1. Literature: 1960’s To Today Last Unit: Small-group / student-choice Ordinary People by Judith Guest I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou The Water Is Wide by Pat Conroy In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (10 copies) The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (10 copies) The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls (10 copies) Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (10 copies)

2. Examples of student-selected novels in the past: The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut Student-selected novels CANNOT be found in the Young Adult section of the library/bookstore. They should also be fairly challenging and have some thematic depth to them. NO James Patterson, Nicholas Sparks, etc. Those books and authors may be very enjoyable, but for this unit, you need to go outside your usual routine a bit.

3. Book selection, group assignments, and routine/expecations You will rank your top three choices of books on Wednesday this week. IF you want to read a book that is not on the list, you must get it approved, and there must be at least two of you reading that book in your class period. If it’s approved, then you need to get a copy of the book by Monday, April 30. I will assign the groups based on the selections/rankings you provide on Wednesday this week. During this unit, you will have reading days and discussion days. On reading days, if you waste time or do not read, you will lose points. On discussion days, you will have written assignments due; if you don’t come to class prepared, you will lose a lot of points. You will get more details and clearer descriptions of all of these elements later this week, along with the new unit schedule.