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Ms. Hessenthaler’s Classroom Edit display name

  • Nicholas Senn High School
  • Chicago, IL
  • 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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Too often I have watched struggling readers give up on literature because the texts at hand don't meet their needs for one reason or another. Students often fail to connect to the characters, settings, and themes of the literature prescribed to them by teachers who focus heavily on all white, male American authors rather than writers who actually represent the students reading them. The texts I have requested will be used at the start of the year as students analyze themes of identity and culture in a short story unit designed to help students on their journey of self-discovery. Each student will select a novel from this list to supplement the assigned short stories. Through independent reading and writing activities, students will be challenged to analyze these novels to find themes that are similar to and different from the short stories we study as a class. They will engage in book talks with group members and share out connections to the whole class. The books that I have chosen for their independent reading this school year deal with a plethora of topic's ranging from migrant workers in California as told through "The Circuit" to suffering the brutality of Nazi Germany under Hitler's regime in Elie Weisel's "Night." "The Hate You Give" is a perfect fit for young African American students who are witnessing police brutality in their communities and the country beyond. Most readers will find ways to personally connect to Gopal's struggles in a sweatshop in Mumbai in "Boys Without Names." Hispanic students will finally have their cultures represented in the writings of Gary Soto, Francisco Jimenez, and Pam Munoz Ryan. As I selected each title, I considered how my specific students with could see themselves in the characters which is a great motivator for students to love reading.

About my class

Too often I have watched struggling readers give up on literature because the texts at hand don't meet their needs for one reason or another. Students often fail to connect to the characters, settings, and themes of the literature prescribed to them by teachers who focus heavily on all white, male American authors rather than writers who actually represent the students reading them. The texts I have requested will be used at the start of the year as students analyze themes of identity and culture in a short story unit designed to help students on their journey of self-discovery. Each student will select a novel from this list to supplement the assigned short stories. Through independent reading and writing activities, students will be challenged to analyze these novels to find themes that are similar to and different from the short stories we study as a class. They will engage in book talks with group members and share out connections to the whole class. The books that I have chosen for their independent reading this school year deal with a plethora of topic's ranging from migrant workers in California as told through "The Circuit" to suffering the brutality of Nazi Germany under Hitler's regime in Elie Weisel's "Night." "The Hate You Give" is a perfect fit for young African American students who are witnessing police brutality in their communities and the country beyond. Most readers will find ways to personally connect to Gopal's struggles in a sweatshop in Mumbai in "Boys Without Names." Hispanic students will finally have their cultures represented in the writings of Gary Soto, Francisco Jimenez, and Pam Munoz Ryan. As I selected each title, I considered how my specific students with could see themselves in the characters which is a great motivator for students to love reading.

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About my class

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