I teach a diverse group of 8th grade students. They come from various backgrounds, socioeconomic levels, families, gender identities, and reading abilities. Some are wealthy and have stable homes, and others have been removed from their home because of unsuitable living conditions. Some read at a high school level, and some can barely comprehend a simple paragraph.
There is never a dull moment when you are surrounded all day by 13 and 14 year olds!
One thing they all have in common is the wonderful roller coaster that is adolescence. They are overflowing with emotions and hormones. One minute there may be fists in the air and tears streaming down cheeks, and the next can contain hugs and deep belly laughs. Regardless of background and current emotional state, all of these teens are just looking to feel that they belong, and want to be heard and understood. I strive to make my classroom a place where this happens.
My Project
This group of 8th graders need books that are current and relevant to their lives. They need books with characters they can relate to and dealing with some of the same issues they are. We need a variety of books in the classroom- books with main characters of varying races, socioeconomic statuses, gender identification, and wellness.
Through these novels, I can reach students who may otherwise feel like an outcast, and those students who can't directly relate may become more tolerant and accepting.
One title deals with a Mexican-American family and one teen's struggle to live up to her mother's standards of the perfect "Mexican" daughter while still assimilating into the American lifestyle. Another follows the journey of a transgender teen who has left her hometown to begin a new life in a new school and has to figure out when, how, and if she should share her secret with her new friends and possible love-interest. A third book dives into the world of mental illness and a teen who struggles just to get through the day living with OCD and agoraphobia. The fourth book deals with police brutality in a poor black neighborhood and how one teen finds her voice and speaks up against the injustices she sees on a daily basis. I have ordered multiple copies of each book so students can read them in literature circles - incorporating discussion and activities around the different themes in each book.
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