I have to admit. Katie is one of my favorite teachers in the whole world. I meet her virtually through a friend long before I met her in person. She teaches, she blogs, she has family, she is a supportive friend and her upbeat attitude is contagious. I believed all of this before I met her. Then when I did, it was all confirmed. She is one of the great additions to my professional life and even though we live miles apart, we are friends. When I read her previous blog posts I have a renewed faith in teachers. She manages to engages students in learning and reading even in an era of excessive testing. She moves forward and does good in the world.
She has several previous posts and they are all interesting. Check them out: #1 YA in the Middle School Classroom #2 When We Love Books; Writers Are Our Rock Stars: Why Author Visits Matter #3 Revisiting the Classics I Never Visited in The First Place by Katie Sluiter. I hope you check them out and then read what Katie has to say this time around.
She has several previous posts and they are all interesting. Check them out: #1 YA in the Middle School Classroom #2 When We Love Books; Writers Are Our Rock Stars: Why Author Visits Matter #3 Revisiting the Classics I Never Visited in The First Place by Katie Sluiter. I hope you check them out and then read what Katie has to say this time around.
Moving to Sameness: Climate Change through the Lens of The Giver by Katie Sluiter
As a practicing English teacher, I try to stay current with what is best practice. I read all the newest books by gurus like Penny Kittle, Donalyn Miller, Kelly Gallagher, and so on. I lurk--and sometimes participate--in Twitter chats for ELA educators, and I am part of a few ELA Teacher groups on Facebook. Through participation in these mediums, two things have become apparent: Students need choice and teachers have to teach full class novels.
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I have been a huge supporter of student choice for years now, building my classroom library from 104 books in 2012 to over 1200 titles now. My students read, I read, and we talk about books constantly.
But I also teach full-class novels. I do this because it’s expected of me in my district, but likewise because I enjoy sharing a text with all my classes. Like a giant book club, some will fall in love with the book, but for some the book won’t be their favorite. But what I love best is the discussion about all the other “stuff” that comes up when reading a novel together.
But I also teach full-class novels. I do this because it’s expected of me in my district, but likewise because I enjoy sharing a text with all my classes. Like a giant book club, some will fall in love with the book, but for some the book won’t be their favorite. But what I love best is the discussion about all the other “stuff” that comes up when reading a novel together.
Take, for example, the canonical middle school novel, The Giver by Lois Lowry. I joyfully teach this text year after year with my 8th grade students.
The Giver is a doorway to many conversations about contemporary society including what equality looks like, what the role of a government should be, and what the overall meaning of being human is. This past school year, I decided to take a different path and connect The Giver to our world’s current climate crisis.
Before even starting the book, we began by defining the word “dystopia.” Every one of my students has either read a dystopian novel or seen a dystopian film. We discussed what similarities they have that might contribute to what a dystopia is. Repeatedly, students brought up the environment/setting as being “dark,” “ruined,” “post apocalyptic,” and “dead-feeling.”
As we began reading, we started searching for evidence of why The Giver is listed under the dystopia genre. At the same time, we began reading articles about the difference between “climate” and “weather” which also allowed us to discuss the idea of precision of language that is repeated in the novel.
The Giver is a doorway to many conversations about contemporary society including what equality looks like, what the role of a government should be, and what the overall meaning of being human is. This past school year, I decided to take a different path and connect The Giver to our world’s current climate crisis.
Before even starting the book, we began by defining the word “dystopia.” Every one of my students has either read a dystopian novel or seen a dystopian film. We discussed what similarities they have that might contribute to what a dystopia is. Repeatedly, students brought up the environment/setting as being “dark,” “ruined,” “post apocalyptic,” and “dead-feeling.”
As we began reading, we started searching for evidence of why The Giver is listed under the dystopia genre. At the same time, we began reading articles about the difference between “climate” and “weather” which also allowed us to discuss the idea of precision of language that is repeated in the novel.
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As we proceed, we use focus questions to guide our reading and discussion in order to parallel what is happening in the plot to what is happening in our world regarding climate. Some of the focus questions are:
- Are dystopias the natural consequence of utopias?
- How do our memories give us knowledge?
- Are there some choices that are too important/risky for us to make for ourselves?
- How are minds changed about a rule or law?
- What can we do if we don’t agree with a rule or decision?
One of the final writing assignments students do puts them into the role of “Receiver of Memory” and gives them a climate issue: The water in the river is changing. It is getting murky and warmer than usual. This beginning to affect the hatcheries--one of the Community’s main sources of nourishment. Based on your “memories” of pollution and climate, how would you advise the Elders?
Students then work together on investigating current and past climate and pollution crises and how they have been mitigated--if they have at all. Later in the school year, our 8th grade team does a persuasive writing unit, and many students choose to revisit their work and research from The Giver as they craft letters to politicians about concerns they have as the next generation to inherit the current global and societal issues.
Students then work together on investigating current and past climate and pollution crises and how they have been mitigated--if they have at all. Later in the school year, our 8th grade team does a persuasive writing unit, and many students choose to revisit their work and research from The Giver as they craft letters to politicians about concerns they have as the next generation to inherit the current global and societal issues.
An unforeseen, but positive effect of this unit was the number of students who asked me, “what else can I read that has to do with climate problems?” Because of a grad class I had on Teaching Climate Change in the ELA Classroom, I have a number of suggestions, but these are the Top 5:
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
Here is the Kirkus Review. (From Steve: I loved this one. It is so solid.)
Flush by Carl Hiaasen
Here is the Kirkus Review. (From Steve: I love the humor that Hiaasen provide. His middle grades books make me chuckle. I still love reading his adult offerings.)
Carbon Diaries by Staci Lloyd
Here is the Kirkus Review. (From Steve: I think Lloyd's work still reverberates loudly in today's world.)
Feed by MT Anderson
Here is the Kirkus Review. (From Steve: I can't believe this book was published in 2002. It still rings true as a cautionary tale of consumerism in the modern world.)
Orleans by Sherri L. Smith
Here is the Kirkus Review. (From Steve: Once again, Katie is leading the way. I should know this one, but I don't. I lived in Baton Rouge from 2008 through 2014 and into 2015. This books sounds riveting and will be added to my to be read list.)
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
Here is the Kirkus Review. (From Steve: I loved this one. It is so solid.)
Flush by Carl Hiaasen
Here is the Kirkus Review. (From Steve: I love the humor that Hiaasen provide. His middle grades books make me chuckle. I still love reading his adult offerings.)
Carbon Diaries by Staci Lloyd
Here is the Kirkus Review. (From Steve: I think Lloyd's work still reverberates loudly in today's world.)
Feed by MT Anderson
Here is the Kirkus Review. (From Steve: I can't believe this book was published in 2002. It still rings true as a cautionary tale of consumerism in the modern world.)
Orleans by Sherri L. Smith
Here is the Kirkus Review. (From Steve: Once again, Katie is leading the way. I should know this one, but I don't. I lived in Baton Rouge from 2008 through 2014 and into 2015. This books sounds riveting and will be added to my to be read list.)
Katie Sluiter is currently an 8th English teacher in West Michigan. She has taught middle school, high school, and community college and has her Masters Degree in Teaching English. She is a doctoral student at Western Michigan University pursuing a PhD in English Education. She has had her personal essays published in numerous anthologies and is a regular contributor to The Educator’s Room. She is a member of and has presented at both NCTE and MCTE. She is a National Writing Project participant and has been published in the Language Arts Journal of Michigan multiple times.
Until next time
Until next time
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