This year I plan to read all the GA Book Award Nominees and provide a “one stop” resource for teachers who would like to use these books in their classrooms. I will be posting links to author Web sites, teacher’s guides, and related Web links. I hope to make this an unbiased resource, so I will not be providing my own review of the books–other than recommending it as a read aloud (or not).
The Wednesday Wars
Summary: During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday afternoons when all his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker’s classroom where they read the plays of William Shakespeare and Holling learns much of value about the world he lives in.
Author Web Site: Not Currently Available
Author Profile @ Good Reads
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/96375.Gary_D_Schmidt
Author Interview from Miss Erin’s Blog
http://misserinmarie.blogspot.com/2008/05/sbbt-interview-gary-d-schmidt.html
Author Interview: ReadKiddoRead Talks to Gary Schmidt (Audio Recording)
http://readkiddoread.ning.com/page/gary-schmidt
Related Links: Teaching Shakespeare
Folger Shakespeare Library: It’s Elementary! Stomping and Romping with Shakespeare
(Using Dr. Seuss to teach the rhythm of language in Shakespeare’s songs.)
http://www.folger.edu/eduLesPlanDtl.cfm?lpid=583
Free Teaching Shakespeare Resources @ www.kidsloveshakespeare.com
http://www.kidsloveshakespeare.com/teaching-shakespeare
Shakespeare and the Renaissance: Teaching Resources from PBS
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/thismonth/shakespeare/index1.html
Shakespeare for Teens
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/shakespeare-teens
Shall I Compare Thee? Interactive Lesson About Shakespeare’s Famous Sonnet
http://www.leavingcert.net/skoool/junior.asp?id=1468
Related Links: Vietnam and The Vietnam War
Frontline Explores Vietnam
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/vietnam
Teaching with Documents: The War in Vietnam (National Archives Photos)
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/vietnam-photos
Vietnam Center and Archive: Teacher Resources
http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/teachers
Read Aloud Recommendation:
This coming-of-age novel will have the teacher and students laughing out loud. It deals with the angst of junior high school life with humor that students will appreciate. This is a great choice to read aloud.