Once again Kelly Bull is providing a blog post. Kelly provided a wonderful blog post about a year and half ago about book by Lita Judge. It was a great find for me. Lita Judge's book was an exploration of Mary Shelly and the story of her creation Frankenstein. The book has a ton of original art work. If you didn't catch that blog post you can check it out at this link. Kelly is another YA scholar who has a wealth of knowledge. I look forward to seeing her at the NCTE convention every year. In fact, her post this week foreshadows one of the topics she is working on for this years convention, YA world literature. Below she share some of her favorites.

A reminder, all of the book covers are linked to a place that will let you buy the book. If you don't know the authors that Kelly is recommending you should add a few of these to your shelves.

Reading world literature invites adolescents to learn cultures, customs, and traditions different from their own, opening doors to meaningful inquiry and discussion. Exploring culturally diverse texts written for young adults provides opportunities for students to unmask stereotypes and misconceptions, as well. Readers learn how they are both alike and different from characters on the page, deepening empathy for and understanding of others. This is especially important in our increasingly interconnected and global world where our students will need to understand one another outside of national borders. Reading world literature is “a fantastic way into the DNA of different cultures,” according to Martin Pucher.  ​Reading world literature deepens students’ understandings of cultures and builds their global competence.

Growing global citizens who confidently and competently read the word and the world is possible for English teachers who are conscious of the curricular decisions regarding text selection and instruction. James Banks argues that “Literate citizens in a diverse democratic society should be reflective, moral, and active citizens in an interconnected global world. They should have the knowledge, skills, and commitment needed to change the world to make it more just and democratic.” Without knowing more about the world, its countries, cultures, and citizens, our students would be ill-equipped to change it. This is why our students should be reading world literature: to both broaden and deepen their understandings of cultures and recognize that social issues such as poverty, inequality, injustice, violence, terrorism, and oppression require global solutions, according to Tom Bean, Judith Dunkerly-Bean, and Helen Harper. 

​World literature prompts readers to question, consider, and reflect on cultures and identities.  Which stories are being told, and who are the storytellers? In what ways are identities, geographies, and cultures privileged or stigmatized? And how do young adults connect with, critically reflect on, and carry forward stories from around the globe?  

Some FavoritesI’ve been reading more globally and gathering titles that I share with my students who are teachers. Many are thankful to have found new, engaging, diverse books and authors to bring into their classrooms. A few of our favorite titles are:
​
The Astonishing Color of After, Emily X. R. Pan 

From the Kirkus review: Grief, regret, and loneliness form the backdrop of a family’s life following a suicide, but a path for healing reveals itself in the form of a magical red bird.
here is a link to the Kirkus Review

Balcony on The Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine, Ibtisam Barakat

From the Kirkus review: This intense memoir paints a dark picture of growing up in Israeli-occupied Palestine, where “we are made to live with no land, no country, no rights, no safety, and no respect for our dignity.”
here is a link to the Kirkus Review

Diamond Boy, Michael Williams

From the Kirkus review: In this sprawling, messy but compelling epic, a teenager and his family join other desperate Zimbabweans seeking a future in Marange’s diamond mines.
​here is a link to the Kirkus Review

​This November at NCTE annual convention in Baltimore, I’m fortunate to be presenting alongside dear colleagues, Lois Stover and Cheryl North at our world literature-centered session: 
​
Eastern Literature for Middle Grade and Young Adult Readers: Inquiry into Cultural Knowledge & Experience. ​

Acclaimed authors Cynthia Kadohata (A Place to Belong), Padma Venkatrama (The Bridge Home), and S.K. Ali (Love from A to Z) will be discussing their new MG and YA books. We hope that you’ll join us for great discussions on heritage, culture, family, and belonging.

The Summit for 2019 is in the books. I wish I could tell you that I have taken a break, but that is certainly not the case. I have some writing deadlines to take care off. So, I hope to finish those before I head off to the ELATE conference in July. 

I do want to take a small break and give you a glimpse of what happened during the summit. In many ways this is just a photo essay. Noah Schaffer was the official summit photographer and all photos in this post were taken by him. By all means this isn't all of the photos he took, but it is a good sample.  You can follow him on Facebook.

My hope this week is to show you the keynote authors, the academics who presented the breakout sessions, and the attendees. So, if you attended look for your photo and share it with your friends.

​More about the Librarians who presented with come in a later post.

YA for All: Using YA Literature in the AP and Honors Class to Explore Similar Literary Quality
This session will discuss how many quality young adult literature can be used in honors and AP literature and language courses. Many books stand on their own or can be used as companion texts with many frequently used books within English Language Arts Classroom. One example is how the standard text Pride and Prejudice can be paired with Ibi Zoboi’s new text Pride. Often neglected are a host of quality nonfiction text that may be used to expand contemporary understanding of social justice issues. For example, Most Dangerous by Steve Sheinkin can be used to expand a student’s understanding of the Vietnam era politics. In similar manner, Blood Brother by Rich and Sandra Neil Wallace can shed light on the contribution and sacrifice of a white ally during the civil rights movement in the 1960s.    

​The Best Book I Ever Read: The Power of Young Adult Literature in the Classroom
Whether used for whole-class reads, student selected literature circles, or independent reading, YA texts have great power for engaging teen readers deeply in their reading, listening, thinking, writing, and meaning making processes. In this session, we will examine specific YA texts identified by students as lifesaving and pair them with instructional approaches that go beyond what Arthur Applebee and cohort called the IRE (initiation, response, evaluation) method. Teachers will receive materials and coaching on instructional methods and their delivery that will maximize students’ engagement with texts and heighten literacy skills.  

​Reimagining the English Classroom with Student Choice and Voice
Reimagining the English Classroom with Student Choice and Voice: In this workshop, teacher and author Sarah Donovan will discuss the need for curriculum design that centers students’ lives. She will highlight reading and writing workshop research, and then using examples of plans, book lists, project instructions, and student work samples, she will assist teachers in immediately designing curriculum maps that integrate student interests in a workshop model. Participants can expect to experience the workshop style with poetry reading, quick writes, and book talks so that they will witness, firsthand (and possibilities) of choice and voice in the English classroom. As a bonus, Donovan will show how this shift in planning will minimize time spent grading and maximize student engagement (and joy).

