Online Resources for Literary Works for Middle and High School

Image: Serkan Özkaya, Proletarier Aller Länder, 2011. Published on Words without Borders

1. Words without Borders Magazine

An amazing resource.  This magazine publishes short fiction and nonfiction from various authors across the globe. It has been publishing since 2003 and all of the literary work is available online and organized by year and issue.  The September 2003 issue featured writing from North Korea.  You'll want to spend some time searching the archives.

2. Classic Short Stories
Huffington Post has 13 excellent stories linked to this post.  My favorite to teach is "Symbols and Signs" by Vladimir Nabokov.  

3. Kelly Gallagher's article of the week
I enjoy the articles he assigns to his students.  They are contemporary.  Here is a link to the archived articles.

4. Links to some short stories:

High School

Idolatry by Sherman Alexie
Bread by Margaret Atwood
Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colby by Donald Barthelme
The School 'by Donald Barthelme
Snow by Ann Beattie
Major Maybe by Ann Beattie
Catch the Moon by  Judith Ortiz Cofer
The Cheater's Guide to Love by Junot Diaz
Monstro by Junot Diaz
Miss Lora by Junot Diaz
The Eyes Have It by Philip K. Dick
Black Box by Jennifer Egan
Accident by Dave Eggers
John Redding Goes to Sea by Zora Neale Hurston
When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine by Jhumpa Lahiri

Year's End by Jhumpa Lahiri

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K. LeGuin
Through the Tunnel  by Doris Lessing
Tuesday 
Siesta by
 Gabriel
 García
 Márquez
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings byGabriel
 García
 Márquez
Cinderella's Stepsisters by Toni Morrison (Essay)
The Bear Came Over the Mountain by Alice Munro
An Astrologer's Day by R.K. Narayan
Wants by Grace Paley
Pumpkins by Francine Prose
In the South by Salman Rushdie 
Embassy of Cambodia by Zadie Smith 
Oliver’s Evolution by John Updike

Middle School

Snow by Julia Alvarez

American History  by Judith Ortiz Cofer
Eleven by Sandra Cisneros
Thank You M'am by Langston Hughes
The Awful Fate of Melpomenus Jones by Stephen Leacock
The Wife's Story by Ursula K. LeGuin
Boys Without Names by Kashmira Sheth (novel)

The School Play by Gary Soto

Seventh Grade by Gary Soto
La Bamba by Gary Soto
The Jacket by Gary SotoThe Night the Ghost Got In by James Thurber

5. Links to Ray Bradbury stories: A Sound of Thunder,  All Summer in a Day,  The Happiness Machine, The Veldt, The Pedestrian, There Will Come Soft Rains, The Murderer, The Drummer Boy of Shiloh, 

6.  Next Generation Press (non-profit):  These excerpts are from the book, Hip Deep: Opinion, Essay, and Vision from American Teenagers.  Brief writings by teens for teens. This is an interesting press and features teens voices from across the globe. FORTY-CENT TIP: Stories of New York City Immigrant Workers are texts written by NYC teens from three high schools. You can preview the entire book here.

7. Narrative Magazine Since 2003, this online magazine has been publishing literature online. An extensive archive can be searched. This is a favorite site.

80+ Novels in Verse for Grades 7 - 12

(Note: You may find this post interesting too: 60 Novels in Verse for Grades 3-8)

Late Middle School/High School: Grades 7 - 10 

1. Alexander, Kwame. (2014). The Crossover. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.
2. Bingham, Kelly. (2013). Formerly Shark Girl. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
3. Bingham, Kelly. (2007). Shark Girl. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
4. Bodger, Holly. (2015). 5 to 1. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers. 
5. Brown, Skila. (2014). Caminar. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
6. Burg, Ann E. (2012). All the Broken Pieces. New York: Scholastic.
7. Cheng, Andrea. (2013). Etched in Clay, The Life of Dave, Enslaved Potter and Poet. New York: Lee and Low Books.
8. Clark, Kristin Elizabeth. (2013). Freakboy. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
9. Dean, Carolee. (2013). Forget Me Not. New York: Simon Pulse.
10. Engle, Margarita. (2014). Silver People: Voices from the Panama Canal. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.
11. Engle, Margarita. (2013). The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.
12. Engle, Margarita. (2011). Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck  New York: Henry Holt.
13. Engle, Margarita. (2010). The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom. New York: Square Fish.
14. Engle, Margarita. (2010). The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba. New York: Henry Holt.
15. Engle, Margarita. (2009). Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba. New York: Henry Holt.
16. Frank, Lucy. (2014). Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling. New York: Schwartz & Wade.
17. Frost, Helen. (2014). Crossing Stones. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
18. Frost, Helen. (2014). Keesha's House. New York: Square Fish.
19. Frost, Helen. (2006).  The Braid. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
20. Grimes, Nikki. (2011). A Girl Named Mister. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
21. Grimes, Nikki. (2010). Dark Sons. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
22. Hemphill, Stephanie. (2012). Sisters of Glass. New York: Knopf.
23. Herrick, Steven. (2014). The Simple Gift. St Lucia, Qld: University of Queensland Press.
24. Kehoe, Stasia Ward. (2014). The Sound of Letting Go. New York: Viking.
25. Kehoe, Stasia Ward.  (2011). Audition. New York: Viking.
26. Koertge, Ron. (2013). Coaltown Jesus. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
27. Koertge, Ron. (2006). Shakespeare Bats Cleanup. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
28. Myers, Walter Dean. (2009). Amiri and Odette: A Love Story. Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. New York: Scholastic Press.
29. Nelson, Marilyn. (2014). How I Discovered Poetry. New York: Dial.
30. Neri, G. (2007). Chess Rumble. New York: Lee & Low Books.
31. Philips, Linda Vigen. (2014). Crazy. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.
32. Porter, Pamela. (2013). I'll Be Watching. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books.
33. Porter, Pamela. (2007). The Crazy Man. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books.
34. Richards, Jame. (2011). Three Rivers Rising. New York: Ember. 
35. Testa, Maria. (2007). Something About America. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
36. Testa, Maria. (2005). Becoming Joe DiMaggio. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
37. Thompson, Holly. (2013). The Language Inside. New York: Delacorte Books for Young Readers. 
38. Venkatraman, Padma. (2014). A Time to Dance. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books.
39. Walwrath, Dana. (2014). Like Water on Stone. New York: Delacorte Press.
40. Weatherford, Carole Boston. (2008). Becoming Billie Holiday. Honesdale, PA: WordSong.
41. Weber, Lori. (2011). Yellow Mini. Markham, ON: Fitzhenry & Whiteside.
42. Wiviott, Meg. (2015). Paper Hearts. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books.
43. Wolff, Virginia Euwer. (2011). This Full House. New York: Square Fish.
44. Wolff, Virginia Euwer. (2002). True Believer. New York: Square Fish.
45. Wolff, Virginia Euwer. (1993/2006). Make Lemonade. New York: Square Fish.
46. Wong, Joyce Lee. (2007). Seeing Emily. New York: Abrams.

