Teaching suggestions from Kelly/Major Project

Hey guys,

I meant to touch on some these during my oral presentation and just forgot, so I’m uploading both the list from the annotated bibliography and some of the teaching suggestions. I also included a column for recommendations – a couple of the books are not worth the effort to read! Please let me know if you have any questions – have a great summer!

Author	Title	Awards	Teaching suggestions	Recommend?
Carriger, Gail	Soulless	Prix Julia Verlanger (2013), ALA Alex Award (2010)		yes
Clare, Cassandra	Clockwork Angel	ITA Award by Romance Writers of America Nominee for Best Young Adult Romance (2011), Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award (RT Award) Nominee for Best Young Adult Paranormal/Fantasy Novel (2010), Voya Perfect Ten (2010), The Inky Awards for Silver Inky (2011), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2013) Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Favorite Book, Favorite Heroine, Young Adult Fantasy, Goodreads Author (2010), The Inky Awards Shortlist for Silver Inky (2011), Oklahoma Sequoyah Award for High School (2013)		yes
Colfer, Eoin	Artemis Fowl	Garden State Book Award for Fiction (Grades 6-8) (2004), Massachusetts Children's Book Award (2003), Blue Hen Book Award for Chapter Book (2003), Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award for Intermediate (2004)	For teaching purposes, most sources place this book at the lower end of the young adult spectrum. That said, there are some ways to possibly entice readers at the other end: ask students o describe their favorite fairy tech; have students film a movie trailer for the book; and, have the students create a map of Ireland, including elevation, and show how climate change may impact the country (for example, rising water levels’ effects on the coastline)	yes
Dahlquist, Gordon	The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters			maybe
Gibson, William	The Difference Engine	Nebula Award Nominee (1992), British Science Fiction Association Award Nominee for Best Novel (1990), John W. Campbell Memorial Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction Novel (1992)	Possible teaching approaches:  a discussion of the Turing Test would be applicable (a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human); since steampunk is almost synonymous with the phrase alternate history, have students pick an historical event and re-write the record; or perhaps have students write a letter to their alternate reality doppelganger	yes
Lake, Jay	Mainspring	Sidewise Award Nominee for Alternate History (2007)	Possible teaching approaches: (I would steer this novel toward an AP class due to the themes of determinism and theological philosophy, as well as some scenes of violence and sex.) One idea – have students draw/create/depict a model of Mainspring’s setting, at the solar system level (from Apple: Astropad, Animation Desk Cloud, and Concepts; Android: ArtFlow, Autodesk Sketchbook, and Adobe Photoshop Sketch). Another suggestion – at the Equatorial Wall, the airship Bassett encounters a large, wooden, vertical city. Have students prepare a pro/con list for living in such a place. Borrowing from our class, a prompt that would pair Mainspring with The Odyssey may help students gain insight into each story, resulting in a challenge to their critical-thinking and analytical skills	yes
Mayer, Andrew P.	The Falling Machine			no
Newman, Kim	Anno-Dracula			maybe
Palmer, Dexter	The Dream of Perpetual Motion			maybe
Pennington, J. Grace	Implant			no
Priest, Cherie	Boneshaker	Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel (2010), Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novel (2009), Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (2010)	Teaching suggestions: have students, as a class, create a game based upon Seattle and its zombies; propose to student that they build and/or create their own steampunk outfit (could be something as simple as a pair of goggles); students may also want to explore more of the history surrounding the Gold Rushes (California and the Klondike), as well as news stories covering a sort of real Boneshaker – Bertha, the giant boring machine Seattle has been using to dig tunnels; have students draw their ideas of what Boneshaker would look like; and finally, have students write an outline of Hale Quarter’s biography of Maynard Wilkes	yes
Verne, Jules	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea		Teaching ideas for “Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea”: • Many of the world’s scientists and explorers have read Verne; compile a list of some (at least ten) and provide a brief explanation as to how Verne influenced each • Some say that space is the final frontier. What would Captain Nemo’s response be to that? • Map the trajectory of the Nautilus – and explain why the name of the book is “Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas” • Have students pretend they’re on the Nautilus – create and maintain a daily journal or blog about your experiences. Feel free to include illustrations	yes
Wells, H. G.	The Time Machine		Teaching The Time Machine: This could occupy an entire semester, but some suggestions for classroom instruction include: • Pick one of the film adaptations, watch it, and then ask students to pick which told the story better – the book or the film – and why • Conduct an internet search for the phrase “time travel” – find ten different uses of the phrase (this can be a reference to a book, a movie, or even a scientific application) • In the same vein, have students conduct research into the Philadelphia Experiment – what was it, what supposedly happened, possible science behind it, Nikola Tesla’s role, etc. • Have students contact NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and ask for information related to their work on warp drive (which warps time, ergo time travel)	yes
Wells, H. G.	The War of the Worlds		Teaching suggestions/prompts for The War of the Worlds: • As stated above, the story remains relevant: in the movie Independence Day, I always took it as a nod to the original that the invaders were defeated by a virus – a computer virus, that is. Have students discuss how authentic a notion is this – the idea that the human race could fend off advanced, well-armed, technologically superior invading aliens • If Wells accepted the notion of “survival of the fittest” what was he saying, given the invading Martians met their demise via microorganisms. Are we humans an infection? • Create a map of the landfalls made by the Martians, using both the original text and the 2005 Spielberg film version • If Wells had never written The War of the Worlds, the moon landing may never have happened – explain what that means	yes
Westerfeld, Scott	Leviathan	Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book (2010), Queensland Premier's Literary Awards Nominee for Young Adult Book Award (2010), Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee (2011), Aurealis Award for Young Adult Novel (2009), The Inky Awards Nominee for Silver Inky (2010) Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2013), Goodreads Choice Award for Science Fiction (2009), Carnegie Medal Nominee (2011), The Inky Awards Shortlist for Silver Inky (2010), Prix Elbakin.net for Meilleur roman fantasy traduit Jeunesse (2011)	In some instances, politics and governing countries owe as much to arranged marriages as they do to diplomacy and espionage. For one, have students chart the family tree of the real Hapsburgs as a way to introduce a bit of history as a backstop to the story (history and genealogy). Two, a character introduced as Nora Darwin Barlow is the granddaughter of Charles Darwin. Students may be interested in his voyage aboard the HMS Beagle, as well as his On the Origin of Species (biology cross-over discussion). Three, although Leviathan sports some remarkable drawings, students may want to try their hand and tablet at creating their own. Leviathan, the whale airship, is basically a flying, fortified, interrelated ecosystem. Students could create flash cards of different examples of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, complete with photos, descriptions of flora and fauna, and even the relationships to each other (for example, an orchard’s output is dependent upon pollination/honey bees. . .)	yes

