Entries by Jim McCabe

Summer Reading 2026: Black History at 6th to 8th Grade Level

Here are nine eBooks on African American History written at the 6th- to 8th-grade level. These free ebooks have not been banned from classrooms.  Rather, they are not available because administrators in state education departments do not believe that the volume of reading matters to high school students. They demand textbooks that students find boring […]

Summer Reading 2026: Black History at a Reading Level of 9th-12th Grade

Here are nine eBooks on African American History written at the 9th- to 12th-grade level. These free ebooks have not been banned from classrooms.  Rather, they are not available because administrators in state education departments do not believe that the volume of reading matters to high school students. They demand textbooks that students find boring […]

Elective 3: Reading and Writing Black History at 6th-8th Grade Reading Level

The epub format below is for your Apple and Android devices including the Send-to-Kindle feature in Amazon. Download  the mobi file for Amazon devices except the Send to Kindle feature  here. Enjoy descriptions and links to nine eBooks written at the 6th to 8th grade level. The titles are: The Long Black Schooner by Emma […]

Elective 4: Reading and Writing Black History at a Reading Level of 9th-12th Grade

The epub format below is for your Apple and Android devices including the Send-to-Kindle feature in Amazon. Download  the mobi file for Amazon devices except the Send to Kindle feature  here. Enjoy descriptions and links to nine eBooks written at the 9th to 12th grade level. The titles are: The Black Napoleon by Percy Waxman: […]

Asleep at the Wheel: The New York Times and Classroom Libraries

When will the New York Times begin to care about what is happening in American classrooms? For example, parents might find it useful to know if classrooms have an adequate number of books. At one point, the New York Times discovered that classroom libraries mattered. Classroom libraries influenced students’ ability to read, but there has […]

Why the Volume of Reading Matters: Read Anne E. Cunningham and Keith E. Stanovich

See an excellent article titled “What Reading Does for the Mind” that could be used in professional development, or to help convince a school board that the volume of reading  should matter in secondary schools. Online at https://scholastic.vo.llnwd.net/o16/teacherdashboard/live/c13_s2_t1_pa3.pdf or https://www.aft.org/ae/springsummer1998/cunningham_stanovich or https://ebooksforstudents.org/whatreadingdoesforthemind/ in case one of the earlier sites disappears.