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ENGLISH
Volume 16, No.3 • January 2011
The professional
journal of the
California
Association
of Teachers of
English
Features
CATE2011
Convention
Preview
In This Issue
i
n
r
lifo
Ca
6
English Language Arts Standards: Not Just for College and
Career – Literacy for Life
Lisa Davidson
a
ENGLISH
January 2011
Volume 16 • Number 3
8
Special Five page-section on CATE2011,
including full list of sessions, speakers,
hotel details, and reservation form
13
Selecting Books for Teens: The More the Merrier
Teri S. Lesesne
17
Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned
Worth an Exploration
Thomas Roddy
18
Young Adults’ Choices: A Popular List of
Outstanding Novels
Rosemary Chance
20
Connecting Teens to Great Reads - Web 2.0
Melinda Rench
21
Tar Beach: A Faith Ringgold Story for Young Readers
Hank Klein
CATE appreciates the sponsors of CATE 2011
California Teachers Association
Southland Council of Teachers of English
Upper Council of Teachers of English
Capitol Council of Teachers of English
Greater San Diego Council of Teachers of English
FACET- Fresno Area Council of English Teachers
TUCATE- Tulare County Association of Teachers of English
Kern Association of Teachers of English
Central California Association of Teachers of English
Features and
Columns
President’s Perspective – 4 Editor’s Column – 5
Call for MSS – 5 CATE 2011 Program and All
details - 8 CATE Elections – 9
James Gray Memorial
Pre-Convention Workshops – 24
The Artist of this Issue:
Teresa Madore
Shown on the cover: Motherboard
teremado@madawaskaschools.org
Teresa Doucette Madore is a self-taught mixed-media/collage artist who is a high
school English teacher by day. Her works have been published in Somerset Studio,
Somerset Gallery, Somerset Home, Haute Handbag, Altered Couture, and Art Doll
Quarterly. She enjoys infusing the fine arts into her teaching..
“I find beauty in deconstructed, rusty, torn and faded fragments,” she says. “Bits
and pieces of ephemera and detritus find new meaning in my mixed-media collages
and altered objects.
“If I had to choose one word to describe my work, it would be multi-dimensional.
Inspired by found objects, text and textures, my process is mostly instinctual and
involves gathering bits of paper, photos, inks, paint, broken jewelry, and whatever else
appeals at the moment. Sometime I sketch an idea, but mostly serendipity reigns.
Layers of paint and paper are applied to please the eye and after, these layers are
scrubbed, stripped, aged and torn. The result is a piece that allows the eye to wander
to discover new meanings. My aim is for my art to evoke as many feelings and
associations as there are viewers of my pieces. I want the viewer to step closer to the
piece to see what else can be discovered. “
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF
TEACHERS OF ENGLISH
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President – Charleen Delfino (2012)
Past President – Robert Chapman (2012)
Vice-President – Liz McAninch (2012)
Secretary – Carrie Danielson (2012)
Treasurer – Anne Fristrom, (2012)
Council Representatives
Capitol (CCTE): Angus Dunstan • Central (CCCTE): Susan Dillon
Fresno (FACET): Shannan Taylor • Kern: Kim Flachmann
Redwood RCTE): None • San Diego (GSDCTE): Lisa Ledri-Aguilar
Southland (SCTE): Nancy Himel • Tulare (TUCATE): Carol Surabian
Upper: Shelly Medford
Members-at-Large
Denise Mikkonen (Elementary, 2012)
Karen Brown (Middle, 2011)
Jim Kliegl (Secondary, 2012)
Cheryl Hogue Smith (College, 2011)
Jill Hamilton-Bunch (Small Council, 2012)
Richard Hockensmith (Unspecified, 2012)
Ron Lauderbach (Secondary, 2011)
Chairpersons
Membership Chair – Joan Williams (2011)
Policy–Jim Klegl (2012)
Conventions
Convention Coordinator : Punky Fristrom
Registrar: Edwin Hase • Exhibit Manager: Tammie Harvey
CATE 2011 Convention Chair: Michelle Berry
CATE 2012 Convention Chair: Kim Flachmann
Communications and Liaison
CATENet Moderator: Cindy Conlin
CATEWebmaster: Cindy Conlin • CTA Liaison: Debra Martinez
CCCC Liaison: Bill Younglove • CYRM Liaisons: Stacey Sklar
CWP Liaison: Jayne Marlink
CALIFORNIA ENGLISH
Editor:
Design:
Printing:
Carol Jago
1843 Erie, LLC, (310) 663.9905
Sundance Press, Tucson, (800) 528.4827
STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND
CIRCULATION. CALIFORNIA ENGLISH (ISSN # 0279-1161)
is published five times each year in the months of September,
November, February, April and June by the California Association
of Teachers of English (CATE), P.O. Box 23833, San Diego, CA
92193-3833. Annual CATE dues of $40 include $35 for a one-year
subscription. Known office of publication is 3714 Dixon Place, San
Diego, CA 92107-3739. Periodicals Postage Paid at San Diego,
CA. The Editor is Carol Jago, 16040 Sunset Blvd., Pacific
Palisades, CA 90272.
POSTMASTER Send address changes to California English, P.O. Box
23833, San Diego, CA 92193-3833.
ADVERTISING
ADVERTISING/EXHIBIT RATES AND INFORMATION
MAY BE OBTAINED FROM
JEFF WILSON , 19 RICHARDSON ROAD
NOVATO, CA 94949.
PHONE: 415.883.3301; FAX: 415-593-7606;
E-MAIL: EXHIBITS@CATEEXHIBITS.ORG
P
resident’s
erspective
n September I attended
the 59th Annual
Asilomar Conference on
the beautiful Monterey
Peninsula. I have attended
at least twenty-five of these
conferences, each leaving
me personally refreshed and
professionally renewed. At
Charleen Delfino
this unique conference, I
joined a group on Friday evening and stayed with them
throughout the weekend attending five sessions delving
into a topic of interest sharing expertise, perspectives
and experiences with other teachers. Refreshment and
enrichment came from attending groups, one that
helped me look at Fellini’s La Strada, with new
appreciation; another where we worked on personal
writing that culminated with an open mic session, and
another where each year the works of a Nobel winner
that I might never teach is read prior to the weekend
and then discussed, questioned and analyzed. I read
and shared insights into the works of Kazuo Ishiguro,
J.M. Goetzee and Carlos Fuentes. Certainly these
sessions left me refreshed and ready to face the
challenges of another school year.
Other years I addressed issues that would directly
influence my daily teaching. I attended sessions that
gave me new views and fresh ways to approach the
teaching of authors—Steinbeck, Shakespeare, Hurston,
and Gordimer--that I had taught many times or those
that I might be teaching for the first time. Several years
ago I found a session on graphic novels captivating; this
new concept expanded my view of what is literature and
how to make it accessible to my students. Still other
sessions addressed new issues and policies. Groups that
addressed the CAP Test, scaffolding for second language
students, site-based decision making, development and
testing of standards brought hope at times and great
concern at others.
Attendees at the conferences, whether new to the
profession or seasoned veterans, found the opening and
closing speakers to be engaging and thought-provoking
keynote speakers. I was inspired by Dorothy Allison,
Francisco Jimenez, and Robert Hass; challenged by
Ishmael Reed and Gary Soto; entertained and instructed
by Gail Tsykiyama and Tony Hillerman; invigorated by
Taylor Mali and Dave Eggers.
While the Asilomar Conference is unique in several
I
aspects, it is not the only worthwhile conference for
teachers to attend. For 52 years, the CATE Convention
has offered teachers valuable professional development
opportunities. Beginning on Thursday and continuing
until Sunday afternoon, the days are filled with keynote
speakers, teacher demonstrations, panel presentations,
teacher awards and recognitions and a vast number of
exhibits from publishers and other vendors.
Although the basic concept of the CATE Convention
has remained, some changes have occurred over the
years. One change in the past few years is the addition
of the Thursday Pre-Convention day sponsored by the
California Writing Project. After selecting a theme, all
sessions and speakers expand that theme and all
sessions are presented by California Writing Project
Teacher Consultants.
This year’s convention will take place in Sacramento
the weekend of February 10-13. It will provide many
opportunities for personal and professional growth and
teachers will also be able to get units of credit from
Sacramento State University. Attendees will meet with
teachers from across the state discovering the areas of
differences among regions, schools, teachers and
students; however, they will be most aware that there
are many more similarities than there are differences
among us. Come to Sacramento and attend the CATE
Convention; you will be professionally renewed and
personally refreshed.
I have highlighted two opportunities for growth—
Asilomar Conference and the CATE Convention; but there
are others. There are nine councils within CATE. Central
Council co-sponsors The Asilomar Conference in the fall
and spring regional workshops such as the Steinbeck
symposium at San Jose State University. Southland
Council sponsors a Fall and Spring Conference.
Many teachers have benefited from attending the
Fall and Spring Promising Practices Conferences and the
Lake Arrowhead Retreat sponsored by the Greater San
Diego Council. If you go to the CATE web page at
CATEWEB.org you will discover information about the
CATE Convention and if you click on “Councils” you will
learn about the activities of regional councils.
To cope the with the many stresses brought on by
the disastrous economic times, including reduced
salaries, larger class sizes, and increased high stakes
objective testing, it is more vital than ever that we reach
out to one another, that we find ways to extend our
learning communities, and to reinvigorate ourselves.
Well-developed conferences and conventions planned by
dedicated teachers are one of the most effective ways to
reach this goal. See you in Sacramento!
– California English • Vol. 16.3 • January 2011 • page 4 –
From the
Editor
Carol Jago
his issue of California English is
quite unlike any you have ever seen.
You will find detailed information
about the upcoming CATE convention
including a registration form. You can
also go to www.cateweb.org to register and reserve a hotel room in
Sacramento. I look forward to seeing you there.
The focus on what students should be reading. Response to this call
for manuscripts was so overwhelming that we will spread them across
both this January and the March issue. There is still time to submit an
article of your own recommending your favorites. It pleases me very
much that so many have chimed in with ideas. It is a subject very close to
my heart, one that I reflected upon in my NCTE president’s address.
