To: Michael Green Superintendent of Woodland School District
Text Adoption Recommendation:
The Text Adoption Committee would like to recommend adoption of one for high school English novel and a Psychology textbook.
The Art of Racing in the Rain– A heart-wrenching, but also, humorous story of family love, loyalty and hope –a look at the wonders and absurdities of human life…as only a dog could tell it. The novel will be used by Heather Gordon as part of American Literature in 11th grade English. The Art of Racing in the Rain provides text complexity that will help me teach to the Common Core. Students will need to dig in the text, re-read, re-think, and analyze closely to uncover understanding of the narrator, the story, and the history and values of characters. As a contemporary novel, this book offers opportunities for students to apply its conflicts to their own experiences and future goals. More generally, students who study literature are supposed to become familiar with various literary styles. This novel introduces them to a common, contemporary story-writing style. The author uses an unusual point of view, irregular chapter forms, and a non-chronological story line in his work. No other novel they currently read during high school does this. Lastly, the novel models a clear and precise prose writing style that provides an effective guide for students and their writing.
Psychology A Concise Introduction– This text introduces and explores the broad territory of the introductory to psychology. This text would be used by Kristie Stevens in the Advanced Placement Psychology Course. The course objectives as laid out by the College Board include the following: that students are exposed to the psychological facts, principles, and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields within psychology. They also learn about the ethics and methods psychologists use in their science and practice. This text addresses the all of the psychological subfields as laid out in College Board’s prescribed curriculum and provides background on ethics and methods in a way that easy for students to digest and understand.
Asha Riley
Director of Learning