I need your help! Help me make a "NEW AND IMPROVED" Required Reading List!!!

[Carrie]

Lori, I hope this is okay that I put this here. If not, tell me where to move it and I will!!

Guys, I am SO excited. I am teaching HONORS 10th grade English this fall! I have never taught an HONORS class and am so excited about all of the reading we can do!

I will teach THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES (done this twice before -- they love it)

I would LOVE to hear your suggestions. I would love to get some "boy-type" books that my young men could get excited about.

HELP! :)

[Diane]

Hi Carrie

I'm not sure if this would fit the bill for you or not, but I recommend because my library has it categorized as Young Adult, as well as a Classic. It is The Woman In White and it's the June group read for TNBBC. I think it can be enjoyed by young men and young women alike...murder, mystery, intrigue, deception....it might really get their thoughts going trying to put all the pieces together.

[Donna]

For the guys I would recommend the Genghis series or the Emperor series by Conn Iggulden or
the Sharpe series, the Starbuck chronicles or any other historical fiction by Bernard Cornwell.

[Carrie]

The Woman in WHITE! I have never read that...good idea, Diane.


Thanks, Donna!!

[Vicki]

What type of literature is your 10 Honors class?

[Diane]

Carrie wrote: "The Woman in WHITE! I have never read that...good idea, Diane.


Thanks, Donna!!"

Carrie - I meant to include a congratulations to you in my recommendation post for teaching the class! Good for you!
Since you like the Woman in White recommendation, would you read it first? Or read it with your class? Even if you do not put it on your New and Improved Required Reading List, you should read it. I never expected it to be such a "page turner"!

[Carrie]

Vicki...we have a textbook that is from the early 1900's-the 1960's.

The literature in the book is good for the most part, but I want to add a lot that I think they will actually enjoy reading.

[Abbie K.]

Carrie,
I too will be teaching three classes of Sophomores this year. We have several novels we use for 10th graders. We use Secret Life of Bees, To Kill a Mockingbird, Parrot in the Oven, Frankenstein (honors only), House on Mango Street, 1984, Othello or Julius Caesar (neither is my favorite, frankly), and Invisible Man. Hope this helps.
Personally, I'm going to go with mentor texts which I'll use for teaching writing. The only study of reading we'll be doing in class is the techniques that various writers use to write well.

[[deleted user]]

Abbie K. wrote: "... Othello or Julius Caesar (neither is my favorite, frankly)..."

I liked Othello, but not Julius Caesar. Romeo and Juliet just doesn't cut it today; I think it's perceived as too "cutsey" or something.

I'd go with Hamlet, myself, if you need a Shakespeare. I think the whole macho thing can be played up quite well for the guys, as well as Gertrude's aging sex kitten act, and all of their parents probably resemble Polonius...

[Abbie K.]

I like Hamlet best of all, with Macbeth coming in a close second...Twelfth Night for comedy if you need one or Taming of the Shrew. Unfortunately, all the best stuff got snapped up by our Senior Lit teachers.
Sometimes vertical planning can be a pain in the rear!

[[deleted user]]

If you pick Hamlet you can include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead as an extra read.

[Liz]

I read Brave New World as a sophomore. I would also recommend Macbeth if you're looking for some Shakespeare. If you wanted some more boyish things, you could go for Beowulf or The Once and Future King, which is a retelling of the Arthurian legend.
I hope that helps!

[Megan]

My brother just finished tenth and they read Anthem, which he liked, as well as The Great Gatsby. I read Huckleberry Finn in tenth and loved it.

[Diane]

Megan wrote: "My brother just finished tenth and they read Anthem, which he liked, as well as The Great Gatsby. I read Huckleberry Finn in tenth and loved it. "

I love the Great Gatsby.

[Vicki]

Is it American Lit? Or anything?

[Stephanie]

Liz -

Good call on The Once and Future King! I think we read that when I was in 10th grade Honors English, and that's one of the few books I truly liked. It is a bit of a brick for high school students, which may turn some of them off, but it's a great story.

[Morgan P]

If you want a different point of view, I am entering 10th grade, and I am going to take 10th grade Honors English. So I can tell you some things that I think would be interesting to read.

