lbriggs

Laura Briggs March 26, 2013 EDU 448 Corio

This text set is for 12th grade history class with high, average, and low skilled reading levels. The unit will focus on the study of Topics in Latin America. Most students will have very limited background knowledge of the subject although some may have families that emigrated from Latin America.

A. Print Resources: Text #1: Book
 * Citation: Alvarez. J. (1994).//In the time of butterflies.// Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin.
 * Text Summary: This book recounts the story of four sisters known as Las Mariposas. They are leaders of the resistance movement against the dictator Trujillo.
 * Rationale: I choose this text because it is a compelling story that paints a powerful picture of political oppression and courage. It is a gripping novel that you can’t put down with lots of imagery. The main character is a teenager so I think students will relate to her and that will help them get engaged with the text.
 * Use of text: I will have students read the book independently for homework. They will answer discussion questions in groups during class and then the class will regroup for a larger discussion where each group shares their responses. These discussions will also be helpful for students because they will also use the book to write a reflective essay using direct quotes from the novel as evidence to support their ideas.
 * Attachment: there are 332 pages so it’s not attached.

Text #2:
 * Citation: Randal, M//. Let’s go.// (1971 and amended in 1983). Retrieves March 26, 2013 from http://www.ottorenecastillo.org/Sabor/LGintro.html
 * Text Summary: This text is a biography about the famous activist and poet Otto R. Castillo. It writes about his life as an exile, a student, and later an achtivist. It tells the story of his hardships and achievements and also explains his death.
 * Rationale: I choose to include this because it will give students backround knowledge about Castillo because they will be reading two of his poems. I think it will work well at hooking students in to the subject because it is such an fascinating biography.
 * Use of text: The students will read it out lould as a class taking turns reading. The text is meant to provide brackround knowledge and it also explains how the poetry is effective and analyzes ihow it should be interpreted. Before students read this challenging text they will learn vocabulary words that they will come across in this reading. The night before they read this they will create sentences for the following words: transpose,metaphorical, analytical, revolutionary, literary innovation, architects, posthumous, homage, and idiosyncrasy. I will provide students with the correct definitions appropriate for the history content area before they write the sentences for homework.
 * Attachment: see appendix pages 1-3

Text #3:


 * Citation: Castillio, O.R. **//Apolitical intellectuals//**** . **(1954).Retrieved March 26, 2013.Apolitical Intellectuals, from [|__http://socialistplatform.blogspot.com/2008/06/three -poems-__] by-otto-rene-castillo.html
 * Text Summary: This poem is about the Guatemalans’ perspective from those of the lower class. It also talks about the types of feelings and changes the upper class will experience. Themes of shame, exclusion and suffering are seen throughout the poem.
 * Rationale: This poem gives students insight about the large class divide in Guatemala and the role it plays in their country. Students will gain understanding of the vision of the lower class and will analyze the role class divide plays in society. It also correlates with the film they are watching “When the Mountains Tremble” which is also about the Guatemalan war.


 * Use of text: I will pass out copies of the text and then read it out loud. Students will discuss the poem in groups. They will be given a prompt with questions to encourage discussion. For homework they will pick one question to answer in a written response.
 * Attachment: see appendix pages 3-4

Text #4:


 * Citation: Castillio, O.R. (1954). //Let’s start walking//. Retrieved March 26, 2013 from, [|__http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NetworkAztlan___] News/message/42766
 * Text Summary: This poem was written by a man from Guatemala born in 1936. He was tortured, imprisoned, and put to death for standing up for his country. This poem is about encouraging Guatemalans to stand together and fight for their rights to freedom of speech and labor rights. It embodies themes of courage, strength and resistance. The best line is “I’ll die to give you life” which portrays the deep sacrifices the Guatemalan people gave to fight for their countries liberty.
 * Rationale: I choose this text because it is an excellent poem which gives students a sense of the Guerilla movement in Guatemala. It also gives students an idea of the types of emotions and social interactions that happen within a dictatorship. It also correlates with the film they are watching “When the Mountains Tremble” which is also about the Guatemalan war.
 * Use of text: I will pass out copies of the text and then read it out lould. Students will write a brief response which would include their personal reaction and response to the poem. Would they recommend it? Did they like it? why or why not?
 * Attachment: see appendix page 4