Unfortunately too often, teaching literature has been an occasion for
teachers who know and love books to showcase what they love and show
off what they know. Students come away from such classes - when they
are done well - in awe, but with little confidence in their own ability to
read literature. Louise Rosenblatt wrote that, “The problem that a
teacher faces first of all, then, is the creation of a situation favorable to a
vital experience of literature. Sadly, many of the practices and much of
the tone of literature teaching have precisely the opposite effect” (61).
Classrooms from preschool through college should be places where that
vital experience of literature takes place every day.
I am not so naïve as to think that students will cheer when you hand
out copies of a Shakespeare play or a Homeric epic - let alone Tess of
the d’Urbervilles or The Grapes of Wrath. The sheer weight of the
volumes is daunting. But this is not a recent development in teenage
behavior. Adolescent groans mask a deep hunger for meaning. They also
mask students’ fear that they won’t be able to do this work. Nor will they
be able to - without your help. Instead of making the excuse that today’s
students don’t have the vocabulary, background knowledge, or stamina to
read complex literature, we need to design lessons that build reading
muscles page by page. Lily Wong Fillmore, a scholar and long-time
researcher into English language learning, recently made an impassioned
plea to teachers not to dumb down texts for English learners. Worried
T
about the “gradual erosion of the complexity of texts” offered to
students, Fillmore posits that when teachers offer only simplified
materials to their English learners, it is “niceness run amok.” Whilst she
acknowledges that for the first year or two English learners need altered
or alternate texts, ultimately they deserve the challenge of rich literature.
I do not believe that teaching literature should be about dragging
students kicking and screaming through works they hate and poems they
find opaque. It should be about nurturing the next generation of readers
— readers who one day may choose to buy a ticket for a performance of
Macbeth, who will excitedly order the latest Cormac McCarthy for their
Kindles and Nooks, who can find solace in poetry during times of
trouble. Much is made of the economic impact of education, but I’m
more concerned about preparing students’ hearts and minds for
whatever the future may hold. Writers from George Orwell to Kazuo
Ishiguro have warned us, but unless students read and heed their
warnings we may be heading not for the best of all possible worlds but
for the worst. Charles Dickens opens his story of the French Revolution
with a riff on the best of times and the worst of times. “It was the age
of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it
was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the
season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of
despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were
all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way- in
short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its
noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in
the superlative degree of comparison only.” How many of our twittering
students can parse this sentence? How many teachers have lost the will to
ask their charges do so?
I have always believed that the purpose of education was to help
children be more, not less than human. In 1780 John Adams wrote into
the Massachusetts Constitution, “Wisdom and knowledge, as well as
virtue, diffused generally among the body of the people, being necessary
for the preservation of their rights and liberties; and as these depend on
spreading the opportunities and advantages of education in the various
parts of the country, and among the different orders of the people, it
shall be the duty of legislatures and magistrates, in all future periods of
this commonwealth, to cherish the interests of literature and the
sciences, and all seminaries of them.”
Let us embrace this duty.
CALL FOR MANUSCRIPTS
MARCH 2011, CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION: WHAT SHOULD STUDENTS BE
JUNE 2011, LGBT ISSUES IN THE CLASSROOM, (DEADLINE APRIL 1, 2011)
READING? (DEADLINE FEBRUARY 1, 2011)
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons, their advocates
The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts include a list
and their detractors are in the news almost daily. Teachers of English are
of what they call “text exemplars” — books, poems, and plays that
known for providing safe places where students can talk about sensitive
illustrate the level of complexity and quality of the texts students should be social issues. Students remain interested in learning about marginalized
reading. The list is expressly NOT meant to be a partial or complete reading groups and about issues of gender and sexuality. How do English-language
list. Let’s expand this list. What books do you think students should be
arts teachers at all levels include age-appropriate reading, writing,
reading? Choose a work that you’ve taught or put in students’ hands that
speaking and listening on gender and sexuality in their classrooms? How
you would recommend to others and offer a rationale for its complexity and can teachers and students learn more about issues that confront LGBT
quality. Let’s put teachers’ expertise at the center of curricular
persons? What resources are available to enhance the discussion? What
development.
are some workable models and success stories?
Manuscripts are peer-reviewed. Please send all submissions to California English editor, Carol Jago. Articles should be limited to 2,500 words. Please submit manuscripts to
cjago@caroljago.com or contact Carol Jago at the same e-mail address. MSS should, by preference, be submitted in Microsoft Word or pasted into an e-mail message.
English Language Arts Standards: Not Just for College and Career – Literacy for Life
Lisa Davidson
Text Examplars: CCSS and Mine
ho could disagree with standards that include skill with key
ideas and details, understanding of craft and structure, and
integration of knowledge and ideas? Or that carefully crafted
book lists “help ensure that all students are college and career ready”
(Common Core State Standards Initiative)? Who could argue with the
choice of Little Women, Tom Sawyer, A Wrinkle in Time, and The
Dark is Rising for sixth-grade readers, or with any of the other CCSS
text exemplars? Not only are these books timeless, but their selection
implies that we do best to start with the early middle grades to
guarantee mature, competitive readers. Again, who can disagree?
As a matter of fact, I would like to argue that the aim of the
English language arts must be much higher than college and career. It
must be to inspire a life-long love of reading as intense as our own, to
move young readers from reluctance to that glorious feeling of getting
lost in a world just as real as the one outside the classroom. No matter
how exciting, curriculum design felt like only half the battle, so I also
began a series of novels about an 11-year-old who discovers that she
has the power to walk into any story she wants. By the last page of the
final installment, Lacie Spenser (and the young reader who follows her)
will have walked into more than a dozen classic texts, listed here by
genre:
•
Literary Fiction: 1,001 Arabian Nights; Charlotte Bronte,
Jane Eyre; Nathaniel Hawthorne, A Wonderbook and
Tanglewood Tales
•
Mystery/Detective: Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient
Express; Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories
•
Family: Beverly Cleary, Fifteen; Louise Fitzhugh, Harriet the
Spy; Henry James, What Maisie Knew
•
Gothic/Thriller: Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights; Lois
Lowry, The Giver; Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
•
Science Fiction: Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine; Arthur
Clarke, Childhood’s End; Philip Pullman, The Golden
Compass
W
Why These Books
While several of the books Lacie visits are not found on any CCSS
list of text exemplars, and some are found at grade levels other than
sixth, all are high on the CCSS band of complexity. I have taken my
cue from publishers of middle grade and young adult fiction, who cite
the demand of that age group to read up. Kids want to read at a level
slightly above their abilities, about characters slightly older than they
are. Young readers feel the truth intensely; they are exquisitely attuned
to the inauthentic and the poseur. They also beg to understand, to feel
empowered. The narrative voice, whether first person or omniscient,
must not only inform; it must also radiate authority and confidence.
Wildly popular adventure series like Philip Pullman’s His Dark
Materials trilogy engage young readers by reflecting the story arc of
their lives, guiding them through the ‘first times’ they dread, inspiring
absolute brand loyalty. Kids who are caught up in a series not only read
more than their peers and re-read their favorites, they begin to selfselect and share texts, taking ownership, talking about what they read.
While a beloved author is often forgiven a second-rate story, each new
book must be what publishers call a ‘one-off,’ standing on its own,
enticing the reader time after time to walk back through the door.
What the typical young reader must be taught is where to find the
door and how to enter. That makes our job providing the opportunity,
before the irrevocable demands of adulthood close the door forever.
Activity for Life – Long Reading
Here is one such activity, a lesson plan for fifth- to eighth-grade
Language Arts:
Goal: Students demonstrate skill with key ideas and details,
understanding of craft and structure, and integration of
knowledge and ideas by ‘writing themselves into a story’
Materials: Text, template
Warm-up: You find out that everyone in your class has
inherited the power to ‘walk into’ any story, including the story
your class has been assigned to read. In pairs or groups,
brainstorm a detailed list of words describing where and when
that story takes place. Don’t consult the book -- use your
collective memories to imagine the setting the way you think it
should look. Be prepared to explain your list.
Procedure/Steps:
1. If you are not assigned a specific story to ‘walk into,’ choose
one from the list of story/book titles your teacher provides.
2. If you have not already, read the story and discuss the
protagonist.
3. If you are not assigned a specific scene in the story, choose
the scene you would like to ‘walk into.’ Just be sure the scene
includes the protagonist you’ve identified!
4. Use these questions to describe the story structure:
•
Who (using complete sentences, write a detailed
description of the protagonist)
•
What (using complete sentences, write a specific
explanation of the plot)
•
Where and When (using complete sentences, write a
description of setting)
•
How (use complete sentences to explain how the
protagonist solves a problem)
5. Write yourself into the scene. Describe yourself interacting
with the protagonist, perhaps helping to solve the problem
– California English • Vol. 16.3 • January 2011 • page 6 –
explained above, or having him/her help you solve one of your
own problems. Your dialogue, or discussion, will be the most
important element of the scene. Ask plenty of questions and
answer the way you think the protagonist would really answer
within the context of the story. And then, make anything that
you want to happen, now that you are a part of the story!
Use this Script to
Write Yourself into a Story
I. Scene Heading (Example: “Escape from The Arabian
Nights”)
2. One sentence description (Example: I met Scheherazade,
talked about story-telling, and then made a thrilling escape
from her guards)
3. Time/Location (Example: Afternoon, inside a locked
room of the Sultan’s palace)
4. Fade In/Walk into the story (Example: The door I walked
through was made of carved cypress, gray with age like the
teak footings on a ghostly pirate ship. The room I entered
was small and round and windowless, bottle-shaped, like the
inside of a prison tower -- a genie’s prison. The floor was
strewn with flowery Persian carpets, the walls were covered
from top to bottom with wide striped drapes, and delicate
enameled tables were loaded with bowls of sugared dates.
The only light in the room came from the long spouts of
brass oil lamps.)
5. Describe the character(s) you met (Example: I met a girl
about my age or maybe a few years older, sitting cross-legged
on a tasseled cushion in the middle of the round room,
balancing a heavy book on her lap. She wore a long
embroidered vest layered over a short, fitted coat, a longsleeved tunic of gauzy white, and a pair of billowy green
pants tied at the ankles. Several almost see-through veils were
twisted/wrapped around her head and shoulders.)
