Special Collection: Young Changemakers 

We delved into the Storyworks archives to bring you some of our most beloved stories about courageous kids who made change throughout history and today. We hope these stories inspire your students to make change in their own communities.

 

 

Dr. King is My Grandpa

Like her famous grandfather, Yolanda Renee King is making a difference—and she thinks you can too.

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Lesson Plan
A step-by-step guide to teaching this article
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A Man Who Changed America
Watch a video to learn more about MLK's life and work.
A Color for Everyone
Watch a video interview with Bellen Woodard.

The Newsies

Meet the gutsy working kids who fought back against their bosses—and won! 

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Lesson Plan
A step-by-step guide to teaching this play
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In the Time of the Newsies
Find out what life was like for kids at the start of the 20th century.
Theme
Students explore the theme of this play
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Ayanna the Brave

Across the South in the 1950s, Black people weren’t allowed to go to the same places as White people. But 7-year-old Ayanna Najuma knew that was wrong. Here’s how she and a fearless group of kids fought for their rights—and won

Read the Play
Lesson Plan
A step-by-step guide to teaching this play
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How Kids Changed the World
How Ayanna Najuma fought back against segregation as a child.
Research Kit
Go on a research journey inspired by the story.
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The Fastest Woman in the World/Climbing Toward Equality

How two unstoppable girls with disabilities helped change America forever

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Lesson Plan
A step-by-step guide to teaching this article
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Research Kit
Students choose between two research paths
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Synthesizing
Students synthesize information from the two articles
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This Is What Courage Looks Like

During a troubled time in U.S. history, one 15-year-old girl stood up to injustice—and  helped change America

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Lesson Plan
A step-by-step guide to teaching this play
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Time Machine: The 1950s
The sights and sounds of 1950s
Cause and Effect
A cause-and-effect chain shows how one event led to another
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The Fight for What's Right

Until the 1940s, many Mexican American kids in California weren’t allowed to go to school with White kids. Eightyear- old Sylvia Mendez helped change that

Read the Play
Lesson Plan
A step-by-step guide to teaching this play
Download
Vocabulary
Students learn words related to justice
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Setting
Help students analyze the setting of the story
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Art Credits: Dr. King is My Grandpa: Phil Skinner/AP Images for Scholastic Inc.; The Newsies: Granger, NYC/The Granger Collection; Malala the Powerful: Veronique de Viguerre/ Getty Images; The Fastest Woman in the World/Climbing Toward Equality:Alastair Grant/AP Images; This Is What Courage Looks LIke: ©Bruce Davidson/Magnum Photos (March); Bettmann/Getty Images (MLK); The Granger Collection (Sit In); Bettmann/Getty Images (Rosa Parks); ©Bruce Davidson/Magnum Photos (Vote); Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images (Dog); Hulton Archive/Getty Images (Protest); The Fight for What's Right: Courtesy of the Mendez Family; Ayanna the Brave: JOHN MELTON COLLECTION/OKLAHOMA HISTORICAL SOCIETY