I think The Woman in White would be good, for a mystery type story. Also, to throw in a classic, Huckleberry Finn. Brave New World would be a good read because we are entering a world where everything is about technology, and this book shows kind of where we could be going.

Some books on my to-read list that would be interesting to discuss:
-The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
-Accordion Crimes by Annie Proulx
-Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty
-The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo

[A]

I hope more teachers will consider using Unwind by Neal Shusterman. My book club rarely agrees so unanimously on a book--we all loved it. It's definitely something that can appeal to both boys and girls.

[[deleted user]]

Megan wrote: "My brother just finished tenth and they read Anthem, which he liked, as well as The Great Gatsby. I read Huckleberry Finn in tenth and loved it. "

Loathed Gatsby, loved Finn (and Tom Sawyer too). An original time travel novel? A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court*

Can't tell I love Mark Twain, huh?

* There's even a pretty lame movie of this with Bing Crosby...

[Dree]

I actually read The Moonstone in 9th grade. It was great and the whole class was surprised to like it.

My least favorites were always the girly things and the boy-y things. P&P, Dune, Cannery Row.

My faves: Grapes of Wrath, A Tale of Two Cities (Hard Times might be more interesting), Brave New World, Babbitt.

I would also suggest The Octopus or McTeague by Frank Norris. I think we did McTeague in 11th grade.

Where are you teaching? I highly recommend something localish, at least to your state. My teachers connected them to local history, and they are largely what I am most glad I read. (What state did I go to school in? McTeague, Of Mice and Men, Grapes of Wrath...and I loooooved Babbitt.)

[Abbie K.]

Good idea Dree, local lit is always a good draw.

Carrie, Have you considered talking to the history teacher about what period they'll cover? Sometimes you can get books that will kill two birds with one stone, if you'll pardon the cliche. "North and South" for Civil War or "Henry V" for The 13th century. Something along those lines.

[Carrie]

It's American Lit..sorry I didn't mention that.

But we HAVE to teach Julius Caesar, which I hate and they hate. We just get through it and move on! Ha! I teach them some of Hamlet, because that is fun.

I love the idea of ANTHEM...come to think of it, I think I may have read that in 10th grade.

I also love the idea of mixing with the history classees..

The Once and Future King is an amazing idea! I have never read it...but always wanted to!! (SHAME ON ME!!)


I knew y'all would have smart ideas!! THANK YOU!!

Please keep them coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Carrie]

Just saw ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT...loved that book so much.

[Tammy AZ]

Morgan wrote: "If you want a different point of view, I am entering 10th grade, and I am going to take 10th grade Honors English. So I can tell you some things that I think would be interesting to read.

I thin..."

Lonesome Dove would be an excellent pick - Pulitizer Prize winner also!

[Tammy AZ]

Mudbound
City of Thieves
What Is the What
Snow Falling on Cedars

Let us know how your list comes out!

[Manday]

I spent most of my american lit tenth grade honors class being an angry teenager for no apparant reason. That said, the book from that year that I really really enjoyed was The Sun Also Rises, and I wish we had read A Separate Peace

[Jill]

Sibyl wrote: "If you pick Hamlet you can include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead as an extra read."

Good call on R&G. That's a book that's actually fun to read aloud.

[Debbie]

Montana 1948...not long, full of good stuff!

[Debbie]

Oh! And a really good post-9/11 read...Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

[Liesl]

When I was in tenth grade I read The Fountainhead and loved it.

[Debbie]

Ooooo...really BIG book!

[Bluemoon]

Stephanie wrote: "Liz -

Good call on The Once and Future King! I think we read that when I was in 10th grade Honors English, and that's one of the few books I truly liked. It is a bit of a brick for..."

In this vein you could also use The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart. I love that series.

[Madeline]

I think my favorite 10th grade ish era reads were Anthem, Macbeth, A Tale of Two Cities, Orlando(might have been older), The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Richard III. I hated The Invisible Man and Of Mice and Men.... I think the best way to go is to have enough of a change in the styles/genres of books that many different kids will have a chance to read something they'll love. I always wished I'd been assigned to read Twain and I loved The Great Gatsby, but I read it only last year.

I've always wished the high school reading lists were a little more varied than they are. It seems like kids always seem to end up reading the same books, there are a lot of options out there. Maybe you could make a list of possible reads within categories and then have the kids vote on what they'd rather read. Or have two books for each category and then let each individual choose the one that was most appealing to them.

