Banned Books

The American Library Association (ALA) collects and analyzes cases where books are banned or challenged in libraries and school districts across the country. With a mission to advocate for the freedom to read and educate the world on the dangers of censorship, it began a yearly event called Banned Books Week to celebrate diversity, inclusion, and availability of all books. This year the event is from 9/22/19-9/28/19. We will be celebrating by having a different activity each day.

Let's watch this video to get some context.

https://www.newsweek.com/banned-books-week-2018-what-books-banned-most-frequently-1135916

Think about these questions, and discuss in your small groups for 2 minutes:

- Are books dangerous?
- Should certain texts be banned from schools? Who should determine that?
- What are young people's rights and responsibilities as readers? Is banning books censorship?
- How should readers deal with difficult and mature content in books they read?

More sources:
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10

https://ew.com/books/2018/09/26/angie-thomas-banned-books-week/

https://pen.org/literature-locked-up-banned-books-2019/

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/obscene-unpatriotic-blasphemous-banned-books-time-190921182159525.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/23/opinion/banned-books-harry-potter.html


As you read your book club books, begin to think about and note why it may be challenged or banned. Also, think about why it is a valuable book and should not be banned.


Here is the handout outlining the banned book club project and book choices:

Banned Book Clubs: Should certain texts be taken out of our middle school classroom and school libraries because of objectionable content?

There is a lot of controversy over who should have access to certain texts. Throughout the country and the world, authors and texts get censored; their texts get banned from school and library book shelves. In some countries, writers get persecuted and exiled because their work is seen as a threat to the government.

In the 6th-8th grade ELA classrooms at MS 51, there are many books that parents and teachers have questioned and challenged regarding their appropriateness. According to the ALA website, "A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group.  A banning is the removal of those materials.  Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others."

For the next month, we will be exploring this issue by reading nonfiction texts along with fiction. We will be focusing on the overall inquiry question: Should certain texts be taken out of the middle school library because of objectionable content?

I would like you to form reading inquiry groups (book clubs) of 2-4 people.  You will read a book that may be deemed inappropriate for the middle school library. You can decide to read the same or different books that fit into the overall question we are exploring. In your clubs, you will engage in meaningful discussions, engage in argument-based writing, and complete a final group project.

Book Club Choices (choose 3):
·         Graphic novels: Persepolis 1 & 2 by Marjane Satrapi, Drama by Raina Telgemeier
·         Classics: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury; Of Mice and Men or The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck; The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley; 1984 by George Orwell; Animal Farm by George Orwell, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey; The Call of the Wild by Jack London; In Cold Blood by Truman Capote; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
·         Nonfiction: The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater; Always Running by Luis J. Rodriguez; A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah; The Autobiography of Malcolm X; Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown; Being Jazz by Jazz Jennings
·         Horror/Monsters/Vampires: City of Ashes series by Cassandra Clare; Stephen King books
·         Fantasy: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle; The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman; The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien; Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
·         Dystopia/apocalypse: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Divergent by Veronica Roth; The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
·         War/International Problems/History: Sold by Patricia McCormick; The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
·         Realistic/YA fiction: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas; George by Alex Gino; Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky; The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton; Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher; Looking for Alaska by John Green; The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

For more information, go to: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10

Book Club Proposal (answer these questions):

1. What are certain topics you do not want to read about due to emotional triggers? 
2. What texts do you want to read for this project? Do research then list 1st-3rd choices.
3. Who do you think you could work well with in a book club? 

Due Dates:
Proposal due: _______________________
Parent signature due: __________________
Obtain your book by and get into book clubs on: _______________________. If you do not have the book, you will lose 5 points off the overall project.
Read and annotate your book. Finish book by: _______________________.

• Read and annotate: As you read, take notes on signposts and examples from the text that show reasons for and against banning the book. 
• Here are some inquiry questions you can also take note on. In your groups, choose 1 or 2 to focus on:
• How are young people portrayed in the text? In what ways are they accurately or inaccurately portrayed? 
• Why might parents, teachers, and/or schools try to ban or purposefully exclude the text from their bookshelves? Think about language, immoral acts, mature topics such as drugs, abuse, and rape.
• How do you find yourself resisting or objecting to certain characters, issues, conflicts, events, etc.? Give specific examples. How should readers deal with this? 
• Who is the appropriate audience for this text? Explain what particular groups or ages should or should not read the book and why.
• What are some questionable or unclear messages in the text? How are they shown? How might they affect readers?
• How does the book deal with controversial issues? Does it oversimplify or overly-dramatize? Does it condone or encourage particular behavior? Does it present the issues in balanced, intelligent ways that invite meaningful, complex thinking? Explain.

Dear Parents: Because your children will be reading a book with potentially objectionable content, please be prepared to discuss with them whatever questions or issues arise. Also, if your children decide the book they are reading is not appropriate, they can consult with me to choose a different one. If you have any questions, please email me at dgalang@k051.org.
Thank you for your understanding and support.  – Ms. Galang

Student’s Name: _______________________________________________________
Title/author of book: ____________________________________________________
Book club members: ___________________________________________

Parents’ Permission:
We understand the nature of this project and give our child permission to read this book.
Parent’s signature: _______________________________________________
Comments/questions: