***𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀.***


"Why was this book banned" and "Why should you care?" are two questions I ask in every class. These questions encourage critical thinking and foster an understanding of the power dynamics that can lead to book banning.  By asking learners to consider why a book may have been banned, they need to consider the themes and ideas within the book that may be seen as controversial. This discussion leads to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the book, as well as awareness of the cultural and political contexts during the time the novel was published. Additionally, by asking learners to consider why they should care about a banned book connects the ideas and themes within the book to their own lives and experiences, and to recognize the value of literature as a tool for exploring complex and important issues.

Why are books banned?
Books make it onto the banned or challenged book list for many reasons. Often the book deals with difficult topics including but not limited to: violence, suicide, racism, gender identity, pro/anti religion, witchcraft, teen pregnancy, alcoholism, or profanity. 

𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲:
The class meets every two weeks to allow learners time to read the book prior to class.

To kick off our exploration of each book, the teacher will take learners through a brief summary of the novel, offer insights on the author and their life, along with relevant historical context that influenced the author's work.

During class, learners will be encouraged to share their thoughts and opinions on the themes and ideas presented in the book. Themes such as isolation, friendship, duty, racism, identity, and mortality. We will engage in discussions that will help us delve deeper into the meaning and significance of the book. Learners will also have the opportunity to connect the themes of the book to their own experiences and share how they can apply what they have learned to their daily lives.  The class is a safe and inclusive space where everyone's voice is heard and respected.

As facilitator for this class we will address these subjects using critical thinking and context so learners will understand why the problematic and/or inaccurate ways of referencing people is not appropriate. Showing learners examples of biased language in a safe space will aid learners in developing their critical thinking skills so that they can identify bias in books on their own. 
Example of content that would have learner's use their critical thinking skills:
1. This is a book that was written 60 years ago about events that would have happened 80 years ago. Are the situations being discussed here still relevant today? Why or why not?”
2. Most Americans believe in racial and gender equality and reject discrimination in any form. What does that look like? We all have stereotypes embedded in our brains, shaped over time by our culture, the media, and our history. How can we recognize when our bias is informing our decisions rather than logic?
3. What kind of experiences help us to learn the difference between right and wrong. How do we apply those lessons when we see an injustice?


Books to be read: The books lists are different for the Monday and Wednesdays groups. Please make sure you scroll to the correct book list.

𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 @𝟮𝗽𝗺 𝗘𝗦𝗧, & 𝟳𝗽𝗺 𝗘𝗦𝗧:
August 12, 2024: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙒𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝 -John Steinbeck 
August 26, 2024: 𝙁𝙖𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙩 𝟒𝟓𝟏- Ray Bradbury
September 9, 2024: 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟒 - George Orwell
September 23, 2024: 𝘽𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙- Aldous Huxley
October 7, 2024: 𝘼𝙣𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙡 𝙁𝙖𝙧𝙢 - George Orwell
October 21, 2024: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 - Stephen King 
November 4, 2024: 𝙈𝙖𝙪𝙨 - Art Speigelman
November 18, 2024: 𝙏𝙤 𝙆𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝘼 𝙈𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙙 - Harper Lee
December 2, 2024: 𝘽𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 - Toni Morrison
December 16, 2024: 𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙧 & 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙠  - Rainbow Rowell
January 6, 2025: 𝙄𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙣  - Ralph Ellison
January 20, 2025: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙮𝙚 - J. D. Salinger
February 3, 2025: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙤 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙩 - Sandra Cisneros
February 17, 2025: 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 - Elie Wiesel
March 3, 2025: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙧 𝙋𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙡𝙚 - Alice Walker
March 17, 2025: 𝙎𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚-𝙁𝙞𝙫𝙚  - Kurt Vonnegut
March 31, 2025: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙗𝙗𝙞𝙩 - J.R.R. Tolkien
April 14, 2025: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙊𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙡𝙠 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙤𝙣 - 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝘽. 𝘾𝙤𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮
April 28, 2025: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙝𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙧'𝙨 𝙂𝙪𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙏𝙤 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙭𝙮 - Douglas Adams
No Class in May
June, 2, 2025: 𝙇𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝘿𝙤𝙫𝙚 - Larry McMurtry 
June 16, 2025: 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠 - Laurie Halse Anderson
July 14, 2025: 𝘾𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠 - Ellen Hopkins
July 28, 2025: 𝙎𝙤𝙡𝙙 - Patricia McCormick
August 11, 2025: 𝘿𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙩 - Veronica Roth
August 25, 2025: 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚 - Stephen King
September 8, 2025: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨 𝘾𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙚 - Jeannette Walls
September 29, 2025: 𝙀𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣 - Christopher Paolini 
October 13, 2025: 𝙀𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙂𝙖𝙢𝙚 - Orson Scott Card
October 27, 2025: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙄𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙃𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙖 𝙇𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨 - Rebecca Skloot
November 10, 2025: 𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙢𝙚𝙣 - Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
November 24, 2025: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙤𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙒𝙖𝙧 - Robert Cormier 
December 8, 2025: 𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝘼𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙖 - John Green
December 22, 2025: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙙'𝙨 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙚 - Margaret Atwood
January 5, 2026: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙠𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘽𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙒𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 - Stephen Chbosky
January 19, 2026: 𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙚'𝙨 𝙃𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙋𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙧 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 - Ransom Riggs
February 2, 2026: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙂𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 - Suzanne Collins
February 16, 2025:  𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝘿𝙞𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩-𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣 - Sherman Alexie 
March 2, 2026: 𝙄 𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝘽𝙞𝙧𝙙 𝙎𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 - Maya Angelou
March 16, 2026: 𝙂𝙤 𝘼𝙨𝙠 𝘼𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙚 - Beatrice Sparks
March 39, 2026: 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙒𝙝𝙮 -Jay Asher
April 13, 2026: 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙨𝙚 - Robert Cormier
April 27, 2026 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙨  - Marjane Satrapi


𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 @𝟭𝟬𝗮𝗺 𝗘𝗦𝗧:
September 4, 2024: 𝙀𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣 - Christopher Paolini 
September 18, 2024: 𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝘼𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙖 - John Green
October 16, 2024: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙙'𝙨 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙚 - Margaret Atwood
October 30, 2024: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙠𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘽𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙒𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 - Stephen Chbosky
November 13, 2024: 𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙚'𝙨 𝙃𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙋𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙧 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 - Ransom Riggs
November 27, 2024: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙂𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 - Suzanne Collins 
December 11, 2024: 𝙀𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙂𝙖𝙢𝙚 - Orson Scott Card
January 8, 2025: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝘿𝙞𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩-𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣 - Sherman Alexie 
January, 22, 2025: 𝙄 𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝘽𝙞𝙧𝙙 𝙎𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 - Maya Angelou
February 5, 2025: 𝙂𝙤 𝘼𝙨𝙠 𝘼𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙚 - Beatrice Sparks
February 19, 2025: 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙒𝙝𝙮 -Jay Asher
March 5, 2025:  𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙨𝙚 - Robert Cormier
March 19, 2025: 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟒 - George Orwell
April 2, 2025: 𝘽𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙- Aldous Huxley
April 16, 2025: 𝘼𝙣𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙡 𝙁𝙖𝙧𝙢 - George Orwell
April 30, 2025: 𝙈𝙖𝙪𝙨 - Art Speigelman
May 28, 2025: 𝙏𝙤 𝙆𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝘼 𝙈𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙙 - Harper Lee
Jun 11, 2025: 𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙢𝙚𝙣 - Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
June  25, 2025: 𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙧 & 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙠  - Rainbow Rowell
July 9, 2025: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙊𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙡𝙠 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙤𝙣 - 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝘽. 𝘾𝙤𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮
July 23, 2025: 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙨  - Marjane Satrapi
August 6, 2025: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙒𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝 -John Steinbeck
August 20, 2025: 𝙁𝙖𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙩 𝟒𝟓𝟏 - Ray Bradbury
September 3, 2025: 𝙄𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙣  - Ralph Ellison
September 17, 2025: 𝙎𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚-𝙁𝙞𝙫𝙚  - Kurt Vonnegut
October 8, 2025: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙄𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙃𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙖 𝙇𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨 - Rebecca Skloot
October 22, 2025: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙮𝙚 - J. D. Salinger
November 5, 2025:𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙤 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙩 - Sandra Cisneros
November 19, 2025: 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 - Elie Wiesel
December 3, 2025: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙝𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙧'𝙨 𝙂𝙪𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙏𝙤 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙭𝙮 - Douglas Adams
December 17, 2025: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙡𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩 - Paulo Coelho
January 7, 2026: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨 𝘾𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙚 - Jeannette Walls
January 21, 2026: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙧 𝙋𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙡𝙚 - Alice Walker
February 4, 2026: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙗𝙗𝙞𝙩 - J.R.R. Tolkien
February 18, 2026: 𝘼 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙎𝙪𝙣𝙨 - Khaled Hosseini 
March 4, 2026: 𝘿𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙩 - Veronica Roth
March 18, 2026: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙤𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙒𝙖𝙧 - Robert Cormier
April 8, 2026: 𝙇𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝘿𝙤𝙫𝙚 - Larry McMurtry
April 22, 2026: 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠 - Laurie Halse Anderson
May 6, 2026: 𝘾𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠 - Ellen Hopkins
May 20, 2026: 𝙎𝙤𝙡𝙙 - Patricia McCormick



Sample week:
Introductions
Warm Up exercise
Group Discussion
Reminder for upcoming book.

𝗥𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆:
I follow Outschool's policy on refunds for ongoing classes: Parents enrolled in an ongoing class will see a “stop subscription” button instead of “withdraw” on the classroom page after the class’s first meeting. Use this button to prevent any future weekly charges, starting with the following billing period, which rolls over Sunday mornings Pacific time. You can use this to stop future charges at any time.  There will be no refunds issued for a student(s) missing class.  

𝗢𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆: If your learner misses a class meeting, you are not entitled to a refund. If your learner misses 3 consecutive class live meetings without communicating with the teacher, you forfeit the class fee and the teacher may cancel the class or withdraw your learner.” 

𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆: Please note that per Outschool policy, if there are 0 students after the first 10 minutes of the class, the class will be canceled for that day. The live meetings are scheduled for 50 minutes; however, depending upon the number of students and the amount of participation from the class, some live meetings may be shorter than 50 minutes.  If the teacher needs to cancel class a makeup class will be assigned. If the student is unable to attend the makeup class a refund will be issued after the makeup class.