5. Dialogue (Example: ME: Are you who I think you are?
Scheherazade of the Arabian Nights? SCHER: Who are you,
and why are you here?)
Stack this exchange and expand for a good conversation.
6. Fade Out/Walk out of the story (Example: I was really
surprised when Scheherazade shoved me out of her room and
into a long, dark corridor where her guards were standing. I
was so scared I started to run. One of the guards used the
torch he was holding to gesture for me to stop, while another
guard waved a huge curved sword high in the air. I saw an
opening a few feet away, so threw myself at it. In the blink of
an eye I was back in my classroom.)
Finding the Time
Just as this activity is not intended to be grade-specific, it is also
not time-specific. Nothing says that any/all of the steps have to be
followed as laid out, or in any particular order, or that the steps cannot
be tailored to fit individual needs and preferences. Much of the time
investment will depend on whether or not the choice of story is
limited to current assigned reading. This activity can meld into any
existing assignment, for example into a short essay on an element of
fiction or a larger research project on an author. As few as five minutes
can be spent on the activity as a warm-up (and as a motivator when
discussion lags), or several class periods can be dedicated to writing
and performing complete scenes. In any case, templates like the one
above, or perhaps a Madlibs-like cloze paragraph, use available
moments most efficiently.
Time, of course, is not a problem for the novelist. Neither Mark
Twain nor Madeleine L’Engle were prevented from telling their stories
by 50-minute class sessions or looming standardized test schedules.
Writers are free to give as much time as they want to the characters
who people the worlds they create, though some authors complain that
with so much time on their hands those characters take on lives of
their own. What is it that JK Rowling has so famously repeated? That
somehow Harry Potter just walked into her head, fully formed? Unlike
lucky Rowling, or L’Engle, or Twain, we have precious little time to
convince young readers to let Harry or Meg or Tom into their lives.
But when we succeed, when cherished characters and magnificent
stories become our students’ to own forever, the future does too.
About the Author:
Lisa Davidson spent 25 years on the East Coast teaching college
English, including 10 years directing an inner-city Freshman
Composition Program, before moving to San Francisco, where she
spent 4+ years as Intake Coordinator for a non-profit K-8 tutoring
program and is now writing a series of novels for adolescent girls.
– California English • Vol. 16.3 • January 2011 • page 7 –
– California English • Vol. 16.3 • January 2011 • page 8 –
2011 CATE Elections
Nominations for the following positions may be
made using the form on CATEweb and must be
received by the Past President on December 1st, 2010
OR by individual petitions containing at least 15
signatures of CATE members, turned in to the Past
President at least two minutes prior to the Annual
Business Meeting at the CATE Convention, held on
Sunday, February 13, 2011 in Sacramento.
• Secretary, July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2013
• Member-at-Large, Middle, July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2014
• Member-at-Large, College, July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2014
• Member-at-Large, Unspecified, July 1, 2011 - 2014
• Membership Chair, July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2013
Mail to: Robert Chapman
P.O. Box 564, Arcata, CA 95518-0564
Saturday Banquet Speaker – U.S. Poet Laureate
– California English • Vol. 16.3 • January 2011 • page 9 –
W.S. Merwin
CATE2011 Program
Presenter(s)
Session Strand
Level
Title
Jodene Morrell, Kathleen Dudden Rowlands
and Matthew Brown
A01
CWP
All
Never More Crucial: Transforming Young Writers’ Attitudes Toward Writing and Becoming Writers
Kristin Hunter-Thomson
Julia Brett and Sun Ezzell
Kay Garcia and Linda Manuel
Susan G. Bennett and Nicolette Aman
A02
A03
A04
A05
None
None
None
CWP/Tech
7 to 12
All
All
Univ
A Voyage of Oral History, Community, and Heritage Through Local Fisheries Knowledge
Project-Based Writing
National Board Certification for Teachers of English
A Technophobe Uses Blogging in a University First-Year Reading and Writing Class: No More Lugging
Around 50 Notebooks
Daniel Reynolds
Cynthia Thorburn
Karin Kroener
Robyn A. Hill and Bill McGrath
Erin Deis
A06
A07
A08
A09
A10
None
ELL
UPS
None
CWP
7 to 12
7 to 12
7 to 12
All
7 to 12
Condensing Is Not Condescending
Never More Crucial—Strategies for EL and Struggling Learners
Supplemental Literacy Activities for Packed Pacing Plans
Differentiated Instruction Using Comics Formats
Reading the Word and the World: Making Room for Multiple Perspectives through Visual and
Critical Literacy
Susan Henneberg
Jason Crossley
A11
A12
None
None
All
9 to 12
Celebrate the Chaos - Managing the English Classroom
Learning About Learning? Teaching About Teaching? The Power of Instruction on Learning in the
High School Classroom
Elise Wallace
Adrianna Gervais
Jack Stanford
Tom Gage, Tara Nuth, and Robin Pickering
A13
A14
A15
B01
CWP
None
None
None
6 to 8
6 to 8
9 to 16
All
Defining Voice
Response to Literature for Middle School and Struggling Students
Write More, Grade Less: The Pipeline System of Essay Scoring
Inspiring Global Citizenship: The Integration of English and History in an engaging
Global Studies Program
Victoria Lichtendorf and Adrienne L. Gayoso
Galen Shotts and Forest Blackwelder
Joel Freedman, Loné e Lona, Deborah Lowe
and Paulina Martinez
B02
B03
None
ELL
All
9 to 12
Looking at American Art: Prose, Poetry, Podcasts
Collaborating to Bring the Most Out of All Students
B04
CWP/LGBTQ
7 to 12
Stand Up! Speak Out! Teen Writers Reflect on LGBTQ Realities
Holly Wilson
Robert Pacilio
Bill Foreman
Armeda Reitzel
Lisa Torina
Jane S. Hancock
Nadrian Smith-Whytus
Maria Rankin-Brown
Julie Minnis and Mahbod Seraji
Andrea Fazel
Donna Thomas
Maria Rankin-Brown
Catlin Tucker
Kim Flachmann and Nancy Brynelson
Joshua Sargent
Andrea Jennings and Deanne Andrade
B05
B06
B07
B08
B09
B10
B11
B12
C01
C02
C03
C04
C05
C06
C07
C08
Tech
None
None
CWP
None
CWP
UPS
Coll
None
LGBTQ
None
None
Tech
None
ELL
CWP/ELL
All
All
7 to 12
9 to 16
9 to 12
All
9 to 12
9 to 16
9 to 16
All
All
7 to 12
7 to 12
9 to 16
All
4 to 8
Hybrid Learning-Innovative Teaching and Student Success
Meet Me at the Metaphor Café
Literary Figures in Visual Media: Teaching Metaphor, Irony, and Other Figures with Editorial Cartoons
A “Delicious” Way to Research through Social Bookmarking
How to Facilitate a Class Discussion of Literature
Building a Community of Writers
H.O.P.E.—Having Outrageous and Phenomenal Expectations
Strategies for Combatting Plagiarism
A View of Iran from Rooftops of Tehran
It Gets Better
Classroom Book Clubs: Constructing Meaning Through Social Interaction
Creativity: A Lost Art?
Five Simple Strategies That Will Spark Discussions about Literature and Language
Building a Bridge Between High School and College that Doesn’ t Collapse
Using Newspaper Storied in ESL Classes: To Adapt or Not to Adapt?
No More Telling Me; Just Show Me! Using Art with English Learners to Write with Details, Revise
Drafts, and Develop Their Voices
Matthew Hart
Bradi Powell Everett
Lisa Ledri-Aguilar
Lori Cohen and Robin Workman
Michael LoMonico
Jim Foster et al.
Galen Shotts
Deborah Duffy
Nicole Callahan
Cindy Withers and Kim Monnie
Stephanie Etcheverria
Jan Stallones and Chris Jacobson
C09
C10
C11
C12
D01
E02
D03
D04
D05
D06
D07
D08
None
None
Coll
Pol
None
LGBTQ
ELL
Tech
Tech
None
Ele
None
9 to 16
9 to 12
Univ
9 to 12
All
All
9 to 12
6 to 8
9 to 16
7 to 12
3 to 5
7 to 12
Toolbox Teaching
War and Literature: Beyond the Political
C.S. Lewis and the Uses of the Imagination
Promoting Civic Engagement and Persuasion Through Teaching Aristotle’ s Rhetoric
Shakespeare Set Free: a Short Course from the Folger Shakespeare Library
Addressing the Needs of LGBTQ students
Working Smarter Without Working Harder
Using Different Types of Media to Support Your Curriculum
Creating Authentic Assessments with Webquest Assignments
Moving from Text to Symbol to Image to Concept
Imagine This... Building a Strong Writing Foundation
CAHSEE To College - Bridging Writing Gaps, Year Three
– California English • Vol. 16.3 • January 2011 • page 10 –
Sacramento, February 11-13
Name
Donna Thomas and Deidre Harrison
Mark Meritt
Session
D09
D10
Strand
None
Coll
Level
7 to 12
Univ
Title of Presentation
Poetry: Finding Hope in Hard Times
How Do Ideas Matter? College Composition Readers and the Shifting Place of the Humanities in
Undergraduate Education
Lisa Waner and Mike Harrison
David B. Cohen and Larry Ferlazzo
Rachel Pledger
D11
D12
D13
None
Pol
None
7 to 12
All
7 to 12
Developing Student Self-Efficacy Through Reading and Writing
The Danger of a Single Story – Enriching the Public Discourse on Education
Transacting with Literature through Socratic Seminars to Foster Moral Development
in the Secondary RSP English/Language Arts Classroom
Harvey Green and Jonathan Taylor
Cynthia Thorburn
Nicole Valentine
Christine Parker and Cheryl Bradley
Jyothi Bathina
Sheridan Blau
D14
D15
D16
D17
D18
E01
CWP
None
CWP
None
UPS
None
9 to 12
7 to 12
7 to 12
9 to 16
7 to 12
7 to 16
Supporting Writers in AP Classes
Foldables! Hands-On Three Dimensional Graphic Organizers
Texting 4 Comprehension
Discovery with Shakespeare’ s Cue Scripts
Literate Voices: Using PAR and Personal Narrative to Build Adolescent Literacy
Re-reading the Study of Literature and Rescuing Literary Study from the Official Barbarism of
Literacy: A Hands-on Workshop with Theoretical Reflections
Jim Foster et al.
