What is Juneteenth?

What is Juneteenth? is a 4th grade leveled book (Level Q) that talks about this special day in honor of ending slavery. Although slavery still flourished after the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached year three of the Civil War, Juneteenth officially put an end to it. General Granger, a Union general during the Civil War, spoke in Texas in 1865 about freedom for all Blacks, emphasizing that all persons held as slaves are free. Not every state in the U.S. celebrates this holiday today, but many states do as well as other countries throughout the world.

The leveled Q reader discusses key concepts about freedom and slavery. It also helps expand students’ vocabulary with a rich set of words to tell the story of this significant day.

Included in the Leveled Reader What is Juneteenth? are 2 pages of follow-up questions for students to explore and discuss after reading the story. Students also define key words used in the text and expand their creative and critical thinking skills when completing the extension exercises. The text itself is 3 pages.

The reader is a perfect complement to a Social Studies unit that addresses such concepts as freedom, equality, and U.S. holidays and celebrations. Many key areas cited by the National Council for the Social Studies are interrelated through reading this text, primarily:

Culture

Time, Continuity, and Change

People, Places, and Environments

Individuals, Groups, and Institutions

Power, Authority, and Governance

Civic Ideals and Practices