I am planning a unit for February that involves using lit. circles with my 6th grade reading students. Typically they get to choose what they read, but every few months we require them to read a book as a group or class. In February we are planning to have them read a book about someone with a disability or someone who is dealing with living with someone with a disability. The two books we've come up with so far are Freak the Mighty and Wonder.
What other suggestions might you have? I don't have too many guidelines, they just need to be 6th grade appropriate.
Stargirl by Spinelli...it's not really a disability but it's about being different and the desire to conform...
When Zachary Beaver Comes to Town by Willis Holt....again not really a disability but has a story about a boy who battles obesity.
Tangerine by Edward Bloor is about a boy living with a visual disability and how he can see things that no one else in his family is able to see.
Bluish by Virgina Hamilton is about a girl in a wheelchair and her struggle at a new school.
A Corner of the Universe by Ann Martin is about a girl who has an uncle who is mentally disabled come live with her family.
Small Steps by Louis Sachar is kind of like a sequel to Holes.
Rules by Cynthia Lord is about a girl who has a brother with autism. This is lower level but might be good if you have any struggling readings.
Joey Pigza series by Jack Gantos about a boy living with ADHD (I think). This is lower level but again might be a good choice if you have struggling readers.
The Graduation of Jake Moon is about a middle school aged boy who lives with his mother and a grandfather who has alzheimer's and is constantly embarassing him.
Book Summary
There are two files on Sahara Jones. The one the school counselor keeps is evidence that she's a fifth grader who needs special education. The other is the book Sahara is secretly writing, her Heart-Wrenching Life Story and Amazing Adventures. The latest chapter in her book unfolds when her mother insists that she be taken out of special ed. So Sahara is facing fifth grade in the regular classroom, again. But why even try to do the work, Sahara wonders, if everything she does just winds up in the counselor's file?
Enter Miss Pointy, the new fifth-grade teacher. With her eggplant-colored lipstick and strange subjects such as "Puzzling" and "Time Travel," she's like no other teacher Sahara has ever known. When she passes out writing journals to the class, Sahara has fresh hope for the school year. Through Miss Pointy's unusual teaching, storytelling, and quiet support, Sahara finds the courage to overcome her fears and prove which file shows her true self.
Author Information
Esmé Raji Codell is the author of the highly acclaimed and best-selling Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher's First Year. She has been a keynote speaker for the International Reading Association
I know you don't always want or need to show movies before or after reading a novel, but just for the record The Mighty is a great one! Common Core requires some comparing and contrasting of stories and performances...
