Book Recommendation

My unit with the ninth graders is centered around The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls' memoir. It's a GREAT book; I definitely recommend it for pleasure reading, but I would also recommend it for a classroom read. The "chapters" are nice and short, which is very ideal for assigning homework (our students get reading quizzes every day, so this book will help them remember the important details from each mini-chapter), and the details Walls includes provides a wonderful foundation for creative writing activities. :~)

I was dubious about teaching a book that isn't "tried and true," but I think the students will enjoy reading the story of a "real person."

Teachers in Time Inc Mags

Okay, in my other free time I will try and get you some good stuff for Merchant, Alex!

But for all of you guys... a nice way teachers are getting noticed in Time Magazine soon...
A Teacher-friend sent this to me from the Teachers Count site.

Time Inc. to unveil TeachersCount campaign
Next week at Time Inc. headquarters, the TeachersCount National Social Marketing Campaign will have its official launch. At this event, each of the current ads in the campaign will be formally unveiled in front of an audience consisting of the editors and publishers of Time Inc. magazines, representatives from TeachersCount and Jones New York In The Classroom, and members of the press. The tagline of the campaign is, "Behind every famous person is a fabulous teacher."

Each ad features a celebrity with his or her favorite teacher and a few inspiring words about teaching. Currently, the campaign includes the following individuals:
Laura Bush, First Lady, and Charlene Gnagy, her second grade teacher
Edie Falco, Emmy Award-winning actress, and Sandy Valerio, her high school music teacher
Marg Helgenberger, Emmy Award-winning actress, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Mariann vonRein, her English teacher
Virginia Madsen, Oscar-nominated actress, Sideways, and Suzanne Adams, her high school theater teacher
Jeremy Piven, Emmy Award-winning actor, Entourage, and Joyce Piven, his acting teacher and mother
John Sexton, President, New York University, and Charles Winans, his high school teacher and long-time friend
Tony Shalhoub, Emmy Award-winning actor, Monk, and Tom Power, his acting teacher
Michelle Snow, WNBA player, the Houston Comets, and John Alemany, her Spanish teacher
Bradley Whitford, Emmy Award-winning actor, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and David Ward, a high school teacher

As a result of this launch, the ads will start appearing throughout the Time Inc. family of magazines with great frequency, so keep your eyes open!

Help me!

I am doing The Merchant of Venice with my students this month. We are tying it into the course's overall theme of "Making a Choice; Making a Name." I am looking for some supplementary texts (short stories, poems, songs, etc.) that relate to making choices, individuality, Shakespeare, and The Merchant of Venice. If you know of anything, please let me know. All ideas are welcome. Thanks.