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Mr. Van Herik’s Classroom Edit display name

  • Chicago High School for the Arts
  • 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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Our year-long focus in English I this year is the Danger of Literature. We explore how writers use stories to undo oppressive systems and expose social realities. Freshmen examine texts that deal directly with themes of voice, opportunity, and diversity of experience. Our current curriculum includes Our America: Life and Death on the Southside, Night, and Fahrenheit 451. As we move through the year, our goals are that students will have the tools they need to question systems in their lives, analyze literature as skilled readers, and form connections and arguments in response to texts with their peers. Reflecting on our current texts, students have expressed appreciation of the themes of overcoming oppression and using writing to endanger unfair power. They also most connected to the first text, a non-fiction radio production by two south side black teens exploring the stories and justice of their neighborhood. With these reflections in mind, I gave out the single copies we have of The Hate U Give, Parable of the Sower, and The Book of Unknown Americans for student review. They found these stories of teens encountering injustice and finding resilience to it valuable and connecting. This year, I would integrate selections from these books as we explore our final unit on Romeo and Juliet, comparing teen experiences throughout the centuries. Next year, I would integrate the copies as choices and additions in each unit. For instance, students looking for a more diverse cast and more complex writing could read Parable of the Sower in addition to or in replacement of Fahrenheit 451. Experience and student reflection has shown me that students pursue literature that reflects cultural diversity. This finding has led me to request these three texts: The Hate U Give, Parable of the Sower, and The Book of Unknown Americans

About my class

Our year-long focus in English I this year is the Danger of Literature. We explore how writers use stories to undo oppressive systems and expose social realities. Freshmen examine texts that deal directly with themes of voice, opportunity, and diversity of experience. Our current curriculum includes Our America: Life and Death on the Southside, Night, and Fahrenheit 451. As we move through the year, our goals are that students will have the tools they need to question systems in their lives, analyze literature as skilled readers, and form connections and arguments in response to texts with their peers. Reflecting on our current texts, students have expressed appreciation of the themes of overcoming oppression and using writing to endanger unfair power. They also most connected to the first text, a non-fiction radio production by two south side black teens exploring the stories and justice of their neighborhood. With these reflections in mind, I gave out the single copies we have of The Hate U Give, Parable of the Sower, and The Book of Unknown Americans for student review. They found these stories of teens encountering injustice and finding resilience to it valuable and connecting. This year, I would integrate selections from these books as we explore our final unit on Romeo and Juliet, comparing teen experiences throughout the centuries. Next year, I would integrate the copies as choices and additions in each unit. For instance, students looking for a more diverse cast and more complex writing could read Parable of the Sower in addition to or in replacement of Fahrenheit 451. Experience and student reflection has shown me that students pursue literature that reflects cultural diversity. This finding has led me to request these three texts: The Hate U Give, Parable of the Sower, and The Book of Unknown Americans

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