok=4KIchZQ-)
The Persistence of Hate: Exploring Contemporary Antisemitism
On-Demand
Virtual
During this interactive webinar, we explored Facing History’s lessons that considered the role antisemitism played at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville as a case study in contemporary antisemitism.
Rethinking America and the Holocaust
On-Demand
Virtual
Explore the motivations, pressures, and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism, the European refugee crisis of the 1930s, and the Holocaust. The webinar draws on Facing History’s innovative approach to historical inquiry and groundbreaking new sources from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's special exhibition, Americans and the Holocaust.
![Black and white photo of mass demonstration.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/AP_3811161102_Medium_res.jpg?h=00d1719e&itok=Ou9eNaS0)
Reflecting on the Danger of Silence
Students use Clint Smith’s talk “The Danger of Silence” to create “blackout poems” that express their ideas for how they can use their voices to empower themselves and others.
![Students engage in discussion in a San Francisco classroom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-07/San_Francisco_Classroom_2017_FH152714.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=dM3u491J)
Summative Assessment: Agency and Action in the World Today
Create a culminating experience for your students where they identify and explain an example of individual or collective agency in the world today that inspires them.
![Two Black students write at their desks.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-07/Memphis_Classroom_2018_FH288851.jpeg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=B45APPri)