Tag: banned books week

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Wouldn’t It Be Amazing If Every Book Had a Map In It?

I am often asked how I work with students when reading controversial texts. The controversy, for me, isn’t whether the book is on this year’s list of “most challenged books,” it’s how to create a personal connection between the events in the book and the students’ personal lives. My biggest challenge is to teach the process of digesting information about a topic in a way … Continue reading Wouldn’t It Be Amazing If Every Book Had a Map In It?

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Classroom Ideas, Main, News from Nat Geo

Teaching the Global Goals with Nasreen’s Secret School

Literature has not always played a huge role in my life. As a kid, I was a voracious reader—I read anything I could get my hands on. But starting in junior high, I found myself reading less and less. As I look back on it, I’m sure there were a number of reasons. Life got busier in junior high, with more independence, friends, and extra … Continue reading Teaching the Global Goals with Nasreen’s Secret School

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Classroom Ideas, Main, News from Nat Geo

The Geography of Harry Potter

When I was younger, I considered myself an active reader. I learned to read at a young age, and my grandmother was a teacher. She always gave my sister and me signed Tomie dePaola books like Strega Nona and The Quilt Story. When I reached the third grade, the Wayside School series by Louis Sachar captivated me with the silly short stories of all the … Continue reading The Geography of Harry Potter

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Classroom Ideas, Main, News from Nat Geo

Appalachia and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

In the U.S., banned book history began when the Southern states banned Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Most post-Civil War challenges were over books that were considered “indecent,” even though no one could agree on what was indecent and what was not. In 1982, however, there was a renewal in efforts to ban books in schools and public libraries across the United States. Thus, Banned Book Week … Continue reading Appalachia and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

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Classroom Ideas, Main, News from Nat Geo

Powerful Picture Books & Graphic Novels (Possibly overlooked in the classroom but not by censors)

  When I was a new teacher, I often overlooked the power of picture books and graphic novels in my junior high classroom. I was afraid that if an administrator walked in and they saw me using a picture book or a graphic novel, they would think I was crazy and that I was babying my students. I fear that many new teachers miss out … Continue reading Powerful Picture Books & Graphic Novels (Possibly overlooked in the classroom but not by censors)

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