We think that work should be celebrated and shared, so here are some of the favorite literary and nonfiction text pairing ideas and strategies we've come across lately:
- All of the posts in the New York Times' Learning Network's new "Text to Text" series. Romeo and Juliet, The Book Thief, and The Scarlet Letter are just a few of the literary texts they've paired with items from the NYT's vast and varied archives so far. Great stuff!
- Danielle Clarke pairs articles about the trapped Chilean miners with Lord of the Flies: "I've gathered the stories of the Chilean miners into a word document, and we have wonderful discussions about the different outcomes between the boys on the island and the men stranded in the mine. I also have several other non-fiction articles that I've used to compare/contrast with LOTF. They are located in this document."
- Check out Catlin Tucker's advice for teaching literature with a "nonfiction focus": TKAM and articles on the death penalty, The Joy Luck Club and Tiger Moms.
- A great article on "Why Teens Are So Impulsive" to use with Romeo and Juliet, found by Sarah Mulhern Gross (@thereadingzone).
- More great literature and NF pairing ideas presented by @AngieStooks33 and @oreilly_stacey at NCTE. (Find more in their new book, which comes out later this month!)
- Picked up Blaine Harden's Escape From Camp 14 at NCTE, and immediately found it to be a compelling read and a great book to pair with 1984.
Pauline Zdonek suggests pairing articles on China's one-child policy and California's history with euthanasia with The Giver, along with other strategies.
ReplyDeletePBS NewsHour Extra offers an intriguing lesson plan that has students engage with the concept of inequality in conjunction with activities and articles on "The Great Gatsby Curve." http://www.sharemylesson.com/ResourceDetail.aspx?storyCode=50013062
ReplyDeleteThis article on Langston Hughes from YCTeen is a good informational text to pair with one or more of Hughes' poems.
ReplyDeleteDon't miss @NYTimesLearning's excellent "Text to Text" feature on "12 Years a Slave" and Solomon Northrup's original narrative. Also check out the NYT's original 1853 article on Northrup's narrative. Great supplementary texts to use with Huck Finn and other slavery-related works.
ReplyDeleteIf you teach Saki's short story, "The Open Window," pair it with this very timely NBC News article about the families wondering about their loved ones on the missing Malaysian airplane.
ReplyDeleteAwesome info text to use with LOTF: Lord of the Flies is still a blueprint for savagery
ReplyDeleteOscar winner Lupita Nyong'o's speech on beauty is a must-use when teaching The Bluest Eye: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPCkfARH2eE
ReplyDeleteTa-Nehisi Coates' incredible Atlantic magazine feature is an enormously rich text, including great videos, to use with A Raisin in the Sun.
ReplyDeleteHT @KimChismJasper via the NCTE Connected Community: Pair Of Mice and Men with "NY Times (or other media) articles about the Supreme Court ruling on death penalty for mentally challenged. Such articles go with discussion about George's decision at the end."
ReplyDeleteThought-provoking column to use with The Crucible: "I, Tituba: Working as a Historical Reenactor in Salem"
ReplyDeleteMore great NF-novel pairing ideas, via Brian Sztabnick: http://talkswithteachers.com/5-non-fiction-articles-to-pair-with-classic-high-school-novels/
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