Emily's Response Paper #5 Prompt #2

Response Paper #5 Prompt #2

            Many students are apprehensive about poetry and feel as though it lacks relevance; therefore, they ignore it and shove it aside. Getting students to engage in and enjoy poetry is an extremely difficult task that English teachers must overcome. With this particular text (Brown Girl Dreaming) there are quite a few ways to broach this difficult topic in an original and dare I say interesting fashion. Since this book is a story many teachers may be inclined to start with that; in turn skimming  over the fact that the book is created as a sort of collection of poetry. I believe that this is a bad course of action; by not starting with “this is a book of poems” you are essentially loosing students trust. The reason being that they will feel as though you have lied about what the book really is. You should start by saying that it is a book of poems; then explain the importance of poems. Also, discuss why it is interesting that the author decided to take her writing in this direction.

            One of the most important things to remember about people is that we like to talk about ourselves, and relate things to ourselves. I officially learned about this theory called “egocentrism” from a communications class. According to The Art of Public Speaking “What do people want to hear? Very simply, they usually want to hear about things that are meaningful to them. People are egocentric (Lucas 100).” Therefore, we have to make the students relate to the poems in order to gain their interest.

            Due to egocentrism I believe that the first course of action to take is having the students go out and find a poem that they relate to. We can discuss why they relate to it and what interests them about their poems of choice. After this introduction to poetry and explanation of how it can relate to them, start the book. As you read the book together discuss why the author relates to these poems, what is she trying to convey?

            As you read through the book have students look for a particular poem in the text that they relate to or enjoy. My personal poem would be “The Reader” on page 61; I chose this poem because it stuck out to me. My reasoning would be that I understand the sister in this situation, since I too am a lover of books and have a tendency to get lost in them. When you finish the book have the students write an essay explaining why they chose this poem. If you don’t want to an essay you could have them draw a picture explaining this, or have a discussion.

            Another thing to think about bringing up is how poetry and rap are similar. You can compare and contrast the two, this might shock some students. The problem with this idea would be finding rap that doesn’t have curse words, since this wouldn’t be appropriate. Even though as Alex brought up in class that isn’t really fair, especially since rap is really such a good thing to compare poetry with and most rap songs have a lot of curse words. Unfortunately, I don’t think many parents would take kindly to this, and even if a lot of them did like the idea someone would cause a problem (it only takes one).

             Another good idea that we discussed in class was having students write their own poems. There are a few ways to go about this idea. One would be giving the students free range, just write a poem in any style. Another way would be to have them make a poem similar to the author’s style. The last way was brought up in class; have them write their own “What I believe” poems. This idea originated from page 317 in the book when the author wrote about her different beliefs. You could have your students do the same thing, just in their own words.

 

References

1.      Woodson, Jacqueline. Brown Girl Dreaming. New York: Penguin Group, 2014. Print.

 

2.      Lucas, Stephen E. The Art of Public Speaking. 12th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-

Hill, 2015. Print.

Response 5

Response #5: Reflecting Upon the Class

            This class has been very beneficial to my learning. My first day walking in—although I was 10 minutes late, still embarrassed—I felt a positive vibe. I already knew two of my nerdy English friends, Shelby and Alex, but Kelly, Keola, and Emily really made this class easy to open up and speak my mind. This classroom structure was very safe. Never once was I afraid to say something that might be controversial. Instead, I felt an overwhelming amount of support from my peers and from YOU! Discussions were substantial and many of the conversations in class will remain with me as I enter into my last semester of classes before student teaching. The assignments for this class were relevant (thank you, by the way. Surprisingly not all professors followed suit on this one) and eye opening. I particularly liked using the blog as a means of outside discussion. This was my first time using a blog, and I think I will incorporate something like this in my own classrooms one day!

            I really enjoyed this reading selection, minus Little Women, and I find a lot of connections forming between these stories and our potential students we will have. Butcher and Hinton state “[y]oung adult literature reflects [students] experiences with conflicts, focuses on these that interest young people, includes young protagonists and mostly young characters, and has language common to young adults” (Butcher & Hinton 10). Every novel we read fits this characteristic of YA, however, I would have loved to see us read a novel about a child with a disability. While my beloved Holden does have some sort of mental breakdown, Salinger never gives us a definite answer of that illness besides Holden’s “I could probably tell you what I did after I went home, and how I got sick and all” (Salinger 234). The Catcher in the Rye is a great example of mental illness, so I do not believe you should remove it from the list. Its subtleness about specifics reflects what mental illness is sometimes in individuals. It is not always blatant. However, maybe a novel like Accidents of Nature by Harriet McBryde Johnson would be a good one to use. It has great ratings on GoodReads and a Lexile of 690—which would be appropriate for middle school readers who are meeting the reading requirements.

            I suggest a book about disabilities because of the push with inclusion in the classrooms. I know Shelby hit on this in her Response 5 paper, but being in the Education 560 course this summer really brought to my eyes how unfair these students are treated in many public school settings. I can speak on my own experience that the students with physical and mental disabilities were not ever in classes with me unless it was something like art or music. Research shows “more students with disabilities are in general education classrooms” (Bauer & Kroeger 6). This news is great and exciting. Novels like Accidents of Nature might help these students feel included. Part of education is being able to meet the needs of all students. By addressing issues that are important to individual students, we are modifying “the curriculum to enhance relevance for each student” (Bauer & Kroeger 6).

            I do want to point out how diverse this class reading list was! This is the first time I ever read a book in which the main characters were young, gay boys. This screams relevance on so many levels in current society, but on a larger scale, it speaks to the intolerance that is shown and how quickly mindsets need to change. In Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, students are introduced to two very different boys, who are part of the minority groups because of their sexual orientation and ethnic background. With Elenor and Park, we see a Korean boy who falls in love with a shy red-head with an abusive and poor living situation. Even in our novel Monster we see this young, black male (in jail nonetheless) with a household of two working parents who are seemingly involved and loving. Many of these stereotypes students have are broken down and challenged. Adding a book about disabilities would only further diverse a classroom in a positive and progressive manner.

            To conclude, I’m really sad this class is over. I’ve really enjoyed coming to campus four days a week to see everyone and talk about novels that are awesome in their own way (even Little Women). I think this setup worked really well and so many different ideas continued to bounce around. English-y people like ourselves are usually pretty tolerant and accepting, so I wasn’t surprised that we all got along in that regards, but I think many of us come from different situations and have our own stories. I felt a personal connection with everyone and I do hope we cross paths again in other classes. Thanks everyone, and Dr. Hanrahan for a great 5 week summer session.

Works Cited

Bauer, Anne M., and Stephen Kroeger. Inclusive Classrooms: Video Cases on CD-ROM ;             

      Activity and Learning Guide to Accompany Teaching Special Students in General Education 

      Classrooms, Sixth Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall, 2004. Print.

Bucher, Katherina and KaaVonia Hinton. Young Adult Literature: Exploration, Evaluation, and         

       Appreciation. 3^rd ed. Boston: Pearson, 2014. Print.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown, 1945. Print.

Happy Endings in YA and Literature: Response 5

Response 5: Happy Endings in YA and Literature

            I have been reading an overwhelmingly sad novel called A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. It centers on a young man who went through years of physical and sexual abuse, and while I haven’t finished it yet, I don’t see it having the “oh good, he made it” type of ending that most readers want. In fact, I predict the ending will send me into a gulf of sorrow for a short time. Nevertheless, this novel has made me start wondering if young adult literature treats realism justly, or if young adult literature just gives us the ending we want. On the flip side, I wonder if writers that use sadness as a vehicle to attract readers are just selling out in the name of sensationalist, sentimentalism. Regardless of sellouts, ugly literature has a place in literature and it has an important role to play in classrooms.

            Many of the books we read this semester focused on the troubles and pain of adolescents. It comes off as being wrong when spoken out of context, but ugliness in literature is necessary.  According to Linda Holmes of NPR, “Ugliness—honesty about ugliness—is important, because it gives shape and meaning to some important stories about not allowing it to swamp you. For kids who already experience difficult things, it seems like straightforwardly acknowledging that these things exist and hurt.” By not acknowledging the trials that some students go through on a daily basis, we are doing them a disservice.

It can be powerful for them to see that other students may be going through the same troubles. Furthermore, students who are not going through similar pains should understand what some of their peers may be dealing with. Of course, some will push back on having controversial issues in schools. However, we should not worry about the negative effects of discomfort or pain in young adult literature. Holmes considers bullying in Eleanor and Park writing, “Hearing bullies torment Eleanor by talking about her breasts won’t make them think that’s what they should do. They will not want to emulate Eleanor’s bullies anymore than they want to emulate the worst tendencies they see in Lord of the Flies.” Claiming that students who read literature with serious, controversial, or painful themes will act on these negativities is misinformed. We cannot avoid controversial literature because of people who overact to significant themes.

            The novel Eleanor and Park focuses on dark, often sad themes of abuse, isolation, and bullying. The abuse in the novel is not always facing the reader head on, but its presence is felt throughout the novel, and that is a strength. It is always looming over the characters, and eventually the abuse blows up into the characters faces. When park has to get Eleanor out of her home, the reader is feeling the same fear that many students feel when they go home. The questionable part is whether it is appropriate for Eleanor to make it out. Sadly, most students who suffer from abuse won’t be so lucky. Are we giving students some kind of false hope?  An expert reader may see that Eleanor’s escape is wishful thinking, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value. Nor does it mean that students will start running away when they get into trouble. It simply gives an honest look into a troubled family, without the painful, real ending. Literature emulates life. That doesn’t mean it needs to imitate life’s often sad tones all the way through. There is a thin line between sensationalist and an escape, and writers need to find that divide.

