Whole Class Novels That Reflect Students' Lives and Experiences
Help me give my students a heartfelt story that will speak to their own lives and experiences. The Book of Unknown Americans will serve as the culmination of our unit on the American Dream.
James Baldwin said, "You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive.” Help my students celebrate reading as a window to the world that sustains us throughout our hardships and journeys in life.
My large group of culturally, linguistically, and intellectually diverse 11th-grade students in Brooklyn are talented, brilliant, and headed towards remarkable, fulfilling futures.
They are extremely motivated and working towards impressive and exciting goals. Above all, I hope they take away an emotionally and creatively sustaining reading practice that will remain with them long after they've left my classroom.
My Project
The Book of Unknown Americans will serve as the culmination of a semester spent exploring the American Dream. The text will help students build their close reading and analytical skills.
The final assessment will give students a chance to interview the "Unknown Americans" in their own lives and communities, and self-publish the interviews in a class journal.
The Book of Unknown Americans is a heartfelt and engaging story that deals in themes that will speak to my students' own lives and experiences and will help nurture their love of reading. This book will inspire and excite kids, and bring joy and deep reflection into our classroom community.
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