5 Reasons Your High School Students Need to Read Audacity, by Melanie Crowder, NOW

Last week I picked up a young-adult novel and didn't put it down until I finished it four hours later.  This is not normal for me.  But neither is the book.

Audacity, by Melanie Crowder, incorporates everything I love about literature into a relevant novel for teenagers.  Here are five reasons your high-school students need to read this novel today:

1.  Relevant Themes of Courage, Difficult Decisions, and Standing Up for Others

Although this novel is set in the early twentieth century, its themes are spot-on for teenagers in 2015.  Clara, the protagonist, continually pushes herself out of her comfort zone -- even giving up some of her own dreams -- in order to speak out against her co-workers' mistreatment and inequality in the workplace.  These themes spawn excellent discussion questions:  "Which is more important -- the process or the outcome?"  "Who or what has the greatest influence on the decisions you make?"  "Which factors can hold people back from pursuing their dreams?"  The possibilities are endless.

2.  Free Verse

This may initially deter some young readers, but Crowder's free-verse writing style is perfect for teenagers with short attention spans.  Each "chapter" takes only one-three minutes to read, which helps readers find the main point quickly and accurately.  Besides, many teenagers have little to no experience with modern poetry, and Audacity provides an excellent example of this writing style without the seemingly irrelevant subject matter of some older authors.

3.  Stunning Figurative Language

I have never been this blown away by an author's use of crisp, clean imagery.  Both physical and abstract images came to life as I read Crowder's verses, and the many similes and metaphors stopped me in my tracks -- I had to re-read many lines simply because they were too good to read just once!  For students learning figurative language in the classroom, this novel can provide excellent examples of integrated literary devices.

4.  Historical Context

Equality can be difficult to discuss in many classrooms with its heated debates and current events.  Audacity's early twentieth-century setting helps to place distance between its events and students' emotions, while still addressing this sensitive issue.  Clara Lemlich, the novel's protagonist, was a real-life women's-rights activist, and this novel gives students a better picture of her life and mission as they wrestle with the complications of equality today.

5.  Female Protagonist

Clara Lemlich is one of the greatest female role models of the early twentieth century, but her courage and selflessness are worthy of emulation by both male and female teenagers. Let's hear it for powerful women of history!

I loved this book more than I have loved a book in a long time, and I am so excited that books of this quality are still being added to the market.  Have you read the book?  Let me know what you thought in the comments section below!

3 Ways to Make Vocabulary Instruction Fun

"Are we playing vocab games today?"
"Hey, can we do vocab today?"
"We're doing vocab!  Yes!"

I love hearing these comments and questions shouted back and forth as my teen-aged students trickle through my classroom door.  In a texting age in which numbers stand for words and one letter can substitute for an entire sentence ("k?"), vocabulary instruction matters now more than ever.  Years ago, I had wonderful high-school English teachers who made class fun with games and activities that we teenagers couldn't resist.  When I finally had my own classroom and my own English classes, I knew that I would do whatever it took to make the English language -- and especially its vocabulary -- even more fun to learn for today's teenagers.  

Here are some of my teens' favorite vocabulary review games:

1.  Vocabulary Charades

My students and I get a lot of laughs with this fun and hilarious game.  Typically, I split up my class into two teams, and each team takes a turn sending up one contestant.  I give the contestant a vocabulary word from our most recent list, and then I set the timer for 30 seconds.  Believe me, when a class sees their friend jumping around on one foot with a box of tissues on her head, they won't forget the anomaly for quite some time!

2.  Slap the Bucket

For classrooms with a high kinesthic-learner rate, this game is almost necessary!  I take my class to they gym (or outside if the weather is irresistible) and have my kids line up around the half-court lines.  I plop a bucket in the middle of the floor and call out a definition from our most recent vocabulary list.  Whoever can run to the bucket, slap it, and yell out the correct word first wins a point for his team!  This game may not explore the words in their context, but a little healthy repetition goes a long way if it's paired with other quality activities.  Even my most distracted students stay focused when I give them this athletic outlet!

3.  Vocab Pictionary

My visual learners love expressing their vocabulary words with pictures.  I often assign vocabulary cartoons, vocabulary posters, and other fun projects of the like, but Vocab Pictionary carries extra intensity for those with a competitive streak.  Again I split the class into two teams and allow the teams to take turns sending up a contestant.  The team gets 30 seconds to guess the vocab word behind its contestant's picture, and again the results leave a lasting impression.

After implementing these and many other vocabulary activities in my classroom, I was pleased, amazed, and impressed to discover that my students' vocabulary-quiz grades almost always averaged higher than 90% as a class.  I certainly can't take credit for their intelligence and creativity, but I do like to think that someday as they sit in their college dorm room, trying to find that perfect word for their impending term paper, they will remember that kid jumping up and down with the tissue box -- and smile.


Find More of My Vocab Games Here!

Make the dictionary come alive with fun for every learning style!