My
Rationale for the Project
During
the 2004-2005 school year the seventh grade language arts curriculum
focused on the completion of an author study. The chosen author was
Gary Soto. This was, in my opinion, an appropriate choice for seventh
graders reading on or below grade level but very inappropriate for
students reading well above grade level. I felt it would not present
a challenge to the honor students. Therefore, I continued using Gary
Soto with my other classes but diverted to Arthur Conan Doyle for
my honors class.
Arthur
Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, offers students a chance
to study numerous stories involving the same characters. It allows
students the opportunity to observe character development, study an
author’s style and develop an understanding of story elements
while becoming familiar with the majority of an author’s work.
In my
teaching experience, I have found that too often students are only
provided the opportunity to read one book by an author. If they wish
to read another, they must seek out the book on their own. Rarely
on the middle school level do they have the opportunity to follow
the development of characters in a series of stories. This may be
due to a lack of resources and time constraints.
A problem
I have encountered trying to use the same author is the dramatic change
in the reading level of each book. In the past I have attempted to
use numerous stories by John Steinbeck but each of his stories vary
in their reading level. For example, students usually are able to
understand and enjoy "Of Mice and Men" but struggle greatly
with other Steinbeck novels such as "The Grapes of Wrath."
Arthur
Conan Doyle’s stories maintain the same reading level, follow
a similar pattern and use the same main characters throughout. This
provides higher level middle school readers with an opportunity to
explore character development, improve critical thinking skills, learn
new vocabulary, analyze style and participate in discussions about
a body of literary work. It ultimately leaves students with the knowledge
to participate in future discussions with the many others interested
in Holmes.
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