Realistic Fiction

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece, by Annabel Pitcher
Wow. This book was heavy. And I don't mean heavy as in that feeling you get after you watch The Biggest Loser, but heavy in the sense that it covers a lot different and controversial topics that are often silenced in today's society. The terrorist attacks in England on October 7 created a similar mentality about Muslims that much of America has held since September 11, 2001. The renewed sense of "patriotism" that Jamie's dad holds for the United Kingdom is exactly what we have seen on our homefront. While it is cringing to read how Jamie's dad talks about and treats Muslims, his ideas and actions are unfortunately held by many people throughout the Western world--or at least those that have been victims of terrorist attacks. And it is unfortunate that the children of such prejudice parents--such as Jamie and Jas--are subjected to such a mentality. The fact that Jamie is fearful of becoming friends with Sunya because he is worried about how his dad might react reveals just how much parents influence their children's choices.
This book also revealed an interesting account of how different people handle death. Jamie, who was only 5 at the time of Rose's death, never showed any sign of grief. Because he was so young when she passed, Jamie only knows Rose from stories his family shares and pictures from his father's photo album. For his father, however, Rose's death destroyed him. It is the reason why he drinks; it is the reason why he moved; it is the reason why his wife left him; it is the reason why he is prejudice towards Muslims; it is the reason why--if I may be so bold--he is a shitty dad. At only 15, Jas now has to take on the parental role for her younger brother and forever live in the shadow of her deceased twin. Death is a peculiar thing. There's no book or class or film that prepares a person for such a tragedy, especially when it involves the murder of an innocent child. I think Annabel Pitcher did a wonderful job of showing her readers just how differently people may react to death, which is something that I rarely see in books or in the media.
While the topics were certainly heavy, I think this book could bring some relatable and understandable insights for middle school students because it is told from Jamie's 10-year-old perspective. Students would be able to witness multiple controversial subjects without being bombarded with gruesome and tragic details, images, ect (like the ones shown on TV every September 11). I feel rather sinister saying I really enjoyed reading this book, but I appreciated how the writer integrated such heavy topics, so that they are presented in a way that is relatable and approachable for young adults.

Fantasy/Sci Fi Week

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
Although I'm not a huge sci/fi fan, I LOVE post-apocalyptic books. Not only do they stretch the reader's imagination, but they reveal deeper truths about the nature of society. The fact that The Hunger Games takes place in what is the former United States region, Appalachia, was very intriguing to me because District 12 is located in Georgia. Geography aside, this book reveals multiple themes--good vs. evil, the struggle/will to survive, sacrifice for those you love--that I think would be useful to address in a middle school ELA classroom. While its lexile scores it in a fourth or fifth grade range, I think the basis of this book--children killing children--would be rather heavy to address with 9-11 year olds. I would, however, consider using it in a seventh or eighth grade classroom. Especially now that it has been made into a movie, I think students would be more receptive to reading a sci/fi novel, a genre that doesn't always have the best reputation. Analyzing the concepts and themes of The Hunger Games in the classroom would also be a great opportunity to tie in other ideas--government, civics, power, society--and connect them to social studies (my second content area).
 This book definitely had me hooked, so I look forward to reading the second and third books!



"The Challenge of Challenging Text," by Timothy Shanahan, Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey
In this article, the authors discuss the main aspects that determine a text's complexity: vocabulary, sentence structure, coherence, organization, and background knowledge. Together, these elements of a text can be a challenge to a reader. But without exposure to new words, phrases, structures, and ideas, readers will not be able to enhance their literacy/reading skills. Teachers can help their students build these necessary skills by offering assistance in decoding a text, understanding and establishing the purpose of it, defining complex vocabulary words, and foster motivation and persistence in their readers. A text's complexity is not defined by its length or syllable count; instead, it is determined by vocabulary, sentence structure, coherence, organization, and background knowledge. Without challenging a reader, he/she will reach a plateau in his/her reading level. Similar to lifting weights, playing a sport, or any other activity, a person only becomes better with reading when presented with a challenging text. 