​Using Critical Theory to Engage Diversity in YA Literature
In this workshop, participants will learn about critical theories they can use with secondary students to engage diverse perspectives in young adult (YA) texts. Pairing critical theory with young adult literature supports rigorous reading, discussing, and writing about literature using high interest texts. Participants will be receive a sample unit plan that includes a list of recommended YA texts and an instructional plan to guide students through reading and discussing YA texts with diverse characters. The workshop will focus on using intersectionality as a lens for analyzing YA texts with diverse characters through two activities: 1) reading and discussing an excerpt from a YA text through an intersectional lens, and 2) adapting the provided unit plan to participants’ social and instructional contexts. An additional digital packet with research articles and research-based instructional practices using a variety of critical theories (e.g. a Youth Lens and Postcolonial Theory) will be provided.

​Examining, Discussing, and Writing About the Angry or Peaceful Mob Through YA Literature
In this workshop, Rumohr-Voskuil will share resources and activities that help students to examine and discuss the psychological reasons for the mob mentality.  She will then provide process-based writing activities that will help students further consider this issue.  Finally, related YA texts--and accompanying teaching materials--will tie it all together, suggesting ways that students can arrive at additional connections and consider positive social impacts in their own communities.

​Diverse Fantastic Characters and Where to Find Them: Decolonizing the Imagination in ELA Classrooms
In this workshop, Toliver will discuss the need for speculative stories that represent diverse characters. She will highlight the social justice informed origins of speculative fiction, and she will also include resources that teachers can use to find science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories that center diverse populations as protagonists. Lastly, using excerpts from speculative fiction texts, she will assist teachers in helping students to analyze the social justice metaphors present within speculative stories written by diverse populations.

One parting note. The events and photos of the summit will be archived at this link. Over the next few week's I will be adding photos of the summit taken by Noah Schaffer. The presenters will be providing some powerpoints, summarizes of events and links to their blogs or websites. Be sure to return frequently.

Of course, it is impossible to give you a complete view of the experience. There were too many moving pieces, too many conversations, and too many wonder moments to capture everything. The best things to do is plan now to come next year. The dates are set, so take a minute and put June 11, 12, and 13 of 2020 on your calendar. Please plan to join us. Our three author keynotes will be Ashley Hope Perez, Chris Crowe, and Steve Sheinkin.

Until next week!

Too often adults plan literacy events for adolescents without consulting them. Write X. Read Y. Think about Z. In reality, they might already be writing A, reading B, and thinking about C. They might even wish that someone else thought it was important. It was important for Phil Bildner to listen to what Elizabeth Acevedo wanted to write about. I listened to Sarah Donovan explain how her seventh graders selected their own reading. and how they liked sharing with her and each other. Adolescents are thinking deeply. Their thoughts are often not shared and under appreciated.

This week, Jason Griffith and a graduate student at Penn State University, Jocelyn Amevuvor, discuss student generated writing. They talk about a couple of projects and provide some wonderful resources. Enjoy.

“I’m so tired of this sensitive generation because all these little teen boys coming up and
talking about, ‘Oh my god, you get cramps? Well, have you have been kicked in the
nuts?’ Like, I don’t care that you were kicked in the nuts. You don’t get kicked in the
nuts for hours a day for like five days a week and every single month.” 

This quote, in which a middle school girl from Bronx Prep Middle School shares how she describes the extreme and cyclic pain of menstrual cramps to her male classmates, is one of my favorites from the recent winning middle school entry in NPR’s first-ever Student Podcast Challenge, which announced its winners last month. In just four-and-a-half minutes, Bronx Prep’s “Sssh! Periods” effectively challenges the societal taboo around discussing periods and issues related to menstruation. While the student podcasters use experiential anecdotes to well-establish why such a taboo is a specific problem at their middle school, they also go-beyond to explore why the stunted conversation is a problem in broader society. Specifically, this podcast taught me about “period poverty,” or the lack of access to menstrual supplies for low-income women. “Sssh! Periods!” is nothing short of a youth-driven call to action to bring this topic to public light for the benefit of “these little teen boys,” the squeamish aunts, and the teachers policing bathroom access, who are mentioned in the podcast, but also for the rest of its potentially broad audience.

The high school winner, though different in narrative approach, was no less impressive. In “Murderous Mary & the RISE of Erwin,” a student team from Elizabethton High School reclaim and reframe a 100-year-old notorious piece of local lore, the public hanging (via crane) of a circus elephant named Mary after she trampled an abusive handler. The student podcasters draw upon interviews with local politicians, archivists, community members, and citizens to first tell how public pressure, somewhat reminiscent of George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant,” led to the grisly event, as well as how the execution saddled the town of Erwin with a nasty reputation for decades. However, the student podcasters flip the script by featuring the conservation work of The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, an organization that developed in the historical shadow of Mary’s execution to provide a safe haven for captive elephants to receive care, live out their lives with the companionship of a herd, and raise public awareness about issues related to elephants both in captivity and in the wild.   

To that end, I’ve been working with Jocelyn Amevuvor, a PhD Candidate at Penn State University, to examine critics’ claim that young writers haven’t had enough life experience to write valuable and compelling memoir. We’ve been examining a decade-long sample of youth memoir as published in The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards’ yearly The Best Teen Writing volumes to showcase some of their national contest winners. 
​
In the next section, Jocelyn highlights the literary value of two recent youth memoirs to demonstrate the curricular value of youth-generated text and media. 

Several personal essays from the 2018 edition of The Best Teen Writing exhibit youth speaking to issues that define them. Two essays that do this particularly well are “Under the Shade of the Apple Tree” by Myra Kamal, who was 13 years old when she wrote it, and “Truths I’m Trying to Ignore” by Sophya Giudici-Juarez, who was 17. Both of these youth memoirs present children of immigrant families who are directly affected by larger social issues common in present-day America. 
​
In Kamal’s Under the Shade of the Apple Tree we see, through a youth’s eyes, the ways xenophobia and Islamophobia impact Muslim immigrant families in America. Kamal’s writing demonstrates beautiful symbolism through her father’s apple tree. She explains how he carefully planted and tended to the tree until it bore fruit. When a friend comes to visit, Myra’s family give her some apples to take home, but things take a turn for the worse when her friend’s family finds out her family is Muslim. Myra slows down the moment in which her neighbors come to pick their daughter up and hear Adhan, the call to prayer. She writes: 

“We didn’t know you were Muslim,” the mom explained to my mother. The tension in the air was thick and choppy.
“Yes, we are,” replied my mother with her head held high. (pp. 180-181)

Then, Kamal moves the narrative to the next morning when her family received a letter of complaint regarding her father’s apple tree and a request to tear it down. She takes a moment to reflect on that moment, writing, “However, the sad thing was that I automatically knew the reason for my neighbors’ actions. When did my innocence leave me?” (p. 181). Her reflection demonstrates her youth perspective as she considers the way she has become more keenly aware of the Islamophobic undertones of her neighbors’ actions. This short moment of reflection is a powerful example of the way youths are uniquely situated to convey a present glimpse into a moment that they likely would convey differently if they were an adult looking back.

