Re: [Spam-Low] Helllllllllllllllllp please!

[Bonnie Dodge <bdodge@marion.k12.ia.us>]

> Trisha,
> 
> I use Stargirl by Spinelli with my 8th graders. In case you haven¹t read it,
> it has a great message about accepting people who are individuals. The book
> has a wealth of figurative language, (many metaphors and idioms in addition to
> the usual similes and personification), and I also use it to teach my students
> the technique of using grammatical and literal repetition in their writing as
> well as fragments for effect. There are many opportunities for identifying
> words in context, creating writing prompts and projects, and I do a final
> writing assignment in which students write a speech as if they were Leo, a
> main character, speaking to the current graduating class of his old high
> school. But he is now an adult and having abandoned Stargirl, with maturity he
> sees what he lost and can speak to the class about accepting people for who
> they are, etc. Good characterization too.
> 
> It¹s a VERY positive book and students enjoy it. You can get it on tape, read
> by John Ritter. It¹s a good recording. I love this unit!
> 
> Bonnie
> 
> P.S. (I¹d tell you about my other book, Fade to Black, by Alex Flinn, but
> although it has a great message about maturity and admitting mistakes, etc. as
> well as info. about HIV, your parent might consider it over the top. I had 2
> parents complain last year, but they were both ultra conservative ministers
> and had been homeschooling their girls prior to 8th grade. Apparently they
> thought that teens learning about how HIV is transmitted, about bullying, etc.
> was not appropriate for school. Their loss!)  I guess I just did tell you
> about this book! :)
> 
> Hope you find other good titles.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm having a crisis of confidence after 16 years.  I'm still standing, but I
> have been pummeled the last two weeks regarding reading selections in my 8th
> grade classes.  I'm new this year at a very high-achieving school.  Because
> I'm new, I'm expected to hold the line a 30 year veteran established until
> I've proven myself, I guess.  A parent, who by the way owns/owned a company
> called Positive Books for Children, is unpleasantly challenging the
> established curriculum -- she's angry that the tone of the books and short
> stories so far are "violent" --
>  
> We're just coming out of a unit on Poe (Tell Tale Heart, Fall of the House of
> Usher, The Black Cat, Annabel Lee, The Raven) -- prior to that Seedfolks and a
> Depression era novel that I don't like called Nothing to Fear.  Prior to that
> -- Marigolds by Eugenia Collier, Ransom of Red Chief, The Day I Got Lost, and
> lots of poetry. 
>  
> So.
>  
> Can I please tap into this group's broad experience, and ask for titles of
> short stories and novels that YOU think have a positive, uplifting tone for
> that woman -- and for me that have depth, analytical possibilities, and a
> multitude of teaching opportunities.  I'm not asking for much, am I?
>  
> Oh . . . and we start Elie Wiesel's Night in early February.  That will thrill
> her.
>  
> Thanking you in advance.
>  
> Trisha
> 
> .·´* 
>