High School Grade Grade 10 - Adult

1. Adoff, Jaime. (2009). The Death of Jayson Porter.  New York: Jump at the Sun.
2. Barlow, Toby. (2009). Sharp Teeth. New York: Harper.
3. Block, Francesca Lia. (2006). Psyche in a Dress. New York: Joanna Cotler Books.
4. Cameron, Emma. (2013). Out of This Place. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
5. Castillo, Ana. (2005). Watercolor Women/Opaque Men. Curbstone Books,
6. Crowe, Chris. (2014). Death Coming Up the Hill. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.
7. Farish, Terry. (2012). The Good Braider. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall cavendish.
8. Fullerton, Alma. (2007). Walking on Glass. New York: HarperTeen.
9. Grimes, Nikki. (2011). A Girl Named Mister. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
10. Hemphill, Stephanie. (2013). Wicked Girls: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials. New York: Balzer & Bray.
11. Hemphill, Stephanie. (2013). Hideous Love: The Story of the Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein. New York: Balzer & Bray.
12. Hemphill, Stephanie. (2008). Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath. New York: Random House.
13. Herrera, Juan Felipe. (2011). Skate Fate. New York: HarperCollins.
14. Herrera, Juan Felipe. (1999). CrashBoomLove: A Novel in Verse. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press. 
15. Herrick, Steven. (2013). Love, Ghosts, & Facial Hairs. New York: Simon Pulse.
16. Herrick, Steven. (2007). The Wolf. Atlanta, GA: Front Street.
17. Hopkins, Ellen. (2014). Rumble. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books. 
18. Hopkins, Ellen. (2014). Tilt. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books. 
19. Hopkins. Ellen. (2008). Impulse. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books. 
20. Hopkins. Ellen. (2006). Crank. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books. 
21. Leavitt, Martine. (2014). My Book of Life By Angel. New York: Squarefish.
22. Levithan, David. (2004). The Realm of Possibility. New York: Borzoi Book.
23. Little, Melanie. (2009). The Apprentice's Masterpiece: A Story of Medieval Spain. New York: Annick Press.
24. Luján, Jorge. (2010). Brunhilda and the Ring. Illustrated by Linda Wolfsgruber. Translated by Hugh Hazelton. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books.
25. Mass, Wendy. (2008). Heaven Looks a Lot Like a Mall. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 
26. McCall, Guadalupe Garcia. (2013). Under the Mesquite. New York: Lee & Low Books.
27. McCormick,  Patricia. (2008). Sold. New York: Disney-Hyperion.
28. Myers, Walter Dean. (2007). Street Love. New York: Amistad.
29. Newman, Leslea.  (2012). October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
30. Ostlere, Cathy. (2012). Karma: First Edition. New York: Razorbill.
31. Rosenberg, Liz. (2002). 17: A Novel in Prose Poems. Cricket Books.
32. Schroeder, Lisa. (2010) Chasing Brooklyn. New York: Simon Pulse.
33. Schultz, Philip. (2014). The Wherewithal: A Novel in Verse. New York: W.W. Norton.
34. Sones, Soya. (2013). What My Mother Doesn't Know. New York: Simon & Schuster.
35. Tregay, Sarah. (2012). Love & Leftovers. New York: Katherine Tegen Books
36. Wild, Margaret. (2004). Jinx. New York: Simon Pulse.
37. Wolf, Allan. (2011). The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
38. Wolf, Allan. (2007). Zane's Trace. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

Passion-Based Research in High School: Is This What It Means to be Career-College Ready?

I.

This is going to be messy.  It also is necessary.


II.

Earlier today I was thinking about the students who reside in states, like I do, where the PARCC assessment will be given in a few weeks. I was thinking about those children and teenagers who will be taking their assessments using machines they have never used prior to the test.

I tweeted this and the folks at PARCC responded:

The question wasn't about what they recommended, but rather it was about whether they had researched the reliability of test data when students take an assessment that requires them to interact with text on machines they have not used before.  I'm wondering if the absence of an answer means they don't know. Shouldn't they?

So, I was wondering how valid will these test results be when received next September from PARCC testing?  I was wondering what instructional, personnel, and system-wide decisions will be made based on these test results.  What will be missed/misused?  Who will be fired? Retained?  Which truths will be lies? Which lies will make for better truths?  How can we know anything about academic progress given such uncertainty?  

Why are we paying billions for this?

Give the public a bunch of numbers, add the passage of some time, and slippery half-truths become gospel.  We have seen this repeatedly. We have drunk deeply from that goblet.

Surely there are better ways to know how young people are progressing on agreed upon set of outcomes. Cue the science (or insert another discipline/maker) fair.