​Giudici-Juarez also powerfully conveys her feelings as a Latin American immigrant trying to apply for college. Her essay begins at the start of her educational journey, and she uses short vignettes to take us through keystones of her journey. She describes first struggling with English in her American school and her own parents’ embarrassment in being unable to assist her with her homework. Her journey continues as she excels at both English and school in general. She provides a window into the home life of a bilingual immigrant youth. She described, “I am eight years old…My mother needs me to help my brother in school. I talk to his teachers and translate his reading questions for my parents. I show up to every open house with them, sit in on important conversations, and translate our mail. I know more about taxes than I need to,” (p. 174).  Her perspective redefines childhood experience, and highlights the way, as a child, she is participating in very adult things.  

As a high school student, Guidici-Juarez comes out on top, and yet, one of the most powerful moments in the essay is towards the end as she prepares to apply for college.  She writes, “I stare at blank applications until the Social Security number fills itself in,” (p. 174) demonstrating, without saying, that, as an immigrant, she does not have a number.  She goes on to describe her feelings, writing “I have never known a world where I was not less than or equal to. My future feels like an unfinished math equation,” (pp. 174-175). The evaluation of her story is implied, that all of her hard work is not enough. As a youth likely applying for schools as she is writing the essay, this part of the essay is particularly raw. 

Interestingly, both Guidici-Juarez and Kamal’s essay end in the unknown. There is no sure resolution. While Kamal’s father says he will refuse to tear down the apple tree, the reader does not know how this impacted the family’s life in their community. Similarly, Guidici-Juarez story is unfinished, as readers are left wondering whether she will be able to go to college or not. Other youths will likely identify with these feelings of uncertainty and appreciate reading about other young people who are struggling with their identities in the community or fulfilling their personal goals in the near future.  

​As Jocelyn’s analysis demonstrates, youth are able, in some cases perhaps more potently than adult voices, to effectively write about complex and pressing social issues like immigration and religious discrimination. These essays, the podcasts featured in the introduction, and much more quality, student-generated literature would make for valuable inclusion in our curricula and engaging discussion among our students. As readers consider the inclusion of student-generated literature in your classrooms, here are some resources to consider: 

Drummond, S. (2019, May 1). Here are the winners of the NPR student podcast challenge. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2019/05/01/713654812/here-are-the-winners-of-the-npr-student-podcast-challenge

Giudici-Juarez, S. (2018). Truths I’m trying to ignore. In Benzizoune, R. (Ed.) The best teen writing of 2018. New York, NY: Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

Jennings, L. B., Parra-Medina, D.M., Messina, D.K.S., McLoughlin, K. (2006). Toward a critical social theory of youth empowerment. Journal of community practice, 14(1): 31-55.

Kamal, M. (2018). Under the shade of the apple tree. In Benzizoune, R. (Ed.) The best teen writing of 2018. New York, NY: Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

Petrone, R., Sarigianides, S.T., & Lewis, M.A. (2015). The youth lens: Analyzing adolescence/ts in literary texts. Journal of Literacy Research, 46(4): 506–533.

Saragianides, S. T., Petrone, R., & Lewis, M.A. (2017). Rethinking the “adolescent” in adolescent literacy. Urbana, Il: NCTE. 

Until next time.

{I met Diane in person at the 2018 Summit on the Research and Teaching of Young Adult Literature. She provided two post last summer after the summit. One last June on Musical Theater and YA literature--Hamilton is in the house. It was based on her breakout session. Find it here. Diane then provide another one in July--I really need a break, and Diane was there to help. The second time she followed up with post about YA and mental health. This is a research of Diane and it was great post. Find it here. 

Another fun connection is that she and Kia Richmond met at the summit. Kia is also a contributor to the blog and has a book on YA and mental illness. They became fast friends. You can find Kia's post here. Professional learning is often just as much about friendships and connections as it is collecting materials to use in the next class.

Thanks Diane, for contributing once again.

(Throughout Diane's narrative you will find images of other novels that depict the issues she is addressing at the bottom they will be together in a slide show.)
​
​Recently, I was able to bring together two interests of mine, one new and one longstanding. I’ve recently become more acquainted with musical theater, and I have spent years reading YA literature of mental illness; so, imagine my excitement when I realized that both of these subjects come together Dear Evan Hansen!

When my colleagues and I at Moorpark College began teaching Hamilton a couple of years ago, a particularly avid theater fan in the class told me about Dear Evan Hansen. I knew I wanted to explore the musical theater genre further, so I immediately ordered the book and the soundtrack, and then I saw one of the Hollywood Pantages Theater performances in November of 2018. With its focus on teens, social media, and mental illness, I knew the play would be a great selection for my introduction to literature class at the community college where I teach. I usually theme this class as a young adult literature class, but sometimes I struggle to find plays because there is not a large body of YA drama--YA literature, after all, almost always means YA novels.

​Indeed, the play Dear Evan Hansen has recently been adapted into a young adult novel. While my class studied the play, and my references will be to the text of the play, both versions are great ways to get teens talking about mental health. From Evan Hansen’s suicide attempt to Connor Murphy’s completed suicide, and from Evan’s social anxiety to Connor’s drug addiction, the text can inspire many conversations about mental illness and wellness.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), one in every five teenagers is experiencing a mental illness. In a class of 25 people, that means five of your students may have mental illness. More likely, you have a class of 30 or 40, so up to eight students may be having mental health struggles. Even when students don’t struggle with their own mental health, they may know a friend or family member who does. Half of all sufferers will experience the onset of symptoms by age 14 and three quarters by age 25, so high school and college is the time when many students or their friends may fall ill. Therefore, it is especially important to build awareness in the school/college environment, and stories such as Dear Evan Hansen can help us build that awareness.

As Kia Jane Richmond has argued right here in YA Wednesday as well as in The Language Arts Journal of Michigan and The ALAN Review, the language we use when we talk about mental illness can be used to challenge or reinforce the stigma that exists in our society today about mental illness. Dear Evan Hansen provides us and our students with many fruitful opportunities to examine the language that characters use to talk about mental illness and the consequences of that language use. 

