Most language arts courses require students to read at least one novel that the teacher or school has chosen. Usually, the students in a class will read the novel together during the same month or semester, and they will discuss the novel’s characters, conflicts, and themes at some point. Have you ever been required to read a novel for school that you know or think was a classic? Or have all the novels you’ve read been examples of young adult literature?
Locate the file you created for the previous lesson to store this module’s journal assignments. Copy and paste the prompt below into the document (after the previous journal), and label the entry with this lesson’s title. Then type a response to each question.
- Think back to a novel you were required to read last year. Was it classic literature or a book written for young adults? Explain your answer, listing features of the novel that help you identify it as classic or young adult literature.
- What themes were developed in the novel you were required to read? Would the novel’s themes be considered timeless? (Are they just as relevant today as when the novel was written?) Will they be just as relevant 50 years from now? What makes the novel’s themes timeless or not timeless?