Sometimes I worry about the amount of depressing subject matter my students are choosing to read. My paperbacks about self mutilation, rape, drugs, anorexia, etc. are dog-earred, but the kids pass them around to each other. I cna't keep enough titles on my book shelves. I teach seventh grade struggling readers. Many of them are dealing with some pretty serious "stuff" in their own lives. They are drawn to those books that are about the conflicts and difficulties they face everyday. I suppose it gives them an opportunity to see how other people deal with the kind of devastating events they're facing. And, for many of them, the books provide the role models who cope with hardships and survive.
Linda Recchio 7th Grade Reading Specialist Ramblewood Middle School "Who dares to teach must never cease to learn." _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive
