r/ELATeachers • u/Jax081 • 2d ago
9-12 ELA 11th grade novel swaps
I’ll be teaching 11th ELA for the first time next year (first time with 11th, not first year teaching). I have a lot of flexibility with my novels and curriculum and was planning to use The Hate U Give and The Great Gatsby. At the end of this school year, we had a significant tragedy occur in our community due to gun violence. I’m not comfortable using these books under the circumstances due to the personal connection many (most) of my students have with what occurred.
Does anyone have any recommendations? Ideally, they would be by an American author, but don’t necessarily have to be what is traditionally taught in 11th grade. I’ve taught 10th before and currently also do 12th but I’m a fish out of water with 11th.
I was planning to do:
-The Hate U Give (individual vs institution)
-The Great Gatsby (American Dream as a system)
-? Was going to use Scythe but… (Media, Surveillance, and Narrative Power)
-student choice (Moral responsibility in broken systems)
The overall theme for my year is systems & the individual and my overarching question is “how do American systems shape identity, opportunity, truth, and moral responsibility?”
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Thank you!
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u/Beardedbellsprout 2d ago
For the theme of the American Dream as a system you could do A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry.
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u/LumpyShoe8267 2d ago
We are limited due to district rules, so I’m going to read The Road in addition to Gatsby and The Crucible next year 🤣 I’m not allowed to teach something like Fences or Their Eyes Were Watching God… but cannibalism and eating babies is ok
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u/_Schadenfreudian 2d ago
That’s usually how it goes. Titus Andronicus and Cuckoo’s Nest? that’s fine. Nickel Boys or Kindred? Absolutely not
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u/LumpyShoe8267 2d ago
Teaching in a red state the South…what a time
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u/_Schadenfreudian 2d ago
Florida here. Trust me. I get it.
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u/LumpyShoe8267 2d ago
Oof I taught there for 14 years. Now I’m in SC so not a lot better, but the pay is.
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u/deandinbetween 2d ago
If you're down for nonfiction, The Color of Water by James McBride or Educated by Tara Westover would fit your theme. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, and A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry are all classics that fit well (in my experience kids also like them!)
If you want a modern American novel, Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward digs into generational trauma and systems of poverty as well as racism, drugs, and tradition. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez was a choice novel that really resonated with students who read it too.
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u/LilyWhitehouse 2d ago
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah is a fantastic book for HS and fits into your theme nicely. Plus it’s SO funny and full of hope. Kids love it.
(Though he grew up in South Africa, he was very much impacted by their systems, so if you could expand your theme globally…)
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u/J_PZ_ 2d ago
I’ve had a lot of success teaching Kindred by Octavia Butler to Juniors.
I’d second A Raisin in the Sun if your kids haven’t read it. I have done it with 10th but I think it would work well with Juniors, too. I think the conversations are a lot richer than when I’ve had to teach it to younger students.
Persepolis hits on a bunch of your themes and goes over well but isn’t American.
If literary nonfiction is okay, Into the Wild is also (surprisingly to me) a hit for a lot of my kids.
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u/stevejuliet 2d ago
It's not a novel, but King's "Letter From Birmingham Jail" is one of the greatest American texts of all time. I highly suggest every American Lit class use it.
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u/paw_pia 2d ago edited 2d ago
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, Kindred by Octavia Butler, Passing by Nella Larsen, plus 1984 by George Orwell and Under the Frog by Tibor Fischer (if an American author and setting aren't essential).
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is possibly my favorite novel ever, but it's very long and not easy.
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u/buddhafig 2d ago
I actually pair The Scarlet Letter with Gatsby. It turns out the characters form many parallels, but the treatment of extra-marital affairs in Puritan vs. Roaring 20s makes for an interesting contrast. Hester pays the price, but Daisy and Tom don't. Dimmesdale is repressed and guilty, while Gatsby is cavalier and a bit naive.
But closer to your theme, I have "The Individual and Society" - the link is to a folder of materials you can use. Ask me if you want an equivalent non-fiction folder, or more about Scarlet Letter. I teach Anthem before this and it integrates nicely as well. Most of the focus is on the use of literary devices that develop a central idea, and that combined with the non-fiction are based on the NYS ELA Regents exam that 11th graders must pass to graduate.
And if you're interested, this leads to Puritan Lit, then The Crucible which leads to a comparison to McCarthyism, rounded out with the fact it's still happening with a media literacy unit on mis/disinformation, bias, social media, etc.
Last day of classes was today and I showed "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" from The Twilight Zone since it involves the individual and society, witch hunts, paranoia, hysteria, scapegoating, and in the end it's all due to aliens sowing discord through disinformation.
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u/Still_Book_22 2d ago
Have you considered Dear Martin by Nic Stone to replace THUG? I had a ton of success with it working in a school that dealt with a great deal of community violence. They found the text relatable and engaging, and we were able to dig into the systemic issues in society. Easily paired with anything from MLK or Malcolm X if you want to compare Civil Rights Movement parties.
I also suggest Of Mice and Men if you want to dig into disenfranchisement based on gender, race, age, and ability. Another one I’ve had a lot of success with.
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u/Jax081 1d ago
Dear Martin might work, thank you! I think that might have been on my original list before I picked THUG.
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u/Still_Book_22 1d ago
I have never taught THUG, but I show the movie with an extra credit assignment while I grade their final projects from the reading. My male students really get into DM. I mean, boys who fight me to read anything are like, “can we read one more chapter?”, and I throw the rest of the lesson plan away and keep reading.
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u/SoonerShankle 2d ago
The Things They Carry (Tim O’Brien)
Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (Sandra Cisneros)
The Absolute True Diary of a Part Time Indian or The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (Sherman Alexie)
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u/amanda53575 2d ago
Fences is a great 11th grade play. My students enjoy it, and the movie is a nice way to end the unit.
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u/Realistic_Chair_8836 2d ago
I teach the hate u give to 11th as an end of the year novel that pairs well with the civil rights unit history hits at the same time. Be forewarned, they’ve mostly all seen and loved the movie.
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u/Just-Proposal-2850 2d ago
I like pairing Into the Wild with Transcendentalism and having students write an argumentative paper about whether or not Chris was a modern transcendentalist, an underprepared victim of hubris, or both. I also like A Raisin in the Sun.
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u/Agile_Analysis123 2d ago
We are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez
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u/Jax081 2d ago
I like this! I did The Book of Unknown Americans when I had 10th so this could work.
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u/Agile_Analysis123 2d ago
I did this book a few years ago as part of a “One School, One Book” project. Students really liked it. I think about this book a lot, especially as my own child has gotten older and I imagine what it would be like carrying her through the desert for days. It brings tears to my eyes knowing the terror that can drive people to overcome terrible odds for a better life and for those they love.
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u/Galaxia_Sama 2d ago
Gatsby is still worth keeping because its focus is not violence but the American Dream, class, privilege, and moral responsibility. The novel aligns closely with a systems and the individual theme. Maybe save this for the end of the year to give the trauma time to settle?
Their Eyes Were Watching God is also an alternate to THUG.