This document provides a list of resources for teaching advanced English learners, organized into the following categories: web tools, social justice (race and healthcare), short stories (scary and family), and novels/memoirs. Some of the highlighted resources include the website Quizlet for creating flashcards, the documentary Race: The Power of an Illusion about the social construction of race, and the memoir The Freedom Writers Diary about a teacher helping at-risk students through writing.

1.
Reading & Writing in Advanced EL: The Final Push
MELED Conference
November 6, 2015
Debbie Hadas (​debbie.hadas@gmail.com​)
Heather Walseth (​heather.walseth@gmail.com​)
WEB TOOLS
Quia.com ­Online quizzes that you can create.
Quizlet.com ­ Students can make their own flashcards and quiz themselves.
Explain Everything App­notes, video, writing, draw, pictures.
Diigo.com ­ Save articles. take notes, and highlight them in your own “library.”
Social Justice: Race:
Glanton, Dahleen. "Parents Teach Painful Lessons." ​Minneapolis Star Tribune​ 25 Mar. 2012:
A7. Print. Written shortly after the Trayvon Martin shooting, this article discusses the
how families deal with stereotypes of young black men.
Race: Are We so Different?​ American Anthropological Association, n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.understandingrace.org/home.html>. This web site has numerous articles on
the science and history of race. It was created to accompany the exhibit "Race: Are we so
Different" that was developed in conjunction with the MInnesota Science Museum. It
contains the film "The Story of Race" and the article about the evolution of skin color.
Race: The Power of an Illusion​. California Newsreel, 2003. Film. Three 56­minute segments
examine the biology of what we call race, the roots of race as asocial construct, the
disparities that have resulted, as well as ways in which they have been addressed.
Race: The Power of an Illusion​. PBS, n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00­Home.htm>. This companion site to the

2. film of the same name has quizzes, activities, and numerous background articles. We've
used "A Tale of To Families" (about Max and Byron), "The Racial Wealth Gap" and
"The Downward Spiral," about how good neighborhoods turn bad.
Ross, Sonya, and Jennifer Agiesta. "Attitudes on Race Have Not Improved in 4 Years
since Obama Was Elected." ​Minneapolis Star Tribune​ 27 Oct. 2012, National ed.:
n. pag. Print. Article about a recent AP poll.
Spencer, Kyle. "For Asians, School Tests Are Vital Steppingstones." ​The New York Times
26 Oct. 2012, U.S. ed.: n. pag. Print. A discussion of how the elite public high
schools in New York are dominated by Asians. Includes an interesting graphic of
the ethnic makeup of the schools.
Social Justice: Healthcare
Basu, Sanjay, M.D. "A Worker with no ID and Great Medical Need." ​The New York Times​ 1
Aug. 2011: n. pag. Print. An OpEd piece that contemplates healthcare for undocumented
immigrants.
Day, Nancy. "A Destructive Path." ​Cobblestone​ Sept. 2010: 4­6. Print. A summary of how the
Europeans brought disease and death to the New World.
Garcia, Richard. "The Misuse of Race in Medical Diagnosis." ​The Chronicle of Higher
Education​ 49.35 (2003): B15. Web. 27 Aug. 2015.
Tenney, Elizabeth Mackintosh. "Turning the Tables." ​Cobblestone​ Sept. 2010: 7­9. Print. A
brief summary of the development of the smallpox vaccine
Unnatural Causes:Is Inequality Making Us Sick?​ California Newsreel, 2008. DVD. This
documentary is divided into six segments that can be viewed in a single class period (or

3. two.) Issues explored include the correlation between neighborhoods and health ("Place
Matters") and connections between health, economic status, and skin color (In Sickness
and Wealth.)
Short Stories: Scary!
Connell, Richard. "Fiction." ​: The Most Dangerous Game​. EServer, n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
Dahl, Roald.​Lamb to the Slaughter​. Classic Short Stories, n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2015. "Lamb to the
Slaughter." ​Alfred Hitchcock Presents​. 1958. ​SchoolTube​. Web. 4 Nov. 2015.
"How to Be a Good Wife." Snopes. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2015.
Jacobs, W. W. "The Monkey's Paw." ​By W. W. Jacobs​. Short Story Library, n.d. Web. 04 Nov.
2015. ​There are a number of film interpretations available, some literal and some quite
re­imagined, including a “Treehouse of Horror” episode of “The Simpsons.”
Rear Window​. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Perf. James Stewart and Grace Kelly. Universal, 1954.
DVD. ​Watch Grace Kelly climb a fire escape in high heels!
Saki (H.H. Munro). ​Short Stories: The Open Window by Saki​. East of the Web, 2015. Web. 04
Nov. 2015. We introduce this story with a version of the urban legend of the vanishing
hitchhiker. There are many versions on the Internet.
Scieszka, Jon, and Lane Smith. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. New York City: Viking,
1989. Print. ​Use this book to discuss the role of the narrator's voice.
Short Stories: Family
Bray, Rosemary. ​Glamour​ Mar. 1998: n. pag. Web. (excerpt from ​Unafraid of the Dark
by Rosemary Bray, Random House, 1999)

4.
Lurie, Morris.”A Beacon in the Night.” ​Across Cultures: Universal Themes in Literature​ Heinle
& Heinle, Boston, 1994.
Malamud, Bernard. “The First Seven Years.” ​Modern Short Stories, ​Prentice­Hall International,
1992.
Marty​. Dir. Delbert Mann. Perf. Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair. UA/Hecht­Hill­Lancaster,
1955.
Tan, Amy. "Four Directions." ​Arrivals: Cross Cultural Experiences in Literature​. N.p.:
Addison­Wesley, 1995. N. pag. Print.
Novels and Memoirs
Gruwell, Erin. ​The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to
Change Themselves and the World around Them​. New York: Doubleday, 1999. Print.
Flores, Ralph M. ​The Horse in the Kitchen: Stories of a Mexican­American Family​.
Albuquerque: U of New Mexico, 2004. Print.
Wright, Richard. ​Black Boy​. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 1997. Print.