Ms. Chalida Reads: YA

Showing posts with label YA. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

This American Life: Is this Working? Review (actual media is shown right below this post)

Chicago Public Media, & Glass, I. (Producers). (2014, October 17). Is this working? [Show #538]. This American life from WBEZ. Podcast retrieved from http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/538/is-this-working

Summary: Act One of this episode talks about how Black and Latino children are being suspended as early as preschool way more than Whites. Tunette Powell’s three and four year old children are getting suspended from preschool repeatedly. Powell blames herself as a child who was repeatedly suspended and even expelled from preschool. She thought it was because her father was in prison. As an adult she believed with a two-parent household and a stable income, she was doing better for her kids. Her kids’ suspensions make her wonder what she’s done wrong. Then conversations with other kids’ parents at a birthday party make her realize that her children are being punished more frequently and for lesser offenses. Powell writes a blog questioning the racism she is facing.

Review: This first 17-min clip is thought-provoking. Anecdotally and statistically it is very rich. Students could share their school experiences with discipline and their thoughts on justice in schools. Who gets it? Who doesn’t? Lots of juicy questions for teenagers. This podcast is perfect for the auditory learner. It is well edited and the music helps engage all. Using a reflection notebook, students could write down details about Powell’s story while listening.

Diversity: Racism towards African American students is discussed extensively through this episode.

Suggestions for Teachers: A conversation about race in America would be a good pre-activity to prime students, but most will find this podcast engaging and disturbing. Use this to talk about current events in Ferguson and race in America in a Social Studies class.

Reading Level:

Quantitative: N/A
Qualitative: The stories and interviews used here are told in chronological order. Vocabulary is contemporary and largely familiar. No other context is needed to make meaning. A discussion about students' own racial experiences or a journal might be a good way to prime students.

Content Areas: English, Social Studies

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.2
Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.3
Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.5
Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.6
Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.

Relevant links: This American Life

Subjects/Themes: racism, discipline, education, African Americans

Awards: N/A

Series Information: This American Life

This American Life: Is this Working? #538 by Chicago Public Radio & Ira Glass

Reading Level:

Quantitative: N/A
Qualitative: The stories and interviews used here are told in chronological order. Vocabulary is contemporary and largely familiar. No other context is needed to make meaning. A discussion about students' own racial experiences or a journal might be a good way to prime students.

Content Areas: English, Social Studies

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.3
Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.

Relevant links: This American Life

Subjects/Themes: racism, discipline, education, African Americans

Awards: N/A

Series Information: This American Life

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries produced by Hank Green & Bernie Sue

Green, H., & Su, B. (Producers). (2012, April 9). My name is Lizzie Bennet [Show #1]. The Lizzie Bennet diaries. Podcast retrieved from http://www.pemberleydigital.com/the-lizzie-bennet-diaries/

Summary: This is a modern Pride and Prejudice with Lizzie Bennet a grad student in Mass Communications living at home with her parents. Mrs. Bennet is obsessed with marrying off all three of her daughters and is especially excited when millionaire and medical student Bing Lee moves into the neighborhood.

Review: A clever and engaging way to supplement teaching Jane Austen's masterpiece.

Diversity: In this vlog version, Charlotte is Asian and Bing Lee, Lizzie's love interest, is biracial.

Suggestions for Teachers: Each vlog is short and teachers could use clips to supplement reading assignments or for review.

Reading Level:

Quantitative: N/A
Qualitative: These videos are organized with Lizzie retelling various happenings in her household. She re-hashes these events by acting them out with her friend Charlotte. The story is organized chronologically. Vocabulary is largely contemporary and familiar. Students with knowledge of the plot of Pride and Prejudice will have greater interest and anticipation.

Content Areas: English

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.2
Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.3
Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.7
Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist.)

Relevant links: Teaching Books

Subjects/Themes: family, marriage, romance

Awards:
2012 TV. com Best Web Series – Winner
2013 IAWTV Awards – Best Interactive Series – Winner
2013 Streamy Awards – Best Comedy Series – Nominee
2013 Streamy Awards – Best Actress in a Comedy – Ashley Clements – Nominee
2013 Streamy Awards – Best Actress in a Comedy – Julia Cho – Nominee
2013 Streamy Awards – Best Ensemble Cast – Nominee
2013 Streamy Awards – Best Writing – Bernie Su – Winner
2013 Streamy Awards – Best Interactive Series – Jay Bushman, Alexandra Edwards, Bernie Su– Winner
2013 Primetime Emmy Award – Original Interactive Program – Winner
2013 PGA Awards – Best Online Series – Nominee
2014 Streamy Awards – Best Drama Series – Winner
2014 Streamy Awards – Best Actor in a Drama – Daniel Vincent Gordh – Nominee
2014 Streamy Awards – Best Actress in a Drama – Ashley Clements – Winner

Series Information: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries series

Bridge by Patrick Jones

Jones, P. (2014). The Alternative: Bridge. Minneapolis, MN: Darby Creek.

Summary: After his father experiences a debilitating accident, José has to make tough decisions for his family. He has to decide how to support them as well as do the right thing for himself. He has to decide whether to stay in school or work full time.

Review: I met Patrick Jones recently at the YALSA Lit Symposium and admired his commitment to writing for reluctant readers and for students of color. This text is at an appropriate reading level for many of my students and it is about an immigrant Latino family who struggles. Unfortunately, Jones' portrayal of family appears to be one of deficit instead of value. José appears to be a martyr for his family with the help of his hero-like teachers.

Diversity: This novel centers around a Latino family.

Suggestions for Teachers: This text would be best in a classroom library. I would have students, especially my Latino students, analyze Jones' portrayal of family.

Reading Level:

Quantitative: Lexile 800L, ATOS Book Level9.67-12.01, Flesh-Kincaid 8.32-12.12,8.41-10.81RMM
Qualitative: This text is slightly complex; it is chronological. The language is largely contemporary and familiar. Those who have knowledge of immigration issues will have a stronger understanding.

Content Areas: English

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3
Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

Relevant links: Teaching Books

Subjects/Themes: family, acceptance, values, immigration

Awards: N/A

Series Information: The Alternative series

Saturday, November 22, 2014

I Will Save You by Matt de la Peña

de la Peña, M. (2010). I will save you. New York, NY: Delacorte.

Summary: Kidd Elliott has run away from a group home after tragically and dramatically losing both his mother and his father. He hopes to start over working at a campsite in Cardiff, CA with Mr. Red, his boss who has experienced his own tragedy, as a mentor. He falls in love with Olivia who also has her own secret. What makes things difficult is his best friend Devon from the group home whose risky behavior tries to derail Kidd's fresh start.

Review: An intense look at PTSD, domestic abuse, friendship and family. De la Peña shows his depth as a writer with Kidd's character.

Diversity: An accurate representation of diverse beachside Southern California. Red dates women of color. Olivia has her own issues which make her different. Kidd is biracial.

Suggestions for Teachers: Great for coming-of-age literature circle or a look at trauma.

Reading Level:

Quantitative: Lexile 770, ATOS Book Level 9.67-12.01, Flesh-Kincaid 8.32-12.12, 8.41-10.81 RMM
Qualitative: This text is very complex. Lots of flashbacks with organization. The ending and discovering the secrets of the narrator will require a close-reader The language is largely contemporary and familiar. Overall, this novel may appear accessible but a sophisticated reader will understand Kidd's true identity at the end. Knowledge of trauma and personality disorders will help create meaning for readers.

Content Areas: English

Common Core State Standards:

Relevant links: Teaching Books, Matt de la Peña

Subjects/Themes: family, acceptance, PTSD, trauma

Awards:

ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults and Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers
Finalist for the 2011 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award

Series Information: N/A

Saturday, November 8, 2014

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Lockart, E. (2014). We were liars. New York, NY: Delacorte.

Summary: Cadence Sinclair is the oldest grandchild of a very rich and privileged family who spends their summers on their own private island. Despite their seemingly perfect exteriors, a lot of trouble is under the surface. Cadence falls in love with Gat, a friend of her cousin Johnny. Each summer they spend together. One day when she is fifteen, she wakes us nearly naked on the beach with a severe head injury. This novel shares her narration from that summer and a summer two years later.

Review: An intense novel that has you gripping the book at the end where everything you believed is suddenly turned on its head.

Diversity: Despite being about a privileged, rich white family, this book is about race and how race acts as a threat.

Suggestions for Teachers: Great to have in a high school classroom library. Would be perfect for a unit on power and privilege. It could easily be used as a selection for literature circles.