​The play opens with Evan, a sufferer of social anxiety, doing his therapy homework. He is supposed to write himself letters that begin, “Dear Evan Hansen: Today is going to be an amazing day, and here’s why” (1.1). As he writes, though, he ostensibly fails to lessen his anxiety as he rambles on about his crush, Zoe, and his sweaty hands at their last encounter. When Evan’s mom, Heidi, comes onto the scene, she is clearly eager for Evan to get better. She is disappointed that he didn’t order himself dinner the previous night because he doesn’t like to speak to delivery people. She equates his illness with immaturity when she says, “You’re a senior in high school, Evan. You need to be able to order dinner for yourself when I’m at work” (1.1). While Heidi’s frustrations are understandable, equating mental illness to childishness is inaccurate and insulting. Furthermore, Heidi speaks to Evan in an overly enthusiastic voice, one more suited to a young child than to a teenage son. It’s as if boundless optimism is needed when addressing someone with mental illness, as if optimism alone will cure Evan. This sentiment is also reflected when she begins to sing the opening number of the play. Heidi asks, “Can we try to have an optimistic outlook? / Can we buck up just enough / To see…the world won’t fall apart? / Maybe this is the year we decide / We’re not giving up before we’ve tried” (1.1, “Anybody Have a Map?”). These lines suggest misconceptions of mental illness. For one thing, willpower alone cannot conquer a biological brain disorder. In addition, Heidi’s lyrics unfairly assume that Evan has not even tried to overcome his anxiety. 

When Connor Murphy arrives at school, it is clear that his reputation precedes him. Connor has been labeled since second grade, when “he threw a printer at Mrs. G….because he didn’t get to be line leader that day” (1.3). By the time we meet Connor during his senior year of high school, he is known as “batshit out of his mind” (1.3). With this history, Evan’s friend Jared feels perfectly comfortable greeting Connor with a taunt: “Hey, Connor. I’m loving the new hair length. Very school shooter chic” (1.1). Jared then calls Connor a “freak.” When Evan awkwardly laughs, Connor turns defensive: “I’m not the freak…You’re the fucking freak” (1.1). After Connor pushes Evan, Connor’s sister Zoe, who has witnessed the incident, apologizes to Evan, dismissing her brother as “a psychopath” (1.1). So, in just one act, a character who has had emotional disturbance since childhood is referred to as a “school shooter,” a “freak,” and a “psychopath.”
​
Not just Connor’s classmates but also Connor himself uses derisive language to refer to mental illness. In Scene 2, Evan and Connor have an encounter that will drive the rest of the plot. Evan has written one of his therapeutic letters to himself. Connor finds it while both boys are in the computer lab. When Connor finds Evan’s letter, in which Evan has mentioned his hopes for developing a relationship with Zoe, Connor accuses Evan of composing the letter just to make Connor “freak out” so that Evan can “tell everyone [he’s] crazy, right?” (1.2). Earlier in the scene, Connor had mockingly signed Evan’s cast (his arm is broken from a fall from a tree), saying, “Now we can both pretend that we have friends” (1.2). Both remarks show that Connor is aware of his marginal status among students and clearly hurt by it. Certainly, language and labels have stigmatized Connor, who ends the scene by absconding with Evan’s letter. 

When discussing what happens next, my first impulse was to write, “Connor commits suicide shortly thereafter.” But the language we use to talk about suicide needs examination as well. Since suicide is the “3rd leading cause of death in youth ages 10-24” (NAMI), it is important that our students know how to talk about it. Talking about suicide properly can contribute to a social climate which can save lives. Because stigmatizing language about suicide can discourage people from asking for help, professionals are calling for us to stop using the phrase “committed suicide” and replace it with “died by suicide” instead.

In a helpful article in the Huffington Post, one psychology professor explains, “Using a judgmental or degrading language prevents us from recognizing mental health problems, seeking help and providing help” (Debiec qtd. in Holmes, 2019). Experts contend that “Simply put, ‘committed suicide’ conveys shame and wrongdoing; it doesn’t capture the pathology of the condition that ultimately led to a death. It implies that the person who died was a perpetrator rather than a victim” (Holmes, 2019). Nine out of ten suicides are the result of an underlying mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

​The experts call on us to treat deaths due to mental illness with the same respect as those that occur due to physical illness and not suggest that victims of mental illness were in full control of their behavior. To illustrate how the brain of a severely mentally ill person is not functioning in the same way a normal brain that could be held accountable for “committing” an act, I like to show students the Mayo Clinic’s brain scan of the depressed versus non-depressed brain. Thus, the phrase Connor’s dad uses in the play, “Connor took his own life” (1.4), and the phrase Evan uses, “killed himself” (2.7), are just as objectionable as “committed suicide” because they place the sole responsibility for the death on Connor rather than on the mental illness.

After Connor’s death, the parents of all the high school students are notified. Heidi, responsibly, broaches the subject with Evan: “Hey. I, um, got an email from your school today. About a boy who killed himself?” (1.7).  However, she is too uncomfortable to discuss the topic at any great length and too easily accepts Evan’s lie that it’s a different Connor, not the deceased Connor, who has signed Evan’s cast. After asking Evan if he is “okay on refills” for his prescription anxiety medication and telling him that she loves him, Heidi lets the matter rest (1.7). Heidi is again too eager to accept the idea that Evan is fine when he stops taking his medication in Act 2.

​Medication noncompliance is very risky, but Heidi’s response, though it includes some surprise and a couple of questions, is “Well, great. That’s great. It’s...I’m proud of you” (2.2). Her response suggests that not needing medication is something to be proud of. This belief contributes to a social atmosphere of shame for those that need medication. It also suggests that Heidi is uncomfortable talking about mental illness with Evan and would rather end the conversation than pursue it. It is not until the end of the musical that Heidi and Evan realize how much their refusal to discuss mental illness at all has hurt their relationship. So, while for much of the play Heidi is supportive on the surface and doesn’t use unkind words when she discusses mental illness, her refusal to talk much about it, coupled with Evan’s refusal to talk about the subject, show the danger of the absence of language to discuss mental illness. So, while in some parts of Dear Evan Hansen, hurtful name-calling is used to discuss mental illness, in other situations, there are simply no words at all.

A lack of adequate vocabulary can be likewise blamed for the way that Evan’s classmates respond to his tale of falling out of a tree and waiting for help that didn’t come. Jared responds, “Jesus Christ…” but Evan redirects the conversation before the boys can have any meaningful conversation about the acute sadness of the incident. In the next scene, Connor laughs, “That is just the saddest fucking thing I have ever heard. Oh my god” (1.2). These stunted conversations show just how badly teens need an atmosphere of social acceptance for discussing serious emotional and psychological issues.

