[LM_NET] HIT: 10th grade novel

[Julie Dahlhauser <juldahl@GMAIL.COM>]

My question dealt with finding a novel for the 10th-grade teachers to use as
a unit of study. They were ready for a change from Lord of the Flies and A
Separate Peace and wanted something more multicultural, if possible.


Many thanks to all who took time to send their suggestions. I think the
teachers are leaning toward Of Mice and Men and Things Fall Apart. Because
it was recommended, I finally read Speak. I liked it, but the high school
culture it describes is not much like our urban, Southern, historically
Black school, and I don't think the students here would relate to it. Elie
Wiesel's Night is studied in 12th grade here.


I received links to recommended reading lists, such as this excellent one:
http://www.haisln.org/2007%209-10%20Grades.pdf

But the trick is to find a book that will lend itself to class discussion
and analysis at the grade level.

I will pass this compiled list along to my teachers, and again, I truly
appreciate the wisdom and experience shared here.

Julie Dahlhauser, librarian
Jackson Central-Merry High School
Jackson, Tennessee
juldahl@gmail.com

Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck
The Pearl, Steinbeck
The Chocolate War, Cormier
Ender's Game, Card
Ender's Shadow, Card

**********************

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle

Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
It's not about the Bike by Lance Armstrong
Where Rivers Change Direction by Mark Spragg
*******************************

iWe have done the following in 10th grade:  A Connecticut Yankee in King
Arthur's Court, The Pearl, Night, and When Legends Die.  I know that most of
these are classics and we try to keep to these although teachers can insert
their own favorites.  Hope this helps.
*****************************
What about Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson or Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher?
***************************
I don't think you should rule out Lord of the Flies right now. With the
current tv show, Kid Nation, LOTF is very relevant right now.
****************************
Maybe Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut? Its a short book, widely
regarded as a classic. He is the kind of writer that gets teens hooked on
literature. He died recently, too.
***********************************
I don't know that Octavian Nothing is a great choice for 10th graders,
although I did love the book.  The voice in Octavian is obtuse, more suited
to seniors than sophomores.  Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is much more
approachable, very engaging, appropriate to this age, and the voice is
incredible.

I added the Willa Cather titles.  Too often we overlook her as an author,
yet she gives the reader such a great sense of what life was like for those
settling the plains states - sort of Little House on the Prairie for adults,
only better.

My favorite author, James Thurber, once wrote a list of titles he wanted his
daughter's teacher to assign her.  That list included many of the titles we
have our high schoolers read (The Great Gatsby, The Sun Also Rises).  It
also included a few titles I found intriguing:

*Gentle Julia* by Booth Tarkington
Joseph Hergesheimer: *Linda Condon* and *Java Head*
* Invitation to the Waltz by *Rosamond Lehmann
*The Bitter Tea of General Yen* by Grace Zaring Stone
*This Simian World* by Clarence Jr. Day
 ***********************************

Our 10th graders read THE CHOSEN by Chaim Potok.  It is an old novel, but it
never ceases to amaze me how much the students love it. Some of them read it
in one night.
***************************************

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