US Common Core ELA
— A young poet confronts racist taunts of 'Go back to Asia' by questioning where anyone truly belongs, reminding us that only Native Americans aren't immigrants to this land.
— In 1976 apartheid South Africa, a boy secretly joins student uprisings until police arrest his mother, forcing him to send his siblings to safety and flee to join guerrilla fighters.
— A sudden storm transforms a sunny afternoon in the park, sending a child running and slipping on raindrops as darkness overtakes the day.
— A lonely fifth-grader who feels invisible meets Lizzy, a quirky new student with electric blue eyes who notices her red Converse and offers genuine friendship.
— A young musician describes the physical and emotional experience of playing a brass instrument, from cold valves to the music flowing through her body.
— A Chinese-American teenager struggles with her immigrant family's stories of hardship until visiting her father's childhood home in rural China transforms her understanding.
— A ten-year-old Sioux boy participates in his first buffalo hunt, kills the largest buffalo in the herd, and earns his adult name, Buffalo Spirit.
— A seven-year-old moves from California to Chicago, struggles with homesickness and lost friendships, then finds connection through soccer and a new friend named Jonathan.
— A young violinist overcomes nerves to audition with Vivaldi's Winter, wins a competition, and performs at Seattle's Benaroya Hall on the first day of winter.
— During band practice, a student sneezes directly into his trombone, creating an explosive sound that stops the entire class mid-song.