Books for students

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tarafarah7
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Re: Books for students

Post by tarafarah7 »

A couple books that are easy reads (but discuss serious issues) are from The Hazelwood Trilogy by Sharon M. Draper:
-Tears of a Tiger
-Forged by Fire
-Darkness Before Dawn (I haven't read this one by I'm sure it is just as good!!)
She also includes discussion questions, etc on her site for classroom use! Here is the link to her books: http://sharondraper.com/books.asp

I had a class with low level reading (and as a result, a strong dislike for reading). These books saved us and totally transformed their love for reading!! They were begging for more! They kept kids engaged, participating, and because they were only about 150pgs (?), they didn't feel bogged down by a book they felt they could never finish. I definitely recommend these books!
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romantics
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Post by romantics »

The Outsiders is always a good one. The book does receive many mixed reviews so I'm not sure everyone would enjoy reading it.
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Ria
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Post by Ria »

Wonder by R. J Palacio I believe. It's about fifth grade but very moving. I read it for a diversity class in college. It's about a fifth grader with severe facial deformities.
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EdenLove
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Post by EdenLove »

I remember reading Dracula my senior year of high school and loved it. My teacher made it come to life for some parts and a project we did at the end was to set up a Facebook page for a character.
ameliahulse
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Post by ameliahulse »

I would suggest to go for personality development books.
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Blue-siren
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Post by Blue-siren »

I love The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini because it's a beautiful story but at the same time actually shows some real life events that have been happening over in Eastern Europe. Though keep in mind that there could be some triggers in there.
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Jennifer Allsbrook
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Post by Jennifer Allsbrook »

This is such a hard question to answer since so many students tell me, "I hate to read!" This crushes me as an avid reader. I had the discussion today with some of my students about my love of reading and one of them stated he hasn't read a book "since he can't remember when." I wonder if it is the time required or the lack of immediate gratification that leads to this lack of interest in reading. Titles for teenagers that would be appropriate - try some fiction that has been made into movies like I am Legend, Time Line, Jurassic Park, My Sister's Keeper and then have student compare and contrast the movie version of the story to the book. Sorry for the science twist, but these are the titles that I use with students to engage discussion.
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Susan Goldner
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Post by Susan Goldner »

I think Jodi Picoult's new novel, Small Great Things, would be an excellent choice for students. It deals with racism. Both my husband and I read it. Picoult does a great job of getting into the heads and POV's of all characters--including the white supremacist. It showed me that racism can be very subtle and that even when we think we aren't, that we can't possible be a racist, Picoult shows us ways in which I suspect most of us are. Both my husband (also and educator) and I thought it would be a great selection of high school English classes
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Post by Psychedelia »

I already posted this in the YA section, but this novel doesn't necessarily fall into that category. So I'll post it here again~

I absolutely loved The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez. It definitely falls between the gray area of young adult/fiction. It deals with the hardships that immigrants in the US, particularly from South America (legal or illegal) face on a daily basis. I think that this a rather important read considering the way things are today.

That being said, I could not put the book down once I started reading it. The book has multiple first person POVs. They all have their own stories, but their stories also tie into the other stories in the book. This is what made it really addicting for me, and I finished the book in one sitting.
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Post by sunghwan »

How about Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand?

Also, In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park.

I had some young readers who really liked those.
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Post by cjohns105 »

The books I enjoyed the most during my school years were, Roots by Alex Haley, and The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (which extends into a trilogy, though the first stands alone just fine). Neither of these were assigned, I read them on my own, but they were both extremely enjoyable. I think historical fiction is usually a good pairing for students. In the case of Roots, the book itself is much too long to study as a class; perhaps it could be an interesting tie in as a source or basis for a project of some sort.
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Ella1995
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Post by Ella1995 »

Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King is very gripping, The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, or part of it, and Bossypants by Tina Fey (it's absolutely hilarious but sometimes slightly inappropriate. I think high schoolers would really like it!). Thank you for what you do!
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Post by Insightsintobooks »

I enjoyed Great Expectations by Dickens. If I remember correctly, I think it was a well liked one from the ones we read.
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Annelore Trujillo
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Post by Annelore Trujillo »

A book that I really enjoyed when I was in school was Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. I think I read it about 4 different times from elementary school to high school.
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Post by ccschmidt »

"Anna Karenina" is an engaging, thought-provoking novel that is a much smoother and more interesting read than most classics. "American Pastoral" deals with a lot of adult themes, but high school is a good time to be exposed to the harsher side of the world and to start thinking about society, humanity, etc. in a more critical and analytical way! The novel would definitely feed plenty of class discussions (although they might get a bit heated!), as well as providing a springboard for a variety of potential projects and/or essay topics. For example, you could have students discuss if/when it is permissible to use violence to achieve a goal or to draw attention to a cause. You could have them research about what makes a good parent, and whether the parents in the book are responsible for what happened to their children (this could even lead into the great nature vs. nurture debate). You could have them research the Vietnam War for the historical context of the story, and research Philip Roth himself to see how his life affected his portrayal of the different characters/ideas in the novel. The possibilities are truly endless!
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