Massachusetts School Library Association
            MEMBER PORTAL                
​Join or Renew     Member Directory​
  • Home
  • About Us
    • MSLA Leadership 2022-23
    • Executive Board Meetings
    • Joint Statements: MLA, MassCUE
    • Spotlight Archive
    • Strategic Plan 2016-22
    • MSLA Constitution
  • Membership
    • Member Portal
    • Join or Renew Your Membership
    • Members Map
    • Email List
    • Regions >
      • Boston
      • Northeast
      • Metrowest
      • Southeast
      • Central
      • West
  • Conference
    • MSLA and PDPs
  • Resources
    • DESE Rubric
    • Certification & Licensure
    • Program Standards & Rubrics
    • Job Description: School Librarian
    • Job Listings
    • MLS Strategic Planning
    • Intellectual Freedom
  • Advocacy
    • MA School Library Study for Equity & Access
    • Everyday Advocacy
    • ESSA
    • Exemplary Programs
  • Newsletter
    • 2022 MSLA Forum Issues >
      • February 2022
      • May 2022
      • October 2022
    • 2021 MSLA Forum Issues >
      • February 2021
      • May 2021
      • October 2021
    • 2020 MSLA Forum Issues >
      • February 2020
      • May 2020
      • October 2020
    • 2019 MSLA Forum Issues >
      • February 2019
      • May 2019
      • October 2019
    • 2018 MSLA Forum Issues >
      • February 2018
      • May 2018
      • October 2018
    • 2017 MSLA Forum Issues >
      • February 2017
      • May 2017
      • September 2017
      • October 2017
    • 2016 MSLA Forum Issues >
      • February 2016
      • May 2016
      • October 2016
    • 2015 MSLA Forum Issues >
      • April 2015
      • November 2015
    • MSLA Forum 2002-2013
  • Awards
    • Judi Paradis Memorial Grant
    • Archive: History of Awards
    • 2019 Awards Pictures
    • 2018 Awards Pictures
    • 2017 Awards Pictures
    • 2016 Awards Pictures
    • 2015 Awards Pictures
  • Bookmark Contest
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
    • 2019 and 2018 Winners
    • 2016 and 2017 Winners
    • 2012 to 2015 Winners
    • 2009 to 2011 Winners
    • 2004 to 2008 Winners
    • Bookmark Judges

Secondary Column: Banned Book Opinion Writing

5/4/2021

0 Comments

 
Felicia Quesada Montville is the Library Teacher at Charles E. Brown Middle School in Newton, MA.  

While we are still in the midst of what feels like a never-ending year, September will be here before we know it. The optimist in me sees a blur of back-to-back library orientations, a flurry of check outs as students select their first independent reading books of the year, and sessions training student library helpers. Banned Books Week (September 26th through October 2nd this year) so often sneaks up on me, but at least ALA’s amazing graphics make it easy to put up an engaging and informative display.
Although my students may not read all of the infographics or definitions shared, the titles are popular -- tell a middle schooler someone said they couldn’t have it, and of course it is then in high demand. But beyond being popular, banned book displays spark conversations and even disbelief, “why would this ever be challenged?” Harnessing this interest, 8th grade ELA teacher, Rebecca Cohen, asked me to help introduce an opinion writing unit centered around banned and challenged books. Though the unit comes a bit later in the year, students recall and reference the library’s display from September.

I start my introduction with a video that is primarily book covers, dozens of titles that, according to the ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom annual field reports, have been challenged or banned over the years. I go broad with the examples to help illustrate the wide variety of titles people challenge and to give students a lot of ideas for their own selection. The video serves as an activator, leaving students with the question of whether challenges are ever justified or if the freedom to read should be without limits.

We use the ALA’s definitions of banned and challenged materials to ensure we are all working with the same understanding. I then share the history of banning books in the United States, going back to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which is considered to be the first widely-banned book in the U.S. We discuss how a combination of regulations and shifting societal norms led to censorship, and the eventual establishment of Banned Books Week in 1982. From there we look at who initiates challenges and the popular reasons titles are challenged. Students can easily make the connection that most often adults trying to protect children are responsible for challenges and bans.

Asking that they keep this information in mind, we then assign students a position either in favor or against banning an example title, And Tango Makes Three. Reading aloud to 8th graders is, of course, one of the highlights of the unit for me, and it always reminds me of the power of teaching with picture books at any grade level. Using evidence from the text, students make arguments for and against banning the book, most making the connection that the book normalizes LGBTQ+ families. While the majority of our students would unquestioningly support queer families, they are asked to form a counter argument in their paper, and this a prime example of how the same point can be utilized by different sides.

Students select a banned or challenged title to read independently, and their teacher then guides them through the opinion writing process. Realizing the value of writing for an audience, we publish the students’ final papers on the library website. Admittedly, I’m often surprised by the conservative stance some students take on profanity or sexual content, but I am always encouraged by their arguments to use literature as a window to the world. Teachers can choose any number of topics to teach opinion writing through, but by partnering and making a connection between the library world and their writing, the experience is more meaningful and has a lasting impact on the students as readers.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Forum Newsletter

    Co-Editors
    Reba Tierney and
    ​Luke Steere

    Reba is the School Librarian at Waltham High School; Luke is School Librarian at  Wilson Middle in Natick

    Click to set custom HTML

    Categories

    All
    AASL
    Academic
    Advocacy
    ALA
    Authors
    Book Trailers
    Censorship
    Column
    Conference
    Culture
    Databases
    Dewey
    Digital Citizenship
    E Books
    E-books
    Elementary
    ESSA
    Ethics
    Evaluation
    Inquiry
    Leadership
    Learning Commons
    Legislation
    Literacy
    Maker Space
    Nonfiction
    Orientation
    Planning
    PLN
    President's Remarks
    Professional Development
    Reading
    Science
    Secondary
    Standards
    Technology
    Union
    Volunteers
    Weeding

    Archives

    October 2022
    May 2022
    February 2022
    October 2021
    May 2021
    February 2021
    October 2020
    May 2020
    February 2020
    October 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    October 2018
    May 2018
    February 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    October 2016
    May 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    April 2015

    MSLA Forum Past Issues:
    January 2015
    April 2015
    ​
    2002-2015 MSLA Forum
The Massachusetts School Library Association  works to ensure every school has a school library program that is fully integrated at all grade levels across the curriculum and has a significant and measurable impact on student achievement….Read more…..and Learn more about MSLA

Contact MSLA:
Emily Kristofek, Office Manager/Event Planner
P.O. Box 336. Wayland, MA 01778
ekristofek@maschoolibraries.org
​
508-276-1697 

Massachusetts School Library Association. All Rights Reserved.  Copyright 2023.