A couple of my favorite parts of teaching students in special education are when they can be sincerely excited about getting to read (or participate in) something that their peers in a general education class are jealous of and when they are proud to be learning something that their friends don't necessarily get the chance to learn in a typical classroom.
My students range from 7th-12th grade, and they all have unique and special learning needs.
Many perform below grade level while others are exceptional in certain areas. The students all come from very different environments and socioeconomic backgrounds.
My Project
Teenagers go through some really adult situations, but don't have the experience to navigate through them alone. I'm looking to stock my classroom library with books that address rape, racism, mental illness, drugs, and school shootings in a delicate and school appropriate manner. I teach in small groups, so I would love to use the books as novel studies in our English and Literature classes.
Reading these books lets them know that they aren't alone in facing these tough topics and my hope is to have some healthy dialogue as we read.
I'm hoping to order Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas , Turtles All the Way Down by John Green, Go Ask Alice by Anonymous (Beatrice Sparks), This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp.
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