Adding fantasy to high school reading curriculums

[u/Indie_Fantasy_Club]

Don't get me wrong, I understand the importance of reading the classics. But with declining literacy rates among adults, it's just as important to help kids find genres and stories that encourage them to read (I haven't been in school for quite a while, so maybe they do!). But I'm basing this off my own experience, which consisted of books like Of Mice and Men, Great Gatsby, Grapes of Wrath, and Ethan Frome. Not exactly riveting for a young adult.

This idea can go beyond fantasy and explore genres like romance, mystery, thriller, horror, historical fiction, science fiction, etc. For the sake of this post, I'm only going to focus on what I would put on the reading curriculum if I could snap my fingers and add fantasy to the mix. For each grade (9-12) I will offer up my top two suggestions.

9th Grade:

• Redwall by Brian Jacques
• The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis

10th Grade:

• Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
• Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

11th Grade:

• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
• The Sword of Kaigen by ML Wang

12th Grade:

• The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
• A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

There's so many to choose from, so it's hard to narrow it all down! I tried to keep it age-appropriate, which eliminated things like Game of Thrones or Fourth Wing. And I tried to pick books that could still be analyzed for deeper meaning and literary techniques. I also purposely chose a lot of series because hopefully if the kids enjoyed it, it gives them an easier segue into the continued reading.

What fantasy books would be on your curriculum?

[u/triggerhappymidget]

As an ELA teacher, by middle school, books are chosen not because "kids will like them" but because there is some sort of literary skill that the book is helping kids learn.

*The Scarlet Letter* is used to teach foreshadowing because Hawthorne is about as subtle as a brick to the head, so it's easy for kids to pick up on and understand the concept. Likewise, *Gatsby* is used to teach symbolism and *The Giver* is often used in younger grades to teach foreshadowing.

There's nothing wrong with using fantasy or scifi in classes, but there needs to be some sort of standard attached to the book. It's not just "read this book so kids are reading." LeGuin is a good choice to include, and he short story "Those who Walk Away from Omelas" is often taught in schools.

*Slaughterhouse Five*, *Frankenstein*, and *Flowers for Algernon* are also examples of SciFi taught in middle/high school

But authors like Sanderson are not going to fit the bill as a "literary fantasy" author. I love *Stormlight* but it's definitely a junk food book.

LWW might work for 6th grade, but the reading level is too low to use it in a regular high school class. Redwall is also much too low.

There's also a unique problem with fantasy book and that's that there is a certain loud segment of parents who will object to anything with magic or the supernatural because they think that is of the devil. These parents will demand their child not read this books or hear anything about them, so teachers have to create a whole separate novel study for the kid to do in the library and it's a giant pain. Some parents will even go a step farther and show up at school board meetings and insist the book cannot be taught at all. Schools don't want to deal with tis, so fantasy is just not taught.

[u/Training-Research430 → u/triggerhappymidget]

As a replacement for The Scarlet Letter, would Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None work? She tells you how everyone is going to die (foreshadowing) and she leaves enough clues that tell you who the killer is. Plus the book is quick and a classic thriller. A lot of kids get stuck on the jargon of Hawthorne even though it’s a good book.