Underlying both of these conversations is the fact that Evan is actually hiding his suicide attempt by telling people he fell out of a tree. The stigma of suicide is so great that Evan is afraid of what his own mother would think of him if she knew the truth: “You’ll hate me…You should. If you knew what I tried to do. If you knew who I am, how…broken I am” (2.9). This is not the first time Evan has used the metaphor of “brokenness” to describe mental illness. His broken arm and cast provide the iconic image for most of the musical’s publicity materials, and the message of the first act finale song is, “And when you’re broken on the ground / You will be found” (1.12, “You Will Be Found”). In an angry outburst at his mother, Evan demonstrates his internalization of the social stigma against people with mental illness: “They [the Murphy family] don’t think that I’m, that there’s something wrong with me, that I need to be fixed, like you do…I have to go to therapy, I have to take drugs” (2.7). The implication is, of course, that needing therapy and medication is shameful.

Evan has been spending time with the Murphy family because Larry and Cynthia Murphy, Connor’s parents, assumed the two boys were friends after finding the “Dear Evan Hansen” letter on Connor’s person after his death. They assumed it was a suicide note written from Connor to Evan and thus an indicator of deep friendship. Evan, who initially didn’t want to disabuse a grieving mother of the notion that her disturbed son did indeed have a close friend, lets the lie grow bigger and bigger as a project for remembering Connor makes Evan popular at school and on social media.

In closing, I’d like to look at the Murphy family’s use of language to describe Connor’s addiction, illness, and suicide. Since Connor’s emotional dysregulation began in childhood, it is not unreasonable to assume that an underlying mental illness accompanies his drug addiction (which remains unspecified throughout the play), even though addiction disorder, in and of itself, constitutes a mental illness (see K. J. Richmond’s Mental Illness in Young Adult Literature). Often, alcohol or drug addiction co-occurs with another mental illness.

​The National Institute of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) tells us, “Multiple national population surveys have found that about half of those who experience a mental illness during their lives will also experience a substance use disorder and vice versa.” Studies have also found that “over 60 percent of adolescents in community-based substance use disorder treatment programs also meet diagnostic criteria for another mental illness” (NIDA). One explanation for this co-occurrence or dual diagnosis is that people suffering from mental illness may attempt to self-medicate with alcohol or drugs. ​

Zoe, Connor’s sister, is initially not willing to recognize Connor’s mental illness as such. Early in the play, Zoe attributes Connor’s behavior to a lack of moral character. When Cynthia, Zoe and Connor’s mom, says, “Connor was…a complicated person,” Zoe angrily contradicts her: “No, Connor was a bad person” (1.6). Soon thereafter, Zoe fights against the family’s and society’s tendency to idealize the dead in her song, “Requiem.”

In it, she asks,

“Why / Should I play the grieving girl and lie? / … I will sing no requiem / Tonight / … After all you put me through / Don’t say it wasn’t true / That you were not the monster / That I knew” (1.9).

​In addition to calling Connor a “monster,” in her song, Zoe also compares Connor to a fairy-tale “villain.” At this point it might be helpful to discuss with students that, while we may not agree with Zoe’s name-calling, she has a right to her feelings of terror and anger. After all, addiction and mental illness don’t just affect the sufferer but also his/her loved ones as well. Certainly, Connor’s behavior was troubling; Zoe tells us that it included “trying to punch through [her] door, screaming at the top of his lungs that he’s going to kill [her] for no reason” (1.9). We should remind students that point of view is important when discussing stories of mental illness and that each person’s perspective is different and valid. 

Zoe also criticizes her parents’ handling of Connor’s illness and addiction. She accuses her father of trying to “punish” Connor and treat him like a “criminal” (2.9). These terms certainly reflect the criminalization of drug abuse and could inspire a discussion with students about how addiction is now considered a medical condition and that efforts to rehabilitate rather than punish are favored by experts. At the same time, Zoe also condemns her mother’s leniency: “You let him do whatever he wanted” (2.9). This could lead to a discussion about the hard work that rehabilitation from addiction entails.

Larry and Cynthia criticize each other’s approaches. Cynthia uses phrases with negative connotations, such as “Do nothing” and “Wait and see,” to describe Larry’s response to Connor’s struggles (2.9). Larry describes his own approach in a positive light, as one rooted in an ethic of hard work. While this gives the viewer/reader/listener a more sympathetic view of Larry, his sentiments suggest the popular misconception that hard work alone can conquer mental illness. In his song, “To Break in a Glove,” which is ostensibly about more than baseball, he uses phrases and words like “stick it out,” “it’s the hard way, / but it’s the right way,” “commitment,” “grit,” and “follow through” (2.3). Cynthia also bitterly recalls Larry’s response to Connor’s first threat of suicide: “He just wants attention” (1.9).

​This phrase is a common, but dangerous cliché. Students should be advised to take any threat of suicide seriously. Larry, in turn, accuses Cynthia of “lurching from one miracle cure to the next” (1.9). At this point, students could explore the difference between the concepts of “recovery” and “cure.” Most mental health advocates and addiction experts remind us that while “cure” is impossible, “recovery” is absolutely possible. While a mental illness or predisposition to addiction will never go away, it is possible to manage these conditions and lead a meaningful life. (For a detailed discussion of YA novels that emphasize the road to recovery, please see my article about disability narrative theory and mental illness fiction.) Fortunately, this is a lesson that Evan finally begins to perceive at the end of the musical: “Dear Evan Hansen: / Today is going to be a good day and here’s why. Because today, no matter what else, today at least…you’re you. No hiding, no lying. Just…you. And that’s…that’s enough” (1.9). 

Emmich, Val. (2018). Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel. With Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul. New York, NY: Hachette.

Holmes, Lindsay. (27 Mar. 2019). “Why you should stop saying ‘committed suicide.’” Huffington Post.

Levenson, Steven. (2017). Dear Evan Hansen. Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. New York, NY: Theater Communications Group.

Mayo Clinic. (1998-2019). “PET scan of the brain for depression.”

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). (21 Sept. 2016). “Mental health facts: Children and teens.”

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). (n.d.). “Mental health facts in America.”

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). (2019). “Why care?”

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). (2019). “Infographics and fact sheets.”

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). (Feb. 2018). “Common comorbidities with substance abuse disorders.” National Institute of Health.

Richmond, K. J. (23 Aug. 2017). “Language and symptoms of mental illness in young adult literature.” Dr. Bickmore’s YA Wednesday.

