With his usual masterly blend of lively writing, skillful use of primary source texts, and carefully selected photographs, Freedman centers this informational text on events in and around Selma, Alabama, in 1965. Timeline, Source Notes, Bibliography.

You could use this book in a 4th grade classroom as a read along where the kids read with you. You could extend it and turn it into a lesson on civil rights. You could assign each student a person who played a role in the civil rights movement such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Thurgood Marshall, etc. The students will look up facts about them and write a page about this person and what role they played in the movement. They will then illustrate a picture of their person. The pages will then be made into a classroom book. This book could also be used in a 5th grade classroom as a read aloud. You could extend it into a writing assignment where the students will be newspaper journalist. The students will each pick a significant event of the time and write about it as if they were living when it happened. The class will put all of their articles together into a Civil Rights Newspaper.

This books gives the historic facts from Civil Rights marches that took place during the Civil Rights movement. It includes important historic figures for this time period and the outcome of their choices. ( )

Tells the story of the struggle in Selma for voting rights. Starting with teen protestors and moving on to the larger community an eventually a national stage, this campaign was contentious and helped to push along the voting rights act of 1965. Russell Freedman peppers the engaging, narrative style text with original photographs.
I just read Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom which covers the same ground from a very personal, individual perspective. ( )

Through short chapters, a compelling narrative, and great use of powerful photograps and primary sources, Freedman offers a superb account of this momentous, troubled and violent time in American history. ( )