Banned Books
Banned Books Lesson
1. Banned Books Interactive Board (10min)
Click the image below and explore the various books that have been banned or challenged the last few years. What patterns do you see in why the books were banned or challenged?
Discuss with a friend.
2. Read and Listen to the article, "Book Ban Efforts Spread Across the U.S." (14min listen) If you don't have a New York Times Account, you can read the article here.
3. Discuss the following questions with your partner or group (10min):
- What do you think about efforts across the nation to remove books — especially ones that address race, gender and sexuality — from school libraries?
- How do you think these bans affect students, teachers and librarians?
- In your opinion, what makes a book “appropriate” or “inappropriate” for inclusion in a school library? If you were a school librarian, what criteria would you use to determine whether a certain book should be included in the library?
- What’s the best way to address parents’ concerns that a book in a school library is inappropriate for their child? Should the library remove the book? Should a library have a policy in place to stop individual students from checking out a book if their parents disapprove of it? Or are there better solutions that don’t involve changing what books are available in a library?
- Jack Petocz, a student who protested a book ban in his school, argued that removing books about racism and L.G.B.T.Q. issues was discriminatory. Do you agree? Why or why not?
- Do you think the books in your school library represent a diverse range of perspectives and experiences? What subjects are adequately covered? What kinds of books would you like to see more of?
4. Write! (15min) Pick one of the questions above and write out a clear 3-5 sentence response on a post-it note and give it to your teacher. Your post-it note will be added to a Schoolwide Banner titled, "What Do Ortho Students Think About Efforts to Ban Books From School Libraries?" The banner will be in the A Building during Banned Books Week! Come see what your peers think! Or just see some of the comments below.
For extra credit (and only if you have a New York Times Account which you can get in the Ortho Library), write your response in the Comments section of the NY Times article, "What Do You Think About Efforts to Ban Books From School Libraries?" Once you've logged into the NY Times, to add your comment, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click "Read Comments."
Come to the Library to participate in some of the other activities for Banned Books Week!
- Go on a Blind Date with a Banned Book.
- Make a Bookmark for Banned Books Week.
- Write a Postcard to your favorite Banned Author.
- Color as your read on the Banned Books Coloring Page.
- Answer- How many Banned Books have you read and get a prize.
- On Friday, October 6th, help FREE the BOOKS from the CAGE!
Submit your own work to the Banned Books Week Writing Contest!
