If this is a High School Core, why so many titles at an elementary reading level? (7.6.11)

Amy's response:

There are subjects we want to cover that don't have perfectly age appropriate titles. We now include books on the Korean War, Mexican culture, WWI, WWII, and the Civil Rights movement. The books we chose may have easier reading levels, but unless we find another book on the Korean War that is geared toward high schoolers, we'll go with subject matter over reading level. Sometimes we simply have not found/there does not exist the perfect book for a particular topic.

We cover topics that are emotionally too heavy (sexual abuse of slaves, for example) or too subtle (Civil Rights abuses) for an elementary audience. Perhaps *Elijah of Buxton* and *Freedom Walkers* have easy language to read, but their topics are more suited to an older audience. So we try to place according to maturity, not reading level.

We also cover a lot of topics and authors! Although Core 400 has most of the heaviest books in American lit, Core 100 has a good amount for a lower high school course: Their Eyes Were Watching God, To Kill a Mockingbird, Rip Van Winkle, Call of the Wild, Tom Sawyer, Sandburg, Frost, Poe, Dickinson, Whitman, Longfellow, the Constitution, Native American myths, biographies of Madison, Benedict Arnold, Lewis and Clark, Amos Fortune, Sequoyah, the Pilgrims. That covers fourteen books, and we have another 27 titles, not including the spine. If a parent is concerned about college admissions, the above list, I think, would be more than equivalent to the education I received in public school honors courses. With the extra 27 books, I think students will be both better informed, and more interested in history than their counterparts.

I count 41 books in the lit/biography sections of Core 100, not counting HUS. Of those, there are several that I would not at all want in lower Cores, either because of subject matter or vocabulary.

  • The Cross and the Switchblade (sexual and sin issues in the inner city)
  • Their Eyes Were Watching God (very high level lit: some veiled sex)
  • Ender's Game (rules of warfare, genocide, philosophical questions; Jill's dil used this in a college course)
  • Peace Child (cannibalism and most grotesque death rites)
  • To Kill a Mockingbird (rape trial and injustice)
  • Rip Van Winkle (incredible vocabulary; Jill's daughter Kari used this exact version in college)
  • World War II (this is a rough read: it turns the usual tale of WWII on its head; although it's an easy read vocab wise, it's very heavy to read how the US provoked war with Japan, how the Axis was in trouble from the beginning; very worthy of high school)
  • A Treasury of Poetry for Young People (adult authors: if dislike the title of the book, parents could list the six authors on a transcript to make it sound "older": Sandburg, Frost, Poe, Dickinson, Whitman, Longfellow)
  • Call of the Wild (dark story)

There are some that could, potentially, be used in a younger Core, but, due to subject matter, I don't really think they're appropriate for the third and fourth graders (the SL American history Cores, which already people complain are so challenging for the 8-12 set).

  • The Yanks Are Coming (WWI on the ground: very interesting, but a lot of information)
  • Before Columbus (beautiful picture book, but deals with new archaelogical info on the age of the earth: 40,000 years ago; there's NO WAY this would work at the start of Core 3, but it is beautiful and interesting; based on the book *1491*, which is about 500 pages too long to work in Core 100; this is a great option)
  • The Boys' War (boys the age of Core 100 students, fighting in the Civil War; interesting on the ground info about the Civil War, and because the students are the same age, there may be some deeper understanding)
  • Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution (the book itself is an easy read, but pleasantly informative; we use this for only two days, plus one day to actually read the Constitution at the end of the book, which is NOT an easy read for elementary students; if people don't want to use the title on their transcript, they could say "The Constitution of the United States," which makes it sound much more high school worthy)
  • Elijah of Buxton (extremely harsh stories of slavery, gut-wrenching, although the narrator is funny)
  • Dear Mr. Henshaw' (only used for two or three days; hard issues, like divorce, bullying)
  • Out of the Dust (beautiful book, but ugly happenings during the Dust Bowl: how to keep hoping when there is no room for hope)
  • Keeping Score (the only book I've ever seen on the Korean War, including unintentional civilian deaths and extreme PTSD: not good for 4th grade, though the reading level is elementary)
  • Guests (used only two days; on transcript, could write "Native American myths," since it has several, about the same length of Native American stories I read in college; also child abuse, coming of age, talking porcupine: I cannot imagine this being okay in 3rd grade, but it's rich and beautiful)
  • Freedom Walkers (the start of Civil Rights in the US: I don't think my children doing Core E would really get why the Jim Crow laws were so hurtful: it's more subtle than slavery and whipping; and the nonviolence to change the laws is also more subtle than armed rebellion: this seems a good topic for high school)
  • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Amazing vocabulary; when Twain wrote, this may have been appropriate for young people, but, in my experience, it doesn't work with even excellent students at 10ish)
  • Sacajawea (more Native American myths: definitely an "older" read than that in Core D)
  • The Great Little Madison (lengthy treatment of the Father of the Constitution; as one woman at a convention said, "This is not a children's book!")
  • Dragon's Gate (injustice, accients, and racism while buiding the transcontinental railroad)
  • Farewell to Manzanar (US imprisons without evidence during WWII: injustice, an older read)
  • Traitor: The Case of Benedict Arnold (easier read, but unpleasant person; older reading level than some of Fritz's books)
  • The Slopes of War (war book, lengthy)
  • Amos Fortune, Free Man
  • They Loved to Laugh (great description of life on a small farm in the early 1800s; so much more interesting than the previous "Gathering of Days," but with mild romance and subtle action, not appropriate for 3rd grade)
  • My Heart Lies South (the best book on Mexican culture I've seen, written by an American married to a Mexican, which makes it seem more accessible, I think; with the funny chapters on courtship rituals, I think it's better appreciated by the early high schoolers, rather than elementary students)

And then we have what I would consider "easy" books, some simply for fun and some for information. These are all books that were previously in Core 100.

  • Cameron Townsend (not difficult book, but included because we want to include missionary bios in all levels)
  • The Panama Canal (used for two days: interesting look at an important develpment in world trade)
  • Bonanza Girl (younger book, just for fun)
  • Maniac Magee (for fun; personally, was one of my favorite books in high school)
  • The Landing of the Pilgrims (informative)
  • Moonshiner's Son (Prohibition is an "older" topic, but overall an easy read; I can't think of another book about the Prohibition, though I'd be happy to include one, if such exists)
  • Sequoyah and the Cherokee Alphabet (haven't read for a while: important Native American biography, whatever the reading level)
  • Bound for Oregon (fairly easy read, although cholera, animal death and more)
  • Indian Captive (fairly easy read, although family killed by Indians)
  • Stink Alley (one of my least favorite books in the Core)
  • Year Down Yonder (there's a naked woman posing at one point; absolutely hysterical, but geared toward the 12-16 set, whatever the actual reading level, I think)
  • Rules of the Road (switched out of 4th grade, because people complained it would be better in Core 100, and I agree)