III.

Dev's Computer He Built for Science Fair

This past week my son completed research he presented at his high school's science fair. He built a computer, outfitted it with an energy efficient power supply unit and compared the efficiency savings generated by his top end power supply unit with mid-range and inexpensive units.  He found that if desktop computers in US households (based on 2009 figures) running only on average for 2 hours a day were kitted out with the power supply unit he used with his computer, even though the initial costs would be more than the less expensive models, the savings alone in the first year would near half one billion dollars in comparison with the least expensive power supply units. Of course those savings would increase with more usage. Further this energy efficiency would also positively impact our globe environmentally.

This is what he found:

Explanation of the Testing Results

For the last month he worked on his project and I watched as his interest in his hypothesis intensified and noticed he was working on different aspects of this project late into several evenings.  I know what it is like to catch fire with an idea and want to follow it.

Catching fire and following an idea is more about being career and college ready than answering multiple choice and open-ended questions on a test--regardless of the test's quality. The complexity inherent in designing and testing a hunch trumps the closed and largely predictable world of high stakes school tests.  I was pleased to see my son generate and follow a question to a conclusion.  I know this is an important thinking disposition.

This is what passion-based research looks like. This is worth our tax dollars.

IV.

My son's project was awarded first place at the fair.  He was proud of his work, as were we.  You need to know that prior to this year, my son has not done well at school since 3rd grade. His name is not one you would have found on any honor roll.  This is a boy who calculated how many miscues to make on the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) when he was 9 so that he could stop being tested and go back to reading.

Agency, known constraints, and deep interest aided the development of his project and his adult life. I recall a few months ago when he told me that he does not see his future as defined by a specific career.  He wants to solve problems.

On most assessments doing well, like scoring high or winning first place, often signals an end.  What is perhaps most significant is the aftermath of this project. The judges who evaluated the projects were external to the school.  The science teachers also engaged with each student during the fair and evaluated the work, including the presentation through dialogue.

But feedback did not end with the judges or the teachers. Because the fair was open to the public and students were present to discuss their thinking, newer ways to think about the project were possible. Some of the people (parents, teachers, fellow students) who stopped by my son's display helped him to rethink aspects of his work.  For example, he had not factored the energy use of servers into his calculations.  He also had used figures from 2009 for the total number of desktop computers in the United States as those were the only ones he could locate.  He realizes now that each of these weakened his findings.

He told us tonight that he would be interested in repeating his study, including a larger range of devices, such as servers, laptops, and  handheld devices. He is curious as to what the savings might actually be and how these savings might environmentally, economically, and politically impact our earth.

Towards the end of the evening, a statistician who stopped by his project told him that they pay a department do to the work he had done.  Sounds a bit like being career ready, yes?

V.

Imagine now if the billions in tax dollars we systematically feed to companies to provide test development, scoring, and the plethora of test prepping materials, as well as the personnel dedicated to test preparation were shifted to the development and critique of student-determined projects. Imagine how different learning and assessing might be. Yes, it would be messy--as it would make us rethink how time is valued and used at school, the shifting and unstable divisions between being at school and not at school, what types of learning supports are necessary and for whom, and how tacit ways of knowing could be valued and perhaps coded.

Such a shift, from assessing with tests to learning through projects, will be messy.  Undoubtedly though, such a shift is well beyond necessary.

A 10th Grader's Digital Composing: Isn't it Time to Talk Back to CCSS?

Scott McLeod  (@mcleod) tweeted this:

I watched Sarah Almeda, a tenth grade high school student's presentation about creativity and learning. She animates her talk by drawing, using a graphics tablet, bamboo pad (by Waycom),  and  iMovie. I really appreciated her discussion, how she combines talk with the visuals, and how the visuals emerge as pages in her notebook are turned.  

Form extends content.


