Six Questions of American History

The who, what, when, where, why, and how questions of American history are made much more interesting when put into an accessible format. The "Six Questions of American History" series from Lerner Publishing Group seeks to answer questions about the history of the United States in a fun and conversational way. Each of the 18 books in the series follows a similar format: basic background information about the events in question is laid out in an introduction. Then, each short chapter seeks to answer a question such as, "How did the delegates begin working together" (Who Wrote the U.S. Constitution?) or, "Who were the people trying to stop slavery?" (When Were the First Slaves Set Free During the Civil War?) The historical figures, places, and events are highlighted using paintings and photographs and key vocabulary terms are defined in boxes on each page. Many maps and documents are also placed as photographs in modern technological equipment such as cell phones and GPS devices to add interest to the graphics.

One of my favorite parts of this series is the final question in each book. The author always asks, "How do we know so much about . . ." each event and then discusses the primary sources that are available to help students and teachers better understand the concepts. Each book also includes a challenge to have students write their own story using the facts that they have learned, as well as a detailed timeline of the events discussed in the book.

Lerner has included esource downloads to accompany this series, including a series timeline (spanning events from 1492-1957) and teaching guide, which are available by creating a Lerner account.

These books can be used to promote critical thinking skills as students debate the "what if" questions that will inevitably come up when learning about the people and details surrounding the major turning points of American history. This series is the perfect complement to the eighth grade Social Studies GLCEs.

In addition, the titles in this series can be used to address several areas of the Common Core State Standards, including:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.3 Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.8 Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.

Copies of all 18 books in this series are currently available at Milwood Magnet School, Hillside Middle School, and Maple Street Magnet School. Search your school's online library catalog to  locate these resources.