Banned Books (Bourassa)
Created by Stacy Kitsis, Arlington High School Librarian. Last updated: January 5, 2017.
Source: American Library Association.
Day Two
Your task is synthesis: visually organize the books according to the various reasons books are banned, looking for common themes, patterns, etc.
You have a choice of platforms and tools
Explain Everything (ask for an iPad)
Paper
Something completely different
Share out and reflection
Recommended Websites
What's the difference between banned and challenged books? Start here:
Banned book resources from the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom:
Bibliography of books books challenged, restricted, removed, or banned each year. This list is great for browsing:
Tip: Want to SEARCH this kind of content? Try a domain search on Google, which limits results to specific websites or domains. For example, try this:
"perks of being a wallflower" banned site:ala.org
Putting the name of the book in quotation marks will get you that exact phrase and you'll only get results from www.ala.org. Then try the same thing with www.ila.org, since these lists are hosted by both organizations.
Recommended Databases
Reminder: Download database passwords here or get them from library staff.
Books and Authors (Gale)
Search by title for brief summaries, awards, and reviews. Great source for more popular works, too. Tip: Pay attention to the source of the reviews.
Gale Literary Sources (Gale)
Literary criticism, reviews and news, and more. Tip: Search by Name of Work under Advanced Search to get fewer, more precise results.
General OneFile (Gale)
This periodical database is a good place to look for newspapers and magazine articles on possible challenges to your book as well as additional reviews. Tip: Put quotation marks around your title to search for that exact phrase.
Recommended Books
Check our library catalog for banned books, as well as works on the author and other related works. These two are great surveys of banned book cases:
Your Job
Day One
Sign up for banned books on the spreadsheet when directed to do so
Research each of your books using the resources in this pathfinder
Open the class Padlet wall
Make one note on the Padlet for each book including:
Title of the book and your name (first name and last initial)
1-2 well-developed, original sentences summarizing what the book is about
1-2 well-developed, original sentences summarizing why the book was banned or challenged
Add the cover of the book (use one if a series)
Look it up on Goodreads.com
Right click on the cover and select Copy Link Location
Click the link icon on your Padlet post and copy it in
Cite your sources on the sign-up spreadsheet (or as directed)
Search Tips
Use quotation marks to find complete phrases, especially proper names and titles.
"hunger games" or "of mice and men"
Combine keywords to get articles that match each of your important concepts.
vonnegut AND banned
mark twain AND challenge*
Note: In most of our databases, the asterisk means to include challenge, challenges, challenged, etc. This is called truncation.
Use a domain search to find your book title on specific websites.
"tango makes three" site:http://www.ila.org/BannedBooks/
"gossip girl" site:ala.org
Check your spelling. If you don't find anything on your topic, sloppy spelling may be to blame!
Citing Sources & Academic Integrity
Why cite sources? In addition to avoiding the consequences of plagiarism, cite sources to increase your own credibility, and because you are participating in an ongoing scholarly conversation. Your readers should be able to follow your sources, so they can join the dialogue.
For this assignment, use ready-made citations provided by our research databases and your subscription EasyBib EDU account (upgrade using our school coupon code for paid features!).
Other resources for citation and avoiding plagiarism:
Arlington High School Research Handbook
Created by Arlington High School teachers for Arlington High School students, this guide explains the research process and what will be expected of you.
Did You Know?
Did you know Arlington Public Schools has policies for handling book challenges? Now you do!
Stand Up For Your Right to Read
Source: American Library Association.
Questions, comments, concerns? Email me at skitsis@arlington.k12.ma.us.