            Similarly, the ending of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Universe gives readers a false sense of happiness. Ari and Dante both come to terms with their love for one another, and they decide to be with each other, presumably for a long time. The ending is problematic because on one hand it gives gay students an outlet. It shows them that despite the horrible things that happen to the gay community, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Once again though, is this a false hope? As we’ve seen, gay people still have very real problems. Students especially are under pressure to discover who they are. Add coming out, students could have potentially have a major social dilemma to deal with, perhaps the biggest of their life. We still have not moved to a society that welcomes all people, despite what progressives may say. Benjamin Sáez gives us a very plushy ending writing, “I took Dante’s hand and held it. How could I have ever been ashamed of loving Dante Quintana?” (359). However, there is real reason for Ari to be hesitant to love Dante. In the novel, gay people are beat because they kiss. In real life, people are being shot because of their sexual preferences. There is real reason to be scared of the ugliness. It is irrefutable that Ari and Dante will have to deal with bigotry one day. Sáez left it up to the reader to decide what would happen to the pair. An expert reader would be able to see the ugliness they will have to experience again. Will our students? I’m not sure that is clear, but it is worth exposing them to the honestly ugly literature. The ugliness is what will help them survive, sentimentalism or not.  

            Painful literature is important. It helps us understand both the happiness and hurt people experience. Literature opens a window into worlds most of us will never know. This discomfort will help students grow. However, while the happy endings are acceptable for young adult fiction, the same rules do not apply to literature. There needs to be more to the ending than giving the audience what they want. Young adults may not be able to comprehend that, so it is our jobs as teachers to expose them to just enough of the ugliness so that they are prepared to take on the pressures they face in the future.    

Works Cited

Holmes, Linda. "True Love, Book Fights, And Why Ugly Stories Matter." NPR. NPR. Web. 22 June 2016.

Rowell, Rainbow. Eleanor and Park. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2013. Print

Sherman, Alexie. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. New York: Little Brown Company, 2008. Print.

Response Paper 5, Prompt # 4

Response # 5, Prompt # 4 – Open Topic

          My Reflections on 699B:  Throughout the course, I have tried to approach each text with the eye (and brain) of someone between the ages of ten and eighteen. That would have been a challenge, any way you sliced it. I think it’s safe to say that, even when I was that age, I really didn’t know and/or understand how others my age thought or what they liked. To that end, this course has been so helpful and beneficial, providing me with some valuable tools for my (fingers crossed) career as a teacher. What follows are some of my thoughts on the different aspects of this course, its goals and what I was able to take away from it:

1. Learning how to evaluate literature for classrooms: I appreciated the manner in which the text for the class presented materials, ideas, reading lists and suggestions for every topic covered. I will keep at least two of the recommendations in my “toolbox” and use them for most every assignment, both as a student and a teacher. One, make friends with a librarian – a straightforward concept, but one that I needed to be reminded of. I love the vast expanse of information, literally at my fingertips, that the internet affords. Bucher and Hinton included a section in every chapter (“Expanding Your Knowledge with the Internet” dialogue boxes) that bears out my point, but the authors did an even greater service when they made such a simple statement: “Educators can find a ready partner in most public libraries to help provide materials and services . . .” (63). I always enjoyed my visits to the local library, from my earliest recollection, and I took for granted the wealth of knowledge at the librarian’s fingertips. Now, however, I see the error of my ways – the library is treasure, and the librarian is the map. If I am at a loss for resources, be it finding a new book or assistance with a revised curriculum, one of my first stops will be the library. The second tool that I’ve already grown to appreciate is the idea of collaboration with other professionals. No man is an island, so why expect students to learn about literature (or for that matter, any subject) in a sort of vacuum. I think one of the many benefits derived through collaboration is context, be it a phrase in a novel or a point in history. For example, as I read the Benedict Arnold biography, I called to mind all of the hours I sat in various history classes – not one of them developed Arnold as an actual person and not just a footnote in American history. I learned his name, but I never had any real understanding or context of his actions. By the same token, I memorized battles, dates and commanders, but it was just data. Collaboration with other professionals, whether it be with the art teacher or the science teacher, can only serve to improve the students’ grasp of each class’s content. For example, if I teach Brown Girl Dreaming, I have a wonderful opportunity to fold in a discussion of racism from an historical perspective. I also have a chance to engage students in a conversation about the events that frame that perspective. If I’ve done a decent job of that, my students will be able to take that knowledge, along with a new depth of understanding that they may never have had, to their history classes down the hall (or to their lives out the door).
2. “Teach This” responses: All of the writing assignments helped me fine-tune my skills (grammar, citations, creative thinking/writing and critical analysis, for example). For me, though, the three “Teach This” responses were most beneficial. It allowed me a vehicle through which to apply some of the ideas from Bucher and Hinton, like the considerations for evaluating young adult literature, but it also allowed me to meld together different aspects of expository, descriptive, persuasive and narrative writing as I did so (32-5). I enjoyed being able to develop strategies, activities and assignments for each of the three genres under consideration. We were not only given enough structure for each section to formulate these mini lesson plans, but enough leeway to be creative in our responses. With each strategy, I found myself weighing ideas that had me asking if I was making the book interesting, while at the same time challenging (56). As a result of the “Teach This” assignments, I find myself eager to test out some of those strategies. Some of my suggestions seemed to resonate with my classmates, and that segues nicely into the blog . . .
3. The Blog: My work experience with blogging has been to gather intel on the bloggers (I’m currently employed as an intel analyst for the federal government). With that in mind as my level of exposure to, and use of, blogging, I was a bit hesitant to participate. Strangely enough, it was the idea of collaboration that won me over. One, I appreciated the way each person adopted a voice that was both supportive and judiciously analytical. With such a wide variety of topics chosen by everyone, it was as though I had five other instructors – and each person took their job seriously. Once a response was uploaded to the blog, I couldn’t wait to read everyone’s comments to everyone else. The blog served as a thoughtful and engaging diagnostic tool, and my classmates used it with reason and logic. Two, the blog was a great way to connect with others in class. I loved the individuality that came through with each post; this in turn helped me get to know the class just a little bit better. I think it helped build a rapport that would otherwise not have been possible, given everyone’s hectic schedules. Three, it gave everyone an opportunity to have their words and ideas tested – a sounding board, if you will. Four, the blog memorializes our responses, which transforms them into resources. If I need to revisit a book that Emily or Alex wrote about, I need go no further than our class blog. Five, the blog is an ideal way for all of us to become more conversant with our level of IT skills. For me, in particular, the real test came about when I had to re-format a .pdf to a .gif, in order to upload a photo.

All in all, ENGL 307/699B has been a really cool way to achieve the goal of obtaining the intellectual and practical skills needed to read and teach young adult and adolescent literature. 

Work Cited

Bucher, Katherine, and KaaVonia Hinton. Young Adult Literature: Exploration, Evaluation, and Appreciation. 3rd ed. Boston: Pearson, 2014. Print.

A Reflection on Young Adult Literature: Take #2

 A Reflection on Young Adult Literature: Take #2

            It is no secret that I have taken this class once before. My previous experience with Teaching and Reading Young Adult and Adolescent Literature was only a bit more structured than a housewives’ book club. This “academic redo,” however, has been exceptionally helpful and knowledgeable regarding my ability to use young adult literature in the classroom. That being said, I would like to suggest that further sections of this class be structured with a more equal balance between high school and middle school appropriate content.

            As students seeking a masters in teaching within the English content area, students in this class will be certified to teach grades 5-12. As the class syllabus currently stands, only two of the eight books are appropriate for middle school, with a third, Mrs. Marvel, debatable for use in the 8^th grade classroom. Therefore, about 25% of the class’ reading list represented 50% of our certified area.

            As a solution, I recommend trading out Little Women and The Catcher in the Rye for novels that are better suited for the 10-13 age bracket. Bucher and Hinton note that some of the purposes of young adult literature are to teach “adolescence about diverse peoples and the world beyond their own community,” as well as “reveals the realities of life” (10). I argue that neither Little Women nor Catcher in the Rye serve these purposes. Little Women is about a white family living during the American Civil War in a narration that pushes historical racial tension to the margins of the text. The closest Alcott’s novel comes to diversity is in the half-hearted gender reversal of Jo and the scarcely seen Irish servant. The Catcher in the Rye is the story of a boy who barely even glances into the outside world enough to know if there is diversity there to be seen. For these reasons, I do not believe that either novel “reveals the realities of life” for modern day students the way young adult literature is intended. YA books should be able to reflect on the realities of a life the students are currently living, or perhaps the realities lived by their parents. These novels are too far removed to fit the purpose—in short, they are dated.