Text #5
 * Citation: Montejo, J.(Translated by Perara, V.) //Sculpted Stones.// (1995).University of Michigan, Curbstone Press. Pg. 9-20
 * Text Summary: This poem //Interrogation by Ancestors// focuses on the colonial exploitation on the indigenous people of Guatemala by the Spaniards. It is about the loss of culture, traditions, and way of life being taken away but it is also a poem of unity and encouragement, urging the people to go back to their cultural roots.
 * Rationale: I choose this poem because it provides background knowledge about the experiences during colonial Latin America. This is the roots of their history and it helps make sense of why the dictatorship happened. It also gives students another voice of resistance other than Otto Castillo’s. Montejo is a different voice and he delivers the message in a unique way that gives students more perspective about the overall message of the Latin American revolution.
 * Use of text: Students will take turns reading it out lould as a group. After they will break up into groups and each group will analyze a section and report back to the class their interpretations.
 * Attachment: not attached, too long

B. Media Resources Text #6:
 * Citation: RealidadGuatemalam(Febuary 13, 2008). When the Mountins Tremble. Retrieved March 26, 2013 from [|http://www.youtube. com/watch] ? v=wJT2luUrHdU&list=PL52EAE2E63EB2B5C9
 * Text Summary: This a documentary about the Guerilla resistence movement in Gautemala. It shows live footage of the army, violence, dictatorship and oppression. It has live interviews with members from the army, civilians, leaders of the revolution and members of the resistence party.
 * Rationale: I choose to show this video because it gives the true story without sugar coating it. It raises awareness and invokes an emotional connection to the people. It touched your heart and is truly an unforgettable film. Altough it is mature content, seniors in high school are mature enough to view the content and analyze it.
 * Use of text: Student will each descript one scene they found extremely memorable or important and explain why for homework.
 * Attachment: n/a

Text #7:
 * Citation: ABC News. (January 23,2013).Inauguration 2013: Richard Blanco's Poetry Pays Homage to American Experience . Retrieved March 26, 2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mDrk8AC4G4
 * Text Summary: This video shows Richard Blanco reading his poem at President Obamas inauguration. The poem is about Blanco’s experiences growing up as the child of Cuban exiles. He emphasizes how we are all interonected and how we all live together as one and how we all work and fight together as one. It is a message of unity and anti-prejudice.
 * Rationale: I choose this reading because it is read how the poet wants it to be which conveys a different meaning through tone, pace, and facial expression. The interpretation is much more accutrate than just reading it in your head.
 * Use of text: I will have students listen to it aswell as pass out hard copies so they can read aloud. After the class will have a group discussion together to decipher the meaning of the poem and the overall theme.
 * Attachment:

C. Online interactive resources Text #8: Text # 9
 * Citation: Angela Torres Camarena. (2013). Exiled in america. (video) retrieved on March 26, 2013 from, http://www.linktv.org/video/8390/exiled-in-america
 * Text Summary: The video is about the deportation of mexians from America. It tells the unheard story of the illegal immigrant. The video is mostly the story of families and children.
 * Rationale: I choose this video because it helps students see the other side of the immigration issue in American politics. I promotes empathy, understanding, and tolerance of immigrants.
 * Use of text: Students will debate in groups if they think that immigration law needs reform or not based on the video footage.
 * Attachment: n/a

D. Instructional Resources Text #10: = Citation: Buckley, M. E. [|What’s up with the distinction between literature and i] [|nformational Texts?]  (Mar 18, 2013) Retrieved March 26, 2013 from http://www.thinkfinity.org/community/hub/blog/2013/03/18/what-s-up-with-the-distinction-between-literature-and-informational-texts =
 * Citation: “student choice” from BBC News. retrieved on March 26, 2013 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/search/?q=latin%20america
 * Text Summary: The text students chose must be a news article from BBC News that is about an issue in a Latin American country.
 * Rationale: I choose to have students select their own news article (must be recent) so they can explore topics that interest them but also learn more about current events in Latin America. I think it is important for students to explore their own interests which is why this is a self-chosen reading.
 * Use of text: Students will find and read a news article from BBC News. They will summarize the article for homework and then they will present the summary to the class similar to a current events activity.


