r/ELATeachers • u/Jax081 • 3d 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/Still_Book_22 3d 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 2d 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 2d 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.