"Text Complexity: Is This Book at Grade Level?" 
In my other LLED class, we discussed how to determine a book's lexile score by plugging in an excerpt of about 100 words into a lexile generator. The generator considered several factors, such as sentence complexity, vocabular, and content, to determine the lexile. While this measure is not "fool proof" and may not equate to the book's entire lexile score, it can provide a good idea of what the book's reading level is. Similarly, this article discusses the measures taken in order to determine a text's lexile: qualitative, quantitative, and reader and task. I personally feel that when assigning a text, the teacher should preview it, in order to determine its appropriateness, content, and reading level. From my exposure to hundreds of texts, I am comfortable determining where a text ranks on elementary, middle, and high school levels. Rather than basing a text off a simple number, such as the quantitative measure suggests, teachers should base it off of their students' needs and interests, which fall under "reader and task" and "quantitative" considerations. 

Folk Literature Week

Onions and Garlic: An Old Tale, retold by Eric A. Kimmel
 In my experience with reading folk tales, they are either a hit or a miss--and this book was a miss. I felt rather underwhelmed as I read such a random tale. The premis of the story centered around Getzel, the son of a merchant. Though his father loved him most of all his sons, he referred to him as "Getzel the fool," because he was too soft and trusting of his buyers--qualities that were rather undesirable in this job field. In a quest to prove his worth as a merchant, Getzel set sail with a load of onions. But before he could reach the market, a powerful storm carried his ship to an unknown island, where diamonds littered the beachy shore. When he finally found people on the island, Getzel could only offer them onions and diamonds in exchange for food and shelter. Because diamonds were so common and onions had never been seen before, these people offered Getzel a ship full of diamonds in exchange for his onions. When he returned home and told his family about his adventures, they decided to travel back to the island to sell the locals garlic--a "delicacy" they surely could not resist. But rather than leaving the island with another boatful of diamonds, they were sent back with sacks of onions. What? Is there some kind of weird underlying message I'm missing? Despite the point that I did not like the story itself, I found the illustrations to be rather dull. I would not consider incorporating any element of this book into a classroom--unless I used it as an example of a "bad" folktale.

Sirko and the Wolf, adapted by Eric A. Kimmel
This picture book was a little bit better. It read more like a traditional folktale, answering the lifelong question as to why dogs howl when they hear the howl of a wolf. The illustrations were vivid, the story was simplistic and entertaining, and I liked how it was set in the Ukraine. There doesn't seem to be much attention on that country, so I think the slightest reference of mention of it (even if it's in a folktale picture book) might also generate some discussion about the country and its geography. I also believe the illustrations depicted accurate the characters' physical appearance accurately, and in a social studies class, I could see using the pictures of their clothes and foods to generate discussion about the Ukrainian culture. This book didn't knock my socks off, but I thought the story was "cute," and that some aspects of it could be useful in a classroom.

Longer Collection: The Sword and the Grail, retold by Constance Hieatt
Now that I have read a third, but longer, folktale, I think I have come to the conclusion that I am simply not a fan of them. This realization comes as a surprise to me, though, since I always thought I would like folk literature. Then again, maybe I just happened to pick out three books that were not my cup of tea. This third book, The Sword and the Grail, told the story of a Perceval, a naive young man, secluded from the rest of the world by his overprotective mother, who stumbles across a few knights in the woods. These knights ask him if he has seen two other knights and their captive maiden. But Perceval, entranced by these strange men and their foreign attire, is too consumed in trying to make sense of these mysterious men. He later confronts his mother about his encounter with the knights and informs her that he is going to King Arthur's castle to talk to him about becoming a knight himself. Though his mother pleads with him not to desert her, Perceval decides that becoming a knight is the nobel thing to do. Long story short, because Perceval was kept from society his entire life, he is rather awkward and intolerant when he reaches the kingdom. Sure, this aspect was slightly humorous. Who doesn't love an awkward guy who mistakes a woman's bed for the House of God?
Despite Perceval's limited knowledge of the outside world, he is able to rescue the maiden, defeat the knights who captures her, and becomes a hero. Oh, and by the way, it turns out that he is the key to unlocking the misery of the kingdom, because he is the rightful heir to the throne and rightful owner of the Holy Grail. And everything and everyone lived happily ever after. Literally, this is the last sentence of the book: "And never again did the land over which he ruled become withered and dry; even in the wintertime there were always more green things growing there than anywhere else in Britain, and it seemed a land especially blessed" (p. 82). Now, I understand that this is typically how folktales conclude, but I'm just not buying it. I don't like cliche and happy endings that I can predict before I even open a book, but I suppose these endings come with the territory and it's something I have to accept/expect.


