Young Adult Unit

I really enjoyed reading the three books for this unit, and I think "Stargirl" is one of my new favorite novels. "The Austere Academy" would be great read for elementary students. When I read this book it made me think about how good I have it, and things could always be much worse (as in the case of the Baudelaires). I think for this same reason it is a good book for anyone to read, especially elementary students because it is an easy read (and it explains words and phrases throughout that younger students may otherwise find confusing). "Stargirl" is a good read for young adults because it teaches the importance of being your own person, as well as accepting others for who they are. I think "Speak" is also a good young adult novel because it encourages the reader to not be quick to judge others. It also touches on some very important issues that young adults may have to face in their lives such as sexual assault, as well as depression.

"Speak"

I think this novel would be a good introduction to a unit informing teens about issues such as sexual assault and depression. Often times when someone reads about someone dealing with issues first hand (like Melinda) it can help them face issues they may have in their personal lives.

www.kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/mental_health/depression.html

*This website gives a lot of good information on depression. It talks about how to tell when someone is dealing with depression, how common it is, as well as help for these individuals.

http://www.rainn.org/

*This website has information about sexual assault and related issues. It gives statistics, ways to help prevent sexual assault, as well as the different types of sexual assault.

"Stargirl"

http://www.webenglishteacher.org/

*This website gives a lot of good discussion topics as well as various activities students can do relating to the novel. A few discussion questions from this website include:

1. If you could change your name, what would it be and why? Or, why would you keep the name you have?

2. Should Stargirl have helped the opposing teams injured player? Why or why not?

3. If you kept a "happy/unhappy" wagon, how many pebbles would yours have in it right now? Explain your answer.

"A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Austere Academy"

http://litplans.com/authors/lemony_snicket.html

*This website has some good resources for teachers such as related activities, discussion topics, etc.

www.webenglishteacher.com/snicket.html

*This also has some good ideas for classroom use. One idea on this website I liked is to have students write story scenes using their own characters but in a way in which the "Series of Unfortunate events" stories are told.