Bucher and Hinton also state that a purpose of young adult literature is  to focus “on ‘essentials’ that make order out of chaos” (10), another failure I see of these two novels  in the young adult category. Both Little Women and Catcher in the Rye are actually very rich texts with a lot of information to absorb to understand the many text complexities. Little Women alone is 500 pages of content awaiting a well-crafted critical essay. Therefore, I must also argue that these books also fail to fit the purpose of focusing on the essentials. I am not arguing that either Little Women or Catcher in the Rye are not good books. In fact, I believe that both of these books actually deserve more room on the syllabus of a college English class. They can even be used (if the teacher chooses) to be a part of the public school curriculum as part of their standard literary texts. The argument here is that they simply do not meet the requirements for this specific class.

Along with the consideration to add more young adult books for 5-8 students, I will also ask for the consideration that one of those books discusses exceptionalities. In this current generation, there is a huge push for inclusion in the classroom, but not just inclusive practices, full inclusion. Full inclusion, as defined by the ever-growing SWIFT (Schoolwide Integrated Framework for Transformation) movement, is the elimination of all special education classrooms. This means that all students regardless of the severity of their disability, will be in the general education classroom for the entire day with the general population. As teachers, we will need to understand both how to accommodate for students with exceptionalities as well as help our general education students better accept this change. The disabled population is larger than all other minority groups combined and it is the most under-represented in all forms of media. Introducing students to books that discuss exceptionalities is a good first step to take to help students assimilate if inclusion is not already a part of their everyday life. If inclusion is a part of their everyday life then I am positive that those students with exceptionalities would appreciate a character they can finally identify with.

This class has been more beneficial to me and my impending career than all of my other classes thus far. I am grateful to have been able to have such enriching discussions with so many intelligent people regarding books that matter. The points listed above are only suggestions, but ones that will, if taken into consideration, benefit future English teachers on an even larger scale.

Thank you. 

Works Cited 

Short, Katherine Bucher and KaaVonia Hinton. Young Adult Literature: Exploration,  

      Evaluation, and Appreciation. 3rd ed. Boston: Pearson, 2014. Print. 

Teach This #3: In Cold Blood

Teach This #3: In Cold Blood

Which text: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

            Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood gives readers an insight on the Clutter family murders in Holcomb, Kansas. The novel opens up describing the last day of the Clutter family. Herb Clutter (father) checks around his farm which has brought his family much wealth. Bonnie Clutter (mother) suffers from depression and lays around the house with her children. Nancy Clutter (one of the teens) talks about her banned Catholic boyfriend to her friends and helps out around the house. Kenyon Clutter (another teen) works hard in the family’s basement making a chest for his older sister, Beverly, as a wedding gift. The family lives a traditional life; they go to church every Sunday and work hard to help Bonnie battle her post-partum depression. The novel switches back and forth in the beginning between the Clutter family and the same day of the murderers, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. They go about their day eating breakfast, tuning up the car for their getaway to Mexico after the robbery/murder, and gathering final supplies to follow through with their devious plan.

            The story is told through Special Investigator Alvin Dewey. He is the lead investigator on the murder case and has deep motivation to bring justice to the Clutter family. It is through Floyd Wells, former employee of Herb Clutter and cellmate of Dick Hickock, that the investigator learns he knows who committed these crimes and the motive behind the killings. After a hunt ensues to find Dick and Perry, they are finally found in Las Vegas. Both men give the gruesome details of the murders and they are taken to court where they are placed on Death Row.

Why this text:

            Many students might have apprehension about reading a non-fiction text due to the perceived dryness of the material. This common misconception about non-fiction text can be proved wrong through a thrilling novel like In Cold Blood. In our text by Butcher and Hinton, they point out the differences between fiction and non-fiction based off four criteria (Butcher & Hinton 273).

      

	Fiction	Non-Fiction
Purpose	Pleasure	Information
Structure	Read from beginning to end	Read in parts or pieces
Language	Specific to the characters	Specific to the subject
Content	Created	Researched

   

Typically speaking, non-fiction books might lack in the luster students want to dive into when reading a novel. Informational text that are heavily researched based can be complex and hard to understand. However, I find In Cold Blood to be both informational yet plot-driven to keep students engaged in a story set in 1959. While the topic is devastating and tragic, students will find themselves on the edge of their seats as they learn more information about the murderers, how the crime went down, and the ultimate fate of Dick and Perry. In Cold Blood has many great facts that are provided through Investigator Dewey’s experience on the case, but some creative situations have been added (speculation, but quite possible) to keep the reader engaged in the characters. These small details help the reader have a connection with the Clutter family before their demise and maybe even some sympathy for the killers due to their negative upbringing.

