The Landry New, by Andrew Clements, is a great example of a book that could inspire students to exhibit their own creativity. It tells the story of Cara Landry, a fifth-grader who happens to be put in the class of Mr. Larson, a teacher with a reputation for not really teaching. Cara is a journalist and seeks to find a way to give her thoughts and opinions, something she does by creating The Landry News. She grabs the attention of not only Mr. Larson and her class, but also the entire school, and her newspaper becomes more than just a simple class project. This book shows the heights to which even students can ascend to. It includes everything a good realistic fiction book should have: a believable story, driven action, a satisfying ending, and a good moral to take away from it all.
I have read a lot of realistic fiction throughout my years, but I was glad to come across a book that I had never heard of but which was just as exciting to read as all the books I read when I was a kid. Not only that, but this story felt like something more to me. I could identify with the main character, Cara Landry. She loved to learn and, when she couldn't get that from her teacher, took matters into her own hands. What resulted from that was that she got the teacher she wanted, the friends she needed, and the outlet that made her known in the class and the school. It also explored first amendment rights and the responsibility that both teacher and student have to the student's education.
This book could be used to create an interdisciplinary lesson that looked at both civil rights and journalism. I would use this as a chance to introduce proper journalism and maybe have my class create a class newspaper like the one created in this story. They could learn what it means to have to do the research, write the articles, and design and distribute the paper. Like Mr. Larson, I believe that a student's best teacher is sometimes the student himself. By reading a story that shows how possible that is, maybe my students would be able to see the talents that they have as well.
I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! ALSO I DID AN ANDREW CLEMENTS BOOK TOO! This is like the second time we have picked the same author btw. One time the 3rd grade Gifted teacher had surgery and neglected to leave lesson plans, so after a couple days of filler activities, they handed me this book and told me to start making lesson plans. I created this really awesome unit about journalism around this book and was teaching them the basics of news writing, but then the teacher came back and I didn't get to finish. I definitely plan on using this book to do a journalism unit in my class one time.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds great! I'm really curious about the First Amendment tie-in, because I think it soften something that's hard to bring down to a level kids can understand. I also love the idea that when she is not getting what she needs from her teacher, she doesn't just complain about it but finds a way to draw attention where it is needed. How inspiring!
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