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Making a Book List for Korean Students

nomadic myth

nomadic myth

New Member
I just started a new teaching job here in Korea, and I need some help. Previously I was teaching language at regular public middle schools and elementary schools, so everything was pretty basic. Now I'm at an elite middle school with a high percentage of students who are moderately fluent in English.

A fairly big theory now in ESL education is the promotion of "junk reading". Basically this is reading done below your current language level, both for fun and in high volume. My school approved funding for a list of about 200 books I wanted to order, all of which are award winners for young readers. I selected from Newbery medal and honor books, various state awards in America, the Governor General's Award in Canada, etc. This is fine. I have all the book titles I need in this area. Oh yeah, and I stayed away from Goosebumps, the Princess Diaries, and Harry Potter, since the first two are crap, and HP is sickeningly over popular and over suggested even in Korea.

What I want to do is compile a list of more advanced books. This gets a bit tricky. Some of my students are incredibly bright, but I think they choose books over their heads because of pride. I don't know if reading the Odyssesy and Anna Karenina in their second language of English is going to promote a future love of reading, or promote an Icarus situation, where pride takes them too close to the sun and they plummet.

I would like suggestions of middle and high school classics. Nothing too obscure, but rather the most stereotypical classics for this age group. Also, I want to keep the students returning to the library shelf again and again, so I want good books.

I will love any help I can get. So will my students.
 
Life of Pi off the top of my head. Atwood, also, off the top of my head. The Handmaids Tale and Oryx and Crake specifically. Jack London maybe? As for stereotypical suggestions:

Lord of the Flies
Fifth Business
The Stone Angel
Of Mice and Men
Nineteen-Eightyfour
The Chrysalids
Catcher in the Rye
Watership Down
Oliver Twist

I'd also like to suggest a good translation of Crime and Punishment. I don't think it will take them too close to the sun. Also, there's a Canadian author who I've been very impressed with - Wayne Johnston. The Divine Ryans won the GG I think....Maybe look into Rohinton Mistry too.
 
I would suggest adding some short story collections into the list too; smaller works, easier to digest, and less daunting than a whole novel in a second language.

Short story collections by Edgar Allan Poe, Shirley Jackson, Anton Checkov, Raymond Carver, etc.
 
Let's see..middle school? How about some Willa Cather novels such as My Antonia or O Pioneers. There's complexity there without too much brutality. I would be cautious about Atwood for that age. The short story suggestion is really good.
 
Another good short story writer is O.Henry. And how about Ray Bradbury? His novels aren't too long, and he has at least one or two short story collections. Some of the stories are pretty bizarre, but the kids might like them anyway. Oh and I just thought of Jack Finney, he has two books with shorter works, About Time:12 Short Storieshttp://http://www.amazon.com/About-Time-12-Short-Stories/dp/068484866X/sr=1-3/qid=1158932531/ref=pd_bbs_3/102-8214914-1566537?ie=UTF8&s=books and Three By Finneyhttp://www.amazon.com/Three-Finney-http://www.amazon.com/Three-Finney-Jack/dp/0671640488/sr=1-5/qid=1158932531/ref=sr_1_5/102-8214914-1566537?ie=UTF8&s=books which includes The Woodrow Wilson Dime.
 
How about looking up reading lists from other schools at that level. For example, here are the links to the middle school and high school reading lists for my town. Both are very competitve schools - the high school is ranked in the top 100 in the US.

http://www.bernardsboe.com/wams/cybrary/ReadingList/ReadingHomePage.htm

http://www.bernardsboe.com/curriculum/SummerReading06/SUMMER READING TITLE PAGE.htm

Or check out this site:

http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=1549107

It has a section called "adult books for young adults" or something like that (scroll down the page some).

The American Library Association has some recommended reading lists, too, but I didn't look at them:

http://www.ala.org/ala/librariesandyou/recomreading/recomreading.htm

If you like the schools idea and are having trouble finding schools let me know and I'll look up some NJ schools that I know are good.

-Concetta
 
Something nice, not overly simple but not too complex, and interesting.

TH White - The Once and Future King (The X-Men reads it, so it must be good)
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird.

ds
 
Here's a list of some popular, reading-for-fun authors and books for older elementary/younger junior high students:

Any Lois Lowry (especially The Giver and Number the Stars, but the Anastasia and Sam books are great too)
Any Judy Blume (especially the Fudge books)
Any Roald Dahl
Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie series
Any Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (especially her Witch series and her Alice series--though the Alice books are very centered on girls)
Hatchet and sequels by Gary Paulson
Any Jerry Spinelli
Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain chronicles, starting with Taran Wanderer
Patricia Wrede’s dragon books, starting with Dealing With Dragons
 
I think you should provide the kids with short story books.there are lots of story books in library that are easy to read and also provide knowledge.
 
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