We the People Bookshelf: A More Perfect Union

The We the People Bookshelf theme, “A More Perfect Union,” invites reflection on the idea of the United States as a “union,” a “One” as well as a “Many,” and includes EDSITEment lesson plans that complement the titles below.

Grades K-3

Tico and the Golden Wings—Leo Lionni

In this beautifully illustrated book, a bird comes to know himself and his own worth through selfless acts for others.

(Knopf Books for young Readers, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0394817494 / ISBN-13: 978-0394817491

Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• Helpful Animals and Compassionate Humans in Folklore
• Aesop and Ananse: Animal Fables and Trickster Tales
• Folktales and Ecology: Animals and Humans in Cooperation and Conflict

When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson—Pam Muñoz Ryan

Marian Anderson’s recital at the Lincoln Memorial was a dramatic moment in the nation’s long quest to rise above racial divisions.

Photo caption

Photo of Opera singer Marian Anderson performing at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939.

Wikimedia Commons

(Scholastic Press, 2002)
ISBN-10: 0439269679 / ISBN-13: 978-0439269674

Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• Dr. King's Dream
• Let Freedom Ring: The Life & Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Eleanor Roosevelt and the Rise of Social Reform in the 1930s

Related Websites

• American Experience: Marian Anderson
• History Matters
• Penn Library Exhibitions; Marian Anderson, A Life in Song
• African American History Month Resources
• Marian Anderson's recital at Lincoln Memorial
• "Denied a Stage, She Sang for a Nation"

A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution—Betsy and Giulio Maestro

The authors offer a clear and simple account of why and how thirty-nine men devised a Constitution that tied thirteen separate states into one United States of America.

(Lothrop Lee & Shepard, 1987)
ISBN-10: 0688068391 / ISBN-13: 978-0688068394

Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• 10 Ways to Teach the Constitution 
• Commemorating Constitution Day
• Balancing Three Branches at Once: Our System of Checks and Balances

Related Reviewed Websites

• Constitution Day
• The Bill of Rights Institute
• iCivics

Grades 4-6

Abigail & John—David Bruce Smith, Clarice Smith (Illustrator)

Abigail & John offers readers the opportunity to view prominent scenes in American history through the remarkable lives of one of the country’s most beloved couples—the Adams’s. Users will find lesson plan ideas and additional resources at the Grateful American Foundation website. 

(Simon & Schuster, 2019)
ISBN-10: 194849602X / ISBN-13: 978-1948496025

Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• Like Father, Like Son: Presidential Families
• Who were the Foremothers of the Women's Suffrage Movement?
• Remembering the Ladies: The First Ladies

Related Reviewed Websites

• National Park Service: John Adams and John Quincy Adams Birthplace
• The White House: John and Abigail Adams
• National First Ladies Library: Abigail Adams

Cesar: ¡Si, Se Puede! / Yes, We Can!—Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, David Diaz (Illustrator)

The life and times of César Chávez are vividly re-created in this collection of poems. Where most biographies stick to the facts of what a person did, this one also touches on the man's character and values. Children will learn about Chávez, but, more importantly, they will learn the important lessons he taught, and they will be able to apply them to their own lives.

(Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books, 2005)
ISBN-10: 0761451722 / ISBN-13: 978-0761451723

Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• "Sí, se puede!": Chávez, Huerta, and the UFW 
• Esperanza Rising: Learning Not to Be Afraid to Start Over
• Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, and the Power of Nonviolence

Related Reviewed Websites

• Latino Americans: Prejudice and Pride (PBS American Experience)

Darby—Jonathon Scott Fuqua

It is 1926, and nine-year-old Darby creates a stir in her small South Carolina town by writing columns for the local newspaper urging whites to treat blacks as equals.

(Candlewick, 2002)
ISBN-10: 0763622907 / ISBN-13: 978-0763622909

Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird: Profiles in Courage
• Dr. King's Dream
• Ordinary People, Ordinary Places: The Civil Rights Movement

Eagle Song—Joseph Bruchac

Danny Bigtree, fresh from the Mohawk reservation, is taunted by his new Brooklyn schoolmates. The students move toward greater understanding and peace after they learn the story of Hiawatha, the Iroquois Peacemaker.

Photo caption

Cover image for Eagle Song by Joseph Bruchac.

World of Books

Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• Native American Cultures Across the U.S.

• Language of Place: The Hopi People

• Not 'Indians,' Many Tribes: Native American Diversity

Related Reviewed Websites

• PBS We Shall Remain (online video)

• Earth Works (University of Cincinnati)

• National Museum of the American Indian

The Great Little Madison—Jean Fritz

This biography traces the events and ideas that led James Madison to become a great champion of a strong union and the Father of the Constitution.

(Putnam Juvenile, 1998)
ISBN-10: 0399217681 / ISBN-13: 978-0399217685

Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• James Madison: From Father of the Constitution to President

• President Madison and the War of 1812

Related Reviewed Websites

• American President: James Madison

• American Experience: Dolley Madison

Grades 7-8

Chains—Laurie Halse Anderson

This fast-paced novel reveals the heartache and struggles of a country and slave fighting for freedom. The characters are well developed, and the situations are realistic. An author's note gives insight into issues surrounding the Revolutionary War and the fight for the nation's freedom even though 20 percent of its people were in chains.

(Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, 2008)
ISBN-10: 1416905855 / ISBN-13: 978-1416905851

Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• After the American Revolution: Free African Americans in the North

• Slavery in the Colonial North

• Perspective on the Slave Narrative

• Taking Up Arms and the Challenge of Slavery in the Revolutionary Era

Hitch—Jeanette Ingold

Out of work and out of money, Moss Trawnley signs up for a “hitch” in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), helping Montana ranchers facing Depression and drought.

(Harcourt Children’s Books, 1st ed., 2006)
ISBN-10: 0152047476 / ISBN-13: 978-0152047474

Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• African Americans and the New Deal’s Civilian Conservation Corp

• Dust Bowl Days

• John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath: Verbal Pictures

Lincoln Shot. A President’s Life Remembered—Barry Denenberg

Noted children’s book biographer Barry Denenberg, award-winning illustrator Christopher Bing, and book designer Rich Deas collaborate on an intimate portrait of Abraham Lincoln. This arresting combination of Bing’s award-wining illustrations, plus archival photography and period typefaces and design is presented as a 19th century newspaper memorial edition.

(Feiwel & Friends, 2008)
ISBN-13: 9780312370138

Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• Abraham Lincoln on the American Union: “A Word Fitly Spoken”

• Picture Lincoln

• We Must Not Be Enemies: Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

Warriors Don’t Cry—Melba Pattillo Beals

Melba Beals recounts her experience as one of the “Little Rock Nine,” the group of students who led the way to desegregation.

ISBN-10: 0671866389 / ISBN-13: 978-0671866389

Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• Dr. King's Dream

• Let Freedom Ring: The Life & Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

• I Have a Dream: The Vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Grades 9-12

American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic—Joseph Ellis

A brilliant examination of the period between the War of Independence and the Louisiana Purchase. Six stories, each centering on a significant creative achievement or failure, combine to portray often flawed men and their efforts to lay the republic's foundation.

(Knopf, 2007)
ISBN-10: 030726369X / ISBN-13: 978-0307263698

Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• The American War for Independence

• The Declaration of Independence: “An Expression of the American Mind”

• What Made George Washington a Good Military Leader?

• The Native Americans' Role in the American Revolution: Choosing Sides

• The First American Party System: U.S. Political Parties: The Principle of Legitimate Opposition

Killer Angels—Michael Shaara

Michael Shaara won the Pulitzer Prize for this riveting and unforgettable novel about the Battle of Gettysburg.

(Ballantine Books, 2001)
ISBN-10: 0345444124 / ISBN-13: 978-0345444127

Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• The American Civil War: A “Terrible Swift Sword”

• The Gettysburg Address (1863)—Defining the American Union

• Life in the North and South 1847-1861: Before Brother Fought Brother    

• Chronicling America: Civil War Secession (Topics Page)

Lincoln in His Own Words—Milton Meltzer

Historian Milton Melzer contributes context and commentary on the life and times, ideas, and achievements of Lincoln. Otherwise he lets Lincoln speak for himself.

First choice: Harcourt; 1st edition (October 1, 1993) ISBN-10: 0152454373 / ISBN-13: 978-0152454371
Second choice: Sandpiper; Reprint edition (January 1, 2009) ISBN-10: 0152064362 / ISBN-13: 978-0152064365

Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• Abraham Lincoln on the American Union: “A Word Fitly Spoken”

• Fragment on the Constitution and Union (1861)—The Purpose of the American Union

• The First Inaugural Address (1861)—Defending the American Union

• The Gettysburg Address (1863)—Defining the American Union

• The Second Inaugural Address (1865)—Restoring the American Union

Carver: A Life in Poems—Marilyn Nelson

Marilyn Nelson’s lyrical poems, complemented by black and white photographs, speak eloquently about the inspiring life and character of George Washington Carver.

(Front Street imprint of Boyds Mill Press, 1st ed., 2001)
ISBN-10: 1886910537 / ISBN-13: 978-1886910539

Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• Martin Puryear’s Ladder for Booker T. Washington

• Teacher's Guide: The Reconstruction Era

Twelve Angry Men—Reginald Rose

This stage play, recounting the deliberations of a twelve-man jury in a murder case, examines the complexity of justice in a democratic society.

(Penguin Classics, 2006)
ISBN-10: 0143104403 / ISBN-13: 978-0143104407

Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• Twelve Angry Men: Trial by Jury as a Right and as a Political Institution

• Scottsboro Boys and To Kill A Mockingbird: Two Trials for the Classroom

• The Supreme Court

Related Reviewed Websites

• Oyez Project: A Supreme Court Multimedia Database

The Souls of Black Folk—W. E. B. DuBois

Looking back at Emancipation and its effects, DuBois’s proclamation that “the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line” anticipates and advances the civil rights movement.

(Oxford University Press, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0192806785 / ISBN-13: 978-0192806789

Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• African-American Soldiers in World War I: The 92nd and 93rd Divisions

• African-American Soldiers After World War I: Had Race Relations Changed?