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The Book I Must Teach!

Which book is an absolute in your classroom?  Why?  Is it a classic or the latest novel by your favorite author?

After a few posts, I'll share one or two of mine!

Submitted by TheLiteracyAmba... on Sun, 09/25/2011 - 14:56.
Understand those limitations - thinking as a group with an eye for the goals that your administration has set before you and choose creative yet highly effective games and activities is the key. Please continue to share your comments as we learn together.
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Submitted by TheLiteracyAmba... on Sat, 08/20/2011 - 14:18.
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Submitted by mlogiudice on Sat, 08/20/2011 - 19:00.
I am in Riverside, CA. I like your idea about themes. I will try to coordinate it with the other department teachers - we are "expected" to do basically the same thing department-wide. That is our greatest challenge; our school is 80+% poverty and we are in program improvement. That means we have little room for creativity. Administration keeps a very close eye on individualism. Thanks for the ideas.
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Submitted by TheLiteracyAmba... on Sat, 08/20/2011 - 14:18.
Are you in Alabama or another state to teach To Kill a Mockingbird? It's a great book to teach to talk about important issues with students. Also, I understand your limitations with book sets - here's a suggestion - pick a theme - the civil war, relationships, loss, tough decisions, etc. and use your media specialist to help you find books with those common themes - still opportunity for comprehension practice, evaluating themes, etc., content area learning, and more but with different texts. What this also allows you to do is to let students with a range of reading abilities find that "just right book". Talk with local charities about donating a set of books or work with your public library to obtain sets that more than one school can have access to at different times of the year. There are ways around your limitations.
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Submitted by mlogiudice on Fri, 08/19/2011 - 13:22.
I teach both regular and Honors (GATE) language arts to eighth graders. One book I never have to "sell" is The Outsiders. Although I am not a fan of the actual writing (the author was only 17), every year I hear kids say, "This is the first book I ever read all the way through." In my Honors classes I usually teach To Kill a Mockingbird. These students are ready for the more mature conflicts and incredible writing. I would love to teach more books, but my school has only a few class sets to choose from.
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Submitted by marcyprager on Mon, 08/15/2011 - 07:08.
In first grade, students study the multi-cultures of China. At the beginning of second grade, I read When the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin to the students. It is a wonderful chapter book, full of fantasy, and important places from China. I printed photographs of the real places and people like the "magistrate," a "green dragon," and a "red ball of yarn" for students to start a conversation about what they notice prior to reading and visually see as I read. It is my way of connecting first grade to second grade, to find out what prior knowledge students have about China. Grace Lin, who I was fortunate enough to meet and listen to several wonderful lectures, has a website that basically takes us into her world as a child. She discovers her talent as an artist and a writer through a series of trials and errors. She finds out that writing about what she has experienced in life is what is important. Grace has written many "personal" stories for young children about her mother and herself planting a garden. Students should write around lots of genres, but they should be able to have the opportunity to write about themselves, because their own experiences are filled with personal feelings and real life, which teachers can easily access through time.
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Submitted by TheLiteracyAmba... on Mon, 08/15/2011 - 15:21.
I'll have to check that one out! Don't you love when you can share from personal experience? That seems to resonate with students of all ages. One of my favorite things to do is to talk with students about authentic experiences I have (and they have) with reading and writing. Meta-cognition at its best! What about others of you . . .what do you think? what is your BOOK I GOTTA READ you want to share with students?
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Submitted by TheLiteracyAmba... on Mon, 08/15/2011 - 05:13.
Don't be afraid of introducing "controversial" novels with older students. Those will engage your students AND get authentic conversations going in your classroom. What I love about talking about these issues is that everyone is allowed their own opinion, reason and logic come into play as discussions occur, and critical thinking grows (one of the most important skills for our students). I love author Chrs Crutcher for just that reason. He is an advocate for the underdog.
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