Every year I look forward to the 3 weeks we spend reading a class novel. Kids who can often be found slumped over and unengaged are suddenly asking, "Can we read just 5 more minutes?" Or, the best, when the bell rings as we are finishing a chapter and the whole class cries "noooooo!" in unison.
My students come from families that face economic hardships, racial barriers, and class barriers.
These students often have trouble connecting to what happens in a classroom. But class novels are ALWAYS their favorite. Kids love stories, and there is nothing more beautiful in this world than seeing their faces engaged and listening as we work through a class novel. I teach at the most diverse school in our county. We have populations of Russian, Hispanic, Moldovan, rural Caucasian, and African-American Students. Unfortunately, one of the unifying factors of these students is their poverty. At our school, over 70% of students are on free or reduced lunch. They are entrenched in a culture of poverty, which means they often come to us without the academic foundations needed to succeed at school. It can be very difficult to engage students who are dealing with so many concerns outside of school.
My Project
Novel studies are always the most engaging units of the year. Using an entire novel allows students to practice skills that short stories and nonfiction just don't provide an opportunity for; in a novel, you can watch a character develop over a longer time period, you can trace a theme throughout an entire text, you can develop reading stamina,and you can compare and contrast characters with more depth, among other things. My students will read individually and in partners, practicing the skills we are learning in class. We will use the novel to discuss things like figuring out context clues and analyzing the interconnections of story elements (for example, how the setting shapes the character). Most importantly, we will discuss elements of humanity. What makes us who we are? What is our purpose in life? What do we do when we lose a piece of ourselves? How do we help others?
The novel Counting by 7s will fit into our unit on social justice.
The themes of acceptance and celebration of diversity are much needed lessons at our school.
This book incorporates both. We, currently, have a very limited set of books in our library-the sets are all much older (often meaning not as relevant to our students), and not aligned with common core. They are too easy for a 7th grade reading level. My students need a more complex text to challenge them. The book's protagonist is a girl with special needs, and my students will find her relatable.
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