Richmond, K. J. (2018). Mental illness in young adult literature: Exploring real struggles through fictional characters. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio/Libraries Unlimited.
​
Richmond, K. J. (Fall 2018). “An examination of mental illness, stigma, and language in My Friend Dahmer.” The ALAN Review 46 (1), 42-53.

Until next week.

From my earliest recollection, I heard stories about how my father had been tormented at school as a child. Every day without fail he was the first one out of his classroom, racing with all his might to get home. He had to be. Being slow meant a severe beating or maybe worse. So he ran. Outdistancing his tormentors, he dared to find safety racing along the dangerous cliffs that outlined his small island as the other children threw stones at him.

This image haunted me, ingrained permanently in my mind. I could taste the salt in the air as he sweated, desperate to outpace his adversaries. Listening to these stories, the same question always popped in my head: Why? Why did these brutes attack him? Where were his parents? Why didn’t a teacher or someone step up?

Where was justice?

My father was one of those very few who survived. He was part of the only Jewish family that remained on the island, while witnessing his aunts, uncles, cousins all shipped off to their deaths. They were saved by a falsified baptism certificate and a lone Nazi officer who didn’t follow orders. That is why I’m here today. But my father’s story has a happy ending. After the war, he relocated with his parents to a refugee camp in Italy (not a comfortable place). There he waited six years for the opportunity to migrate to the United States. Arriving with his mother, he worked and studied to ultimately become his high school’s Class Valedictorian and then earn a Ph.D. in Sociology.
           
Significantly, he also had a daughter. A daughter who liked to make up stories and draw pictures and was always asking “why?”.
           
So I have this very real and very troubling family history. It is completely factual and, as we know, reality is sometimes harsh. While hearing these stories, I started filling in the gaps with the what-ifs. What if it wasn’t a boy? What if it was a girl, and someone I identify with? She could be someone tough and beautiful, but by no means an average girl who bends to someone else’s will. Instead, she’s a fighter, who’s smart enough and brave enough to use whatever tools she has at her disposal—even drawing inspiration from her enemies’ own legend in order to survive.
           
This unique character deserved a unique name. And thus, Oriana was born.
           
How would someone like Oriana, set apart from the other subservient girls, fit in with her own people? She lives on a small island that doesn’t even have electricity, where she collects water every morning from a well. She comes from a culture where girls don’t speak out, let alone act out. Everything about Oriana stands out.
           
But I still needed to flesh her out. What if, unlike my father, she struck back when attacked?
           
Maybe it’s not even herself she’s protecting but others that need help. Perhaps she finds wounded animals in the island and heals them.
           
How would she do this? Would someone help her? No, she’ll have to help herself and make her own rules, which will only get her into more trouble.
           
Next I added elements of my grandmother and grandfather’s love story. My grandmother Eleonora was considered the most beautiful girl on the entire island. After WWI, my grandfather, a handsome Italian soldier, arrived and fell desperately in love with someone he had no business to claim. Theirs was a mixed marriage between a Sephardic Jew and a Catholic. Oh, no. The forbidden. Intriguing, right? 
           
This bit of history became Ezra Mercer in my story: a complete stranger who Oriana at once considers to be the enemy, as she should. Yet this mysterious, dashing boy turns out to be the only one brave enough to offer Oriana his hand. He comes from the supposedly rich Hugganoff family from the mainland. He has no business in the small island of Madera, let alone selecting a wife from the Outcast population.
           
I transposed reality into fantasy. I mean, that is how my grandparents got together. An impossible match, made possible through true love. But more importantly, I used reality to give a heartbeat to a fictional story. Because now Oriana believes that love is possible for a girl known as NELIEM. Which means this fierce, self-effacing fighter suddenly has something to lose.
           
Drawing seeds from my family’s stories, I gradually grew my own small garden. Loosely based on actual events, I reimagined history with ancestral ghosts, magical traditions, and thus an endless source of new possibilities. In creating two distinct and conflicting cultures, one based on Judaism and the other paganism, I took reality and remolded it, challenging the norms while creating a vibrant, exciting world.
           
​I took something old and made it new. 

After reading NELIEM, have your students and young readers contrast nonfiction and fantasy inspired by personal history with the following prompts:
 

1. Discussion Prompt: Create a T-chart to compare and contrast the real events on Rhodes with the events in NELIEM. When and where does real history show up in the book? How is reading NELIEM similar to and different from reading a traditional history book? What do you gain from reading a fiction story based on history, compared to what you gain from reading a historical narrative from a person or textbook?
2. Creative Writing Prompt: Briefly describe a story from your family history or a historical event. Take the main “characters” and events and imagine how it could have gone differently if it happened to a different person or in a different world. Write a page describing this new situation.
3. Genre Discussion Prompt: Take something that happened to you recently that had an emotional impact, and write it down in 2-3 sentences. Now, re-write those sentences happening in a fantasy setting. Now re-write it happening in a historical fiction setting. What had to change? What stayed the same?

 
Thank you so much for having me on the blog. I look forward to the Educational Summit next week.

Until next time! Or, maybe I will see you at the summit.

  A little over a year and a half ago, I meet Jon McGoran at the KidLitCon 2017 in Hersey Pennsylvania.  I  can't believe it has been that long. i enjoyed meeting Jon and I loved hearing him talk about his book, Spliced. i knew that I had many students while I was teaching that would have loved this book. I have been meaning to feature Jon during one of my special author editions of Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday. Well, here it is at last. Thanks, Jon for waiting.

If you love books. I hope you get a chance to attend a KidLitCon event. They are fantastic. I meet several fantastic authors. A couple more will be featured on this blog eventually. Please be patient. I also meet Phil Bildner, who has connected me to even more authors and he will be one of the featured authors at the 2019 Summit on Teaching YA Literature at UNLV. See the link at the bottom of the page.

 Jon is one of the guys who writes in a variety genres. Jon also has a series of ecological thrillers written for the mainstream adult market. If you are true fan of the thriller, you should check out his website. You find descriptions of the rest of his books and short fiction as well. 

Jon is relative new to the YA classification. As I mentioned I know students who will love Spliced and the good news for them is that the sequel, Splintered, is officially out this week (May 15, 2019). 

Science and YA literature provide an opportunity for those students interested in science, experiments, and general exploration to find something books that explore the things they are interested in fiction. Too often we seem to force them to read within genres that don't match their interests.

To capture their interests, you might have your students explore Jon's Splice Yourself Page.  There they can explore mixing species. They might even find an example of what they might look like mixed with their favorite animal.

Until next time.

I know that I say this a  lot, but I love it when a guest contributor supplies a post about which I know all most nothing. This week Briana Asmus returns with a post about Manga. While I have read a few, I have nothing important to say. Briana does.

