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SELF-REFLECTION

What I learned about myself in regard to my learning process is that I need things to be clearly explained in order for me to achieve and complete something. I think this is important to understand and figure out about myself as I will be able to apply this to my students in the future. Entering the course I knew a good amount about YA Literature and the themes within it. What was challenging was coming up with activities that align with the theme that would be significant to student learning. I learned to be thorough in my planning and to make sure that lessons using YA Literature are salient and relevant to the students I will be teaching. I also learned a great deal about how rich YA Literature is and how it can and should be incorporated into the classroom.

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Annotated Bibliography - 4

Humphreys, Dee Jessica. Chikwanine, Michael. 

(2015) Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls 

Are Used in War. Toronto: Kid Can Press.

YA Universal Theme(s): Violence

Lexile level/ Grade range: Secondary

A powerful story about a child kidnapped

and forced to be a soldier, this graphic novel

depicts Chikwanine’s experience and escape.

Gantos, Jack. (2002) Hole in my Life. New York:

Farrar Straus Giroux.

YA Universal Theme(s): Beating the Odds

Lexile level/ Grade range: Secondary

A story of overcoming a bad experience, Gantos

explores his life from his last year in high-school,

to his short stint as a criminal and how he was able

to turn his life around and become the writer he is 

today. 

Lowry, Lois. (1998) Looking Back.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 

YA Universal Theme(s): Family, Identity

Lexile level/ Grade range: Secondary

A memoir about the journey to becoming

one of the most prolific Young Adult authors,

Lowry explores her path to becoming a writer

and the process of writing in her autobiography.

Woodson, Jacqueline. (2014) Brown Girl Dreaming.

London: Penguin Group.

YA Universal Theme(s): Family

Lexile level/ Grading range: Secondary

A memoir about growing up in the 1960s 

in both the south and north, Woodson’s

book talks about the idea of family and 

experiencing discrimination. 

Yousafzai, Malala. (2014) I am Malala:

How One Girl Stood Up for Education 

and Changed the World. New York: Little, 

Brown Books for Young Readers.

YA Universal Theme(s): Survival, Perseverance, Freedom

Lexile level/ Grade range: Secondary

A powerful account of a story of survival and family,

this biography explores the life of Malala Yousafzai 

and her fight for equality and justice for women 

everywhere. 

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Annotated Bibliography 3 - Diversity/Identity/Multicultural/Social issues

Abdurraqib, Hanif (2019) HOW CAN BLACK

PEOPLE WRITE ABOUT FLOWERS AT A TIME LIKE THIS. Houston: Gulf Coast Literary

Journal.

YA Universal Theme(s): Diversity, Social Justice

Lexile level/ Grade range: Secondary

This poem explores societal issues within

the title of the poem itself. Hanif uses flowers,

in this case, peonies, as his muse to discuss 

the different issues of society and how they

affect personal relationships.

Asghar, Fatima (2017) If They

Should Come for Us. Chicago:

Poetry Foundation.

YA Universal Theme(s): Heritage, Family, Identity, Multicultural

Lexile level/ Grade range: Secondary

A poem about identity, Asghar explores

The complexity of carrying who you 

are wherever you go and how you can 

find your way to those who are your 

people. 

Olivarez, Jose (2018) Mexican American 

Disambiguation. Chicago: Haymarket Books.

YA Universal Theme(s): Identity, Heritage, Family

Lexile level/ Grade range: Secondary

A poem about identity that explores what it

means to be a child of Mexican immigrants

in America, and how one’s identity can be 

split by other people.

Smith, Danez (2014) alternate names for 

black boys. Chicago: Poetry Foundation.

YA Universal Theme(s): Identity, Social Justice

Lexile level/ Grade range: Secondary

A poem that addresses social justice issues

and how they affect black boys, Danez makes 

a simple list of things that describe the many ways

and things black boys become. 

Smith, Danez (2014) not an elegy for

Mike Brown. Washington DC: Split

This Rock.

YA Universal Theme(s): Social Justice, Diversity

Lexile level/ Grade level: Secondary

This is a poem about reclamation. Danez Smith

tackles the passing of Mike Brown by juxtaposing

it with the many times many poets have written

something about an African-American being killed

at the hands of police. 

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The Outsiders Storyboard

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Annotated Bibliography 2 (Non-Fiction)

Angelou, Maya (1969) I Know

Why the Caged Bird Sings.

New York: Random House. 

YA Universal Theme(s): Love, Identity

Lexile level/ Grade range: Secondary

Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged

Bird Sings deals with the complexities 

of family, race, sexuality, and trauma.

This autobiography describes what 

it means to grow up during the South

as a Black woman and how one can

come to realize they are worthy despite

their troubling past.

Hartland, Jessie (2015) Steve Jobs:

Insanely Great. New York: Schwartz

& Wade.

YA Universal Theme(s): Creativity, Nonconformity

Lexile level/ Grade range: Secondary

An account of the story of Steve Jobs

success’ and failures, Hartland playfully

depicts the journey of Jobs experience in

the tech industry. Through a series of 

comics, Hartland offers readers a view 

of the genius that revolutionized the

tech industry.

Meltzer, Milton (1995) Frederick

Douglass: In His Own Words. 

San Diego: Harcourt Children’s Books.

YA Universal Theme(s): Family, Religion, Truth

Lexile level/ Grade range: Secondary

From personal narratives to speeches of 

Fredrick Douglass, In His Own Words

gives an insight into living during the times 

of slavery as a slave and the struggles 

of seeking liberation. The book discusses

the black experience and what it meant 

to be free both before and after slavery was 

abolished, as well as the effects of the Civil

War and the Reconstruction Period that 

subsequently followed.

