[CASL-L] Banned Books week ideas for a high school

[Janet Kenney]

I stole a great lesson plan from a colleague 15 years ago and it is always
a big hit.  I visit every 9th grade English classroom for about 45
minutes.  I explain what a challenged book is and how book challenging is
bad for democracy.  The class brainstorm reasons why a book may be
challenged and who would want to challenge a book.  Typically, they are
outraged that books are challenged and insulted that people don't think
they can handle sexual content, language, etc.

Once they are all fired up, they break into groups of 4 and I give each of
them a frequently challenged picture book (My favs are Tango Makes Three,
In the Night Kitchen, The Stupids Die, and Halloween ABC [out of print]).
Each group has to complete a T-Chart listing three reasons the book should
be banned and three reasons why the book should be kept in a library.
Needless to say, it turns the tables for them and gives them a different
perspective on how people can have different opinions about what is
appropriate.  Many of the teens feel the books I gave them are horrible and
wouldn't want to share them with a younger brother/sister.  In the end, I
tie it back to something I had started with--that libraries are a
democratizer and that while kids books aren't instrumental to our
country--it is a slippery slope when individuals start removing any ideas
from a community.

Good luck and let us know what you end up doing :)

-J

On Mon, Sep 7, 2015 at 9:25 PM, Michelle Luhtala <mluhtala at me.com> wrote:

> OOH! You just inspired me to think of something new. Since we are just
> getting started with our makerspace, I might set up a collage table with
> color printouts of the 100 most challenged book covers, glue, scissors, and
> butcher block paper. Maybe they'll come up with something creative we can
> display in the school.
>
> Just a thought...
>
> :-)ML
>
> On Mon, Sep 7, 2015 at 9:18 PM, David Bilmes <
> bilmesd at oxfordpublicschools.org> wrote:
>
>> After many years in a middle school, I'm in a high school for Banned
>> Books Week for the first time. I'd love to hear some ways you've celebrated
>> this week in your high school. I'm going to meeting with the English
>> Department on Tuesday to talk about doing something during Banned Books
>> Week with their classes and it would be great if I could impress them by
>> coming in with a list of excellent ideas!​
>>
>>
>> David Bilmes
>> Library Media Specialist
>> Oxford High School
>> Oxford, CT
>> (203) 888-2468, ext. 301
>>
>> Reading or listening to:
>> *Vanishing Girls* written by Lauren Oliver
>>
>> The library is the heart of the school, it's the hub.
>>
>> –Ron Black
>>
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>>
>
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-- 
Janet Kenney, Library Media Specialist, Webmaster,
& Instructional Technology Coordinator
Bristol Eastern High School
bit.ly/behslib
@libraryladyj <http://www.twitter.com/libraryladyj>
1-860-584-7876 x152
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