I must begin this post with a squee! of jubilation. This morning I sent in the first three chapters of my thesis to be torn apart by my committee. Also, I submitted grades today, so I am past the mountain of many papers and can start concentrating on writing and critiquing again (sorry, critique partners, for the hiatus). ALSO, we got out of school early today. So it's a perfect day to catch up on blogs and give feedback to my friends' novels.
Oh, and also, my uncle sent me an awesome writing care package with a guide to literary agents, Janet Evanovich's HOW I WRITE, and Rhittenberg and Whitcomb's YOUR FIRST NOVEL. I'd been eyeing these books at B&N, so yay that I didn't buy them and yay that I get to read them now!
Okay. I've been promising a post on my thesis and the YA books I've been reading for it. So, without further ado...
MY THESIS IN A NUTSHELL
English teachers often use YA literature to teach about social issues. In the nineties, there was the big push for teaching tolerance and eliminating prejudice by having kids read books written by and about minorities. C.J. Bott wrote a book on using books to educate students about the dangers of bullying. My thesis is similar in that I'm having students read YA novels to explore the issue of teen violence. Specifically, I want to focus on the causes and effects of teen violence, and I want students to become more aware of the warning signs of people who need help.
Originally, I was just going to focus on school shootings. I picked out SHOOTER by Walter Dean Meyers, GIVE A BOY A GUN by Todd Strasser, AFTER by Francine Prose, BIG MOUTH AND UGLY GIRL by Joyce Carol Oates, and NINETEEN MINUTES by Jodi Picoult. I realized, though, that I needed to broaden my scope to investigate other types of violence, such as date rape, cutting, and suicide. I've incorporated books like TWISTED and SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson, THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by Jay Asher, CUT by Patricia McCormick, and WHO KILLED CASS MCBRIDE by Gail Giles.
My students will do a book project on one of these books. I hope to put them into groups of three or four kids all reading the same book. Throughout the unit, we will have class discussions and do journal entries over topics related to teen violence. I hope to have a counselor available at discussions so the kids can ask questions they have.
Overall, I'm very excited about the project. It's wonderful to be studying something I can use in the classroom. And it's something I believe in. I hope, through education, we can help kids to recognize and put a stop to the cycle of violence. I also hope they will be better able to recognize when someone's in trouble and realize when it's time to get help.
Do you have suggestions of any other YA books that might fit my thesis?