 * Text Summary:The text breaks down the importance of the common core standards.It states that The CCSS are therefore focused not only on skills and knowledge, but also on intellectual values, challenging our school systems to develop a country of thinkers.
 * Rationale: I chose to include this in the text set as a reading to be read by me only. It helped me think about what the common core statndards are aiming to so and helped me justify the readings I included in this text set.
 * Use of text: I used the text to better understand the common core standards and there purpose in the classroom.
 * Attachment: see appendix pages 5-8

Using these texts together in the classroom: Together these texts help students gain a broader understanding of colonial Latin America up to present day Latin America. They also encourage students to explore deeper theoretical topics such as freedom, resistance, dictatorship, and courage through class discussion and reflective writing. There is also a vocabulary aspect which defines different words and there meaning specific to the content area of history.

Learning Objectives: // [|__CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.2__] //

Determine two or more themes or 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 produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.

Historical Thinking Standard 3
//Therefore, the student is able to://
 * The student engages in historical analysis and interpretation:**
 * **Compare and contrast differing sets of ideas**, values, personalities, behaviors, and institutions by identifying likenesses and differences.
 * **Consider multiple perspectives** of various peoples in the past by demonstrating their differing motives, beliefs, interests, hopes, and fears.
 * **Analyze cause-and-effect relationships** bearing in mind **multiple causation** including (a) **the importance of the individual** in history; (b) **the influence of ideas**, human interests, and beliefs; and (c) the role of chance, the accidental and the irrational.
 * **Draw comparisons across eras and regions in order to define enduring issues** as well as large-scale or long-term developments that transcend regional and temporal boundaries.
 * **Distinguish between unsupported expressions of opinion and informed hypotheses grounded in historical evidence.**
 * **Compare competing historical narratives.**
 * **Challenge arguments of historical inevitability** by formulating examples of historical contingency, of how different choices could have led to different consequences.
 * **Hold interpretations of history as tentative**, subject to changes as new information is uncovered, new voices heard, and new interpretations broached.
 * **Evaluate major debates among historians** concerning alternative interpretations of the past.
 * **Hypothesize the influence of the past**, including both the limitations and opportunities made possible by past decisions.

