M12: Modifying Social Studies Textbooks

Social Studies is a topic that has many opportunities to use language. It also has the potential to be exceptionally challenging due to assumed prior knowledge in current textbooks. Your textbook discusses how teachers can use modification techniques to facilitate student comprehension. Look at the following page out of an Eighth Grade Social Studies textbook.

American Attitudes Towards the War

The American people were divided over the war with Mexico. Polk's party, the Democrats, generally supported the war. Many Whigs opposed it, calling Polk's actions aggressive and unjust. Northerners accused Democrats of waging the war to spread slavery.

Illinois congressman Abraham Lincoln demanded to know the exact spot where the first attack against American troops had occurred. Lincoln, like many who opposed the war, claimed that the spot was clearly in Mexico and that Polk therefore had no grounds for blaming the war on Mexico.

Frederick Douglass, an African American leader in the antislavery movement, called the war “disgraceful” and “cruel.” Douglass shared the belief that if the United States expanded into the West, the Southern states would carry slavery into the new territories.

Newspapers generally supported the war, and volunteers quickly signed up for military service. As time went on, however, antiwar feelings grew, particularly in the North.

Appleby, J., Brinkley, A., Broussard, A. S., McPherson, J. M., & Ritchie, D. A. (2003). The American Republic to 1877 (Grade 8). New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, p. 373.

Consider:

In what ways might this passage be difficult for ELLs?
What could you do to modify this text to make it more accessible for ELL students?

Write down your thoughts.