Anna J. Small Roseboro
Allen Teng
Douglas Forster
Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
Marcy Merrill, Roberta Ching
and Jennifer Fletcher
E02
E03
E04
E05
E06
LGBTQ
None
CWP/Tech
Coll
Ele
All
7 to 12
6 to 12
9 to 16
K to 6
Addressing the Needs of LGBTQ students
Poetry T.I.M.E.— Learning with and from our students
Using Free Social Networking Technology to Improve Writing Quality and Motivation
Remember to Laugh: Teaching Situation Comedies
Words and Pictures: Teaching Narrative Writing Through the Picture Book
E07
None
7 to 12
Teaching Grammar Rhetorically with the ERWC
Jan Stallones, Bebe Wenig
and Karen Stepp”
E08
UPS
7 to 12
Bridge to High School: Scaffolding and Integrating Reading, Writing and Math Skills
for Ninth-Grade Success
Kara Buchanan
Bradi Powell Everett
Donna Shpak and Jeremy Teitelbaum
Robert Pacilio
Shayna Arhanian
California Department of Education
Donald Bear
Matthew Hart
Bill Younglove
Jane S. Hancock
Michael Flachmann
Jim Burke
Jeremy Teitelbaum
Dave Ficke
Lorna Gonzalez
Judy Flynn
John Creger
Jeannine Ugalde & Carrie Targhetta
Pamela Bostelmann
Betsy Potash
Marcy Merrill and Linda Westover
Daniel Reynolds
Sherry Shahan
Darlene Stotler
Graciela Vega and Patricia Messer
Bob Chapman
Jill Hamilton-Bunch
Carol Jago
Angus Dunston
Kim Flachmann
Bill Foreman
E09
E10
E11
E12
E13
E14
E15
E16
E17
E18
F01
F02
F03
F04
F05
F06
F07
F08
F09
F10
F11
F12
F13
F14
F15
G01
G02
G03
G04
G05
G06
None
Read
ELL
None
CWP
Pol
ELL
Read
None
CWP
None
None
None
Ele
Tech
COMM/ELL
None
CWP
None
Read
None
None
None
UPS
CWP/ELL
None
UPS/ELL
None
None
None
None
9 to 12
7 to 12
All
All
9 to 16
All
All
9 to 16
9 to 16
All
9 to 16
7 to 12
7 to 12
3 to 8
9 to 16
6 to 8
9 to 16
9 to 12
6 to 8
7 to 12
4 to 8
9 to 12
7 to 12
9 to 16
9 to 12
All
7 to 12
All
7 to 16
All
All
Preparing the Next Generation of Global Citizens
Toss the Worksheets: Ten Self-Assessment Tools for the Reading Comprehension Toolbelt
How do You Spell Success? Y-O-U
A Slice of Don McLean’ s American Pie
Breaking Through: Going Beyond the Five Paragraph Essay
Update from the California Department of Education
Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling with English Learners: Activities and Research
Wisdom Literature
Elie Wiesel: Emergence and Evolution from Night
Re-Discover Portfolio Assessment
Sex, Lies, and Shakespeare: Using Performance to Make Shakespeare Come Alive in the Classroom
My Head’ s on Fire! Teaching Students How to Generate Ideas for Reading and Writing
Reading, Writing, and Speaking! Including a Critical Thinking Component in Student Presentations
The Integration of Environmental Education into Language Arts Programs
Teaching and Learning Online and Off: The Hybrid Model
Using Interactive Question-Response Techniques to Help English Learners Build Meaning
Cultivating the Intelligence of the Heart in Acquiring Literacy
Creating Confident Writers Through Memoir
Using a Full-Length, High-Interest Nonfiction Book as a Class Text in Middle School Literacy Classes
Revitalize your Outside Reading Program
Mother Daughter Book Club: Let’ s Motivate Kids To Read
The Smurfs Are Evil (and Other Ways To Read A Text)
Young Adult Novels in Verse
Pallette-able Grammar
Creating Writing Projects in a High School Continuation Classroom: Focusing on ELL Students
Core Standards in the Classroom
Language and Literacy: Supporting English Learners in the Secondary English Classroom
California English: Writing for Publication
Going Green: Seven Re-cycled Principles of Teaching Writing
Handling the Paperload
Approaches to Research
– California English • Vol. 16.3 • January 2011 • page 11 –
– California English • Vol. 16.3 • January 2011 • page 12 –
Selecting Books for Teens: The More the Merrier
Teri S. Lesesne
have to admit up front that when I first saw the Exemplar Texts
List for the Common Core Standards, my blood boiled. There
were so few texts, and many of them were either developmentally
inappropriate for the grade level indicated or were out of print (the
expository texts in particular) or did not represent the diversity that
should be available to our students. I applaud Carol Jago’s decision to
focus our attention on adding to this list of exemplar texts. I know
that we need to have as many books in our arsenal as possible to meet
the needs of the students we teach.
For the past decade, I have had the privilege of serving on
numerous selection committees, groups of educators who discussed
books passionately and, ultimately, decided on a list of books to
recommend as exemplary from a variety of perspectives. So, when it
comes to selecting one title from all of these lists, I am a bit reluctant.
I can remember that Peter read only S. E Hinton’s books before I
helped him discover the works of Walter Dean Myers and other
authors. Many of the girls in my classes in the 1980s were reading
Sweet Valley High books exclusively until I talked to them about Peter
Sieruta’s Too Much, T.J. and other romance novels with some more
meat to them. Even my own resident of the back bedroom, now 17,
who re-reads the Harry Potter books has discovered the crazy world
Libba Bray envisions in Going Bovine.
Thus, instead of one text, I offer readers some resources: lists,
awards, other book selection sources, and finally some reading ladders.
As a middle school English teacher and now as someone working with
inservice teachers and librarians, I flood students with as many books
as I can. I try to do the same with my social network outlets (blog,
Twitter feed, FaceBook status updates), too. So roll up your pants
and wade right into the rivers of great books that can add much to the
curriculum as well as the reading lives of your students.
I
Lists: Who Decides? Teens? Adults? Does it Matter?
I offer two separate types of lists here. The first is a set of lists
where the books are selected by teen readers. The other set are the
lists selected by committees of educators. There is little overlap here,
but those books that DO overlap may perhaps make the best starting
point for your reading.
The Young Adult Library Services Association of the American
Library Association (YALSA) offers an annual list of Teens Top Ten
books. Readers from across the country vote for their favorite books
from a longer list of nominations. Nominations are also made by the
teens. The lists may be found at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/
divs/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/teenstopten.cfm.
Links to the past nine years of Teens Top Ten are also located at
the site. The International Reading Association offers the Young
Adult Choices annual list in which thousands of teens from across the
United States vote on a list of preselected books. You can locate the
information and lists for Young Adult Choices here:
www.reading.org/Resources/Booklists/YoungAdultsChoices.aspx.
Four titles overlap the Teens Top Ten and Young Adult Choices
lists. This is always a starting point for me: I look to see which books
appear on several lists, both voted by teens and those garnering awards
and starred reviews from adults. These are, I would suggest, the ones
to examine first. So, here are the overlapping titles:
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks (Hyperion)
Paper Towns by John Green (Penguin)
Wake by Lisa McMann (St. Martin’s Griffin)
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (Simon and Schuster)
It is interesting to note that three of these titles also appear on
YALSA lists voted on by educators: Paper Towns and The
Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks appear on the Best
Books for Young Adults, an annual list of those books considered by
the committee to offer excellent literature for teens. Wake is included
on the Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers List, one compiled by
educators of books to appeal to those less than avid readers among
teens. Past lists of Best Books and Quick Picks are also available at
www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklistsbook.cfm
Of course, the most respected lists are the lists of awards given by
the American Library Association in January of each year. The
Newbery, awarded since 1922, is perhaps the best known. Though it
is labeled as an award for children’s books, there are quite a few books
that cross nicely to middle and high school readers. New classics such
as The Giver by Lois Lowry, Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer, When
You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, and Walk Two Moons by Sharon
Creech to name just a few are worthy of study with teens. A
complete list of the winning and honor books is located at the web
site for the Association for Library Services to Children of the
American Library Association (ASLC) at http://www.ala.org/ala/
mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newbery
winners/medalwinners.cfm.
The Michael L. Printz Award, presented for the first time in
2000, is given for distinguished contribution to literature for young
adults. I had the honor of serving on the 2010 committee that
recognized Libba Bray’s contemporary take on the Don Quixote story,
Going Bovine along with nonfiction biography and romance, Charles
and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman, the
searingly dark road trip of Adam Rapp’s Punkzilla, the astonishingly
honest and occasionally funny Tales of the Madmen Underground by
John Barnes, and the truly gothic horror of Rick Yancey’s The
Monstrumologist. Past winners have recognized works such as John
Green’s Looking for Alaska, a fresh new take on the themes of
Catcher in the Rye, Freewill by Chris Lynch, a novel written entirely
in second person, and A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly that
includes the story that informed Theodore Dreiser’s An American
– California English • Vol. 16.3 • January 2011 • page 13 –
Tragedy. More information and a list of winning and honor books
are at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/
printzaward/previouswinners/winners.cfm.
There are a few new awards that deserve attention from educators
as well. Great Graphic Novels for Teens (http://www.ala.org/ala/
mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/greatgraphicnovelsforteens/gn.cf
m) is an essential resource for developing classroom and library
collections that reflect this form and format. Did you know that there
are graphic novel versions of classics such as Merchant of Venice,
Frankenstein, Fahrenheit 451, and The Curious Case of Benjamin
Button? Gareth Hinds has also gifted us with GN adaptations of
Beowulf and The Odyssey. Maybe pair the GN with other texts with
audio and eBook versions to provide access for many more readers.
The newest award list from YALSA is the Excellence in
Nonfiction for Young Adults Award (http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/
divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/nonfiction/nonfiction.cfm). Since
expository text is essential, the books on this list are sure to become
valuable to educators looking to include more nonfiction of quality.