Wiesel, Elie (1960) Night.

New York: Hill & Wang; 

London: MacGibbon & Kee.

YA Universal Theme(s): Family, Religion, Violence

Lexile level/ Grade range: Secondary

A story of survival, Wiesel’s Night is

an autobiographical narrative that offers readers

primary insight to experiences in the concentration

camps. He grapples with loss amidst the violence

as he and his father endure the harsh treatments

in Auschwitz.

X, Malcolm (1965) The Autobiography of

Malcolm X. New York: Grove Press.

YA Universal Theme(s): Religion, Transformation

Lexile level/ Grade range: Secondary

A powerful account of resiliency and triumph,

The Autobiography of Malcolm X depicts the 

life story of Malcolm X. It discusses his 

struggles of addiction, poverty, and living 

in a society where he and his people are 

constantly mistreated. After a revelational

experience in prison, Malcolm X turns his

faith towards the Nation of Islam and works

actively to fight for the rights of African-Americans.

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Annotated Bibliography 1 (Fiction & Historical Fiction)

Bradbury, Ray (1953) Fahrenheit

451. New York: Ballantine Books.

YA Universal Theme(s): Fear, Abuse of Power, Quest for Knowledge

Lexile level/ Grade range: Secondary

Bradbury gives insight into how the power

of society can lead to destruction. He explores

the idea of fear and maintenance of structural power

through this novel in which books are meant to be

burned and not read. 

Hinton S.E. (1967) The Outsiders.

New York: Viking Press.

YA Universal Theme(s): Love, Violence

Lexile level/ Grade range: Secondary

Ultimately a story about friendship, The 

Outsiders explores the complexity of it

and how it differs among different social

classes. Hinton uses Ponyboy as a character that

offer insight on what it means to be a friend,

and the consequences that can stem from that.

Choi, Sook N. (1991) Year of

Impossible Goodbyes. Boston:

HMH Books for Young Readers.

YA Universal Theme(s): Peace & War, Survival, Family

Lexile level/ Grade range: Secondary

Choi offers a look into the life of occupied

Korea during the ending of WWII. During 

this time families, like Sookan’s, are treated

horribly in these conditions and are separated.

Choi deals with these happenings through a 

story of survival that ends with new beginnings.  

Myers, Walter D. (1988) Fallen

Angels. New York: Scholastic 

Corporation.

YA Universal Theme(s): Peace & War, Survival 

Lexile level/ Grade range: Secondary

Myers explores the horrors of the 

Vietnam war and the horrific intricacies

of it. He uses a handful of characters

to depict the different experiences many

soldiers and families of those soldiers faced.

The use of Perry, the main character, gives 

a detailed point of view of how gruesome

war can be.

Salinger, J.D. (1951) The 

Catcher in the Rye. New

York: Little, Brown and 

Company. 

YA Universal Theme(s): Innocence, Religion

Lexile level/ Grade range: Secondary

Holden Caulfield is your typical teenager:

angsty and rebellious and just trying to

find his purpose. Throughout the story

he meets many different characters that

help him on his journey to self-discovery.

Salinger gives the readers a nuanced character 

wrestling with many situations.

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Literacy Memories

My experience as a secondary education ELA student was fairly well. I remember my sixth and eighth-grade teachers were very engaged with my classmates and I’s during the time we spent with them and the texts we read. I can recall in eighth grade we read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and was highly interested in the novel as I have never read anything like that before that year. Though the setting took place a few decades before my time, there were still themes/issues that I could relate too as well as characters in the book and their experiences. We were also able to view the movie adaptation of the book which furthered us as student’s engagement with the text and the discussions we had surrounding the book. This multimodal approach was instrumental in my deeper understanding of the text. In high-school, my experience was also a good one and I owe it to my sophomore, junior, and senior English Teacher: Mr. Shaun Mitchell. He was relatively young and you can tell by the choices of the text we read (such as A Streetcar Named Desire) that he was interested more-so in our critical analysis of the texts in regards to how it relates/ed to our society that we occupy as opposed to just focusing on how well we remember certain things, you know, tests that don’t assess critical thinking. I also recall Mr. Mitchell pushing us as students to our creative side. We did various creative exercises, such as looking at the painting of “Nighthawks” by Edward Hopper and writing a scenario that we think is occurring in the painting. These types of activities deepened my love for the Language Arts and Mr. Mitchell is one of the main reasons and inspirations for my current pursuit as an English teacher at the Secondary Education level. I also read Edgar Allen Poe in both my middle and high-school and those lessons got me more into poetry as they were among my first experiences with poetry. I also liked how creepy and weird his writing was because it burst the bubble of the idea of the conventional poem and gave me more insight as to what can be or become poetry.

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Introduction

Hello! My name is Gabriel Jackson and I am a 23-year-old African-American and Identify as a cis-gendered male, using he/him/his pronouns. I’m excited to learn more about teaching adolescent literature as well as the many aspects of YA Literature. I was born and raised in Bridgeport, CT and got my B.A. in English with a minor in African Studies from the University of Connecticut Storrs campus. Before that, I attended Housatonic Community College where I was able to figure out what it was I wanted to major in. I also completed a service term this past year through an Americorps program called Public Allies which tremendously helped improve my leadership skills. I enjoy playing basketball with my friends, swimming, going to the beach, reading, and writing (especially poetry!). My favorite color is blue and my favorite fruits are oranges. My least favorite fruit is Cantaloupe (watermelon is the best melon in my humble opinion). I will be interning at PONUS Ridge Middle School in Norwalk, CT and I’m looking forward to getting started there! Well, that’s pretty much it for now, thanks for taking the time to read a little bit about me!