[Petra X]

I like many of Shakespeare's plays so I don't have a particular favourite, but if your class acts or reads out scenes, then a Midsummer Night's Dream is very entertaining. Of course, it doesn't compare in depth with the drama of the tragedies of Hamlet or Othello, but both of those are very difficult to read out loud well. Macbeth is a bit easier though.

[Donna]

For something from the Civil War era The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara is a classic. His son Jeff Shaara has written a number of very good books on the American Revolution.

March by Geraldine Brooks is also set during the Civil War - she won the Pulitser Prize for this novel.

[Carrie]

thanks guys :)

[Dree]

When you finalize your list, can you share it with us? I would love to see it. My high school assigned TONS of fiction (including things people can't believe I was assigned, like Dune, which I hated!), this was mid-80s. MY husband's assigned NONE. They wrote and wrote and wrote, but he only read Shakespeare in 1 college class, and his fiction experiences are, shall we say, lacking :)

[Carrie]

Yes, I will share it.


So far I have:

The Once and Future King

The Things They Carried
The Secret Life of Bees

[Wendy]

I was also recommending Women in White.

In the Time of the Butterflies by Alvarez

Outliers by Gladwell

Autobiography of Malcolm X by Haley

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

One flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Kesey

No Exit by Sartre
The Kite Runner by Hosseini

Angels in America (Play)

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

The Booksellers of Kabul by Seierstad, Åsne

Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil Rodriguez, Deborah

House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper
What is the What by Dave Eggers

Scarlet letter by Hawthorne

[Wendy]

I didn't flag the books, but Concord Carlisle High School used The Things They Carried, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Kite Runner to appeal to the boys.
Also, my son's favorite book in high school (Roxbury Latin School) was Song of Solomon.

[Laura]

Hi Carrie - I'm so excited for you. This sounds like it would be a really fun class to teach. I'm going to recommend both The Book Thief and I Am the Messenger, both by Markus Zusak. Book Thief is WWII Germany, and would be a great learning experience. Messenger is inspirational for kids of all ages, but was written for a YA audience.

Good luck with your class! I hope you'll let us know how it works out.

[Laura]

Oh, just saw the note about American Lit. Zusak is Australian, and the books take place in Germany and Australia, respectively, but I still believe they shouldn't be missed. Thief especially for its learning potential.

[Carrie]

BOOK THIEF would be fantastic!! I would LOVE to teach it. We will see how much time these three take up! :)

[Misty]

Don't know if these have been mentioned yet, but both The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian are both great books for teens that will appeal more to boys.

[El]

Shakespeare in an American Lit class??

I certainly agree with the recs for The Killer Angels and Autobiography of Malcolm X. I would also throw out a new rec for City Boy - I read that in 10th grade and loved it. And it's one that students might not otherwise read on their own, thus being an interesting book to teach and discuss.

[Abbie K.]

If you have to do Julius, do the down and dirty version...have them buy a copy of their own "No Fear Shakespeare" which is a modernized version and they can read on their own, then just hit the important scenes for language, imagery, poetic devices and speeches. Nothing of much interest happens after Scene III anyway:)

[Cindy]

Two books that would encourage discussion are Nineteen Minutes and If I Stay. Nineteen Minutes does have some teen sex, but it also has an abusive teen boyfriend. If I stay is about being an outsider and death.

[[deleted user]]

The Outsiders migh be something they like or maybe even an author like Chris Ryan, Andy McNab and Matthew Reilly. All three do the kind of action/thriller book that they might be into.

You might even get them to write down some interests or maybe get the class to suggest a couple of books that they themselves liked to read!

[Wendy]

Abbie K. wrote: "If you have to do Julius, do the down and dirty version...have them buy a copy of their own "No Fear Shakespeare" which is a modernized version and they can read on their own, then just hit the imp..."

Spark notes has No Fear Shakespeare on line for free.

[Mel]

For boys I would suggest:
Catch-22,
Slaughterhouse 5, or
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

As a general suggestion I would also add The Road by Cormac McCarthy since I think it could lead to some great discussion both on the literary tools he uses to tell the story and the story itself.