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Literature Links for Secondary
Letters of the Century
- Letters of the Century*
edited by Lisa Grunwald and Stephen J. Adler
- A collection of primary sources spanning the twentieth century, this anthology gives history a voice and feel that is unlike any textbook. Grunwald and Adler have collected letters from ordinary and not-so-ordinary Americans about all aspects of life in the United States. The collection is divided by decade. Each section includes images and facts about people, places, and events that occurred during that period. This anthology has the potential to be a springboard for many discussions about what life was really like and how real people shape and perceive their worlds.
Activity: Have students create a family history in letters. Ask family members for letters that they are willing to share. Write letters to family members about current events, important things going on in your community. Add photographs, newspaper clippings and other objects that make sense.
Choose a letter / event and examine it from multiple perspectives. How does it change? Why does it change?
*Grunwald, L. & Adler, S. (Eds.). (1999). Letters of the century: America 1900-1999. New York, New York: Random House, Inc.
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- Other books focusing on letters:
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Cohen, R. (Ed.) (2002). Dear Mrs. Roosevelt: Letters from children of the Great Depression. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
Oppenheim, J. Dear Mss Breed: True stories of the Japanese American incarceration during World War II and a librarian who made a difference. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc..
- Personal Narratives / stories based on personal narratives:
- Filipovic, Z. (1994). Zlata’s diary: A child’s life in Sarajevo. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
Krinitz, E.N. & Steinhardt, B. (2005). Memories of survival. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children.
Fleming, C. (2003). Boxes for Katje. New York, NY: Melanie Kroupa Books Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Select a secondary literature link for grades 6-12:
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Other grade levels:
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