Welcome Students

I am very excited to have you in my class and look forward to the semester. We are going to read and discuss several different types of literature throughout the course of the semester. I believe it is very important to allow students to express their personal opinions through exploratory discussions and different forms of writing. Students will be presented with several different ways to argue their beliefs and ideas. Throughout the course of the semester we will learn more about one another and respect others' opinions on some controversial situations.

I firmly believe it is very beneficial for students to read and learn about the world they live in today. Here are some books that highlight common situations teenagers may be presented with and how they surpass these predicaments.

	1. Alice Sebold's Lovely Bones:	This novel is about a thirteen year old girl who is murdered. It discusses common problems family face when dealing with such a sad situation.
	2. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein:	This novel is about a mad scientist who creates a monster. The monster escapes and wreaks havoc on his creator.
	3. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter:	This is a series about a young man who is faced with several different and interesting trials. He attends a special school where he learns how to enhance his wizard abilities. These fantasy novels captivate adolescents all over the world.
	4. Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass:	This is also a trilogy about a young girl who is faced with the evils of her world. She sets out to save children from being separated from the "daemons". This is very exciting and intriguing for teens!
	5. Louise Murphy’s The True Story of Hansel and Gretel:	This is a novel about two Jewish children who are abandoned in the woods to try and survive during World War II. They come across a house where an elderly woman lives. She tries to help them and hide them from the Nazi soldiers in Poland. This novel illustrates the brutality brought among the Jews during WWII.
	6. White Snow:	This novel is about a girl who lives in a small town and decides to visit her father for the summer in California. Once she is in California she meets some other teens who are taking cocaine. This novel shows her struggles through a very serious addiction to drugs.
	7. Nancy Bond’s Another Shore:	This is a historical fiction novel about a young girl who travels back in time to the 1700's She realizes how difficult it was being a girl her age during this time period. It shows the responsibilities expected of young women in the 1700's.
	8. Walter Dean Myers The Glory Field:	This novel is a timeline of events starting with slaves living on the plantations in the 1700's. The novel is split into six different parts that highlight one African American family throughout time. Each section is split by several years and it illustrates the trials the different family members have encountered in order to be where they are today.
	9. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird:	This is about a young and her father who is a lawyer. This story deals with issues referring to race, threats, and violence and their attempt to overcome these battles.
	10. Elie Wiesel's Night:	This is a biography about a Jewish boy who lived during the Holocaust. His family is forced to live in a concentration camp. This tells about his families struggles during the war.

Here is a link to help if you are having trouble with the following:

Grammar

Forming a paper

Understanding a piece of literature

Persuasive Essays

Argumentative Essays

REMINDER
Feel free to email me if you have any questions about the course!