Often when we think of English language arts, we think of grammar and book reports, and lots of reading! The number of pages that get assigned to read is a hurdle to many high school students. They see the pages 1-16 and freak out. That is so much reading! They cannot possibly read that many pages and not get bored. What about novels? They must read an entire book in 3 weeks, 2 weeks, etc. So much reading! So why?
Reading is a life skill. I know many of have thought of reading as a chore, a punishment, a last resort. But if we think of all the reading we do in one day it amounts to quite a bit. We read through media platforms such as the news, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, magazines, text messages, and the list goes on. So in reality high school students are capable of reading a whole book. Books are doorways and sages waiting to guide young adults. High school is a chaotic time for many students and sometimes they find what they are looking for in a book.
I want to guide students in unpacking the many different themes such as poverty, education, sexual identity, death, religion, etc. that are found in literature. Some of these are heavy topics that have no straight answer but that is the world that awaits them after high school. Drugs and alcohol are a part of students life. They may not partake in it or are not near it but on campus the topic is a popular one. In my classroom, I want to create a safe space where they can discuss the roles of theses substances and obstacles that it brings with using these substances in a persons life through characters that they can relate to. I understand that not everyone may be on board about some of the topics presented in young adult books and that is why I want to extend a welcome to the guardians of the students to join the class in reading and participating in class discussions either in person on virtually depending on how our world looks after COVID-19.
A student-guardian book club, you could say.
I will attempt to answer these questions:
How can I engage both parents and students?
How can I unpack and guide students in complex literature?
How can I make reading fun ?
Why teach these themes to high school students?
Here are a few resources that have caught my eye!
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