How many assigned books in 8th this semester?

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12/24/2022 11:52

Subject: How many assigned books in 8th this semester?

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Anonymous wrote:My kid has read several in AAP throughout the years but I notice that they don’t seem to read the classics anymore. Do they even do that in HS?

We read the classics in middle school growing up because the concept of young adult literature was in its infancy. Today we have access to high quality literature written for teens. Yes, my high school counterparts still have students read the classics. I still read some classic short stories with my students and offer up a few classics when we do literature circles. When we did vertical articulation with the high school, they asked us to pull a few titles we were offering so that they could use them in 9th and 10th. Many of the classics are still available for students to check out in our school library and the librarians are more than willing to borrow any from high schools if a student asks for suggestions.

Many students won’t willingly read a classic if they have to check it out of the library. At least one a year should be assigned and the whole class reads it.

Why should a 12 year old be forced to read a classic? Whole class novels should not be assigned anymore. It is no longer best practice and has not been for at least 10 years. Studies show that readers are built by giving them access to books, CHOICE in what they read, and a purpose for reading.

This is so disheartening to read. You might think it is best practice, but it’s not. There are newer classics the whole class could read- The Outsiders, Lord of the Flies, etc. Students should have choice sometimes and other times there should be a shared whole class reading experience.

I thought Fahrenheit 451 is very relevant, but novels take time to read. Since homework has been eliminated up through at least MS, required reading is no longer assigned unless it can be completed in class.

MS teacher here-- Lord of the Flies, Fahrenheit, and 1984 are typically assigned at our feeder HS. We do a vertical articulation meeting with the department chair and a few English teachers each spring and discuss reading lists. Outsiders is offered as part of a book club group in 7th at our school. It used to be a whole class novel read, but it is no longer beloved by students as it once was.. Fahrenheit is often recommended as an independent read when students are interested in dystopian lit, but we don't have it in our book room because it is in the high school book room.

Up until maybe 5 years ago, I taught whole class novels. I switched to literature circles where I offer 5 or so choices for students. All the books are based on the same theme. I've read all of the novels I offer. Students meet with their literature circles to discuss the reading. It isn't any different from when we read whole class novels, but students tend to be more engaged because they are able to pick a book that appeals to them. My students are 12 and 13-- I'm still trying to get them to build reading stamina and a love of reading. I don't think that I used to do them any favors by assigning them a whole class novel. Yes, they might be assigned a novel to read in HS/college, but the analysis skills they learn in my class reading a book that they chose will transfer.

All that said... many of my friends at other schools have not assigned novels this year. As the PP poster pointed out, because homework completion rates are so abysmal, having students read a novel is a huge headache. Many students don't keep up with the reading, leaving class discussion a pointless activity. Sure, your kid may do homework, but 2/3rds of their classmates may not. It's all part of the dumbing down of FCPS.

Thanks for admitting what we've long suspected rather than trying to tell us this way is much better. I know I was in college a long time ago and was expected to read a lot in little time. Is that not the case anymore? I went to the decent state U not some high ranked private.

The reading ramps up in high school. In middle school, we're trying to un-coddle them from elementary school language arts. They come in with zero writing skills. I spend a large portion of my teaching trying to get students to analyze a short piece of writing using academic language. Our 7th grade English teachers spend a large chunk of first semester just trying to get them to respond to all parts of a question and craft a coherent paragraph. They seem to spend a lot of elementary school writing 1-2 sentence responses and doing a lot of creative writing. I see my role as being the bridge in between-- I'm working on giving them the stamina and skills to be able to handle the high school English class where they are being assigned larger chunks of reading.

I teach 6th and have been working hard with my kids to prep them for next year. With that being said, even when I tell them how they will be graded, some just refuse to write more than a sentence or two. The majority of my students are writing a lot. Any time they have an open ended assessment in any subject they know what I expect. I will also say most of my students hate writing when they come into my class and end up liking it by the end. I like that we have a variety of genres that we teach. But in my opinion, every kid should leave ES being able to write a cohesive paragraph with evidence to their thinking.

Any tips to help them at home before 6th grade?

I’m not a teacher, but at home, I have my kids read magazines, newspapers (printed material only), classic stories, non fiction. I’ve had my kid read everything from National Geographic to Vogue magazine (lol), and whatever random books are laying around the house. I am a reader and have a lot of printed material. Most modern novels have a small range of vocabulary and simple syntax. For writing, it’s critical children be EXPOSED to more complicated sentence structure before they can craft their own sentences.