Protected Reading List FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers:

Why do we need a Protected Reading List? As an extension of the Baseline Literacy Module trainings, a need was found to eliminate the widespread duplication of reading materials across the grade spans. Students were being asked to read the same pieces of literature within two and sometimes three grades.

Who decided and how did they decide which grades would receive which pieces of literature? A committee was formed of ELA teachers representing each grade and each school. Each teacher was asked to collect information from their respective ELA teachers on which title they were currently teaching and which title they though should be taught in their grade. The committee met and discussed the titles according to Lexile levels, age-appropriate subject matter, and purchased resources to decide fairly where the titles belonged.

What if teachers are still using old literature books and the title is in different grade levels depending on the edition or name of literature book? The newest literature book adopted and purchased by the district dictates which textbook titles are protected for that grade. If the title is in the newest adopted literature book, Holt Literature series, then the title “belongs” to that grade level.

Will AP and Dual Credit courses be required to abide by the Protected Reading List? AP and Dual Credit courses will be exempt from the Protected Reading List since those courses are governed by the regulations of the AP Board, or in the case of Dual Credit, or governed by the Higher Education agency for which it counts as an adjunct course.

Will the Protected Reading List only be for English and Reading teachers? Many of the social studies courses draw upon some of the same novels for outside reading as well. At this time, the Protected Reading List only contains the information submitted by ELA teachers, but Social studies teachers should be made aware of this list and should be included in the use of the Protected Reading List discussions.

Will teachers be allowed to survey their students at the beginning of a school year to find out what has and has not been read and then choose texts from lower grade to read based on survey results? Yes, since all teachers are not going to teach all of the Protected Titles listed for their grade, if a teachers surveys an incoming class and finds a title that was not taught prior to the class then that title can be taught by that teacher as far as this initiative is concerned.

6th grade Lexile 7th grade Lexile 8th grade Lexile

Hatchet by Gary Paulsette 1020L The Giver by Maniac McGhee 760L

The House of Dies Drear by

Virginia Hamilton 670L

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine

L'Engle 740L Holes by Louis Sachar 660L The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton 750L

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 810L The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman 820L

The Bridge to Terabithia by

Katherine Paterson 810L

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry 670L

The Complete Stories of Flannery

O'Conner N/A Animal Farm by George Orwell 1370L

Wringer by Jerry Spinelli 690L

*The Golden Compass by Phillip

Pullman (alternates: Railsea by China

Mievelle or Coraline by Neil Gaiman)

930L

730L

740L The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 730L

When You Reached me by

Rebecca Stead 750L *Little Brother by Cory Doctorow 900L

The Diary of a Young Girl by

Anne Frank 1080L

A Christmas Carol by Charles

Dickens 900L Rikki Tikki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling 800L

The Dark is Rising by Susan

Cooper 920L

Moon Over Manifest by Clare

Vanderpool 800L Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton 680L

Amos Fortune by Elizabeth Yates 1090L

Travels with Charley by John

Steinbeck 1010L

Watsons Going to Birmingham

by Christopher Paul Curtis 1000L A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness 730L

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher

Paul Curtis 950L

Red Badge of Courage by

Stephen Crane HL680L

Maze Runner by James Dashner HL770L

Summer of my German Soldier

by Bette Greene 800L

The Cay by Theodore Taylor 860L

Where the Red Fern Grows by

Wilson Rawls 700L

Wonder by R.J. Palacio 790L

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie

Babbitt 770L

Middle School Protected Reading List Titles 2016-2017

*denotes a title whose content has been challenged due to a variety of reasons

9th grade Lexile 10th grade Lexile 11th grade Lexile 12th grade Lexile

The Blindside by Michael

Lewis 980L

A Separate Peace by John

Knowles 1110L

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott

Fitzgerald 1070L

Frankenstein by Mary

Shelley 810L

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue

Monk Kidd 840L Mythology by Edith Hamilton 1040L

*Their Eyes were Watching

God by Zora Neale Hurston 1080L

1984 by George

Orwell 1090L

*The Adventures of

Huckleberry Finn by Mark

Twain 980L Uglies by Scott Westerfielde 770L Night by Elie Weisel 570L

Wuthering Heights by

Emily Bronte 880L

The Adventures of Tom

Sawyer by Mark Twain 950L Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 890L

The Scarlet Letter by

Nathaniel Hawthorne 1340L

Jane Erye by

Charlotte Bronte 780L

Maus I: My Father Bleeds

History by Spiegelman NP

Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson

Story by Ben Carson 950L

All Over but the Shoutin' by

Rick Bragg 1160L

Pride and Prejudice

by Jane Austen 1100L

Hound of the Baskervilles by

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 1090L

Of Mice and Men by John

Steinbeck HL580L

Catch 22 by Joseph

Heller 1140L

*Lord of the Flies by William

Golding 770L

*Speak by Laurie Halse

Anderson 690L

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi

Picoult 840L

*I Know why the Caged Bird

Sings by Maya Angelou 1070L

The City of Ember by Jeanne

DuPrau 680L

Unwind by Neal Shusterman 740L

To Kill a Mockingbird by

Harper Lee 790L

Drama/Major Work Drama/Major Work Drama/Major Work Drama/Major Work

Romeo and Juliet by

Shakespeare NP Julius Ceasar NP The Crucible by Henry Miller NP Beowulf by N/A NP

The Odyseey by Homer NP

Macbeth by

Shakespeare NP

Hamlet by

Shakespeare NP

High School Protected Reading List Titles

*denotes a title whose content has been challenged due to a variety of reasons

Suggested Guidelines for Parent Objections to Literary Assignments:

Guiding Rule: Any student whose parent objects to the approved and assigned literature

will be given an alternate piece of approved literature, equal in approximated length and

complexity as possible, to read in its place.

National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) recommends: Schools should ensure

that the following principles are followed when a person files a complaint:

Complaints must be made in writing;

Complainants should identify themselves both by name/address, and by their

interest in the material (i.e., as a parent, student, religious leader, etc.)

Complainants must have read/seen the entire work to which (s)he objects;

The complaint must be specific about the reasons for the objection (i.e. calls upon

a broader knowledge or range of experience than students typically possess);

Complaints should request a specific remedy (i.e., an alternative assignment for

an individual, or removal/exclusion affecting the entire school community);

Complaints, standing alone, should never provide grounds for disciplining

teachers or librarians.

Would we want to post this for parents along with the other information on the site?

Five guidelines for evaluating whether or not a book in their child’s school warrants challenging:

1. Age appropriateness 2. Good taste 3. What are the educational goals/objectives and does the book achieve

them? 4. Is the book relevant to curriculum, standards of learning and programs

of instruction? 5. Is this book necessary?