How to Use the Reading Library¶
South High School · Self-Directed Academy
The Reading Library is a collection of primary sources and literary texts that appear across SDA Studios. This guide explains what's in it, how it's organized, and how to actually use it during a Studio.
What the Reading Library Is¶
The Reading Library is not a list of books you're assigned to read cover-to-cover. It's a collection of specific texts — speeches, manifestos, letters, memoir excerpts, poems, and chapters — that connect to the history and standards in your Studios.
Each entry in the library has: - The full text (or a significant excerpt) - Context: who wrote it, when, why, and what was happening in the world - Standards connections: which WH standards and ELA standards it addresses - Annotation prompts: questions to guide your reading - Crosswalk links: how this text connects to other texts and Studios
How the Library Is Organized¶
The library has two sections:
Social Studies Texts¶
Primary sources organized by historical era. These are real documents from history — written by people who lived through the events in your Studios.
| Era | Example Texts |
|---|---|
| Era 1 (Ancient) | Hammurabi's Code · Analects of Confucius · Pericles' Funeral Oration · Melian Dialogue |
| Era 2 (Middle Ages) | Magna Carta · Ibn Battuta's Rihla · Luther's 95 Theses · Las Casas Short Account |
| Era 3 (Revolutions) | Common Sense · Declaration of Rights of Man · Wollstonecraft · Haitian Declaration · Communist Manifesto · Douglass · Kipling + H.T. Johnson · The Jungle · Dulce et Decorum Est |
| Era 4 / USH | FDR Four Freedoms · MLK Letter from Birmingham · UN Declaration of Human Rights · Mandela Rivonia Speech · Malala UN Speech |
ELA Texts¶
Literary works that appear in ELA-focused Studios and can serve as dual-use sources — they're both literature and historical evidence.
- Night — Elie Wiesel
- 1984 — George Orwell
- Fahrenheit 451 — Ray Bradbury
- Persepolis — Marjane Satrapi
- Julius Caesar — Shakespeare
- Warriors Don't Cry — Melba Pattillo Beals
- Fahrenheit 451 — Ray Bradbury
When to Use It¶
During the Dig (Week 2): The reading library is your first stop for primary sources. Before you go searching the internet for historical documents, check here — most of what you need for Era 1–4 Studios is already in the library with context and annotation guidance already written.
When you hit a knowledge gap: If you're writing about the French Revolution and realize you've never actually read any document from the French Revolution, pull the Declaration of the Rights of Man from the library. Ten minutes in the primary source is better than an hour paraphrasing a summary.
When you need a second source type: If your Studio is primarily research-based but your writing feels thin, a primary source from the reading library can give you direct evidence — a specific quote, a specific claim — that strengthens your argument.
For ELA demonstrations of learning: Many of the ELA reading standards (especially R.9) specifically require you to analyze argumentation in a text. The Social Studies texts in this library are argumentative texts — Paine was arguing for independence, Wollstonecraft was arguing for women's rights, Douglass was arguing against slavery. They're ideal for R.9 work.
How to Read a Library Entry¶
Every entry follows the same structure. Here's what each section does:
The text itself (or excerpt): Read it first. Don't read about it — read it.
Historical context: Read this after your first read-through, when you have questions. The context section answers: who wrote this, to whom, under what circumstances, and what were they trying to accomplish?
Standards alignment table: Shows you exactly which standards this text addresses. Use this during your Studio proposal to decide whether a text is a good fit for your inquiry angle.
Annotation prompts: These are questions to guide a second, slower read. You're not required to answer all of them — choose the ones that connect to your inquiry question.
Crosswalk links: These connect this text to other texts in the library. If you're studying imperialism and you read the Kipling poem, the crosswalk will point you to H.T. Johnson's response — they need to be read together.
Pairs with CrashCourse: Many entries link to a CrashCourse episode that gives you the historical context in video form first. Watch the episode, then read the primary source.
Using the Library for Annotation¶
Annotation is reading with a purpose. When you annotate a library text, you're not just underlining — you're having a conversation with it.
Three basic moves:
-
Identify the claim. What is this writer arguing? Underline or note the sentence where they state their main position.
-
Identify the evidence. What reasons or examples do they use to support the claim? Put a bracket around each piece of evidence.
-
Note your response. Where do you agree, disagree, or have a question? Write a short note in the margin (or in your source log): "This is convincing because..." or "I'm not sure this is true because..." or "This connects to [something else I read]."
The standard this builds: R.9 — analyzing argumentative text. Annotating a primary source from the Reading Library directly builds your R.9 evidence.
Citing Library Texts¶
When you quote or paraphrase a reading library text in your Studio work, cite it like any other source. Use the author, title, and year from the library entry header.
Example MLA format:
Paine, Thomas. Common Sense. 1776.
If you're quoting from the library entry itself (using our context or annotation prompts rather than the original text), note that: "As quoted in SDA Commons Wiki Reading Library."
For full citation guidance: IR.1–5 Research Bundle Skinny
Quick Reference — What to Do in the Library¶
| If you need... | Do this |
|---|---|
| A primary source for your Dig | Browse by Era → find texts that match your inquiry question |
| A text for R.9 annotation | Any of the Social Studies argumentative texts work; use the annotation prompts |
| Context before reading | Watch the paired CrashCourse episode first, then read the text |
| Related texts | Check the crosswalk links at the bottom of each entry |
| Citation format | Check the entry header for author, title, and year |
How to Use the Reading Library — SDA Commons Wiki · South High School See also: Reading Library Index · How to SDA · ELA-SS Crosswalk