How can literature advocate for society? How do teachers make space in the classroom to read for discovery, problem solving, identity forming, and healing as students make sense of their worlds – our world? Books transmit values. They explore our common humanity…They [young people who …
From living in a 1930s Kentucky mining town in Empty Spaces to being the last man on earth in Y:The Last Man, from being an orphan on the streets in Charles Dickens and the Street Children of London to being an orphan in a haunted house in The Night Gardener, from being the outcast robot among forest creatures in The Wild Robot to being the outsider on a roller derby team in Roller Girl, from the escapades of a trio of teen boys in Ms. Bixby’s Last Day to a trio of teen girls in Raymie Nightingale — only with books could I have spent time with such an interesting group of people (#bookaday).
As a teacher, I found myself stopping and wondering: Do I often only hear babbling where there is, in fact, poetry? How do my assumptions and expectations for student writing and communication block a student’s ability to communicate? Do my expectations work against my intentions?
What would your English teacher have to know about you to find that “just right” book? Lesesne makes explicit the complexity of adolescence and the hard work it takes to match readers and books. There is no short cut to knowing your students as individuals or being well-read so that you can indeed “make the match.” You have to put in the time and effort, but she helps teachers with many book suggestions, lists, strategies, and stories.
I found myself wondering how often I failed to allow the time and space for my students with autism to fully articulate their thoughts. Moreover, I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of all inclusion teachers reading this text in replace of the many Professional Development pieces that reinforce the deficit narrative of students with autism.
Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts by Susan Cain My rating: 3 of 5 stars I read Susan Cain’s Quiet a few summers ago. I actually listened to it during really long walks over summer break, contemplating how I, as an introvert, fit in …
The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart My rating: 4 of 5 stars This one is definitely for middle school. While teachers don’t have to worry about drugs, sex, or language with this one, they do have to consider potential trigger warnings because the main character …
Like Water on Stone by Dana Walrath My rating: 3 of 5 stars While some reviews suggest this book is more geared toward adult readers, I disagree. I have read many novels that represent genocide, I think this one takes care of teen readers with her …
Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley My rating: 3 of 5 stars For upper middle and high school students — not really for younger readers because there is some talk of sex and drugs. There is a same-sex crush, but it is sweet and …
If I Grow Up by Todd Strasser My rating: 3 of 5 stars For upper middle and high schoolers. It’s about gang life in the projects, family, hopelessness, poverty, and growing up. but it is really about surviving. Strasser did his research to imagine DeShawn’s …