Only in its second year, the committee publishes a short list of five
titles from which one is named the winner. The winning book from
year one was the aforementioned Printz Honor book, Charles and
Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith. Included on the short list were
Phillip Hoose’s Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, winner of
the 2010 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, and
Almost Astronauts: 13 Women who Dated to Dream by Tanya Lee
Stone about the little-k now women who took part in secret training
for the Mercury mission but were turned away because they were
women. While many readers eschew books that have those sticky
gold seals on the cover, we can overcome that reluctance by talking to
them about the content. They are not only excellent literature
(rigorous) but also provide relevant books in which contemporary
readers might still see glimpses of themselves and their own lives.
makes the case against over-instruction and under-instruction and
exhorts educators to find the “sweet spot” when balancing canonical
and contemporary literature. Finally, Carol Jago’s Classics in the
Classroom is a practical guide for approaching classics and making
them meaningful for contemporary readers.
Professional books scratch the surface in this age of Personal
Learning Networks. Twitter, FaceBook, blogs, wikis, and nings are all
providing enriching information and materials to assist educators. My
blog (http://professornana.livejournal.com) was established about
eight years ago because I was constantly asked to recommend books.
As someone who reads literally dozens of books in a short period of
time (I have read more than 500 books this year and the year is not
quite over as I write this), it is sometimes tough to keep the books in
some sort of mental file cabinet. Lists are nice, but they do little to
remind me of content and connections. And so I began to read and
then blog about the book. My blog entries are not quite reviews; they
are partly synopses and partly some thoughts on audience, other book
connections, and various other ideas for using the books in classrooms
or in recreational reading. I am not alone in the blogosphere. There
are YA authors who blog, reviewers who blog, teachers and librarians
who blog. Jim Burke’s incredible English Companion ning
(www.englishcompanion.ning.com) offers book clubs for teachers led
by luminaries such as Carol Jago, ReLeah Lent, Jimmy Santiago, Penny
Kittle, and Harvey Daniels—and all free of charge. RAW INK
(http://rawinkonline.com/), created by Paul W. Hankins, a high
school English teacher, features the voices of teachers, of students, and
of YA authors. Jennifer Buehler creates a podcast series for READ,
WRITE, THINK on adolescent literature entitled Text Messages.
Her podcasts are intended to assist parents, educators, and others in
helping connect teens to new books. Much work is being done online
to help all educators find communities in which to pose questions, to
offer ideas, and to seek like-minded colleagues.
Book Selection Sources: Call in the Experts
Reading Ladders: Guiding Readers
A handful of resources already exist to help educators connect
contemporary readers to the classics. Herz and Gallo’s From Hinton
to Hamlet is a must read for those who wish to build thematically
from YA literature to the canon. Joan Kaywell has edited four volumes
entitled Adolescent Literature as a Complement to the Classics (vols.
1-4) which include chapters on classic titles such as Frankenstein,
Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, A Farewell to Arms, The
Grapes of Wrath, and Of Mice and Men among many other titles.
Susan Hall’s Using Picture Books to Teach Literary Devices, while
different in scope and purpose, is also a handy tool. Children’s books
are used to illustrate various figurative devices such as simile and
metaphor, personification and pun, allusion and analogy. Teaching
with short texts—most picture books are 32 pages in length, can be
effective and nearly painless as well. Readicide by Kelly Gallagher is
another book that should be mandatory reading. Subtitled How
Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About it, it
If I may be bold and perform a bit of BSP (blatant selfpromotion), my latest book, Reading Ladders, provides educators
with some ways of moving readers from one step/rung to the next
and so on. To continue the conversation from the book, I created a
wiki (www.lesesneseminar.pbworks.com) where I created some initial
ladders on themes often covered in secondary English classrooms.
Here is a list of books about themes of war and peace, for instance:
A Soldier's Heart
Bull Run
Crossing Stones
On the Wings of Heroes
Flygirl
Shades of Gray
Lincoln: A Photobiography
Across Five Aprils
Unfinished Angel
Sunrise over Fallujah
The Magician's Elephant
All the Broken Pieces
Riot
The Enemy
Sweethearts of Rhythm
Rose Blanche
Purple Heart
Faithful Elephants
– California English • Vol. 16.3 • January 2011 • page 14 –
In Country
Fallen Angels
Why War Is Never a Good Idea
Feathers and Fools
Jellicoe Road
Gettysburg: The Graphic Novel
Octavian Nothing
War Is .......
The Book Thief
Mostly True Adventures of
Homer P. Figg
Peace Locomotion
When the Whistle Blows
These books cover wars from the American Revolution to the
War in Iraq and represent forms and formats from picture books to
graphic novels to poetry and prose. Another theme to explore might
be that of betrayal. Betrayal is one of the themes that is quite broad.
That means that it is possible to build ladders in many different ways.
For instance, we could create a ladder about betrayal among friends or
a betrayal of confidence or a betrayal of trust. The betrayal could
involve something more abstract. Here are a few possible ladders that
could grow from an exploration of this theme. The list for Ladder
#1 is geared toward intermediate and middle school readers. Ladder
#2's list of books is aimed at high school readers. Notice that from
the same lists, we can create several different ladders. The first
variation for Ladder #1 contains titles from the fantasy genre.
Variation #2 is historical fiction and nonfiction. So, genre provides
one means for creating different ladders. We could also create ladders
using different types of betrayal. Parents who betray their children
are at the core of Willoughbys and Keeping the Night Watch.
Elders who betray the people they are leading is one theme emerging
from Hunger Games, Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and
the Answer. Shorter ladders or stepstools could be built with these
titles. For the titles listed for Ladder #2, it is easy to create a ladder
with references to classics as well as classic titles themselves. Really,
the possibilities are endless.
Ladder #1 Titles
30 Days To Getting Over The
Dork You Used To Call
Your Boyfriend
The Boy Who Dared
Hunger Games
Knife Of Never Letting Go
The Ask And The Answer
What If The Witness Lied
Elijah Of Buxton
Keeping The Night Watch
The Magic Thief
A Thousand Never Evers
The Willoughbys
Hunchback Assignments
Season Of Gifts
Wild Things
Eli The Good
Ladder #1 Variation: Fantasy
The Ask and the Answer
Knife of Never Letting Go
Hunchback Assignments
Hunger Games
The Magic Thief
Ladder #1 Variation: Historical Fiction and Nonfiction
30 Days to Getting Over the Dork
You Used to Call Your Boyfriend
The Boy Who Dared
The Hunchback Assignments
Eli the Good
Season of Gifts
Elijah of Buxton
Ladder #2 Titles
Black Rabbit Summer
The Disreputable History
of Frankie Landau Banks
Something Rotten
Eternal Smile
Going Bovine
Hamlet
Something Wicked
Twisted
What I Saw and How I Lied
Jumping off Swings
Last Night I Sang to the
Monster
Marcelo in the Real World
Ladder #2 Variation: Classics
Hamlet
Going Bovine
Twisted
Something Rotten
Something Wicked
Finally, Some Advice
Read. Read more. Set aside time to read every day. Read with
your students. Ask them to recommend books to you. Talk about
your reading to them regularly. We need to pass the point of thinking
that there is ONE book that each and every student will enjoy, will
find accessible, will understand. We need to flood students with as
many books as we can, to add to our collections, to supplement what
is on “the list.” We need to trust that, if we send real, avid readers on
to the next grade or level that they we have done the lion’s share of the
work we must do: motivate our students to a lifelong love of reading.
Professional books cited
Gallagher, Kelly. (2009). Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading
and What You Can Do About It. Stenhouse.
Hall, Susan. (2008). Using Picture Books to Teach Literary Devices.
Libraries Unlimited.
Herz, Sarah K. and Donald R. Gallo. (2005). From Hinton to Hamlet:
Building Bridges between YA Literature and the Classics. Greenwood.
Jago, Carol. (2004). Classics in the Classroom: Designing Accessible
Literature Lessons. Heinemann.
Kaywell, Joan (ed.). Adolescent Literature as a Complement to the
Classics. Christopher Gordon.
Lesesne, Teri S. (2010). Reading Ladders: Leading Readers from Where
They Are to Where We’d Like Them to Be. Stenhouse.
– California English • Vol. 16.3 • January 2011 • page 15 –
Trade Books Cited
Anderson, Laurie Halse. (2007). Twisted. Viking.
Anderson, M. T. (2006). The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing (2
vols.). Candlewick Press.
Aronson Marc and Parry Campbell (eds.). (2008). War Is…Soldiers,
Survivors, and Storytellers Talk about War. Candlewick Press.
Barnes, John. (2009). Tales of the Madman Underground. Viking.
Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. (2008). The Boy Who Dared. Scholastic.
Bauer, Joan. (2000). Hope Was Here. Putnam.
Blundell, Judy. (2008) What I Saw and How I Lied. Scholastic.
Bray, Libba. (2009). Going Bovine. Random House.
Brooks, Kevin.(2008). Black Rabbit Summer. Scholastic.
Burg, Ann. (2009). All the Broken Pieces. Scholastic.
Burg, Shauna. (2008). A Thousand Never Evers. Delacorte.
Butler, C.M. (2009). Gettysburg: The Graphic Novel. HarperCollins.
Carmichael, Clay. (2009). Wild Things. Front Street.
Clare, Cassandra. (2009). City of Ashes. Simon Pulse.
Collins, Suzanne. (2008). Hunger Games. Scholastic.
Cooney, Caroline. (2009). If the Witness Lied? Delacorte.
Creech, Sharon. (2009). Unfinished Angel. Joanna Cotler Books.
Creech, Sharon.(1994). Walk Two Moons. HarperCollins.
Curtis, Christopher Paul.(2007). Elijah of Buxton. Scholastic.
Davide, Cali. (2009). The Enemy: A Book about Peace. Schwartz and
Wade.
DeFilippis, Nunzio, Christina Weir and Kevin Cornell.(adaptors).
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. (2008). The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Quirk Books
DiCamillo, Kate. (2009). The Magician's Elephant. Candlewick Press.
Donnelly, Jennifer. (2003). A Northern Light. Harcourt.
Fleischman, Paul. Bull Ru (1993). Bull Run. HarperTrophy.
Fox, Mem.(1989). Feathers and Fools. Harcourt.
