A recent listserv member asked this question: “What core novels are your 5th graders reading at your school?” One of the answers was: “My 5th-grade team is using these oldies but goodies (in our district in CA there is no budget to replace classroom/grade level sets with new titles, sadly).”
Having seen the same thing (and taught it myself), I started thinking about solutions. While it is sad (and often true) that budget can drive our teaching choices, I wondered, “What can we do about that?” From there I jumped to how I teach teachers about TeachingBooks. I often ask, “What’s a title you always teach?” Usually, it’s a classic that’s been taught forever. I ask them to consider new resources for the same title—jazzing up the classics.
