My students need independent reading books such as "Swimming Upstream," "The Korean Cinderella," and " Love That Dog," from the genres of myths, poetry, and sci fi to expand their reading horizons.
Do you remember when you first fell in love with reading? Middle school students are right on the edge of either loving or hating books. One of the joys of my life is watching a student change from "I hate reading," to "Do you have more like this one?"
I teach an amazingly diverse population of young adults.
There are over 20 ethnicities represented at my school. I teach a mixture of poverty, middle class, and upper-middle class students. More than 50% of my students receive free or reduced lunch. As a whole, they are awkward and self-conscious with glints of childhood innocence behind the tough facade.
My Project
My students need independent reading books such as "Swimming Upstream," "The Korean Cinderella," and " Love That Dog," from the genres of myths, poetry, and sci fi to expand their reading horizons. I believe that books are the doorway to understanding for teenagers. Books can answer the, "Am I normal?" and "Does anyone understand what I'm going through?" questions that consume 7th and 8th graders. Books also open new worlds to students and help them look beyond themselves. By reading a wide variety of genres students develop a greater "literate mind" and develop a better sense of their own reading preferences.
I am challenging my students to read 30 books and 9 different genres this year.
I know they can do it if they have access to a wide variety of quality books. My classroom library is lean on sci fi, poetry, and mythology. Please help us reach our goal of each student reading 30 books in one school year.
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