The classroom is enveloped in nothing but silence and the rustle of pages.
In the midst of a stressful school day, GT Humanities students are escaping to a fantasy world.
Freshmen enrolled in GT Humanities are participating in Literature Circles, in which they choose one of four books to read: Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, and The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.
“We’re reading different books that all have to do with culture. That’s kind of the big umbrella that connects all of them,” GT Humanities teacher Beth Evans said. “They’re all kind of also coming-of-age stories. It’s an opportunity to do literary analysis, but also read books that talk about culture, which is something that we’ve been working on throughout the year.”
Students then get into groups and collaborate on a few assignments. They will create large murals that visually represent themes and characters, and will also write an essay that responds to both the novel and their mural.
“I think it’s great, especially because they get to all talk about the books that they’re reading,” Evans said. “And for the mural project, the opportunity to work in groups makes it really good.”
Freshmen, such as Yukti Katti, have the opportunity to explore the English side of GT, which provides helpful preparation for the English I EOC.
“I feel like this project is important because it brings out the English side of GT Humanities, because everyone usually thinks of GT Humanities as AP World,” Katti said. “But freshmen have the English I EOC coming up, so I think it’s a pretty good review for comprehension, evidence/commentary, and just how to synthesize text.”
Freshman Ananya Yanne chose Purple Hibiscus and is excited to dive into the story.
“I chose Purple Hibiscus because I thought it would be really cool to learn about different cultures outside of the United States. Also, the main character is my age,” Yanne said. “I enjoy reading the most because it’s fun to read and annotate, and that’s like the main part.”
Students hope for the chance to participate in this project again.
“I do like reading, and I know that a lot of the schoolwork outside of school doesn’t usually allow you to read,” Katti said. “So the opportunity that we can do Lit Circles in school kind of gives me the capability to work with other people regarding a book.”
