STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

dixiegirl · BCBG

RE: Literary Nerds

kiwi · BCBG

wow, i would've loved my junior english teacher if he'd put the big sleep on the reading list

not sure how much literary importance it carries, but it's still an awesome read and a good variety from all the other great, sometimes heavier, classics

kenzie · Chanel

Here are my picks:

The Great Gatsby- This is probably my favorite book of all time. I just love it.

The Scarlett Letter- A little slow,imo, but I think it's good to have read it at least once in your life and this may be the only time that these kids are required to read it.

Death of Salesman- Just b/c I like it!

The Crucible

-- Edited by NylaBelle at 16:43, 2005-07-22

esquiress · Marc Jacobs

how many do you get to pick? the only for sure pick i have is The Great Gatsby.

halleybird · Hermes

Thank you SO much for your help, guys! I am waiting on my dept. head to let me know what our book inventory really is -- I can cajole them to buy a class set of 1 or 2 of these, but not all of them.

Of course, teachers are impossible to get ahold of in the summer. Just to clarify, I should have said 11th grade, not juniors, to be clear.

The other thing I am thinking of is to teach some of these as excerpts, since we don't have time for all of them. I have to teach the class as a survey, so I can't do, say, all Modernist novels.

Tara - thank you for reminding me of The Good Earth. I forgot all about that.

janey & jacL - Great idea -- I think that, in addition to these books, I am requiring each kid to keep one novel of their own choosing with them at all times, to be used for silent reading, at the end of tests, or whenever else I run out of things for them to do. I don't care if it takes them all year to finish it, as long as they're reading. My only requirement will be that the author is American, so I don't care if it's Steinbeck or Stephen King.

HeatherLynn - Wuthering Heights is one of my all-time favorites. But Bronte was British, and I have to stick with American lit to coincide with the American history they teach in 11th grade. It's too bad, though -- the British lit teachers hate it, so they don't teach it at our school.

deadlyjane -- The Giver is amazing! I adore it & I would teach it if I could. But I think they read it in 8th grade.

sfclinevandy -- Thanks for the ideas. They do read Mockingbird in 9th grade -- it's actually the last book I taught. I forgot about Tennessee Williams, though, thanks. I am going to check on Huck Finn, since I know some school districts banned it (not sure if ours did).

nunzi- I am not positive that Catcher is banned, per se (I am sure it's in our school library), but I am not sure our district will want me to teach it, because of all the language and the 'adult' sort of themes. Our district is sh*t-scared of parents and we are in a really conservative community.

ILoveChoo - Who wrote The Awakening? I never read it -- will have to look it up.

Jen - Thanks for reminding me of the African-American writers; our school is very predominantly white, and these kids don't have the exposure they should. That's part of the reason I want to do Their Eyes Were Watching God. I also have a long excerpt from Douglass's Narrative planned for them, too -- I did a Douglass excerpt with my freshmen a few years ago and they loved it.

I SO appreciate your help. If anyone else has more ideas, keep them coming! I adore American Lit.

jah · Dooney & Bourke

The Great Gatsby and A Farewell to Arms (best Hemingway IMO!!).

jaymiek · Coach

halleybird wrote:

ILoveChoo - Who wrote The Awakening? I never read it -- will have to look it up.

I'm not ILoveChoo, but The Awakening is by Kate Chopin. I read it in college and loved it.

-- Edited by jaymiek at 14:48, 2005-07-23

Maddie · Coach

Oooh this sounds like so much fun to set up!

Ok, here's what I would do. Have a few books that are required reading and then compile a list of books that they can choose from and have them read a few of those. That way they can choose and read some obscure books but the school doesn't have to buy a class set.

Here are the books I would require just cause they're classics everyone should read (and I love them)...
Catcher in the Rye
The Grapes of Wrath
The Old Man and the Sea
The Great Gatsby

I just looked through this bookshelf and these are some I'd put on a possible reading list...
The Awakening
Ishmael
A Prayer for Owen Meany
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
A Separate Peace
The Things They Carried
Watership Down
Flowers for Algernon
A Streetcar Named Desire

That said I think you should have them read the books you love best because those are the ones that you will teach the best. But definitely do Steinbeck because I think he is so American and my favorite author. Also I think it'd be cool to do like a little David Sedaris or something if you're doing excerpts. Just to mix it up and he's a good comedic writer. If your school would allow that.

kenzie · Chanel

Maddie wrote:

I just looked through this bookshelf and these are some I'd put on a possible reading list... The Awakening Ishmael A Prayer for Owen Meany A Tree Grows in Brooklyn A Separate Peace The Things They Carried Watership Down Flowers for Algernon A Streetcar Named Desire That said I think you should have them read the books you love best because those are the ones that you will teach the best. But definitely do Steinbeck because I think he is so American and my favorite author. Also I think it'd be cool to do like a little David Sedaris or something if you're doing excerpts. Just to mix it up and he's a good comedic writer. If your school would allow that.

Oh! OH! A Tree Grows in Brooklyn- I love that book!!!!

laken1 · Hermes

I feel so stupid - we didn't have to read hardly any of these. I think I need to take a literature class!!! LOL. Even though it really does make me want to get "edumacated" - maybe we should do a stylethread "classics" book club!!!

I remember having to read The Scarlett Letter
Great Gatsby
Grapes of Wrath

but i swear I can't remember what else they made us read - this is so sad!! (it has been 15 yrs though)

-- Edited by laken1 at 14:34, 2005-07-24

HeatherLynn · Gucci

janey831 wrote:

hehe HeatherLynn, Bronte is and English writer

Guess I should have read that it was American Lit. Hehe. I'm on the ball now though!!!

Seashells · Dooney & Bourke

One of my favs- although he may be English not American

Brave New World- Aldous Huxley (I love political literature like A clockwork orange, 1984, Candide etc).

Pointing out propaganda and moral issues in government always awakened me in class. I guess I am just a conspiracy theorist.

halleybird · Hermes

Maddie wrote:

Oooh this sounds like so much fun to set up! Ok, here's what I would do. Have a few books that are required reading and then compile a list of books that they can choose from and have them read a few of those. That way they can choose and read some obscure books but the school doesn't have to buy a class set. Here are the books I would require just cause they're classics everyone should read (and I love them)... Catcher in the Rye The Grapes of Wrath The Old Man and the Sea The Great Gatsby I just looked through this bookshelf and these are some I'd put on a possible reading list... The Awakening Ishmael A Prayer for Owen Meany A Tree Grows in Brooklyn A Separate Peace The Things They Carried Watership Down Flowers for Algernon A Streetcar Named Desire That said I think you should have them read the books you love best because those are the ones that you will teach the best. But definitely do Steinbeck because I think he is so American and my favorite author. Also I think it'd be cool to do like a little David Sedaris or something if you're doing excerpts. Just to mix it up and he's a good comedic writer. If your school would allow that.

that's a great idea, Maddie. I am requiring them to read at least one outside book this year, even if it takes them the whole year. I am not making them do any book reports, etc. on it -- they just have to read it when I ask them to (in class).

I think I am going to start another thread for outside book suggestions. Thank you!