Let's Go    INTRODUCTION These poems by Otto René Castillo will ask a new kind of response of their readers. The translations were not made for the reasons one translates Vallejo or studies Lorca. They were not even made for the reasons one might transpose the work of some of our outstanding contemporaries: Ernesto Cardenal or Juan Gelman. Otto René Castillo was not a man whose prime concern in life was poetry; his prime concern in life was life,andthat concern and commitment led to his death as well as producing, along the way, a legacy of three books of poetry. Castillo’s language is simple, direct, but never ordinary. He asks not metaphorical involvement from his reader, but action. His play with the phraseology of his time may result in cliché to the reader looking only for literary innovation. In this case the reader must come prepared to follow the twist now almost lost among us: absolute honesty and absolute commitment. Otto René Castillo’s life sounds heroic to us. It is. And it is even more heroic if one realizes it is not unique among Latin Americans of his generation. He was born in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, in 1936 and entered political life at the age of 17, assuming the presidency of his high school student association. In that same year, 1954, he was exiled for the first time. In that same year in that same exile, he began writing poetry. In 1955 he shared the famous Central American Poetry Prize with Roque Dalton, well-known poet from El Salvador. The following year, 1956, he won the “Autonomia” poetry prize in Guatemala City, and in 1957, he was awarded one of the poetry prizes at the World Youth Festival. Castillo returned from exile in 1958 and began studying law at the University of Guatemala. He was declared the best student in the school and awarded the “Filadelfo Salazar” scholarship. His particularly analytical mind not only marked his academic career as exceptional, but gave him particular insight into problems of Guatemalan political life, evoking great respect among his comrades. In 1959, again in exile, he began to study letters at the University of Leipzig, Germany, where he was exempted from taking almost all examinations as the rectors felt they were unnecessary. Again in his own country in 1964, he continued his activities as a student organizer and co-edited the newspaper “Vocero Estudiantil.” He founded the “Teatro Experimental de la Municipalidad”, experimental revolutionary theatre which, although unknown to them, is certainly one of the ancestors of the current U.S. guerilla theatre (both, perhaps, having their roots in Brecht). The same year he published his first book of verse, //Tecun Uman//. In 1965 the military dictatorship of Guatemala imprisoned and exiled Castillo again. From that time to late in the following year, he spent some time in Cuba and also in Germany again, where he left a wife and two small children. Near the end of 1966 he returned to Guatemala to integrate definitively into the F.A.R. (Revolutionary Armed Forces), under the command of the late Major Luis Agusto Turcios Lima. In March, 1967, after 15 days of eating only roots, he and a girl comrade (Nora Paiz, known to the guerillas as “Raquel”) were captured in ambush, tortured 4 days and finally burned alive---March 19th These poems are a selection from his second book (the last to be published during his life). //Vamonos Patria a Caminar.// A posthumous collection was due to appear, but the print shop, presses and publications were all destroyed by the Guatemalan government. Copies exist, however, and sooner or later the poems will appear. Meanwhile, as Cesar Montes, Commander of the F.A.R. says in a short introduction to a new Mexican edition of //Vamonos Patria a Caminar,// “the greatest homage we can pay him, is to go on fighting.” M.R. 1971. CURBSTONE PRESS has brought out a new edition of //Let’s Go!,// the book you hold in your hands. And they have asked me to write a new introduction to these poems, create a bridge of words from 1971 to present. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">What to say? More than a dozen years have passed. Otto René continues to grow among his comrades in the vastly multiplied Guatemalan struggle for justice. His poems are the voice that refused to die that March 19th, in his painful- and extraordinary-jungle. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">In the brief introduction to the first bilingual edition(Cape Goliard Press, London), I said “Otto René Castillo was not a man whose prime concern in life was poetry; his prime concern in life was life. . .” Today I would say that’s far too simple – and rhetorical- a statement. Poetry, when it works- when it’s poetry – IS life. Anything else is irrevelant. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">There is little I can add about the poet’s life. The basic facts are here, in the first introduction. In 1979, newly arrived inManagua, I met Zoila Quinones, Otto René’s sister. Hearing her speak of her brother’s life and death brought a few new details to the surface. But it allowed a retake on the significance and worth of the contribution of this man who, like his brother Roque Dalton in El Salvador, or Carlos Fonseca in Nicaragua, were among the early architects of the long hard war being won for freedom in Central America. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">Rereading the translations, I find them somewhat literal. Perhaps today I would have taken more liberties, made a bit more use of the Central American idiosyncrasy I have come to recognize. But I stand by them. They carry the content and spirit of the verse. As between the inhabitants of Vietnam and the United States, between those of Central America and our country a mutual knowledge has deepened around a terrifying relationship. Names such as Quetzaltenango are familiar today in the U.S. because of news services, massacres, and poetry. No matter which side of the battlefield you’re on, the days of trivial tourism and tropical exploitation are doomed. Largely because of the sacrifice of tens of thousands like Otto René and Nora. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">So, I am glad for this new edition of these poems. Glad and moved, 12 years closer to a free Guatemala and a living Central America. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">Margaret Randal
 * __<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">Text 2 __**

