Ending with Novels

"Miss, I'm going to keep this journal forever," said C___. "It has my thoughts and my poems, and it has quotes I like from the book we're reading. That's special."

My SOPH LA students are reading Bronx Masquerade, and I've asked them to do a collection of activities to help them connect to the themes and message of the book. On days when we read 15-20 pages, the students have to do a double entry: choose one quote to copy into their notebook journals and respond to with at least one paragraph of thoughts, reactions and feelings. To help them locate their quote of choice, I cut up post it notes into strips and passed them out in cups. The students had them on hand for when something sounded particularly moving or interesting. At least twice a week, I also have them write Free writes where they fill up a page in their journals with prose on whatever they like. To connect with the poetry in the book, the students will also write at least seven poems with themes similar to those in the book. So far, they've written a "Shape" poem about their secret identity, two "What if" poems about social issues, and a "Where I am from" poem.

Some of the students have not embraced this "easy project grade," and have not completed various assignments. Most students, though, are enjoying this break from the standardized format and the opportunity to express themselves more creatively. To grade their work, I do a journal check each week to check for completion. At the end of the novel, we'll have an "Open Mike" day during which they can share one or more of their best journal entries (poem, free write, whatever). After that day, we'll be watching Freedom Writers together, and I'll use those couple of free days to read the complete journals of those students who want to share with me. :) When I do journal checks, many of the students are excited to show me their entries and want me to read them. They are so proud of their words!

In my JR LA class, we are almost done reading Of Mice and Men. I always enjoy reading this novella with my classes because the students really get attached to Lennie and are excited about the story. Every day, they walk in and ask, "Are we reading today?!" If I say yes, they light up; if I say no, they wilt and say something like: "...Oh. But, I want to know what happens to Lennie." Usually, when I read out loud in class, it's a struggle to keep everyone interested, and I often lose a few students to sleep. During this novel, though, I can read straight through an entire chapter and they are glued to the page the entire time!

I wish I could find more books that the students love like these two, especially for SOPH LA. The choices for that level are all either too long or too complex for sophomores to truly connect to. Worse, the choices for "world lit" are mostly by American or British authors! I might ask the Media Center specialists for some help in coming up with some new choices.