This American Life: Is this Working? Review (actual media is shown right below this post)

Chicago Public Media, & Glass, I. (Producers). (2014, October 17). Is this working? [Show #538]. This American life from WBEZ. Podcast retrieved from http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/538/is-this-working

Summary: Act One of this episode talks about how Black and Latino children are being suspended as early as preschool way more than Whites.  Tunette Powell’s three and four year old children are getting suspended from preschool repeatedly.  Powell blames herself as a child who was repeatedly suspended and even expelled from preschool.  She thought it was because her father was in prison.  As an adult she believed with a two-parent household and a stable income, she was doing better for her kids.  Her kids’ suspensions make her wonder what she’s done wrong.  Then conversations with other kids’ parents at a birthday party make her realize that her children are being punished more frequently and for lesser offenses.  Powell writes a blog questioning the racism she is facing. 

Review:  This first 17-min clip is thought-provoking.  Anecdotally and statistically it is very rich.  Students could share their school experiences with discipline and their thoughts on justice in schools.  Who gets it?  Who doesn’t?  Lots of juicy questions for teenagers.  This podcast is perfect for the auditory learner.  It is well edited and the music helps engage all.  Using a reflection notebook, students could write down details about Powell’s story while listening.  

Diversity: Racism towards African American students is discussed extensively through this episode.

Suggestions for Teachers: A conversation about race in America would be a good pre-activity to prime students, but most will find this podcast engaging and disturbing. Use this to talk about current events in Ferguson and race in America in a Social Studies class.

Reading Level:

1. Quantitative: N/A
2. Qualitative: The stories and interviews used here are told in chronological order. Vocabulary is contemporary and largely familiar. No other context is needed to make meaning. A discussion about students' own racial experiences or a journal might be a good way to prime students.

Content Areas: English, Social Studies

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.2
Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.3
Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.5
Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.6
Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.

Relevant links: This American Life

Subjects/Themes: racism, discipline, education, African Americans

Awards: N/A

Series Information: This American Life

This American Life: Is this Working? #538 by Chicago Public Radio & Ira Glass

Chicago Public Media, & Glass, I. (Producers). (2014, October 17). Is this working? [Show #538]. This American life from WBEZ. Podcast retrieved from http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/538/is-this-working

Summary: Act One of this episode talks about how Black and Latino children are being suspended as early as preschool way more than Whites.  Tunette Powell’s three and four year old children are getting suspended from preschool repeatedly.  Powell blames herself as a child who was repeatedly suspended and even expelled from preschool.  She thought it was because her father was in prison.  As an adult she believed with a two-parent household and a stable income, she was doing better for her kids.  Her kids’ suspensions make her wonder what she’s done wrong.  Then conversations with other kids’ parents at a birthday party make her realize that her children are being punished more frequently and for lesser offenses.  Powell writes a blog questioning the racism she is facing. 

Review:  This first 17-min clip is thought-provoking.  Anecdotally and statistically it is very rich.  Students could share their school experiences with discipline and their thoughts on justice in schools.  Who gets it?  Who doesn’t?  Lots of juicy questions for teenagers.  This podcast is perfect for the auditory learner.  It is well edited and the music helps engage all.  Using a reflection notebook, students could write down details about Powell’s story while listening.  

Diversity: Racism towards African American students is discussed extensively through this episode.

Suggestions for Teachers: A conversation about race in America would be a good pre-activity to prime students, but most will find this podcast engaging and disturbing. Use this to talk about current events in Ferguson and race in America in a Social Studies class.

Reading Level:

1. Quantitative: N/A
2. Qualitative: The stories and interviews used here are told in chronological order. Vocabulary is contemporary and largely familiar. No other context is needed to make meaning. A discussion about students' own racial experiences or a journal might be a good way to prime students.

Content Areas: English, Social Studies

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.2
Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.3
Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.5
Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.6
Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.

Relevant links: This American Life

Subjects/Themes: racism, discipline, education, African Americans

Awards: N/A

Series Information: This American Life

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Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki and Dom Lee

Mochizuki, K. (1993). Baseball saved us (D. Lee, Illustrator). New York, NY: Lee & Low Books.

Summary: Shorty is an okay baseball player and is often made fun of because of his size. He and is family are sent to an internment came during WWII where the poor quality of life causes tensions to run high. Shorty's father has Shorty help him build a baseball field in the camps. This entertainment increases the quality of life and improves Shorty's baseball skills. Shorty is able to transfer his perseverance to the ignorant and racist society he returns to when he is freed from the camp.

Review: This is a slice of life of historical fiction about Japanese Americans during WWII. It is a story many students who like baseball can relate to. I have read a few books about this particular event (the baseball field built) so I hope it isn't an overrepresentation of what was otherwise a horrific experience for many. But hopefully, students who read this picture book will begin to ask more questions about Japanese internment during WWII.

Diversity: This picture book is about a Japanese American boy during internment in WWII. It is historical fiction and that chronicles this specific ethnic group. For the purpose of teaching history, this is a great addition. However, this isn't a "normalized" experience. I would love to see more books about Japanese Americans in their everyday life now.

Suggestions for Teachers: This picture book would be a great addition for studying history. You could also use it on a unit on perseverance. It would make a great read-aloud or mentor text.

Reading Level:

1. Quantitative: Lexile 550L, ATOS Book Level 3.9, Flesh-Kincaid 3.7, 4.83 RMM
2. Qualitative: This text is moderately complex; it is chronological. For a second or third grade book, this has a lot of text. The language is simple although there are some words like "Jap", "Camp" with a capital C and words relevant to building that may need explaining. The theme of perseverance and acceptance during difficult times is accessible. Students who have prior knowledge of WWII, Japanese Internment and baseball will be able to make more meaning with this text. The pictures really enhance the meaning of this text and are literal.

Content Areas: Literacy, History, Family, Community

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.2
Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.3
Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7
Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)

Relevant links: Scholastic, Teaching Books, YouTube Read Aloud, YouTube Read Aloud 2, Teacher's Guide

Subjects/Themes: family, community, acceptance, perseverance, racism

Awards: 
Best Multicultural Title - Cuffies Award

Publisher's Weekly

Choices
Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

Editor's Choice
San Francisco Chronicle

Not Just for Children Anymore Selection
Children's Book Council

Series Information: N/A