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">Let's take a walk Guatemala, I'm coming along. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">I'll go down with you, as deep as you say <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">I'll drink from your bitter cup. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">I'll spend my eyes so you may have eyes <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">I'll throw in my voice so you may sing <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">I'll die to give you life <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">and your face will be on the bright horizon <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">in every boll of the flowers born of my bones. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">It must be this way, indisputably. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">I got tired of carrying your tears around with me. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">Now I want to walk with you, strike lightning. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">Go to work with you help you do things because I am <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">one of you, born in October for the face of the world. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">O Guatemala, <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">those colonels who piss on your walls <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">we must tear out by their roots <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">and hang them up on a cold tree of dew <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">shimmering violet with the anger of the people. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">I ask to walk with you. Always with <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">the agrarians and the workers <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">and with any man who has the presence to love you. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">Let's start walking country, I'm coming with you.
 * Text 3 **
 * Apolitical Intellectuals **<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;"> By, Otto Rene CastilloOne day the apolitical intellectuals of my country will be interrogated by the simplest of our people. They will be asked what they did when their nation died out slowly, like a sweet fire small and alone. No one will ask them about their dress, their long siestas after lunch, no one will want to know about their sterile combats with "the idea of the nothing" no one will care about their higher financial learning. They won't be questioned on Greek mythology, or regarding their self-disgust when someone within them begins to die the coward's death. They'll be asked nothing about their absurd justifications, born in the shadow of the total life. On that day the simple men will come. Those who had no place in the books and poems of the apolitical intellectuals, but daily delivered their bread and milk, their tortillas and eggs, those who drove their cars, who cared for their dogs and gardens and worked for them, and they'll ask: "What did you do when the poor suffered, when tenderness and life burned out of them?" Apolitical intellectuals of my sweet country, you will not be able to answer. A vulture of silence will eat your gut. Your own misery will pick at your soul. And you will be mute in your shame.
 * __<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">Text 4 __**
 * __<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">Let's Start Walking __**<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;"> By, Otto Rene Castillo

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">Text 10 <span style="color: #575757; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 32.67px;"> [|__What’s up with the Distinction between Literature and Informational Texts?__] <span style="color: #575757; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16px;">Posted by [|__EDSITEment NEH__] in [|__Community Hub__] on Mar 18, 2013 5:02:46 PM //<span style="color: #575757; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Eileen Murphy Buckley is the founder of ThinkCERCA, the author of //<span style="color: #575757; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">360 Degrees of Text: Using Poetry to Teach Close Reading and Powerful Writing //(NCTE, 2011), and is a former teacher and administrator in Chicago Public Schools.//