"Proceed with Caution: Using Native American Folktales in the Classroom", by Debbie Reese
When Native Americans are often misrepresented in school textbooks, pop culture, and in the media, it is crucial that we, as educators, make critical and informed choices when we incorporate Native American literature. Folktales especially can reveal insightful information about a tribe's culture, religious beliefs, rituals, and everyday experience. Incorporating these folktales into the classroom will help expand a student's understanding of Native Americans and counteract predetermined/stereotyped ideas about them. Additionally, there may be a student who identifies himself/herself with a tribe, or has Native American ancestry, who would benefit from seeing his/her heritage in the classroom and in literature.

Historical Fiction Week

Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson
 As someone whose entire family is from the South, I have to admit that it was a breath of fresh air to read a book that focused on slavery in the North. Granted, this book concerns the American Revolutionary War, but after teaching an eighth grade class on the War, they seemed to forget that the North also welcomed slavery during this time. But the fact that the North took some heat for our regrettable past is besides the point. This book was very compelling because it gave us a perspective of the cruelty that many young slaves endured from their masters. As a future teacher, I could definitely see using Chains in a social studies or language arts classroom because it combines historical content with literary merit. For the Patriots, the Revolutionary War symbolized their fight for freedom from the British, but meanwhile, they ironically enslaved other human beings.
After teaching the Revolutionary War, I realized how confused the students were when we discussed the fact that not everyone in America was a Patriot and wanted to remain loyal to the British--hence why they were called "Loyalists." This book could definitely help clarify the confusion about the colonists' feelings about the War while providing an insight into the unfortunate life that many slaves endured.

Articles:

"Historical Fiction or Fictionalized History? Problems for Writers of Historical Novels for Young Adults", by Joanne Brown

I think historical fiction can be very powerful in teaching history because while the character (or another aspect) may be fictional, the story can help the reader develop a sense of the time period and/or setting. I do, however, understand that teachers should be cautious when choosing a particular historical fiction work. We should always be asking what parts or elements of the story are fictionalized and how accurate the "historical" components are. As the genre of historical fiction continues to rise in demand, I could see some authors compromising the historical elements in order to sell more copies. Regardless, I do believe this genre can be powerful in the classroom, but we--as teachers--should research how much (or little) it can contribute to a student's historical understanding. 

"What Role Should Fiction Have in the U.S. History Classroom?", by Nicholas J. Aieta

As mentioned above, I definitely think historical fiction can help enhance a student's understanding about a particular time or event in history. As mentioned in the article, many students lose interest with history because they consider it "boring." Historical fiction, however, can help pull in readers with its affective story telling abilities--but it is this aspect that can mislead a student's understanding of what is actual truth. As with many other sources, readers of historical fiction should read it with a critical eye to distinguish truth from fiction. 

Graphic Novel Week

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L'Engle's

In my nearly two decades of reading experience, I had never read a graphic novel. Now, in a matter of only a few days, I have read two. The first was a graphic novel adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and this book, A Wrinkle in Time, is obviously my second one. With my relative "overload" of such a unique and foreign type of text, I am still trying to figure out exactly how I feel about graphic novels. I do believe they are worth incorporating into a language arts classroom, but exactly how often should they be used? How should we use them? And which ones are worth using?
Personally, I was okay with reading a graphic version of Shakespeare because many people, myself included, struggle with understanding the language of a 400 year old text. The images help the reader make sense of the words, and this type of book would be especially valuable for new readers of Shakespeare. For a book like A Wrinkle in Time, however, I found its graphic adaptation to be less worthwhile in a classroom. Yes, the pictures helped add to the suspense and excitement of Meg's journeys with the three Mrs. W's and her brother, Charles, but I did not feel like they served the same purpose as they would in another book--such as The Tempest. Of course, I am not saying that the only graphic novels that are worthy of being in my lessons are Shakespeare, but I do not feel like A Wrinkle in Time is necessarily one of them.
I have never read the original text of this book, so it might be worth pursuing in order to compare the two types of mediums. Unlike The Tempest, this graphic novel does not maintain its original text, and therefore, I believe we, as readers, may be compromising the value of the original text. The descriptive imagery and other rhetorical devices were lost in this book that I would assume would be present in the original text. Our imagination is replaced with the interpretation of the book's artist, and we are unable to conjure up our own thoughts and images because they have been decided for us. Additionally, when compared to the original text (assuming that its language is more descriptive), I would be less likely to remember the details, figures, and images presented in the graphic novel because I did not rely on my imagination or have the opportunity to interpret the book in my own way. Therefore, if I were to choose to incorporate this book into my class, I would most likely use its original text. With that being said, I would also consider allowing my students who struggle with reading or who are more visual learners to read the graphic novel version as a supplementary text.

