I love teaching my undergraduate class on YA literature. It is a ton of fun to revisit some of the classics from the early days of the classification. Deciding on the goals of a YA course can be tricky. Do you focus on history? Do you focus on pedagogy? Or, do you focus on a specific theoretical approach—Youth Lens, Feminism, or Queer theory? Perhaps you teach a courses to pre-service teachers and you want them to build a strong sense of what is out there in the various genres of this literature—fantasy, historical fiction, or contemporary realism. Another approach would be to focus on famous authors or authors who have won multiple awards.
Maybe, just reading books that have been on the short list for the National Book Award (NBA), would be a fun approach. Just having a class that focused on the winners of the NBA would be 24 books if you included the winner that will be announce in November of 2019. (In fact, I am a little disappointed in myself for not holding a spot in my course for the announced winner.)
Maybe, just reading books that have been on the short list for the National Book Award (NBA), would be a fun approach. Just having a class that focused on the winners of the NBA would be 24 books if you included the winner that will be announce in November of 2019. (In fact, I am a little disappointed in myself for not holding a spot in my course for the announced winner.)
I tend to focus on books that deal with race, class, and gender in some way that still provide a broad array of books from older periods and some that are more recent.. If you look at my page for this year’s course, I have skewed the selection to more recent texts. You can find my list of books at this link. I have books that recognize early trends in the classification and a chunk of books that represent winners of the NBA, the Printz Award, and the Newbery.
The class has just finished day eleven and we have read eight books as a class and the students have read and discussed a graphic novel of their choice. I don’t want to bore you with the details of each class, but I would like to share some of the conversations and activities that we have covered.
The first eight books are listed below and I have provided a link to a review:
1.The Outsiders: A newish review in the Guardian
2. Hatchet: The Original Kirkus Review
3. Holes: The Original Kirkus Review
4. Merci Suarez Changes Gears: The Original Kirkus Review
5. American Born Chinese: Amazingly enough, there is not a Kirkus Review. Here is a review from The Open Book Shelf
6. Realm of Possibilty: The Original Kirkus Review
7. Death Coming up the Hill: The Original Kirkus Review
8. Brown Girl Dreaming: The Original Kirkus Review
Below are the Images:
The class has just finished day eleven and we have read eight books as a class and the students have read and discussed a graphic novel of their choice. I don’t want to bore you with the details of each class, but I would like to share some of the conversations and activities that we have covered.
The first eight books are listed below and I have provided a link to a review:
1.The Outsiders: A newish review in the Guardian
2. Hatchet: The Original Kirkus Review
3. Holes: The Original Kirkus Review
4. Merci Suarez Changes Gears: The Original Kirkus Review
5. American Born Chinese: Amazingly enough, there is not a Kirkus Review. Here is a review from The Open Book Shelf
6. Realm of Possibilty: The Original Kirkus Review
7. Death Coming up the Hill: The Original Kirkus Review
8. Brown Girl Dreaming: The Original Kirkus Review
Below are the Images:
A Look at what we did with The Outsiders
| I began the course by talking about The Outsiders as one of the benchmark books from 1967. A year that many see as the birth of the modern era of Young Adult Literature. Indeed, the book has stood the test of time. When I discuss this book with colleagues all of them still see the book as moving, a persuasive text about poverty and the economic division that exists in many high schools and communities, and an example of frame narrative that uses beautiful language and imagery. You don’t believe me? Read the opening and closing passages again. Remind yourself how Hinton calls up Frost’s poem Nothing Gold can Stay and then uses the phrase “Stay Gold Ponyboy.” |  |
In preparation for the class discussion, students read the book and a couple of short articles. Several years ago I ediited an issue of First Opinion, Second Reaction. In that issue, we asked authors to look at various "classic" YA texts. The first author captured how the book was recieved when it was first published. The second author dicussed how the book was viewed today or how it might be used in schools.
In FOSR V7 I1 we covered the following books: I Am the Cheese, The Outsiders, Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack!, The Contender, and The Watson’s Go to Birmingham.
For The Outsiders, Jennifer S. Dail wrote the First Reaction and Sophia Tatiana Sarigianides wrote the Second Reaction. both of these small articles show how a book can be used over time.
I also provided an inclasses study guide to help with class discussion and to model what a future teacher might do in thier own classrooms.
See the handout below.
In FOSR V7 I1 we covered the following books: I Am the Cheese, The Outsiders, Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack!, The Contender, and The Watson’s Go to Birmingham.
For The Outsiders, Jennifer S. Dail wrote the First Reaction and Sophia Tatiana Sarigianides wrote the Second Reaction. both of these small articles show how a book can be used over time.
I also provided an inclasses study guide to help with class discussion and to model what a future teacher might do in thier own classrooms.
See the handout below.