            While this text seems like a 343-page episode of Law and Order: SVU, many complex topics come up that students would be able to analyze. Gender roles and expectations run rampant in the Clutter family, and even sometimes become reversed. For example, we get a look into Bonnie Clutter’s depression and how it affects the family when “Mr. Clutter had of necessity learned to cook…[he] enjoyed the chore, and was excellent at it” (Capote Chapter 1). Considering the time period, women were still expected to keep house. However, Mr. Clutter is confident in his masculinity that he takes on this role to provide even more for his family and help his ill wife. This pushback is important for students to see and analyze, especially when compared to the gender roles Perry Smith portrays and his seemingly homoerotic attraction he has towards Dick Hickock due to his “totally masculine” persona (Capote Chapter 1). Feminine roles could also be analyzed through the absence of Mrs. Clutter being a good wife and mother. Or even how Nancy Clutter, who was described as “always in a hurry, but she always [had] time. And that’s one definition of a lady” (Capote Chapter 1). These stereotypes exist in the novel and challenge the norms of society during the late 1950s-early 1960s. Students’ ability to “solve problems and think analytically” (Butcher & Hinton 280) which are key components in Common Core Standards are skills that will help them be successful in post-secondary education. These gender roles are just one of many concepts that could be taught within a classroom. Through this novel, non-fiction texts can be expanded to be interesting and fun rather than bleak and dense.

How to teach this text:

1. KWLQ Chart

            As an ongoing assignment throughout the course of reading In Cold Blood, I would have the class create a KWLQ (Know, Want to Know, Learned, and Questions) Chart to help organize ideas the findings. At the beginning of the unit, before even reading the novel and after having a large blank chart up and ready to fill in, I would ask students to tell me what (if anything) they know about the Clutter murders. Students could read the quick description on the novel to gain a better idea about Questions they might have to add to the chart, or even specifics they Want to Know. From the Want to Know section, we would make sure as a class to address those questions and add those findings to the Learned section of the graphic organizer. This chart would be added to daily for any and all sections. Students will be encouraged to think while reading, and revise ideas as they learn new information. This project helps students see the learning process and how to ask questions while reading a text. It will create more active readers in the classroom as they look for answers and think about what might be going on and why.

2. Pairing In Cold Blood to movie rendition of the novel

            Part of Common Core is the ability for students to pair a novel to the movie depiction. For this activity, students would first read In Cold Blood and go through countless activities and class discussions. After finishing the novel, students would watch the movie In Cold Blood for a few days in class. Students would then work in small groups to create some kind of graphic organizer (such as a Venn Diagram) to compare and contrast the movie to the novel. Students would also be required to note how characters are depicted on the screen and how that varies from what students might have originally believed them to look or act like. From here, students would analyze why specific characters would look or act a certain way. They could ask questions about why the director would alter details or change the storyline (if indeed there are major discrepancies) and how that works or doesn’t work.

3. Find the Clues

            For this activity, I would set up different clues around the classroom and school (assuming it is closed campus) that students would have to find and piece together with other clues. An example of this might be a picture of a shotgun, and once found, students would have to find the correlating part of the novel that goes with the shotgun (such as a characterization of Dick Hickock or Perry Smith). Students will have to focus on the small details of the novel—which will require them to do close readings—to really understand these clues they are searching for. It will also imitate them searching through a crime scene to find clues that leads them to the killers. This activity would be done in a single class period and in pairs or small groups. Students would have free range of the classroom. Each clue could have multiple answers, which would further make students work together to find them all. This activity would showcase their knowledge of the text and their attention to small details.

References:

Bucher, Katherina and KaaVonia Hinton. Young Adult Literature: Exploration, Evaluation, and         

            Appreciation. 3^rd ed. Boston: Pearson, 2014. Print.

Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood. New York: Random House, 1965. Kindle ebook file.