Two quick observations: 

1. Sarah's work helps us to reimagine what composing can be.  Our school-based marriage to the written word (usually stuck on paper & shared with THE TEACER) needs to give way to multimodal expressions that can be shared outside known audiences.  Multimodal composing should not be relegated solely to the tech or media departments, but rather needs to be embraced school-wide across elementary, middle and secondary levels of school. 
2. Sarah's composing also should help us nudge the rather Puritanical interpretation of composing that the CCSS insists upon.  We need to be vocal about our disapproval with the linear rendering of composing that CCSS advocates. Perhaps, it could be considered adequate if it was 1950.  It's not and Sarah helps to remind us of that important fact.  Here's NCTE's position statement on multimodal composing.

Sarah's closing comments about schools (no to ranking and grades) made me hopeful. 

I invite you to watch and thanks Scott for the link:)

Citing Evidence When Talking - High School ELA Class

In this video we get a glimpse of a high school ELA classroom where the students are citing evidence in order to deepen their conversation. Further, the students are using multiple texts to do so.

Grade 10 ELA.

Students Cite Evidence from Informational and Literary Text - Common Core Literacy from Expeditionary Learning on Vimeo.

Using I-Charts in High School to Develop Essay Writing

An I-Chart, also known as an Inquiry Chart, is a tool learners can use to help them understand and compare information that comes from more than one source. By thinking about what is already know, answering specific questions while reading, generating new questions, and then summarizing all of the information learned while reading, an I-Chart is made. By generating and completing an I-Chart before, during, and after learners have read several different texts about—they develop a better understanding of a topic.

How Does It Work?

• Step 1: Read the topic and the guiding questions on the I-Chart. Talk with a partner about the topic and the guiding questions. Work together to answer as many of the questions as you can.  Place your answers in the box directly below each question (What I Know).
• Step 2: Talk with your partner about any questions you might have about the topic.  List your questions in the box directly beneath the heading “New Questions.”
• Step 3: To help you learn more about the topic, there are multiple sources of information provided.  Each source tells about the topic. Think about the guiding questions before you read the first text. As you read, underline any information that is related to the guiding questions.  After you have finished reading the first text, write answers to the questions in the boxes on the chart. List any new questions.  You are now ready to read the second text.  Again, after reading each of these selections, write any answers you find to the guiding questions in the boxes provided, as well as any new questions you might have. 
• Step 4: After completing all of the categories on the chart, except the summaries, work with a partner and compare your charts.  Add any new information or change information you might have as a result of talking with your partner and reading your partner’s chart. 
• Step 5: Work with you partner to reread each of the guiding questions and the information you found from each reading selection.  Summarize the main points for each question and record you response in the boxes next to the word summary.
• Step 6: Work with another pair of students who have completed an I-Chart or section of an I-Chart and compare what each team has found.
• Step 7: Select one of the guiding questions as your essay topic. 
• Step 8: Use the information from the completed chart to help you respond to your essay topic.  Be sure to include evidence from at least two of the texts that explains your stance on the topic of how identity is constructed and supports your assertions.

Adapted from Hoffman, James V. (1992). Critical Reading/thinking across the curriculum: Using I-Charts to support learning. Language Arts, Vol. 69, pp. 121-127.

Topic: Constructing Identity	How does physical environment shape identity?	What identities, if any, are permanent and which have the power to change?	How does power influence identity?	New Questions
What I Know
1. 145th Street: Short Stories by Walter Dean Myers
2. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
3. Sofas by Richard, Wayne. (Digital Storytelling). Center for Digital Storytelling.
4. Fires in the Mirror Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Other Identities. by Anna Deavere Smith.
Summary

Negotiating Curriculum with High School Students

A few nights ago, I was reading a started draft of an AP Govt and Politics course by Chris Kenny (@chriskenny233). Chris plans to teach the course next year and had placed the started curriculum document on line via Google Docs. As the dir. of curriculum,  I find it helpful to work with curriculum in a method that allows cor conversation about the work as it is being designed and written.  Google docs allows us that access. Where Chris and I work, we have been talking (along with lots of others) about negotiating curriculum with students. Chris's immediate supervisor, Scott Klepesch (@shklepesch) has been encouraging teachers to open the first month of school, not with a rush into content, but rather to take time to work with students in designing aspects of the course.   I also have been surfacing the idea with administrators, teachers, and Board members  that curriculum is not the printed document, but rather complicated conversation. 

While reading and responding to the document, I raised a question about why Chris had decided to  weigh certain aspects of students' products (class discussion, test response, essay, projects) as he had and asked would it not be possible for students to weigh in on this and perhaps have different options for assessment values depending on the student, context, etc.  When I posed the question I did not know that 13601579 was a high school student who had signed up for the course next year.  So it was thrilling to see Chris pose a related question to the student who had been chatting with him alongside the curriculum document (chat is a function inside google docs). 

Here's part of the chat (reprinted with permission):

kenny.christopher: Guys, what do you think about grading policy? What would you like to see?
13601579: I like the grading policy I think.
kenny.christopher: Why's that?
13601579: It's similar to history this year.
12602454 has left.
kenny.christopher: Well, I guess part of me feels like you will be getting that kind of conditioning with (name of a teacher) AND you got it with me this year... so would it make feel comfortable to move away from it? Or maybe just deemphasize it?
13601579: with history I feel like the tests are a big part so its important to work towards those which is good studying tactic
hmmm possibly
maybe increase the amount that quizzes and projects count for
kenny.christopher: I don't disagree, but I feel like there's a different quality to the kind of content we're learning... the baseline information is there, but so much of it is going to be student-directed as far as assigned topics and whatnot
13601579: like 50 30 20
yes I like the 20% class discussion thing
kenny.christopher: Yeah, I was thinking that... 50% seems fair. I just want them to count enough that there's incentive.
13601579: we do that with (name of teacher) and its a helpful review
the class discussion online I mean
kenny.christopher: Yeah, I was going to say the blog will function on that level.
13601579: good review and summary. But also good analysis when youre discussing with people who are into it
kenny.christopher: Yeah, it's almost liek you're writing an FRQ more regularly, though informally...
13601579: yes. the FRQs are shorter for AP gov than for history right?
I'm asking I don't know at all
kenny.christopher: I'll be honest, I'm not sure. I have to do some research on that. I'm positive there is no DBQ...
13601579: yea because you can see the questions online but what you can't see are sample student responses which can be helpful
kenny.christopher: College Board has to have some of that...
I know they float around for US History all the time
13601579: yes but you have to get it as a teacher I think
I can't get it is what I mean
kenny.christopher: Yeah, I know, I'm thinking I'll get a hold of it this summer and then give it to you guys next year...
I feel like I don't have to beat writing over your heads so much next year, esp. kids who just came off having (name of a teacher) all year
13601579: for sure. I still want a summer assignment though
kenny.christopher: You'll be getting a lot of that from him as we move along too... he told me he thinks that kids who are taking both are going to do really well on the history exam... i have to agree...
Haha, I dunno, man.
13601579: yea I know your stance

During the next couple of days, I mentioned to a few other high school teachers what Chris was doing and they started brainstorming how they might do similar work with students prior to class beginning.  Another history teacher said, "Just think of how the kids will enter the class in September if they have had a say it what we will be doing!"  I shared a few ways other teachers negotiate curriculum throughout the year with students using in class time to discuss options, using social media to surface ideas and serve as a place for commentary and also reminded them that Scott had indicated this was a good way to start the year.

All of this negotiating has me thinking not from the distance of a curriculum director lodged in central office, but more so as a teacher.  I have committed to co-teaching a senior year English course with another teacher/instructional coach, John Madden for next year.  I know that the richness of conversations John and I will be having as we try to figure how to do an "unschool" course inside a traditional high school is something that will need to be informed by student and parent voices.

Hmm.  Time to get thinking about how to connect.