Project Introduction
In this class students looked at the history of censorship and asked: How prevalent is censorship in American society? How prevalent is it in our schools? Why are books challenged or banned? Can they ever be banned for the right reasons?
After exploring the basics of censorship, students read and discussed books that have been challenged or banned for a variety of reasons. As a class, we read the most challenged classic in the U.S.—To Kill a Mockingbird—and discussed its historical and presents instances of censorship. Students then read independent choice books. Titles included The Catcher in the Rye, If I Was Your Girl, In Cold Blood, and Long Way Down, among others. Students shared their knowledge with the public by creating a museum-style exhibit about their individual books as well as the significance and dangers of censorship.
Grade Level
High School (9-12)
Content Area(s)
English Language Arts, Social Studies
Graduation Expectation
Communication: Demonstrate organized and purposeful communication using a variety of media.
Instructors
Anthony Christiano and Alexandra Modica
Artifacts
To Kill a Mockingbird Reviews
To model critical engagement with a text, the class collectively read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. While reading, students answered probing questions about the structure, literary techniques, and content in the novel. They also participated in daily class discussions about the book. Readings were interspersed with lessons that gave the book historical context, including Jim Crow laws, the Scottsboro Boys, and Emmett Till. At the end of this portion of the class, students were asked to write a review of the book that included:
- A brief summary of the plot
- An identification of at least one case where the book was challenged
- An explanation showing understanding of the opposing perspectives of the challenge
- A personal response to the book’s challenges, including an opnion of whether To Kill a Mockingbird should have a place in an American school curriculum
Independent Book Exhibits
In the second half of the project studio, students chose individual books to read; the only requirement was that the book must have been challenged or banned in a school or library. A diverse set of books were represented, from classics like Of Mice and Men to contemporary Y.A. like Looking for Alaska to graphic novels like Hey, Kiddo. Students read at their own pace and kept reading logs to record their thoughts and observations. They were then asked to consider how they could visually present their book’s main theme while providing information about they book’s plot, characters, and history.
Final exhibition was held in the library, where students presented their work to an audience of teachers and staff. They introduced their books, gave their opinions on the validity of their books’ challenges, and answered audience questions. Displays were left in the library for other students to see, with the hope of encouraging everyone to read a banned book.
Student Reflections
Having to represent information visually makes you think deeply and critically about the content. We also live in a very visual world, so being able to create meaningful, clear visuals is important… Having us interpret the literary themes and put them in a visual format was both beneficial for us as students and the exhibition itself since it’s more appealing and interesting and made me think more deeply about the information in my book (Looking for Alaska).
Censorship is removal of content and culture, and it shouldn’t matter why censorship is proposed, it should not be allowed within a library, let alone a school. Censorship is denial of resources and impedes on the First Amendment of the nation’s citizens. Free access to information is important and removing resources can take away from a society’s culture.