<span style="color: #575757; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16px;">The Common Core Standards expect that all students will acquire extremely sophisticated literacy skills: a radical change from previous education reform measures that were driven by a very different rhetoric, which centered on words like “proficient” and “adequate.” The authors of the Common Core State Standards, however, use words like “master” and “private deliberation.” Students who attain this “mastery” are readers who “readily undertake the close, attentive reading that is at the heart of understanding and enjoying complex works of literature.” <span style="color: #575757; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16px;">The CCSS goal is set well beyond college and career readiness—aiming to develop the kind of citizenry that relies upon reading not just to build knowledge but to “enlarge experience” and “broaden worldviews.” In this vision, citizens //“reflexively demonstrate the cogent reasoning and use of evidence that is essential to both private deliberation and responsible citizenship in a democratic republic.”// ( [|__ELA Standards, Overview__] ). The CCSS are therefore focused not only on skills and knowledge, but also on intellectual values, challenging our school systems to develop a country of thinkers. <span style="color: #575757; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16px;">The Core Anchor Standards in reading clearly spell out these ambitious goals in terms of performance tasks that seem to be perfectly reasonable ways of assessing this level of sophistication. **But it is puzzling to some that the grade level standards for K–12 make a distinction between two kinds of reading: one for literature and another for informational texts**. The CCSS documents even quantify the suggested percentage of instruction time that should be allocated to each. <span style="color: #575757; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16px;">Now, many are under the impression that there is a hard and fast line between a literary approach to reading and reading for information; but others argue that this distinction is often dubious. So, in the spirit of intellectual values and bold visions for a thinking and humane citizenry, let’s see how the difference between the two types of reading holds up in real life. <span style="color: #575757; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16px;">One real-life source of text accessible to students required to master the standards is the //New York Times//. While looking for an informational text of sufficient complexity to be worthy of instruction for sixth graders in the Common Core era, I readily found one in the Science Times section of the newspaper, “ [|__Picasso’s Masterpieces Made with House Paints__] .” <span style="color: #575757; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16px;">Students asked to **“analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated … (e.g., through examples or anecdotes),”** as CCSS standards require, would quickly discover that the informational nugget of the text—about the Department of Energy’s nanoprobe x-ray machine, which measures the most infinitesimal particles on earth—is framed within a complex narrative that makes use of regular literary devices. The author makes a protagonist of the scientist who used sophisticated scientific equipment to end a debate regarding Picasso’s choice of paint. To generate suspense, he plays on the underlying tension between juxtaposed themes: the serious science requiring mega x-ray machines and the historical debate over whether or not Picasso was the first major painter to use house paint in his art. He employs three distinct narratives to do so: one about Picasso, the revolutionary artist; another concerning the art-historical debate about Picasso’s use of house paint; and the culminating one that tells the tale of the scientist at Argonne National Laboratories who had an interest in the Picasso controversy. <span style="color: #575757; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16px;">Of course! Reading in real life is complicated. Since Hammurabi’s Code, the Bible, and Homer’s //Odyssey//, evidence abounds that literary and informational texts have **never** easily been separated. Arguments are artfully presented throughout literature, from Renaissance sonnets to earth-shifting speeches of the 19th century: “Ain’t I a Woman;” the Gettysburg Address; or anything by Frederick Douglass. Even a cursory glance at literary traditions worldwide illustrates the ways in which cogent reasoning has been delivered in complex literary forms. Ground-breaking works classified as science such as //Origin of the Species//, //The Double Helix//, and //A Brief History of Time,// as well as contemporary works of fiction such as //The Things They Carried// are riddled with blurry distinctions between information and literature. <span style="color: #575757; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16px;">One of the most striking distinctions that the standards make in my mind is found in **Reading Literature Standard Number 8: “Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.”** <span style="color: #575757; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16px;">From grades K**–**12, this standard simply reads “not applicable to literature.” <span style="color: #575757; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16px;">To that I say, who remembers the book //Everything is an Argument//? Are there English majors who disagree with the argument in this title? Sure, but not many. Depending upon whether we are classifying a text as an argument based on the author’s intended purpose, the forum in which it was published, the audience’s reading of text, or the features of the text, examples of arguments can be found throughout the history of literature. <span style="color: #575757; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16px;">In American literature, Benjamin Franklin’s //Autobiography// and Harriet Beecher Stowe’s //Uncle Tom’s Cabin// come to mind as texts that argue as much as they tell a good story—as do more recent works of fiction, such as Tony Morrison’s //Beloved//. <span style="color: #575757; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16px;">In the end, the distinctions between literary and informational texts are somewhat trivial and their purpose utilitarian—perhaps a concession to those who demand clarity, even at the cost of risking absurdity. <span style="color: #575757; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16px;">I hope we forge ahead. Those of us who aspire to the goal of a thinking and humane citizenry, sharing intellectual values that are developed in thoughtful classrooms across disciplines, will help students achieve success in the standards regardless of whether or not we declare a distinction between literature and information. Great science teachers will teach while championing art history and literature teachers will reveal the literary genius of Jonathan Swift’s argument in “A Modest Proposal” by providing informational texts about the history and science of Swift’s day—because that’s what sophisticated thinkers can do.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16px;">Why teach Common Core State Standards in the first place? **
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16px;">Reading in real life: Picasso’s paints **
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16px;">The missing literary standard **