I am a third-year teacher and am still trying to build my classroom library. While I have a pretty good selection of books, I feel my library is missing two key things: diversity and relevance.
Reading allows students to experience other perspectives, cultures, and ways of thinking. Reading books whose narrators don't look, think, learn, or love like you helps develop and promote empathy. Because of my classroom library's lack of diversity, my students are missing out on these experiences. I have chosen these books in the hopes that my students can read about and empathize with characters who may have learning challenges, may be part of the LGBT community, or may be from a different culture.
I also believe that for a book to be interesting to a student, it needs to be relevant to their life. While classic literature is important, there are many contemporary authors whose work is just as meaningful, and much more relevant to 12-year-olds.
About my class
I am a third-year teacher and am still trying to build my classroom library. While I have a pretty good selection of books, I feel my library is missing two key things: diversity and relevance.
Reading allows students to experience other perspectives, cultures, and ways of thinking. Reading books whose narrators don't look, think, learn, or love like you helps develop and promote empathy. Because of my classroom library's lack of diversity, my students are missing out on these experiences. I have chosen these books in the hopes that my students can read about and empathize with characters who may have learning challenges, may be part of the LGBT community, or may be from a different culture.
I also believe that for a book to be interesting to a student, it needs to be relevant to their life. While classic literature is important, there are many contemporary authors whose work is just as meaningful, and much more relevant to 12-year-olds.