Freedman, Russell. (1987). Lincoln: A Photobiography. Clarion Books.
Frost, Helen. (2009). Crossing Stones. FSG.
Gratz, Alan. (2007). Something Rotten. Dial.
Gratz, Alan. (2008). Something Wicked. Dial.
Green, John. (2005). Looking for Alaska. Dutton.
Green, John. (2008). Paper Towns. Dutton.
Hamilton, Tim. (adaptor). (2009). Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451: The
Authorized Edition. Hill and Wang.
Hantman, Cleo. (2008). 30 Days To Getting Over The Dork You Used
To Call Your Boyfriend. Delacorte.
Heiligman, Deborah. (2009). Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of
Faith. Henry Holt.
Hinds, Gareth. (adaptor). (2007). Beowulf. Candlewick Press.
Hinds, Gareth. (adaptor). (2008). Merchant of Venice. Candlewick Press.
Hinds, Gareth. (adaptor). (2010). The Odyssey. Candlewick Press.
Hoose, Phillip. (2009). Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. FSG.
House, Silas. (2009). Eli the Good. Candlewick Press.
Hunt, Irene.(1964). Across Five Aprils. Berkley Jam Books.
Innocenti, Roberto. (1985). Rose Blanche. Creative Editions.
Knowles, Jo. (2009). Jumping off Swings. Candlewick Press.
Lockhart. E. (2008). The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau
Banks. Hyperion.
Lowry, Lois. (1993). The Giver. Houghton Mifflin.
Lowry, Lois. (2008). The Willoughbys. Houghton Mifflin.
Lynch, Chris. (2001). Freewill. HarperTempest.
Marchetta, Melina.(2008). Jellicoe Road. HarperCollins.
Mason, Bobbie Ann. (2005). In Country. HarperPerrenial.
McCormick, Patricia. (2009). Purple Heart. Balzer and Bray.
McMann, Lisa. (2008). Wake. Simon Pulse.
Myers, Walter Dean. (2008). Sunrise over Fallujah. Scholastic.
Myers, Walter Dean. (2009). Riot. Egmont.
Myers, Walter Dean.(1988). Fallen Angels. Scholastic.
Nelson, Marilyn. (2009). Sweethearts of Rhythm. Dial.
Ness, Patrick. (2008). Knife of Never Letting Go. Candlewick Press.
Ness, Patrick. (2009). The Ask and the Answer. Candlewick Press.
Paulsen, Gary. (1998). A Soldier's Heart. Delacorte.
Peck, Richard. (2009). Season of Gifts. Dial.
Peck, Richard. (2007). On the Wings of Heroes. Dial.
Philbrick, Rodman. (2009). Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg.
Scholastic.
Prineas, Sarah. (2008). The Magic Thief. HarperCollins.
Rapp, Adam. (2009). Punkzilla. Candlewick Press.
Reeder, Carolyn. (1989). Shades of Gray. Aladdin.
Saenz, Benjamin. (2009). Last Night I Sang to the Monster. Cinco
Puntos Press.
Shannon, Jacqueline. (1998). Too Much T.J. Random House.
Shelley, Mary and Clive Bryant. (2009). Frankenstein: The Graphic
Novel. Classical Comics, Ltd.
Slade, Arthur.(2009). Hunchback Assignments. Wendy Lamb Books.
Slayton, Fran Cannon. (2009). When the Whistle Blows. Philomel.
Smith, Hope Anita. (2008). Keeping the Night Watch. Holt.
Smith, Sherri. (2008). Flygirl. Putnam.
Stead, Rebecca. (2009). When You Reach Me. Wendy Lamb Books.
Stone, Tanya Lee. (2009). Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to
Dream. Candlewick Press.
Stork, Francisco X. (2009). Marcelo in the Real World. Scholastic.
Tsuchiya, Yukio. (1988). Faithful Elephants. Houghton Mifflin.
Walker, Alice. (2007). Why War Is Never a Good Idea. HarperCollins.
Woodson, Jacqueline. (2009). Peace Locomotion. Putnam.
Yancey, Rick. (2009). The Monstrumologist. Simon and Schuster.
Yang, Gene and Derek Kim. (2009). Eternal Smile. First Second.
Zusak, Markus. (2007). The Book Thief. Knopf.
About the Author:
Teri Lesesne (rhymes with insane) is a former middle school teacher
and now teaches classes in YA literature at Sam Houston State
University in Texas. She is the recipient of the 2007 ALAN Award
for her contributions to the field of literature for young adults. She
blogs at http://Professornana.livejournal.com
– California English • Vol. 16.3 • January 2011 • page 16 –
Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned
Worth an Exploration
Thomas Roddy
n 2008, the CAHSEE included a selection by Maya Angelou for its
reading comprehension segment. In the piece, entitled “A Day
Away,” the narrator describes the Sabbath she takes from
communication to luxuriate in a museum. Using the passage to help
students prepare for the test frustrated me because the text reflects a
middle class sensibility and my students are urban poor. I wish the
committee who wrote the CAHSEE had had the courage to include
work that had grit such as Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned
by Walter Mosley.
A lways Outnumbered, Always Outgunned is a series of
interconnected short stories about Socrates Fortlow, an AfricanAmerican, who, having been released from prison, returns to his home
in Watts. Although Watts is south of the neighborhood my school
serves, my students and their families face the same obstacles of
poverty and racism as Socrates. When Socrates tries to apply for a job
at a grocery store in Venice, the manager refuses to give him an
application. When the manager acquiesces, Socrates has to demand a
pencil. He gets the job, but the process is shameful. My students have
shared with me stories of being followed while they were paying
customers in a store. They have told me about insults teachers have
I
used to motivate them. I know more about what police will do than I
care to. I have also learned the courage necessary to claim what many
assume is theirs. I find this book helpful to show complex characters.
Socrates is a violent man and is willing to use violence, even his
bare hands; yet, he shows tenderness. He rescues a dog which has been
hit by a car, but punches the driver who hit the dog as the man was
about to kill the animal with a dumbbell. He uses his hands to refinish
a table and to prepare a meal for his neighbors. He provides refuge for
a fatherless boy, Darryl, who participated in a crime. He does not ask
Darryl to tell the police, but urges him to stay alive and by staying alive
insists he can make a difference.
Violence and empathy sit side by side in my students’ world. They
have loved ones in jail and know friends who have been shot. Like
Socrates, they have a tense relationship with authority and see the
police as adversaries. Like Socrates, they protest injustice against
themselves and their peers. They have resilience and know how to
survive and thrive under unforgiving circumstances. These stories
provoke discussions that one could find in a college classroom and
allow me to show my students that reading does not have to be
something to be avoided, but something that animates the most
difficult stories in the human news.
About the Author:
Thomas Roddy, Jr. teaches English at Manual Arts High School
in South Los Angeles.
Shown here: Patchwork Girl
Young Adults’ Choices: A Popular List of Outstanding Novels
Rosemary Chance
or teachers looking to infuse some new contemporary titles into
classrooms, choices can sometimes be daunting. How is it possible
to make wise decisions, to narrow down the choices? What could
be a better choice for tweens and teens in the classroom than novels
chosen nationwide for both popularity and quality? This ideal
combination can be found when Young Adults’ Choices (YAC) lists
and Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA) lists are compared. Each year
a small, elite group of books show up on both lists.
Young Adults’ Choices, sponsored by the International Reading
Association (IRA) is a project encouraging students in grades 6 through
12 to read and to voice their opinions about books they choose to read.
Each year more than 11,000 ballots are cast in five regions across the
United States. Students choose from approximately 250 titles provided
by publishers and screened by an IRA committee. It’s fascinating to see
which titles students choose as their favorites. Each year 30 titles are
chosen, and usually 27 or 28 are novels. This gets even more
compelling when Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA) are selected by
the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of
the American Library Association (ALA). BBYA titles are chosen for
quality writing as the most outstanding teen books annually by a
committee of 15 librarians/educators. Once the BBYA list (about 73
novels and 12 nonfiction books) comes out, we find out which titles on
the YAC list are also considered high quality ones!
Let’s take a look at YAC lists for 2009 and 2010. From the 2009
YAC list 8 of the 27 novels were also chosen for BBYA. On the 2010
YAC list 7 of the 27 novels were chosen. Thus, classroom teachers can
be assured that there are 15 skillfully written novels their students will
love reading. Typically, characters are well-developed, themes are relevant
to teens’ lives, some settings are exotic and some are simple backdrops,
point of view is mostly that of a teen protagonist, plots are wellintegrated and highly suspenseful, and the mood of the stories reflects
plot action well. These novels include fantastic and realistic fiction,
providing for genre choices for individual students. Whether fantastic or
realistic fiction though, topics and literary themes vary widely. The
question of survival as a general theme is one that can unite the stories.
Of the 15 novels that appear on both YAC 2009-2010 and BBYA
2009-2010, only four are fantastic fiction, including stories of
supernatural beings and science fiction. In Graham McNamee’s
Bonechiller an ancient flesh-eating demon hunts and preys upon teens
in a cold Canadian town. It’s a page-turner that will appeal to horror
fans. Meanwhile, Danny, the protagonist, is dealing with the recent
death of his mother, reconnecting with his father, and enjoying a love
interest. A rebellious demon, who prefers the term “fallen angel,”
eagerly steps into seventeen-year-old Shaun’s body after he’s been hit and
killed by a speeding cement mixer in A. M. Jenkins’ Repossessed. The
demon Shaun is bewildered by life as a hormonal teen boy, resulting in
F
both humorous and heart-warming situations. Rather than a demon,
the protagonist of Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant is a likeable,
smart detective, a walking, talking skeleton who helps twelve-year-old
Stephanie solve a mystery and fight against an ancient evil creature.
Humor helps diffuse the violence and horror, adding unexpected charm
to the story. The last of the four fantastic titles is The Adoration of
Jenna Fox, a science-fiction experience in which Jenna emerges from a
coma after a year and doesn’t recognize her own body. Medical ethics
and the nature of the soul bring Jenna’s well-developed character into
focus and raise questions about survival, life, and death. Of the four
stories Jenna’s has the most potential for provocative class discussions.
