ESL Literature Circles; The Hunger Games Wets Appetite for Fiction
My students need exposure to high interest, vocabulary rich fiction. We will form a book club, dive into vocabulary, discussion, and elements of a story using "The Hunger Games" set as the foundation.
My students are resettled adult immigrants and refugees seeking a better life and educational opportunities not accessible to them in their home countries. The students now attend a school located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The school offers students the opportunity to take basic English courses in preparation to segue into mainstream classes and begin work towards a high school diploma. The major groups in my class are Sudanese, Burmese, Congolese, Eritrean, Mauritanian, Indian, Honduran, Guatemalan, Mexican, and others.
Many of the students are starting their education from scratch with zero credit and some are illiterate, even in their home language.
Despite many obstacles, the hostile political opinions toward immigrants/refugees, financial difficulties, and low beginning levels of literacy, these people are dedicated to changing their lives through educational advancement. They believe that they deserve education, professions, and a bright future for themselves and their families.
My Project
We will use the "The Hunger Games" box sets as the basis for a literature circle/book club. The main objective of the book club will be to expose ESL learners to the caliber of literature they will encounter on their state examinations required to graduate from high school. The books will also serve as a foundation to learn new words and use context clues to determine new meanings of words. There are more practical uses for the skills students will gain from these materials as well.
Outside of class, the larger vocabulary students will gain from the books will help them function in the English speaking world of work, shopping, and other daily tasks.
Through the reading circles students will learn to speak with more confidence, clarity, and precision as they practice reading the books aloud and creating and answering discussion questions together as a group.
To aid in comprehension, I also included a Spanish version of the book to help aid in student comprehension and to continue to develop high levels of literacy not only in English, but also in the learner's first language.
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