Many people think English teachers are immune to reading slumps, but trust me, we are not. Four and a half years of college as an English major, reading sometimes five books at one time, took a serious toll on my love of reading, and I found myself in a slump. Reading had begun to feel like work, and I hadn't enjoyed the books I'd read in a long time. To get out of this reading slump, I had to read something mindless, occasionally trashy, and relatable, purely for entertainment purposes. Simply put, I needed a story to get lost in. Daniel Handler's Why We Broke Up details the break-up of high school students, Min Green and Ed Slaterton. In ongoing letters to Ed, Min explains to Ed why they broke up. The letter is accompanied by a box full of objects, each narrating the progress of their relationship and all leading up to why the pair broke up. The drawings and doodles are visually attractive and allow another opportunity for readers to see the heartbreak through Min's eyes. This book is not strictly for adolescents, attempting to navigate through puppy love, but anyone who has ever gone through a break-up can connect with the story.
ACT Prep
The ACT is still months away, but its' never too early to start preparing for it! All juniors will take the ACT at the end of February; the date is yet to be announced. Research suggests that students who score at or above the ACT benchmark skills have a higher chance of success outside of high school. Most colleges, technical schools, and scholarships require ACT scores for entrance, which makes doing well on the ACT important for any student who is considering college.
Click on the logo above to access the ACT Test website.
Click on the photograph above to access practice questions for the English portion of the ACT Test.
ACT Word of the Week
Digress (v.) leave the main subject temporarily in speech and writing