[MOSAIC] Race, Identity, Relationships and Literature

[ljackson]

I think I had best mention, these are also children who are at-risk and
mostly not at grade level.  And, to be honest, I am not sure the teachers
are up to Romeo and Juliet, yet.  But boy, are they getting there!;-)
Lori


On 12/3/06 5:53 AM, "Olivia Fulmer" <ofulmer at logicsouth.com> wrote:

> For the eighth graders, you might consider Romiette and Julio, a reworking
> of the Romeo and Juliet story. I cannot think of the author's name right now
> (it might be Sharon Draper, but please, please don't quote me on that!). We
> use Romiette and Julio with our ninth graders as a literature circles option
> during the Romeo and Juliet unit. Another choice might be Korman's Son of
> the Mob. While this book does not have race as an issue, it does deal with
> identity. The narrator is the son of a mafia-style mob boss. The son falls
> in love with the daughter of the FBI agent who is investigating the mob
> boss. The book is funny and light-hearted. It also is a lit circles option
> for the R&J unit.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mosaic-bounces at literacyworkshop.org
> [mailto:mosaic-bounces at literacyworkshop.org] On Behalf Of ljackson
> Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2006 7:41 AM
> To: Teachers Applying Whole Language; A list for improving literacy with
> focus on middle grades.; RealWritingTeachers at yahoogroups.com; Mosaic: A
> Reading Comprehension Strategies Listserv
> Subject: [MOSAIC] Race, Identity, Relationships and Literature
> 
> I have three young teachers working with small groups of students in grades
> 5 through 8.  Each works within a small school with multi-level classrooms
> and each school is isolated geographically from one another.  We are
> designing an inquiry based literature unit which will use Blackboard
> technology to facilitate lit groups across these classrooms.  The question
> we have posed as central to the unit is:
> 
> How does race inform identity and impact relationships?
> 
> We are beginning to brainstorm novels which could be used with this study.
> Here is what we have so far:
> 
> Iggy;s House
> Maniac Magee
> Edger Allen
> 
> Help!! In my former life, I was a first and second grade teacher.  Can you
> help us build this list?  I would love to include a book in which there was
> romance impacted by race, but it needs to be relatively tame.
> 
> Thank you all in advance!!

-- 
Lori Jackson
District Literacy Coach & Mentor
Todd County School District
Box 87
Mission SD  57555
 
http:www.tcsdk12.org
ph. 605.856.2211


Literacies for All Summer Institute
"Literate Lives:  A Human Right"
July 12-15, 2007
Louisville, Kentucky

http://www.ncte.org/profdev/conv/wlu