As a high school teacher I'm seeing a trend in what students will and won't read. They pretty much won't read ANYTHING. But this. My students, male and female, Caucasian and Hispanic, loved this book.
Burned Alive by Souad.
Teachers were talking about it. The librarian was talking about it. Everyone was talking about it. Kids were discussing this book around the school and in other classrooms, other teachers were having to tell the students to put down that book they were reading for my class and pay attention to biology, psychology, math.
My co-worker found this book browsing amazon.com and we both read it and loved it. Our librarian, writing lab-lady, and another older lady in my department thought it was scandalous and so we worried about teaching it. I sent parent permission slips home to moms before we began the book, and gave a few other non-fiction selection options, but the kids READ.
They read! They discussed! They reacted! They shared it with friends and family members! THEY READ A BOOK. I could let them sit and read for an hour straight and they did! All I had to say is discuss - and they would discuss! Classroom magic.
One of the things they loved about this book is that it is real. I'm finding that this younger generation of readers is pulling toward non-fiction + a little edgy. They want to know what is happening in the real world. What happens to people their own age around the world.
I only wish they were as excited to be reading To Kill a Mockingbird, which they are NOT reading. It's like pulling teeth to get them to read that book.
5 comments:
Why don't kids love To Kill a Mockingbird? I will never understand . . . I'm going to request this one from the library. Thanks for the tip. Have you read My Forbidden Face? It's a first person account of a teenage girl who grew up in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Also a good pick. My kids dug it. The only book I've ever taught that had kids getting in trouble for reading outside of class was The Hunger Games. Best teaching decision of my LIFE.
I'll add that to my list of to-read - now in the hundreds! It is so great that you take the time to figure out solutions to help your kids actually love learning!
Can't wait to read this! Thanks for the tip!
your bolg is very beautiful.
Problem is - the book is a fake. Without question, many of the experiences did not take place, and an examination of the author's interviews shows that she alters her story every time she tells it. The article "Burning Questions" by Therese Taylor documents some of this.
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