A little over a year ago Briana contributed a post about YA books that consider how we define a border. It was informative and well done. Our issues with border and people who want to cross the border remain. These are human issues and some of prepare teachers who work with students who live in the realities of border crossing and undocumented existence. It is worth reading again. (Find it here)

Briana Asmus is Assistant Professor and Director for ESL and Bilingual Programs at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI. She can be contacted at bma004@aquinas.edu. ​

Until next time.

One of the great perks of working on this blog is the opportunity to read and think about what my colleagues are thinking. Many of my colleagues are doing a variety of interesting things. I like reviewing their pedagogical activities, their theoretical ideas, and their fresh take on old practices. Most of us who teach young adult literature do some sort of book talk activity. Many of us include self-selected book picks. It is unlikely that we all do them the same way. I am constantly amazed by the creative and engaging ways my colleagues teach. More often than not, I find myself modifying my own practices. 

This week, Mary Warner talks about using book talks to helps students choose their reading selections and then how they go about discussing and then identifying their favorites.  I always enjoy Mary's contributions. You can find her previous post here, here, and here. Go ahead and click on those previous links. You won't be sorry.

​This blog addresses multiple topics under the umbrella of one of the overarching goals in my YA Literature course (designed primarily for upper division English prep for teaching majors, but including majors in literature, creative writing, and professional/technical writing) -- to introduce students who are future teachers and writers to as many newer YA authors and books as possible.  The definition of newer here includes books published since 2013, though occasionally dominant books like The Book Thief or Deadline make the list. Typically, students coming into my YA course have a limited sense of the range and potential of YA lit.  They know of The Hunger Games, The Harry Potter series; they frequently have been turned off by chick flick or romance novels.  Thus, strategy number one the Book Pass expands their knowledge of the range, genres, and potential topics “trending” in YA.  

​I do the Book Pass in the second week (or second class session) of the semester – prior to describing the Book Talk assignment.  Students need to have paper ready to record titles that attract their attention, tap into their favorite genres or challenge their assumptions – and capture their interest as a book they might use for the Book Talk. The procedure is simple; though I model with a novel what they need to do in the 1-2 minutes for review: 

I come to class with 60-80 books (more if I can manage) – here’s where my ALAN workshop treasures and ARCs get their greatest advertising.  I give every student a book, face down, until everyone has a book and then start the “timer.”  Every 1-2 minutes, I simply say “pass”; students give the book to the student on their left, and the process continues for 40 – 45 minutes, giving the opportunity to see at least 20 books.  Yes, students could simply be given a list and go to author’s websites, but the Book Pass allows for the actual not the virtual.  Many times, students comment that their interest in and desire to read a book only happened because they “saw” and handled a book during the Book Pass or because of comments I might offer about the books.

The Book Talk assignment provides one venue for getting students reading and promoting their favorites.  Each semester I provide a list of options from which they select.  They can’t take a book they’ve read previously – the goal is to expand the YA reading list! No two students can do the same book either – again learning of more books and authors is our aim. The book selection list for the Spring 2019 class can be found at this link the specific handout is “Choices for Book Talks.”
​
At the same link, the “Elements of Book Talks” handout details the requirements for the oral and written components of the assignment.  The heart of the matter for the written component – here’s another central insight I want future teachers to consider – is the choice of three quotes that convey the significance of the novel.  The Book Talk assignment should take presenters and listeners far beyond trivia; identifying three essential excerpts and explaining their importance demands a careful and thorough reading.  

​My students email an e-copy to be uploaded to my webpage and displayed as they do their oral presentations.  Book Talks from Fall ’17, Spring ’18, Fall ’18, and Spring ’19 (a glitch is preventing the Fall ’16 book talks from displaying) are on the Students page of my website.

The next “step” in identifying the “winners” – those books chosen in multiple semesters – led me to compile a list of the student choices in Fall ’16, Fall ’17, Spring ’18, Fall ’18, and Spring ’19.  (A disclaimer: the books reviewed during the Book Pass in a given semester definitely affect the selection.  I only acquired some works like Len Vlahos’ Life in a Fishbowl Cath Crowley’s Words in Deep Blue or Adam Silvera’s History is All You Left Me in the last year.) Enjoy the list – see if the selections match what you might share with students.

​Book Talk presentations take place over the course of the semester – seldom more than five presentation in a single class.  During the presentations, my students complete a Response Guide, specifically noting “Response to the Book or to the Presenter/Presentation” and “Ideas to Remember.”  After a significant number of presentations, I have a part of the Sustained Silent Writing prompt asking students to “Describe 3 of the book talks presented to date. Discuss what you liked about the presentation or why you’d like to read the book.”  From Fall ’18 and Spring ’19, the following books emerge as the ultimate “winners.” For several of the books appearing as favorites, the book talk presenters simply “sold” the book well.

Cath Crowley’s Words in Deep Blue
Frances Hardinge’s A Face Like Glass
Brendan Kiely’s The Last True Love Story
Jennifer Niven’s All the Bright Places 
Erika Sánchez’s I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
Adam Silvera’s History is All You Left Me
Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give
Len Vlahos’ Life in a Fishbowl

Until next time.

This week's post will be short. I want to talk briefly about teaching poetry and remind everyone about the 2019 Summit on Teaching YA Literature.

First, over a month ago Sarah Donovan invited people to write a poem a day during the month of April. I though about it, but just knew I couldn't (wouldn't) do it. Writing poetry can be daunting. It has always made me uneasy. I get it when students are reluctant to write poetry. 

I thought about the invitation. I kept asking myself what can I do to think about poetry more frequently during April. I really can't add much more to the blog posts that both Lesley Roessing and Padma Venkatraman have written for this space. A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post that referenced their work. (please see that post http://www.yawednesday.com/blog/a-poem-a-day-during-april-of-course) There are links to their posts and to several adolescent verse novels that I love. 

I decide that I could commit to posting a poem a day on my personal Facebook Page and then I shared it to my Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday Facebook Page. I generally avoided making any comment. Just the poem. 

I have really enjoyed reading and selecting all of these poems. Many have been favorites for a long time. Some are poems I revisit frequently: Hopkins' As King Fishers Catch Fire, Hughes' The Negro Speaks of Rivers, Yeats' Among School Children, Lowell's For the Union Dead, and Roethke's I Knew a Women.   

I didn't figure out everything to help my students when I was an AP literature teacher. I did find one discovery that helped with poetry. I hated the three or four week poetry unit. I dropped it. 

Instead, I started doing poetry every Monday. Usually, I would focus on a single poet and three to five poems. The primary reading for the week was for the student to read each poem at least three times. Of course, they were always in the middle of a longer work. It didn't matter, Monday was for poetry. We started by selecting one of the poems and then we waited for a volunteer to read it aloud. Then, without comment some else read it. After the second reading we could be discussing--structure, symbols, figurative language, etc.

I loved the reading. Many might think that students would resist this public reading. Remarkably, they took to it quite well. Most started reading them out loud to themselves over the weekend. They learned something about listening. 
They heard the beauty in The Solitary Reaper or in The Windhover. The students became better listeners. Because we looked at poetry all of the time, the idea of writing about a poem for the AP exam became less daunting.

I woke up and started doing the same thing with student who weren't in my AP class. Guess what? It worked. I should have done it sooner.

So my efforts aren't lost, I made a list with the links to the poems. I want to do it again next year. For your enjoyment here is the list.

Now a bit about the 2019 Summit on the Teaching of Young Adult Literature. Please come and join the fun. It begins four weeks from today. It is going to be fun. The Weekend Picks between now and then will feature books by the visiting authors. Make sure to check them out.

You may not know it yet, but you really do want to hear the keynotes speeches by Phil Bildner, Padma Venkatraman, and Meg Medina. 

The breakout presenters are all handpicked for their expertise and their ability to guide teacher towards better, more meaningful engagement with students. Go to the 2019 Summit page, Read the bios and look at the current draft of the program for an abstract of each presentation. It will be an enriching experience.

Until next week.

This week we turn the posting duties over to Melanie Koss. Melanie and I have been acquainted with each others work for more than ten years. She is a fine scholar and can always be found doing something interesting. A little over a year ago she wrote a post about her experience as the chair of the Michael L. Printz Award committee.  What an experience and she provides some insights into the process. You can revisit that post here. 

This week Melanie introduces and discusses a project that combines YA and Stem. I am more and more interested in how YA Literature can be used to make all kinds of cross-curricular connections. I have been focused on the Social Studies and Music. I found myself intrigued when Melanie mentioned that she was involved in a Stem Read Experience. Maybe more of us should be exploring these opportunities. Thanks Melanie,for showing us a model.

Picture a room full of 350 high school students, working together to solve puzzles, complete science and engineering challenges, compete in relay races, debate ethical questions, all while talking about a YA novel. The room is filled with cheering, hushed whispers, excited talk, and high energy. At times, students had their noses stuck in a book. Just about all of the students are engaged. This was the scene at the STEM Read: The Frankenstein Experience field trip event featuring YA author Kiersten White and her book, The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein.       

Standards are a necessary component in teaching, for good or for bad. The ultimate goal of the different standards is to prepare students for college, careers, and overall life skills. Many of us are familiar with the English/Language Arts standards, and the different ways we are told to teach reading and literature skills in our classrooms. We all know that a key to future success is the ability to read and write. Another critical area of interest right now is STEM, as according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in STEM fields will be increasing to more than nine million by 2022. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) target STEM skills, including critical thinking and problem solving. I think we can all agree that the content in the standards is important. The question is what to do we do with them.
 
Looking at the standards, they are segregated out into different content areas, essentially turning learning into silos, something that isn’t aligned with the way of everyday life. Our teaching is also often segregated, with many of us focusing on only one curricular area. This is how education today is set up, but are there opportunities to work together? If we wish to create critical thinkers and meet all of the standards effectively, why not find ways to combine the standards into authentic learning opportunities.
 
The world and workforce in the 21st century need people who are able to think critically, solve problems, read complex texts over a variety of media, interpret data, and be creative and flexible. We need to teach our students that failure is ok, as long as they try again to solve their original problem using innovative ways of thinking and perseverance. YA literature is a great springboard into tackling many of these different skills.

When we find the right book for the right reader at the right time, and we set an authentic purpose for reading, we can encourage teens to read, even reluctant ones. There is little better than igniting curiosity and encouraging teens to read to connect to topics they find interesting or useful. And using what they read in high-energy, critical thinking activities is a combination for success.
 
High-interest young adult literature is a natural pairing to teach literacy and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math) concepts. Teachers are familiar with using literature and critical thinking techniques in teaching literacy, and using problem-solving activities to teach science, math, and social studies. Combining the two, and adding in problem-based learning activities, can create motivated and engaged students while learning STEAM and literacy concepts and skills. What more can a teacher ask for? This is where STEM Read fits in.

​You enter a large room. The lights are dim, eerie music is playing, thunder booms in the background, thick red velvet drapes fall heavily on both sides of a stage. On the stage sits a dead corpse draped in a bloody, white sheet, surrounded by body parts. Electric static lights glow purple light. Tables are set up with odd looking materials on them. A screen covered in lightning bolts projects the words Frankenstein: The STEM Read Experience with special guest Kiersten White.
 
Students file in, at first boisterous and chatty, and a hush falls as they take in the scene. Excited chatter follows as they are assigned a table and begin to explore the materials at hand. On each table, a small pile of money and red and gold tokens. These are the first to be examined.
 
The event begins with an introduction and instructions. Teams must complete challenges to earn money and morality points. For each challenge, teams can earn or lose money based on their successes. For each ethics challenge, teams must place a red or a gold chip into the morality chip bowl. The team with the most money at the end survives. The morality chip randomly chosen at the end of the field trip from the morality chip bowl determines whether Elizabeth lives or dies, so the ratio of the chips in the bowl matters.

Students are guided through the day by a moderator, introducing the author and experts, explaining challenges, and inviting students’ exploration of ethical constructs. The general structure is a read aloud of a passage from the book, often done by the author, followed by an expert presentation in the form of a video or in person, a related STEAM challenge, and lastly an ethical dilemma to debate. This cycle takes place several times during the course of the event, and the challenges target each of the STEAM curricular areas. All of the challenges relate to themes and topics from the books.

​Teachers are provided with additional activities and lessons aligned to the book, including writing prompts, debrief sessions, and research projects, and are encouraged to continue the literature exploration.
 
STEM Read is obviously an elaborate, large scale event that exemplifies ways literature can be used to spark STEAM activities. But this is just one example. Each of these challenges can take place over the course of a literature study unit, or in conjunction with multiple teachers and classes. Smaller activities based on a poem or short story can also be done. The idea is to make STEAM learning authentic and reading an essential component of authentic success.
 
If you’re interested in learning more about STEM Read, please visit www.stemread.com. The website is full of free resources on a variety of books, as well as blog posts, videos from authors and experts, and links to a podcast. 

Until Next Time.