Biography Week

The True Adventures of Charley Darwin, by Carolyn Meyer
Because this book is written by as a first-person narrative from the perspective of Charley Darwin (AKA Charles Darwin), it is technically classified as "historical fiction." However, because Meyer incorporates real primary documents and writes her story based off only concrete primary sources, this book is as if it is a biography; the only reason why it technically is not is because she writes from Darwin's perspective. But about the content of the book....
I think Meyer offered a very unique side of Charles Darwin--or who we now know as the "father of the theory of evolution." For me, my experience with studying Darwin as been rather one-sided. I envisioned an old bearded British man, dressed in a white lab coat, who spent his life in a laboratory studying and examining different species. And, unfortunately, I do not think my vision of Darwin--or any other scientist for that matter--is a unique one. What Meyer does is replace that vision with a more humanized and relatable version of Darwin. No longer is he this "untouchable" man of science, but he is a REAL person. A person who had a childhood, who experienced hard times, who had disagreements with his father, who struggled in school, and who fell hopelessly in love with someone he could never have. This story also included an appropriate historical representation of life in Britain during the 1800s and provided a glimpse into the mindset of someone from this time period. It is important for students--and people in general--to understand the aspects that largely contributed to a community's society and government. In this case, religion played a crucial role in how people conducted their daily activities. Such talk about evolution was seen (and still is by some people) as an abomination of Christ. This historical fiction/biography offers its readers a lot of depth regarding multiple different aspects. You not only learn about one of the world's most famous modern day scientists, but you also learn a lot about the British culture.

George: George Washington, Our Founding Father, by Frank Keating, illustrated by Mike Wimmer
Had I read this book prior to today, I would have written quite a different response. After I interviewed one of my students from last semester, however, I am forced to take a different approach to my interpretation of this picture book. The reason why today's interview has changed my perspective on what students know about history and our nation's foundation is because my 14 year old student, an eighth grader, did not know who George Washington was. Sure, she recognized his name, but she had NO IDEA that he was a president, nevertheless our first president. Now, had you asked me what I thought about this picture book 24 hours ago, I would have said something along the lines that it is too simplistic for middle schoolers. It simplifies the life of George Washington in a mere 31 pages, which I think is somewhat of a disgrace to a man who contributed so much to our nation--contributions that are still visible today. But maybe that's what some students--even 14 year old eighth graders--need. With all these details of key figures constantly being thrown in our face, we often lose sight of the big picture. Maybe that is what happened to my student. Maybe she needs something that is illustrated as realistic and as simplistic as this picture book. I am not one to make excuses for my faults or other people's faults. From my experience as her teacher, she did not make many efforts to learn in class (which I'm sure someone would attribute to her low SES or her upbringing or any other number of factors that can be used to attribute blame). No matter how much effort I put in to teaching her about George Washington, she needs to take the initiative to learn that information. I think a lot of teachers spoon feed their students their material without having the students make the effort themselves to actually learn what is in front of them. At the same time, however, maybe I needed to explore different mediums to present my information. And it's okay if some of those presentations start with a simple picture book. Sometimes students' minds are clouded by all the minor details that they are unable to organize the information in order to create a general understanding of that person.

Rosa Parks, by Eloise Greenfield, illustrated by Eric Marlow
This picture book is definitely for the lower grades of middle school education. It contains mostly simple sentences and presents a watered down account of Rosa Park's contribution to the Civil Rights Movement. I would most likely not incorporate this picture book into my curriculum because it depicts a dispute between whites and blacks that is ultimately resolved and everything is all sunshine and roses. The fact is, many blacks--as well as other minority groups and women--still face issues of discrimination and unfair treatment to this day. In a very racist part of America, Rosa Parks most certainly continued to encounter issues of racial segregation in Montgomery, even after changes were made to the bus companies' policies. Additionally, this book ignored how people of all color contributed their efforts to the Civil Rights Movement. Without many of the key white players, the Movement's progress would have been compromised or delayed. When dealing with issues of race, we are often concerned with issues of being politically correct. But I think when we depict our society post-Civil Rights Movement as colorblind and perfect, we continue to ignore some of the issues that still linger today. I have read several accounts, short stories, and books on Rosa Parks, and considering all the crucial amount of information that is omitted (or "watered down") from this book, I would choose not to use it in my classroom.