Reading Level:

Quantitative: Lexile 600L, ATOS Book Level 9.67-12.01, Flesh-Kincaid 8.32-12.12, 8.41-10.81RMM
Qualitative: This text is moderately complex; there are a lot of flashbacks and it takes a sophisticated reader to understand the ending and the effects of an unreliable narrator. The language is largely contemporary and familiar but also very lyrical. Those who have knowledge of depression and Sylvia Plath will have a stronger understanding but this is a great text to introduce Plath as well.

Content Areas: English

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.5
Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.7
Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden's "MusÃ©e des Beaux Arts" and Breughel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus).

Relevant links: Teaching Books

Subjects/Themes: privilege, power, inheritance, betrayal

Awards: N/A

Series Information: N/A

Friday, October 31, 2014

Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer

Wolitzer, M. (2014). Belzhar. New York, NY: Dutton Books for Young Readers.

Summary: After the death of her first love, Reeve, Jam is sent to The Wooden Barn, a school for students who have experienced trauma. She is chosen to be in the mysterious Special Topics for English class and the author study selected by Mrs. Quenell is Sylvia Plath. Supernatural things happen when Jam and her classmates write in their journals. Pasts are revealed and uncomfortable conversations are had.

Review: This is a consuming and surprising read! For 8th grade and up, students will enjoy the supernatural aspects of this book.

Diversity: Jam's roommate DJ is part Asian and gay.

Suggestions for Teachers: Great to have in a classroom library and would be a good for a unit on teaching perspective and unreliable narration. Teachers could also teach this along with Sylvia Plath's works.

Reading Level:

Quantitative: Lexile 1050-1335L, ATOS Book Level 9.67-12.01, Flesh-Kincaid 8.32-12.12, 8.41-10.81RMM
Qualitative: This text is moderately complex; it is chronological but there are flashbacks and there is a supernatural element that occurs when the characters write in their journals. The language is largely contemporary and familiar. Those who have knowledge of depression and Sylvia Plath will have a stronger understanding but this is a great text to introduce Plath as well.

Content Areas: English

Common Core State Standards:

Relevant links: Teaching Books, Bell Jar Teacher Guide

Subjects/Themes: depression, recovery, therapy, friendship

Awards: N/A

Series Information: N/A

Friday, October 17, 2014

Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark

Clark, K. E. (2013). Freakboy. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Summary: Brendan Chase might appear to have the perfect life to some. He is on the wrestling team and has a beautiful girlfriend. But Brendan has a secret. Sometimes he doesn't feel like society asks him to feel. In verse, along with two other narrators, Brendan shares his secret and Kristin Elizabeth Clark explores the topic of gender fluidity.

Review: Clark's Freakboy is a powerful read. This book is so necessary in school libraries for all students. Due to some of the sex scenes, I would assign this as 8th grade and up. But many sections of the book could be excerpted for a younger audience. Because Clark writes in verse, this novel moves quickly and the words are razor sharp.

Diversity: Clark explores gender fluidity--when a person doesn't feel like his/her assigned gender. There are few books written about this topic and also it is a diversity that is predominantly unseen by others. This voice is missing in YA literature. Brendan's (and Vanessa's) questioning of themselves normalizes this thought process for others and Angel's strong, decisive character gives us a role model. Gender fluidity is a topic that often doesn't come up when students discuss diversity in middle school. It's a story that is rarely mainstreamed or presented. Clark's novel can be that ally for young people and my hope that it's just the beginning of many other stories about questioning gender and sexuality to fill library shelves so that those who feel this way are not alone. This is a book that needs to be book-talked to students and with the cover faced out in libraries. It needs to be shown off and heard about so it doesn't go unnoticed. As teacher librarians, it's great to have the newest Rick Riordan, but it's books like these that need to be brought to the attention of students.

Suggestions for Teachers: Use this as a core text in an ELA classroom or excerpt it for younger audiences. Teach it as poetry and examine interior monologue, sensory description and diction. This is also a book to plug for independent reading or lit circles.

