I teach two classes of remedial ninth grade students and four classes of AP Language and Composition. In the past, AP Language classes have included a fairly limited demographic. This year, I took extra steps to recruit a diverse population of students, inviting students who haven’t previously participated in the honors program.
Many of my students are reluctant readers, even my AP students.
All my students come from disparate social, cultural, economic backgrounds. It is difficult to find high interest novels for teenagers who often lack the literacy skills required to read grade level texts.
My Project
"If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking." --Haruki Murakami from "Norwegian Wood”
Because my students come from disparate social, cultural, economic backgrounds, I have let them choose books that speak to them.
These are books my students want to read because my students chose each of these titles. They chose them because they are all books written with a rhetorical purpose, books that will help them make sense of current social issues and problems they are facing. These high interest novels will help my students (who often lack the literacy skills required to read grade level texts) engage with books and ideas in a meaningful way.
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