Half of students from low鈥慽ncome households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education.
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The students in my classroom are at a junction in their life between childhood and teenagerhood. They are preparing to go into the wider world of junior high and high school. As these students go on to the next stage in life, they will take many challenges with them. Because of COVID-19, many of them face academic challenges and gaps in their learning where they had to miss school for one reason or another. Even more impactful than the learning loss, some students struggle with the social-emotional challenges they face. Many of these children have faced upheaval in their personal lives, which was present before the pandemic and amplified because of it.
The novels I have selected for the novel studies have casts of characters with diverse backgrounds that can serve as a mirror to my students and a window to how they see other people. These characters face challenges and persevere in times of hardship. These novels can help my students learn about others, and maybe even more importantly, themselves. One study, referenced in the Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/articles/reading-fiction-may-enhance-social-skills-1457366832) says, "A new study suggests that reading fictional works, especially stories that take readers inside people鈥檚 lives and minds, may enhance social skills by exercising a part of the brain involved in empathy and imagination." As my students read these novels, I hope to be able to help them with the social-emotional challenges that can be difficult to address through other means.
About my class
The students in my classroom are at a junction in their life between childhood and teenagerhood. They are preparing to go into the wider world of junior high and high school. As these students go on to the next stage in life, they will take many challenges with them. Because of COVID-19, many of them face academic challenges and gaps in their learning where they had to miss school for one reason or another. Even more impactful than the learning loss, some students struggle with the social-emotional challenges they face. Many of these children have faced upheaval in their personal lives, which was present before the pandemic and amplified because of it.
The novels I have selected for the novel studies have casts of characters with diverse backgrounds that can serve as a mirror to my students and a window to how they see other people. These characters face challenges and persevere in times of hardship. These novels can help my students learn about others, and maybe even more importantly, themselves. One study, referenced in the Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/articles/reading-fiction-may-enhance-social-skills-1457366832) says, "A new study suggests that reading fictional works, especially stories that take readers inside people鈥檚 lives and minds, may enhance social skills by exercising a part of the brain involved in empathy and imagination." As my students read these novels, I hope to be able to help them with the social-emotional challenges that can be difficult to address through other means.