Thursday, February 17, 2011

A Small Diversion

Ok, I do have some awesome recipes and things to share with you, but I wanted to get opinions on something a little more pressing in my world.

I'm teaching 9th grade English next year to my special education kids. This means most of them either have difficulty reading or writing. I'm trying to decide what to cover so I can start working on my curriculum for the class. The trouble is I have too many ideas and I need to narrow it down.

Books I'm considering:
To Kill a Mockingbird
Speak
Monster (by Walter Dean Myers)
Out of the Dust
The Secret Life of Bees
Lord of the Flies
Whale Talk
Face on the Milk Carton

I will be covering Night by Elie Wiesel, supplemented with pieces from Maus I and II, and Romeo and Juliet.

The top 5 on the list are books I've read and loved. The bottom 3 are ones I haven't read but I've seen on a lot of 8th grade reading lists.

My question to you all is: what do you recommend? If you've read any of the books on the list and think they would be good for a class of freshmen, let me know, especially if it's one of the ones I haven't read.

I need to narrow the list down to 3 or 4 at the max.

I know this might not be your area of expertise, but I thought I'd ask because I'm really struggling with choosing the right things.

3 comments:

  1. I read the Lord of the Flies my Senior Year of high school...i have a tshirt that is based on this book. its' pretty awesome

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  2. I just finished Lord of the Flies, that was a good read! I kinda wish I read books when I was supposed to back in high school. Oh well. Better late than never :D

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  3. My kids are 8th grade but they really loved Monster...a few have read it and I know they teach it here at 9th grade. Whale talk is good, might get some of the struggling boy readers into the book, you'll just have to warn parents about a few moments where the language gets tough...all should be used to it perhaps by 9th grade! Personally, I love that you can teach Night at 9th grade, it's 12 grade here and I'm pushing to teach it in 8th. I loved Lord of the Flies when I read it in 9th grade forever ago!

    Good Luck! I know you will be awesome!
    Bri

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