Reading Ladder Activity- Adolescent Literature
The following Reading Ladder I have created is targeted for an 8th grade student who has shown an interest in exploring female empowerment and female social issues. Each text on the ladder would allow this student to see a strong female character in the book, while also gradually increasing the reading levels of the text and student exposure to issues that women have had and still have to face in our societies. I would strongly recommend this Reading Ladder to any student who may struggle with seeing their personal worth and capabilities, for the books may can serve as an encouragement to be yourself and to work hard for the things you value.
This Reading Ladder begins with Flying Lessons and Other Stories, which is a novel written in a series of short stories. This novel is pertinent to the ladder because of its diverse author and characters. The stories cover everyday issues of young females navigating, school, friends, and life, but the book has a unexpected feminist twist to it. I felt this book could be very relatable to students at this stage of their lives.
The next text is Lucky Broken Girl. I included this one next because it has a very strong female character, who is navigating life with some particular obstacles that may be out of the ordinary for peers of this age. This book describes a strong, young female OVERCOMING. I thought this could be a helpful theme within this set of books.
A Wrinkle in Time is next. This classic serves a very specific purpose of, well, being a classic AND showing readers a true female leader. I thought this idea of female leadership and adventure would add to the overall idea of female empowerment. This classic represents that and brings in an element of Sci-Fi, which the other books do not cover.
Chains is the next book on the ladder because the narrative includes an awesome female as the main character, but this book is the first book on the ladder in which the storyline is strongly based on inequality, injustices, and major social issues. However, the main characters are young and the story shows how these small and seemingly insignificant humans make major social issues and face these problems that are much larger than them. This story eases the reader in to these large social constructs. Also, the historical settings helps readers to easily identify injustice and advocacy based on history they have already studied in school.
I Am Malala is significant in the way that it is someone's non-fictional, personal narrative, a new genre for the ladder, and has diverse identities that it brings to the forefront for the reader to explore. This narrator would also be a similar age to the targeted reader for this ladder.
The Hate U Give includes a character that is a bit older than the targeted reader for this ladder, but the storyline includes social issues that are very prominent in our own country and can may even be somewhat more relatable to the student. This may be the first book where the reader is discovering social issues that hit very close to home but through the ideas of a young, advocating girl.
Lastly, Sadie will be the text that the student is working toward, allowing the student to grow in their literacy capabilities and experiences, along with the more severe issues the books reveals. These issues are most closely related to issues that solely women experience. The book stands yet another strong, female character against them.
Overall, the books on this ladder grow with the reader. It also can be very representative of a student travelling through their 8th grade year on into highschool, highlighting the major transitions from the more Middle Grades level books to YA level books.
Chains is the next book on the ladder because the narrative includes an awesome female as the main character, but this book is the first book on the ladder in which the storyline is strongly based on inequality, injustices, and major social issues. However, the main characters are young and the story shows how these small and seemingly insignificant humans make major social issues and face these problems that are much larger than them. This story eases the reader in to these large social constructs. Also, the historical settings helps readers to easily identify injustice and advocacy based on history they have already studied in school.
I Am Malala is significant in the way that it is someone's non-fictional, personal narrative, a new genre for the ladder, and has diverse identities that it brings to the forefront for the reader to explore. This narrator would also be a similar age to the targeted reader for this ladder.
The Hate U Give includes a character that is a bit older than the targeted reader for this ladder, but the storyline includes social issues that are very prominent in our own country and can may even be somewhat more relatable to the student. This may be the first book where the reader is discovering social issues that hit very close to home but through the ideas of a young, advocating girl.
Lastly, Sadie will be the text that the student is working toward, allowing the student to grow in their literacy capabilities and experiences, along with the more severe issues the books reveals. These issues are most closely related to issues that solely women experience. The book stands yet another strong, female character against them.
Overall, the books on this ladder grow with the reader. It also can be very representative of a student travelling through their 8th grade year on into highschool, highlighting the major transitions from the more Middle Grades level books to YA level books.
Comments
Post a Comment