Children and young adult novel unit.

Speak is a good book to have students read in junior high and high school. It really helps you to understand different types of students who might be stereo-typed for being quiet or anti-social, and that there might be more to them and they might be having other problems. It can also helps students to maybe not be so critical during high school. Also it can help students see beyond someone that is quiet and maybe more students might reach out to students that are quiet or they think might be having problems. It could also help students to see that if they took the time to find out why a certain student behaved the way they did there might be more to a rumor or story they hear about a student. This book could also help students to be more accepting of people who go against what is popular by calling the cops and reporting a party because there was a problem. Students could also envision how others might feel that are socially rejected and have no friends like Melinda experienced. It might help students want to befriend people who might have problems socially and be more considerate of their feelings.

Star girl is a great book to have students read in elementary school, junior high, or even high school. Its great because it illustrates a girl who is confident and totally comfortable being herself and outgoing. She is not afraid to be different and stand out, even if people make fun of her. She wears bright and different colored clothing than anyone else she makes her own style. She is thoughtful and treats everyone kind even when others are mean or harsh towards her she just always if full of kindness. She brings her ukulele to school and plays it at school if front of everyone and sings because she likes it. Most other students would be afraid of doing that because its different but not star girl. She cheers for opposing teams and cares about everyone. This book can be a good way for students to see that it is okay to be different, and do what makes you happy instead of trying to fit in with everyone else and not stand out. This could also help students see that people are individuals and different and you shouldn’t make fun of them or bully them for it. So this could be tied into a lesson plan about creativity, and students could dress up how they would like to come dressed for school if no one were to care if they were different after reading the book. This might help students to become more accepting of people that are different. Students could also bring their favorite musical instrument to school. You could also have a share day where students bring their pets to school, like Star Girl brought her pet rat Cinnamon.
http://www.jerryspinelli.com/newbery_002.htm This is a good website for the book Star Girl.

The Austere Academy is a good book for elementary students because its creative and is so different from any other book series. Students would probably like this book because of the use of big words and how it is kind of scary. This is also a interesting book because not only does it use big words, but it also gives a definition for them and an example so children can learn new vocabulary. Its about three children that are orphans because their parents passed away, and they struggle from place to place. The count olaf is always trying to think up creative ways to get back into their lives. He’s definitely not a nice person and he doesn’t treat the children well. They try to stay as far away from him as possible but he always seems to find them. The count olaf appears at Prufrock Prepatory School disguised as coach Genghis the new gym teacher. From there he tries to develop a plan where he can get the children expelled from school so he can home school them himself. His plan fails because the children outsmart him and devise a plan to avoid running laps and study for their exams to determine if they can stay at school. Mr. Poe comes at the right moment at the end and helps the children reveal count olaf’s disguise and he is caught. This book would be interesting for children to read because it is so different then typical fairy tale books. A fun lesson plan that could go along with this book for students would be to have them make up their own creative and different stories like how this book was so different and interesting. They could also make displays of their favorite part of the book like a display of the school or the different characters in the book.
http://www.lemonysnicket.com/ This is a good website for Lemony Snicket’s Austere Academy book.