"Choosing Not to Read: Understanding Why Some Middle Schoolers Just Say No," by Kylene Beers
This article was definitely useful in understanding how to approach all different types of readers--especially those who say they don't like to read. With the amount of "mindless" activities that are available to us, such as playing video games, watching tv, ect, many people see reading as too much of an effort. Furthermore, many teachers have presented reading as a task, rather than an enjoyment. They propose questions at the end of an expert to measure their students' reading comprehension, but these teachers often ignore the students' perspectives on the reading. I think it is important to understand that students need to feel that their opinions, interpretations, analyses, and perspectives on a particular written work is worthy of acknowledgment or a valuable incorporation into the classroom. Even as a college student, many of my assigned readings are coupled with "boring" questions at the end that measure how much I understood from them. Sure, I can spit back out the same information that the reading told me, but it is more valuable--to both the student and the teacher--to ask what the reader thought of it. That way, the reader is seen as a valuable asset to the learning community.
I also think students should be encouraged to read all types of printed medium. That could consist of newspapers, magazines, books, picture books, comic strips, online articles, and many more. Many prints are disregarded by teachers and treated as if they offer little or no value to its reader. Dense books with tiny text seem to be a unanimous choice when it comes to reading something with literary merit. I believe if we move away from these mindsets, we will see a student body much more interested in reading.

Informational Text Week

Witches!: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer
This relatively short book describes the chronological order of events that would be remembered by history as "The Salem Witch Trials." Having read The Crucible by Arthur Miller, I was pretty familiar with the people and events involved in the witch trials. However, unless someone has read The Crucible or has closely studied Salem, Massachusetts in the late 1600s, this book provides just enough detail for its readers to have a good understanding of the events that transpired without requiring a big time commitment to read it. For middle schoolers, I think this book not only answers questions about an infamous moment in American history, but it also shows how life was lived back then. While the ideas and fears of witchcraft, wizardry, and the Devil may seem ridiculous and illogical today, Puritan communities took them very seriously--as evidenced in the Salem Witch Trials. Out of pure fear, the Salem community was willing to accuse and prosecute "witches," even at the expense of having a fair judicial system. In its description and order of the events, this book allows its readers to recognize the importance of providing strong and incriminating evidence in the legal system. I think middle schoolers would recognize the importance of upholding fair courts, requiring tangible evidence, and question the perspectives of all parties.


The Queen's Progress: An Elizabethan Alphabet, by Celeste Davidson Mannis, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
This picture book describes and illustrates Queen Elizabeth I of England and her royal progression. The pictures are colorful and detailed, showing an accurate depiction of the fashions, landscapes, and people that constituted Elizabethan England. I did not, however, like how idealistic the Queen and England are represented. Having studied Britain's Protestant Reformation at Oxford University, I knew a good bit about the religious controversies that swarmed throughout England. The book mentions that Elizabeth's sister, Mary, threatened the Queen's throne and well being, but it does not explain why. And while Elizabeth was widely popular with her subjects, she was cruel to heretics and Catholics. In a classroom, I would probably use this book to show examples of the fashions worn during this time period, but I would not use it for its informational content. 


The Boston Tea Party, by Russell Freedman, illustrated by Peter Malone
Wow! I loved this book. In my opinion, it does everything an informational picture book should do: be historically accurate, include primary and secondary accounts, have engaging illustrations. Last semester, I taught an 8th grade Georgia studies class, where we spent a solid week on discussing the events that led up to the Revolutionary War. Several students definitely struggled with this unit because it involved so many specific details in several different locations. I definitely wish I had known about this picture book so that could have incorporated it into my lesson on the Boston Tea Party. The picture book not only focuses on the Boston Tea Party, but it describes the events that caused it as well as Britain's reaction to the rebellion. A timeline of events is provided at the end of the book, which is useful when some students still have a hard time connecting the Boston Tea Party with the rest of colonial America. This book is definitely sophisticated enough for 8th graders and would even be useful in a high school American history classroom. I will most certainly be recommending it to anyone studying this time period.