My students need 50 copies of James Dashner's best-selling dystopian novel, "The Maze Runner" to learn the value of societal reflection through reading and writing.
"When it comes to individual destiny, there is no power greater in the universe than the conviction of the human soul to make a choice." -James Dashner
Many incoming students tout their utter loathing of reading, stating that it "doesn't matter" or it's boring.
But with the right books, we can make it matter to them again. Their education will have value to them because they will have directed it. At the end of the school year, I hope to have aided my students in developing a sense of self-ownership over their learning process. The road to success in this is to establish a desire to read independently.
Many students across the country don't truly buy in to the educational process. Faced time and again with crumbling materials and a lack of support at home, these students have lost the desire to reach for any type of success. Lacking trust and understanding with adults, these students struggle with what may be deemed by most as a "simple" task. By having manageable, relevant, and interesting materials like contemporary novels, students enter a classroom that is supportive, engaging, and full of opportunity.
My Project
These books will be used to complete both independent and class-wide reading projects. These novels will serve as a way to gradually increase their literacy skills and overall reading ability. We will draw connections between informational texts, poetry, and other pieces of literature that mirror similar themes and concepts prevalent in our own lives. Students will practice critical reading, thinking, and writing skills in a relaxed atmosphere.
This novel will be used as an anchor text in a dystopian novel unit, focusing on the power and value of societal reflection through reading and writing. We will study authors’ tools and purposes, to understand how this is best achieved and is most effective. We will compare and contrast past dystopian novels such as Fahrenheit 451, to this novel. We will be looking at how authors, decades apart, saw two different, yet similarly troubled societies. We will clarify these ideas and make sense of “old” concepts in a new world.
At the beginning of each semester, I wish for my students to know that I understand their struggle for relevant and engaging materials.
By presenting them with books that are manageable and exciting and then providing them a relaxed, low-stakes atmosphere in which to discover them, I hope to re-cultivate that lost spark for learning. While the classics will always be important in literature, contemporary novels have their place as well: as a gateway and helping hand to independent learning.
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