Reading Level:

Quantitative: Lexile 800L, ATOS Book Level 5.8, Flesh-Kincaid 4.5. Readability Grade Level 6.0, RMM
Qualitative: This text is moderately complex. There are three narrators and they are telling their side of the story. Each narrator tells his/her story chronologically, but there is no order or pattern and each narrator's story occurs unpredictably. Language is largely contemporary and explicit. Because the text is written in verse, there are more figurative language uses. Students who have some knowledge of gender fluidity will more easily comprehend the text.

Content Areas: English, Contemporary Issues

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).

Relevant links: Teaching Books, Author's Website, LGBTQQ resources, Conversation between Ellen Hopkins and Clark, Interview with Author

Subjects/Themes: LGBTQQ, gender fluidity, transgender, coming of age, identity

Awards: N/A

Series Information: N/A

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Sofi Mendoza's Guide to Getting Lost in Mexico by Malín Alegría

Alegría, M. (2007). Sofi Mendoza’s guide to getting lost in Mexico. New York, NY: Simon Pulse.

Summary: Sofi Mendoza is at a peak in her life. She's about to graduate high school and attend UCLA. It's the end of the year and her best friends are excited to attend a party at a classmate's house across the border in Rosarito, Mexico. Sofi is hoping for an opportunity to make a move on her big crush Nick. When the party is over, Sofi finds herself in a much larger dilemma. She is denied entry back into California. Sofi is forced to stay with an aunt whom she's never met until her parents can get a lawyer to argue her case. Family secrets are unveiled and cultural differences between Mexico and the US are highlighted. In the end, Sofi learns a lot about her ethnic heritage and Alegría highlights some of the serious injustices of the border and citizenship.

Review: This book is needed in schools (the references to underage drinking makes me give this book a high school designation). It is a "chick lit"romance that will attract many adolescent girls. There is enough happy ending romance here to please most. The ending is saccharine sweet and unfortunately, an unlikely-hood for most young adults put in this situation. While teens will like this book, I hope they understand that Sofi's status is unique and that the reality would be much dire.

Diversity: Alegría's voice is a much needed voice in YA literature. She gives voice to the Latina experience. Here, the Sofi speaks as a young woman who crossed the border at such a young age that she has no idea that her her immigration status is a lie. Other students could relate to this issue. Alegría also tells the story of culture shock--of what it means to represent a culture and then disappoint others because you are not "truly" Mexican and can't function as an "expert" (don't speak the language, have little knowledge of the country). (I can relate to this experience being half-Chinese, half Thai and speaking neither language.) While, I find this book needed in school libraries, it is not without complaint. Sofi is rather shallow through most of this book. Her need to impress boys and preoccupation with her outfits is ridiculous. Most disappointing is the ending which I find so far from reality. That immigration and deportation issues could be tied up so neatly in a bow within two weeks is far from reality and teens should have the opportunity to read the real dangers and outcomes of this situation in addition to this one. This book does give voice to the families who have a complicated history of living on both sides of the border and going back and forth over time. And my hope is that this book offers conversation and discussion about border issues among our youth. It should not be the only voice on Latino issues, but one of many. I realize that I've been judging this book harshly because it has become one of the handful of books I've read with a Latino protagonist so I want it to be more complicated than it is. I've fallen into Adichie's trap of the danger of a single story. I've read plenty of okay books about young white people and I don't have the same expectations because there are so many books about white people. There are few about Latinos and thus I'm putting all my hopes in one basket, which is unfair.

Suggestions for Teachers: Use this text alongside non-fiction articles about the US/Mexico border and border crossings. This could be one book in a collection of books for lit circles about immigration. This could be an independent reading text in a US history or government class as well.

Reading Level:

Quantitative: Lexile 810L, ATOS Book Level 6.3, Flesh-Kincaid 6.4 Readability Grade Level 8.0, RMM 7
Qualitative: This text is moderately complex. It is organized chronologically but there are a couple of subplots--what is happening in Mexico, what is happening back home at school. Language is largely contemporary and explicit but there are some words that are in Spanish, but can be defined using the glossary at the end of the book. The text is mostly literal. Students who have some knowledge of Latino culture will more easily comprehend the text.

Content Areas: English, Social Studies, Contemporary Issues

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.6
Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.6
Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.

Relevant links: Malín Alegría, Teaching History Across Borders, Teaching Tolerance, PBS

Subjects/Themes: Immigration, Undocumented Immigrants, Border, US/Mexico Border

Awards: N/A

Series Information: N/A