Over the last few days, I’ve been gearing up for a conference focusing on new ways to engage reluctant readers. In my travels, I’ve stumbled upon some valuable resources that have me reflecting on my own work with kids who don’t enjoy reading, and I’m blown away by the new potential that the web provides for getting students excited about books! I may not be able to use these discoveries in my own classroom this year, but I am really looking forward to sharing them with the teachers that I know. Feel free to visit the wiki that I’m beginning to throw together for use throughout the year, and please let me know which of YOUR favorite books have made it to the big screen. I’m encouraging teachers to use movie trailers as they book talk. I can think of a few reluctant readers who might be more willing to pick up Paranoid Park by Blake Nelson, for instance, based on this clip:
For more information about the book itself, take in this episode of NPR’s Fresh Air: Violence and Silence in Nelson’s Paranoid Park.
1 Comment
I read (er… listened to) City of Ember as a result of seeing the trailer. I wasn’t crazy about the movie but the book is wonderful. Strong boy and girl antagonists, good and bad adults. It took a few chapters to get used to the style of writing as the text is almost sparse. Not “The Road” sparse but there flowery adjectives are few and the dialogue is repetitive (lots of “she said”). It is a young adult book but far from insulting.
I see you have it on the wiki list but there’s also “The NeverEnding Story” (FANTASTIC novel), “Phantom of the Opera” would be interesting as it’s been translated into multiple mediums.