The novel, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, is a necessary addition to my classroom. My goal is to offer students with a more diverse collection of novels, short stories, and even picture books.
Reason #1, and the most important of all, is the bridge this book will allow my students to build between history, English, and the "real world." The story focuses on a young Black girl who is living in the 1960s and 1970s, and her journey as she tries to find her way in a world that is in the middle of change with the Civil Rights Movement.
Reason #2 is based on how the author chose to write her novel. Instead of what one might consider the standard form for writing novels, she chose to use prose. This is a more difficult type of writing for my middle school students to read because it is more complex and usually relies heavily on figurative language, inferences, tone, mood, and so much more.
Therefore, this novel would allow me to not only connect the very important topic that is very relevant today across multiple subjects, it will also provide me an effective way to teach prose. I call this a win-win!
About my class
The novel, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, is a necessary addition to my classroom. My goal is to offer students with a more diverse collection of novels, short stories, and even picture books.
Reason #1, and the most important of all, is the bridge this book will allow my students to build between history, English, and the "real world." The story focuses on a young Black girl who is living in the 1960s and 1970s, and her journey as she tries to find her way in a world that is in the middle of change with the Civil Rights Movement.
Reason #2 is based on how the author chose to write her novel. Instead of what one might consider the standard form for writing novels, she chose to use prose. This is a more difficult type of writing for my middle school students to read because it is more complex and usually relies heavily on figurative language, inferences, tone, mood, and so much more.
Therefore, this novel would allow me to not only connect the very important topic that is very relevant today across multiple subjects, it will also provide me an effective way to teach prose. I call this a win-win!
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