Eleven realistic novels provide a rich range for entertainment and for
thought and discussion. The two darkest titles are Elizabeth Scott’s
Living Dead Girl and Jay Asher’s Th1rteen R3asons Why. Scott’s
book will horrify readers with the capture and long-time sexual abuse of
a teen girl who must obey the man who took her or risk the death of
her family. Asher’s book takes a surprising turn when high school senior
Clay Jensen learns that Hannah Baker, a girl he adored, blames him for
her suicide. Seven audiotapes map out her painful, poetic story with
compelling messages about how we treat one another. The remaining
novels, except for Roland Smith’s Peak, are focused on teen angst. Some
contain humor and love, some are terribly sad, and some are stories on
the brink of tragedy. In Laurie Halse Anderson’s Twisted Tyler Miller,
a high school senior, has high expectations for the year, but the pressures
of school, his father’s demands, and his crush on a girl threaten to
overwhelm him. In Sara Zarr’s Story of a Girl, the protagonist Deanna
experiences feelings of isolation, shame, and frustration after she is
mistakenly branded as the school slut. Robin Brande’s Evolution, Me &
Other Freaks of Nature combines belief in God and belief in science,
as embodied in the character of Mena Reece, an eighth-grader. The
appeal Mena and her supporting characters and a fair viewpoint of
religion versus science are the novel’s strengths.
Boy-girl relationships figure prominently in five of the novels but
with very different results. E. Lockhart’s The Disreputable History of
Frankie Landau-Banks is the story of a 15-year-old girl who becomes a
curvy beauty over the summer and is thrilled to have a gorgeous senior
as her boyfriend. But not everything is rosy. Frankie begins to realize
that their élite boarding school is dominated by males, and decides to
make some changes with comedic results. Expect spirited debates about
gender and power from your students. In Coert Voorhees’ The
Brothers Torres, Frankie’s obsession is getting a date with Rebecca
Sanchez for the Homecoming dance. Nothing is simple, and Frankie
becomes entangled with his older brother and his group of friends. In
Gabrielle Zevin’s Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, Naomi wakes up in
a hospital not knowing who she is and remembering nothing after sixth
grade. As her memories gradually return, a love story emerges,
– California English • Vol. 16.3 • January 2011 • page 18 –
prompting questions about her future and her search for identity. In
John Green’s Paper Towns, Quentin has loved his next-door-neighbor
Margo for years. Soon he wonders if she has run away or committed
suicide, and he and his friends will track Margo on an unusual journey
about truth. In Sara Zarr’s Sweethearts, Jennifer’s classmates wonder
exactly what her relationship is with good-looking Cameron who
suddenly reappears in her life. As children they were both outcasts; now
they’re confronted with disturbing memories of a shared past.
The last of the 15 titles I recommend is a survival adventure that
takes place in the Himalayan Mountains. In Roland Smith’s Peak a 14year-old boy named “Peak” understands that he has the chance to be the
youngest climber to reach the summit of Mount Everest. This
satisfying coming-of-age story provides fascinating details of climbing
without sacrificing suspense and character development.
In summary, when novels from both Young Adults’ Choices and
Best Books for Young Adults are incorporated into classroom reading,
you can be sure that they offer the right balance between popular and
well-crafted fiction. To learn about more books on YAC and BBYA
lists, take a look at previous years’ offerings on the IRA web site at
www.reading.org/resources/booklists/youngadultschoices.aspx and on
the ALA/YALSA web site at www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/bbya/
List of Novels
Anderson, L. H. (2007). Twisted. New York, NY: Viking.
Asher, J. (2007). Th1rteen r3asons why. New York, NY: Razorbill.
Brande. R. (2007). Evolution, me & other freaks of nature. New York, NY:
Knopf.
Green, J. (2008). Paper towns. New York, NY: Dutton.
Jenkins, A. M. (2007). Repossessed. New York, NY: HarperTeen.
Landy, D. (2007). Skulduggery pleasant. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Lockhart, E. (2008). The disreputable history of Frankie Landau-Banks.
New York, NY: Hyperion.
McNamee, G. (2008). Bonechiller. New York, NY: Wendy Lamb Books.
Pearson, M. E. (2008). The adoration of Jenna Fox. New York, NY: Holt.
Scott, E. (2008). Living dead girl. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Smith, R. (2007). Peak. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.
Voorhees, C. (2008). The brothers Torres. New York, NY: Hyperion.
Zarr, S. (2007). Story of a girl. New York, NY: Little, Brown.
Zarr, S. (2008). Sweethearts. New York, NY: Little, Brown.
Zevin, G. (2007). Memoirs of a teenage amnesiac. New York, NY: Farrar
Straus and Giroux.
About the Author:
During her thirty-year career as an educator, Dr. Chance teaches young
adult and children’s literature courses in the Department of Library
Science at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. She has served
as chair of the 2003 Margaret Edwards Award Committee and as a
member of three other selection committees
n my role as a seventh-grade language arts teacher, one the of the best
things I do is put books into my students’ hands. With a classroom
library of almost 1,000 books, I almost always have the right book
for the right student at the right time. Assembling that library has not
been an easy task. It took not only thousands of dollars, but also
thousands of hours of reading and choosing the books my students
would both like and need - and sometimes don’t even know they need.
Not long ago, I would have turned to the several booklists available
at the American Library Association website (ala.org). Librarians,
teachers and parents can find many book lists including Best Books for
Young Adults, Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, and
Outstanding Books for the College Bound. In addition, the ALA has
several award winners and accompanying honor books for young adult
literature including the Printz, the Alex, and the Edwards awards.
More and more, however, I look to social media sites in order to
learn about the very best books for teens. The most exciting and
unexpected of these is Twitter. By following authors whose books I
enjoy and bloggers who write about YA fiction, I know the latest and
greatest books to hit the market. One of the bloggers I read faithfully
and whose opinions I respect is Teri Lesesne. Her blog on LiveJournal
(professornana.livejournal.com) is updated almost daily. Lesesne, who
has written several books on motivating teens and tweens to read, has her
finger on the pulse of what’s new and notable not only for teens, but for
children of all ages.
In her book Reading Ladders, Lesesne puts forth the idea that
teachers can and should meet readers where they are, talk to students
about books they love, consider the elements those books share, and
build ladders, step by step, to urge students to select more complex and
sophisticated books. An example of such a ladder might be to start with
one of the Clique books by Lissi Harrison. I’m not a fan of these
books, personally, but my seventh grade girls love them. I know from
talking with the girls that these books are about relationships and fitting
in. From The Clique, I can hand a student Sisterhood of the Traveling
Pants by Ann Brasheres, and then Wolves, Boys, and Other Things
That Might Kill Me by Kristen Chandler. Eventually, following the
topics of relationships and fitting in, I can lead a student to Emma by
Jane Austen. The beauty of reading ladders is that students are gently
moved towards books they might not have picked up otherwise, and they
have built up the stamina required to read more challenging texts. By
following Lesesne’s blog and Twitter posts, I am in an up-to-the-minute
loop on her latest thinking about books and ladders.
Another way to use Twitter as a title-finder is to follow one of the
many chats centered on YA books. One of the largest Twitter
conversation can be followed by using the hashtag #YAlitchat. Authors,
editors, teachers, and readers talk about a variety of topics including
trends in YA literature, new authors, and various aspects of writing. I
have been able to incorporate insights from authors and editors into my
classroom through writing minilessons and one-on-one conferences with
my students. Another valuable chat is #titletalk, hosted by Donalyn
Miller, author of The Book Whisperer, and Paul Hankins, a high-
I
Connecting Teens to Great Reads - Web 2.0
Melinda Rench
school English teacher from southern Indiana who sponsors an amazing
online community for his students (rawinkonline.com). This chat is held
on the last Sunday of every month and usually has a guiding question to
focus the conversation. The participants in #titletalk are knowledgeable
and passionate about books and literacy. Whenever I participate in these
chats, I meet new teachers and authors from all over the country. Not
only do I have the opportunity to learn, I have the chance to make my
voice heard. These chats are co-constructed learning environments; I can
share the books I’ve read and thought about with other teachers across
the country. I have created for myself a professional learning network
that pushes me to expand my thinking about my practice, and is an
invaluable part of my professional development.
Goodreads (goodreads.com) is another place I go for book ideas.
One of my students affectionately calls this site “Facebook for nerds.”
And it is, if you are a book nerd like me. One of the more useful
sections of the Goodreads site is the “Find Books” tab. Users can search
a variety of lists compiled by other users. For example, I was looking for
great steampunk titles to examine for use in a literature circle. By
searching “steampunk”, I found the list “Best Steampunk Books” where
Goodreads users added titles and voted for the ones they thought best. I
could click on the title and read the book’s summary and several reviews.
This helped me to narrow the list of 137 titles down to five or six for
closer reading. Goodreads also hosts discussion forums and online book
groups for users. My “to-read” pile grows each time I visit.
No matter how teachers go about finding the next best book for
their classroom libraries, the important thing is to find them. Join
Goodreads, get a Twitter account, check out the ALA website. Or better
yet, ask your own students, “What’s the best book you’ve read lately?”
This would be my answer (although I cannot list just one):
• Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson (Henry Holt, 2008)
• Black Hole Sun by David M. Gill (Greenwillow Books, 2010)
• Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (Athenaeum, 2008)
• Countdown by Deborah Wiles (Scholastic Press, 2010)
• Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson (Atheneum, 2010)
• Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork
(Arthur A. Levine, 2010)
• Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork (Arthur A.
Levine, 2009)
• Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper (Atheneum, 2010)
• Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (Delacorte, 2010)
• Unwind by Neal Shusterman (Simon & Schuster, 2007)
About the Author:
Melinda Rench is a seventh-grade language arts teacher at Northbrook
Junior High in Northbrook, Illinois and is a teacher consultant with the
Illinois Writing Project.
– California English • Vol. 16.3 • January 2011 • page 20 –
Tar Beach: A Faith Ringgold Story for Young Readers
Hank Klein
ar Beach by Faith Ringgold is a childhood picture book story
that has tremendous merit in the curriculum for grades one to
three. It is a Caldecott Honor Book. That means it almost won
the prize for the best achievement in a picture book for children in
1992. Caldecott Award Books almost always receive curriculum
mention. They are equal to the chapter books of the Newbery
Award Books. Awards for pictures equal awards for text. In a
Caldecott winner the text meets the requirement of “worthy of the
pictures.” Mostly this is true. Some Caldecott stories could almost
be Newbery candidates. This is important for teachers. What the
Newbery book does for words the Caldecott book does for pictures.