I also realise that most of my students are significantly younger than the book. Many of the allusions in the book might be lost on these readers, just as they might be new for their future students. I created a power point presentation that visual introduced some of the references in The Outsiders. How many of them do you recognize from first hand experience?
| the_outsiders.pptx |
It was a great second day of class. I hope you find this information useful. What would be really great fun would be for you to browse the wonderful notes my students produced.
What we did with Brown Girl Dreaming
| Jacqueline Woodson continues to amaze me. I am glad I have had a few conversations with her. In my experience, she is direct and honest in her discussions of literature, the writing process, and her evaluation of the larger field of YA literature. I once asked her, shortly after the death of Walter Dean Myers, who were the young African American male writers that were new on the scene. Among several authors, she mentioned Jason Reynolds and Varian Johnson. After our conversation, I made way to Amazon and bought books by these fine authors. What a find! Jason has certainly made a splash and if you are still unfamiliar with Varian Johnson, grab a copy of The Parker Inheritance and get started. |  |
If her insight and kindness weren’t enough, her writing is superb! Few writers have a body of work as large as Woodson's. It spans from children’s books to young adult literature. I am sure that scholars in both fields want to claim her. I know, as a scholar of YA literature, I want to grab her books that might attrack readers in the fourth grade and pull them into my arena. I am sure scholars of children’s literature want to pull some of her older works in their direction.
I championed Brown Girl Dreaming from the beginning. Not that it needed my help, mind you, but I loved it. As a memoir, many of its references and allusions resonated with my own experience. At the same time, many of her experiences as an African American woman in the south and in Brooklyn are never going to be mine. Nevertheless, the memoir speaks of family, of growing up, of writing and reading. I came of age in the racially turbulent years of the late 60s and the early 70s. I attended a racially integrated high school and served in an integrated student council. Those moments and interactions shaped how I have tried to treat my students, my colleagues, and my family. Perhaps, I have come close to the spirit of fairness that soars on the wings of hope in the writings of Jacqueline Woodson.
I write about my reaction to Brown Girl Dreaming in an issue of FOSR. I was asked to write the piece because the editors knew of my fondness for the book. Well, if you knew me, you knew I wouldn’t stop talking about it. I read the book again and wrote a second response. It was a labor of love. I hope you like it and I hope it resonates with.
I championed Brown Girl Dreaming from the beginning. Not that it needed my help, mind you, but I loved it. As a memoir, many of its references and allusions resonated with my own experience. At the same time, many of her experiences as an African American woman in the south and in Brooklyn are never going to be mine. Nevertheless, the memoir speaks of family, of growing up, of writing and reading. I came of age in the racially turbulent years of the late 60s and the early 70s. I attended a racially integrated high school and served in an integrated student council. Those moments and interactions shaped how I have tried to treat my students, my colleagues, and my family. Perhaps, I have come close to the spirit of fairness that soars on the wings of hope in the writings of Jacqueline Woodson.
I write about my reaction to Brown Girl Dreaming in an issue of FOSR. I was asked to write the piece because the editors knew of my fondness for the book. Well, if you knew me, you knew I wouldn’t stop talking about it. I read the book again and wrote a second response. It was a labor of love. I hope you like it and I hope it resonates with.
To prepare for class the student read the book and read Kristin K. A. McIlhaga's First Opinion followed by my Second Reaction. I also began class with another wordless point that displayed images that are referenced in Brown Girl Dreaming. Again, while the book is a contemporary publication, the memior focuses on a period of time that predates most of my students. You might find some of the images I selected interesting. I would be interested in what other images you might like to add to this collection.
| brown_girl_dreaming.pptx |
The book is lyrical and full of moments that simultaneously breaks your heart and force you to pause and admire its beauty. Not only did it deserve the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. It just might be the best book of that year.
After the class began, I asked them to consider how Woodson uses sensory imagery to capture memory through her often simple, but beautiful poetry. The students were asked to think of sensory images that might be used to capture their own memories. I hope that they are reminded of the beauty and power of their own experiences. I hope generations of readers are able to get lost in the beauty of Woodson words.
After the class began, I asked them to consider how Woodson uses sensory imagery to capture memory through her often simple, but beautiful poetry. The students were asked to think of sensory images that might be used to capture their own memories. I hope that they are reminded of the beauty and power of their own experiences. I hope generations of readers are able to get lost in the beauty of Woodson words.
Until next week.
This post strives to capture a small portion of what happen in these two class periods. I know that I am having a good time reading and talking about these books. I hope that my students are having even a portion of the fun that I am having. If they are, then I am helping to build another group of teachers that will be sharing YA literature with there students. What are you doing in your courses? Above everything else, I hope you are having a great time. If you are doing something you love, let me hear about it. It just might be your turn to write a post.
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