My students need a variety of novels told in verse to increase their stamina for reading poetry. They need exposure to these engaging titles on contemporary literature.
$1,000 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
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In my classes, we focus on motivating readers and keeping the best books in their hands. Students are given choice in their novel selections, assigned or not. We booktalk the newest titles and watch book trailers to inspire them. By the end of 8th grade, I want students reading a variety of texts.
My 8th graders are curious, clever, and chatty creatures.
They love to talk with me about books, hot topics, and technology. Booktalks really inspire these students to read; once I show them a new or cool title, it is often off the shelf for weeks. People talk about middle schoolers being reluctant readers, but I do not see that in my students. They gobble up good books. Our school is a challenging one, with a nearly 70% Free and Reduced Lunch population. We have students coming from families who struggle financially as well as emotionally. There are also students from good strong homes with excellent support systems. As a school, we face behavior issues in addition to other challenges, but we are also a tight-knit community who is passionate about our school, our causes, and each other. The staff is exemplary and we support each other tremendously, which shows in our daily endeavors with students and each other. I love where I work and wouldn't change it for the world.
My Project
Verse novels are an up-and-coming trend in reading. Authors are starting to use the power of poetry to tell stories, and it is purely genius to encounter as a reader. To quote Melanie Crowder, an author of verse novels, "If you wander into your local bookstore, gather a stack of verse novels and skim the jacket copy, you’ll find commonality in many of them. Immigrant stories. Books about other cultures. Books about people on the fringes of society. The protagonists of verse novels are often people in transition, occupying the liminal space between what they were and what they are becoming. The form can be a mirror for the character." This sentiment expresses exactly what I want my students to get from these texts. In addition to the themes of the stories, verse novels will get kids hooked into poetry. They make poetry cool, easy to read, and they draw you in. My students need these novels to enhance their poetry knowledge, the exposure to reading poetry, connecting to the themes.
Verse novels are becoming popular in literature today, and students are catching on.
All the verse novels on my shelves are checked out with students waiting to read them next. They want more! I aim to use these verse novels as literature circles focusing on figurative language. I feel these novels will get reluctant readers/poets to see poetry as storytelling, as well as an outlet of expression. The titles selected are heart-wrenching titles about identity, culture, maturity and coming of age.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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