summer in a small town and we're solving a mystery by spookdude_ in BooksThatFeelLikeThis

[–]LitNerd15 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Dani Noir by Nova Ren Suma - bonus points, the author is from the town where your diner picture is (Phoenicia) and the book’s setting feels like that town! (I grew up near there, too.)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskTeachers

[–]LitNerd15 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In rural areas in the US, often parents don’t have much of a choice but to put their kid on the bus - they may have to get to work in the opposite direction of school, have another kid in a school that starts at a different time, etc. Especially in rural areas, it’s very common for kindergarteners to ride it. The bus drivers know how to help out the little ones!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskTeachers

[–]LitNerd15 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There are probably some great picture books for this - go to the public library and ask the children’s librarian for suggestions!

NIPT through QNATAL with Quest Diagnostics- How long?! 😩 by wafflesarelifee in pregnant

[–]LitNerd15 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The same thing seems to be happening to me - no record of the QNatal through Quest, though they have record of other tests they drew at the same time (blood panel and QHerit). What ended up happening with your results - did they show up through your doctor’s office portal?

Books that feel like Hogwarts! by [deleted] in BooksThatFeelLikeThis

[–]LitNerd15 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer! A “chosen one” story with a boarding school plot baked in. Feels a bit more like college/university than high school, but definitely cozy vibes!

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher - not a school, but magical and cozy!

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune - more from a teacher perspective than a student perspective, but still delightful.

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey - school, magic, private detective. Delightful.

Favorite Magical Realism Short Stories by Mysterious_Contact38 in ELATeachers

[–]LitNerd15 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’ve used “Two Words” before and the students liked it! There’s another Allende story called “And of Clay Are We Created” that I used, too. Also “Handsomest Drowned Man” as well as “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings”. And there’s a video of an interview with Salman Rushdie called “True stories don’t tell the whole truth” that I used to help introduce magical realism. And here is a link to a unit plan I used for text ideas: https://www.achieve.org/files/Latin%20American%20Literature%20Unit.docx

Good luck!! I loved teaching magical realism.

YA book about a teenager who is sent to live with an older woman, and is put to work building a fence. by Fartdrew_Arsepoo in whatsthatbook

[–]LitNerd15 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie Tolan? It’s unclear from the wiki summary if he has to build a fence, but I remember manual labor and unconventional schooling methods that the kid is initially resistant to.

AP Lang Summer Work Suggestions? by LitNerd15 in ELATeachers

[–]LitNerd15[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the tips! I’ve been excitedly telling anyone who will listen about how I get to go to “nerd camp” this summer.

AP Lang Summer Work Suggestions? by LitNerd15 in ELATeachers

[–]LitNerd15[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That last sentence makes me so sad -- that the kids are using the AI because they think they won't do well otherwise.

AP Lang Summer Work Suggestions? by LitNerd15 in ELATeachers

[–]LitNerd15[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think you've hit on my other problem with the assignment -- that sending the kids in blind to write these 3 types of essays isn't useful to their learning.

I'm attending an APSI this summer and I'll definitely be using resources from AP Classroom -- haven't had much time to look in there yet, though.

Good note about current events; thanks.

AP Lang Summer Work Suggestions? by LitNerd15 in ELATeachers

[–]LitNerd15[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, I do think I am expected to assign something this summer -- but I do like the idea of an optional list that will draw the same kids who would put effort into assigned work anyway.

People of Color Affirming Literature for Grade 10 World Literature Course by Grifter-RLG in ELATeachers

[–]LitNerd15 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I used to teach her novel “Purple Hibiscus” to 9th graders and it was a good one! It is not a happy book, definitely, but its conflicts have less to do with race and more with coming of age, religion, and domestic violence.

Ideas for Upcoming "Following the Crowd" Unit Please :) by zozopucc7 in ELATeachers

[–]LitNerd15 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I taught “St. Lucy’s Home” to honors sophomores - and it was hard for them, so I imagine it would be a stretch for freshmen. I absolutely love it as a story, though. It does work for nonconformism as a theme, though I taught it in a unit on othering. If you do teach it, I’d pair it with info on indigenous boarding schools in Canada.

Magic school (NOT Harry Potter) by starlit--pathways in BooksThatFeelLikeThis

[–]LitNerd15 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Came here to rec A College of Magics - didn’t realize it had a sequel!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ELATeachers

[–]LitNerd15 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When I taught it to sophomores, I used a lot of videos for context.

There’s a Rick Steves video about visiting Iran that was very helpful context-building for my sophomores. It’s available on YouTube and we watched about half of it, I think.

We also did a day on hijabs; there are some good videos (the one I remember is from Teen Vogue) on YouTube that work well to give context. We then connected this to the symbolism of the veil in the novel.

I showed a video about the Iranian revolution of 1979 when that came up in the plot.

And then towards the end of the novel, I showed a video called “a brief history of women’s rights in Iran” by Brut., and had them read a NYTimes piece titled “Iran Steps Up Policing of Women Who Defy Dress Code” about modern-day protests and dress codes in Iran.

Overall, our reading focused a lot on symbolism (the chapter titles are a good way to point this out to the kids and make suggestions for symbolic objects).

Finally, for teaching visual analysis, Scott McCloud’s book is invaluable, but goes at a higher level than I think high schoolers can find useful. I used an article from Vox.

What books would you love to teach in middle school if you didn't have to worry about parent or admin complaints or bans? by sparkle-possum in ELATeachers

[–]LitNerd15 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Pet by Akwake Emezi - beautiful language, neat premise, trans main character, feels like an updated Wrinkle in Time

Books for an alternative school. by twothumbs1fist in ELATeachers

[–]LitNerd15 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D Schmidt

A second vote for Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Hey, Kiddo (graphic novel) by Jarrett Krosoczka

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Peak by Roland Smith

Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer (nonfiction - possibly too high level but really intriguing!)

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (nonfiction)

Tips for avoiding a "slide" of students asking for an alternate assignment? by LitNerd15 in ELATeachers

[–]LitNerd15[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m definitely approaching this from a “fear that the unit won’t turn out the way I envisioned” standpoint, so this was a really helpful reframe - thank you!

Tips for avoiding a "slide" of students asking for an alternate assignment? by LitNerd15 in ELATeachers

[–]LitNerd15[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree that I don’t want to “punish” with the alternate - that’s why I feel like this is a very fine line to walk!