Wow, 400 Posts! - Epic

I know I've mentioned a few times that I am teaching multiple books right now, but I wanted to talk a little bit about how successful it has been (especially because of the previous post's negativity). Right now I am teaching two books, A Long Way Gone (by Ishmael Beah) and Tuesdays with Morrie (by Mitch Albom). It has been the most successful reading experience I have had in my two years as a teacher. I have by far had the most success mastering objectives and with reading quizzes.

I don't really understand if it's because they books are interesting to them, or if it's because I gave them a choice. I really only have two students that occasionally complain about the reading being boring or not wanting to do it. I have 10 students who've already completed the book. I have SO many students who do all of their reading for the reading quizzes every single night. WHAT A CHANGE. In fact, I only have two students who are behind in 1st period, 0 in 4th period, 1 in 5th period, and 2 in 7th. That is quite an amazing statistic, my friends. I can promise you that 80% of students were behind last year with Lord of the Flies.


I've decided that I think I will concurrently teach The Color Purple and The Great Gatsby too. This way they again have a choice and both are books that are generally liked. I am going to cross my fingers, because this has been too nice. We also are perfectly on target (even with 2 snow days, and one early release) to finish the book in 3.5 weeks.

Cover via Amazon

Cover via Amazon