There are film productions from both Newbery and Caldecott
winners. Island of the Blue Dolphins is a Newbery book that is
relevant to pre-colonial America and to Native-American culture. It
is especially relevant in studies of the earliest Californians. Where
the Wild Things Are is a picture fantasy with illustrations of
outstanding film quality. There are films of both books.
Some Caldecott winners have equally outstanding stories. The
Biggest Bear has opaque watercolors that make for almost a sepia
effect. It certainly is not a cartoon book. It also has an outstanding
text with a great story. The pictures merit the story as well as the
story merits the pictures. The Snowy Day has a worthy text about an
African-American boy the age of many of the readers. He talks a
walk in the snow. The pictures have vivid colors that form a contrast
with the white of the snow.
Caldecott Honor Books are sometimes, but not always, in the
curriculum list. The same is sometimes true of Newbery Honor
Books. Hence, a comparison with Newbery Honor Books is
appropriate. Charlotte’s Web is possibly the best example. This alltime great is about farm children and animals, a popular theme with
most young readers. It is possibly more famous than most Newbery
Award Books. This includes the book that defeated it for the prize,
Secret of the Andes.
Across Five Aprils is a Newbery Honor Book from the midsixties. Like the Newbery Award Book, I, Juan de Pareja, it is a book
involving minorities. It is a good Civil War story equal to Johnnie
Tremain, a Newbery Award Book about the American Revolution.
There are also some other great Caldecott Honor Books.
Madeline is a classic with great illustrations and a great text. This
all-time favorite is almost certainly more famous than many of the
books that clinched the Caldecott Award Book designation. Time
Flies is a good story with a plot and a character but no text. The
pictures tell the entire story of the book. It is similar to the stained
glass windows of old European cathedrals. They were in the
buildings to teach, not merely to illustrate, the stories of the Bible.
T
Tar Beach is an example of an outstanding Caldecott Honor
Book. It is a fine picture book for grade one. The students will
appreciate the pictures. The illustrations are bright vivid colors in the
style of a quilt. They form a contrast to the dark sky. The night
scene is has stars punctuating the sky and the buildings of the New
York skyline. There is a good use of contrasting colors. The
tablecloth of the picnic on the roof is blue and white. It uses the
checkered quilt patchwork style. The white sheet on the roof-top
picnic is a contrast to the dark tar roof.
A discussion of the style of the artist is appropriate. Faith
Ringgold, a talented African-American woman, has much in
common with Marc Chagall She uses people in the sky with some of
the lower ground or roof usually appearing. She captures the New
York effect in the same way that Chagall captured the effect of
Eastern Europe and France. Yet this is not a fantasy in the sense of
the Peter Pan character. It is truly an artistic way of expressing
freedom of real human beings. One valid comparison with Marc
Chagall exists in his painting Paris Through the Window. There are
Shown here: Mayella’s Geraniums
– California English • Vol. 16.3 • January 2011 • page 21 –
window scenes in many of the pictures in this book. When Faith
Ringgold paints the cityscape of New York her accomplishment
equals the rural effect that Chagall achieves with I and My Village.
The family people in Tar Beach are genuine city folks of New
York. The artistic effect is still quasi-surrealistic. I use this word in
the sense of time and imagination. It is not surrealist in terms of the
Salvador Dali style. It is important to note the pleasant feeling of
her art work. It is not the scare feeling of Hieronymus Bosch. New
York is the birthplace of the artist-author.
Ringgold the artist is equally talented as Ringgold the author.
Her words capture New York and the life of the city. They do so in
a way that equals the words of Mark Twain as he captured the rural
areas of the Midwest. At the same time Faith Ringgold introduces
us to a New York girl with equal talent to Mark Twain introducing
the reader to a boy of the Mississippi River.
Most of the students will experience the story as the teacher
reads it to them. This is a good listening lesson. Many instructors
overlook listening as a language arts skill. We teach reading, writing,
and speaking at the expense of listening. The pictures make the
listening lesson better. There will be less time merely "auding" or
noticing sound. The oral reading will have more meaning because of
the great illustrations.
The teacher will repeat important point for emphasis. This is not
mere drill. Yet there is a word of caution against too much
repetition. We want to avoid students developing the habit of not
listening.
Some students will be able to do some of the reading. Advanced
students will take turns. Different students mean different voices.
This encourages better listening. There will be one student reading
at one time. Any readers will be soloists. This is not a choral reading
exercise. This book does not lend itself to choral poetry group
recitation. Each student will read about two pages. Then there will
be another reader. This will give more students more reading
chances. I anticipate several readers from a normal grade one class.
Tar Beach is also a very fine story for grade two. Most students
will be able to read and understand the book. They can take turns
reading aloud. First graders can “sound out” the words. Second
graders will probably be able to handle an entire sentence. The
readers may alternate between a boy and a girl. It is important to
make sure that boys have reading chances. Their reading skills often
develop later than those of the girls. Each reader will show at least
two pictures when finished reading.
Bi-literacy is a worthy goal. Students that are native readers in
another language will be able to read their first language and English
equally well with a book like Tar Beach. Each student will read
about four pages. The other students will listen carefully. The
teacher may call on the students for reading turns. The teacher may
also call for questions.
At the end of the reading the teacher and students may discuss
the pictures. The stars in the sky are similar to the stars in “The
Starry Night” painting by Vincent Van Gogh. They form a contrast
to the black tar of the roof. That tar-colored surface replaces a green
lawn or white sand beach as the family picnic site. That
is quite a contrast in itself.
The best time for a story from a picture book is
when the students return from lunch. It is a good time
for them to relax before starting any more difficult
afternoon work. A story that takes place mainly in the
evening is also good at the end of the day rather than
the morning.
The book is appropriate in terms of reading
“difficulty” or better yet, level of capability. This book
is not a pre-primer. It is of a quality that is far beyond
most beginning books. It certainly is not an “I can
read” style of book. It is far beyond the rhyme stage.
The text is far beyond a series of captions for a picture
book. Still the second graders will know most of the
words. Some of the words appear in the illustrations as
names for buildings. This is an artistic device in its own
right. It unites the pictures and the text. This is also
good reading reinforcement.
The book is not a work for the remedial reader. The
teacher or another student will read the book to any
remedial students in the class. This will enable these
students to understand the story better when they reach
the appropriate reading level. This work is within the
Shown here: Here’s My Heart
– California English • Vol. 16.3 • January 2011 • page 22 –
listening comprehension capability of all students with normal
hearing. At least this is true for those with sufficient oral command
of the English language. No official designations or classifications
exist for listening as they do for reading. Still all students will
probably listen with sufficient understanding of the story.
Tar Beach is even beyond the level of the primer. It has a good
text that is worthy of the very outstanding illustrations, an important
factor in Caldecott book judging. The text is comprehensible for
most grade-two students in terms of both listening and reading.
I consider this book to be a great deal better than a second grade
basal reader. Basal readers will probably not discuss topics such as
labor unions and discrimination. It is also less condescending than
some books, basal or otherwise. It does not insult the intelligence of
any young reader or older reader.
Tar Beach is a superbly great book for grade three. Third graders
are generally able to read with greater ease. They can read it to
younger students. This is a good book for visits to the lower grade
classrooms. Several students could read to the first graders. Two
grade three students will suffice for reading to the second graders.
The book is also good for buddy reading, when students of
different ages form a reading pair. It is good for third graders when
they alternate reading with a first grade reading buddy or perhaps
even a second grader. It is also valuable when the third-grader reads
with an older student. The goal is for the third-grader to read the
entire book. A third-grader, moreover, can form a partnership with a
classmate whose native language is not English. This will do a
tremendous job of advancing literacy, especially bi-literacy.
The third-grade students will soon be able to read the entire
book by themselves. It is appropriate to say that this goal of good
silent reading comprehension is not too formidable.
Oral reading is, in a sense, more difficult than silent
reading. The reader has more comprehension
difficulties, as the reader is concentrating more on
pronunciation than meaning.
A discussion of concepts and ideas is acceptable for
grade three. The explanation will be brief and
encourage discussion rather than lecture. The teacher
will explain labor unions. This will include a
description of the situation in the city of New York
during the first half of the twentieth century, the eve of
World War II, etc. The teacher will mention the tall
buildings, the African-American families, and perhaps
other ethnic groups present in the city at that time.
Then there will be a contrasting discussion with the
present. This can include labor unions as they exist now,
building trades, and other ethnic groups that now live in
New York. There can be discussions of differences in
places as well as eras. The students and the teacher can
learn of similarities and differences between New York
and some cities of California as they exist today.
Tar Beach tells a story of people that were able to enjoy a picnic
in a different setting. They were not wealthy people that were easily
able to travel to a rural area. The roof of their apartment building is
their own beach or park in the summer. Still this book is not a
description of poverty or a book of pity. It is not like La Vida, a
description of La Perla, a rough urban area of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
It is not like The Children of Sanchez, a description of the bitter life
of a Chicano family in the Southwestern United States. Those
books by the anthropologist Oscar Lewis are about the culture of
poverty. This book by Faith Ringgold is not.
The book is about simple New York working people as they
enjoy their lives in their area. There is no luxury but they are still able
to enjoy a happy family meal within their means. They did this even
when times were tight. This is a book inspired by reality. Sure
Cassie Lightfoot, the young girl and main character, has dreams and
desires. Still they have a realistic base in the city. They are not
Cinderella type dreams. They are not the impressions of a person
that is dependent totally on imagination for survival. Imagination
and reality form a union in Tar Beach.
The book merits a place in our curriculum. Any list of books for
the school curriculum is incomplete without including Faith
Ringgold’s masterpiece.
About the Author:
Hank Klein is a former Olympic participant now teaching in
California. The intent of his articles is to make
our good curriculum even better.
Faith Ringgold, “Anyone Can Fly”
– California English • Vol. 16.3 • January 2011 • page 23 –