Featured Texts

Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper
Andy Jackson drives under the influence and crashes his car, killing the star player of the basketball team and his best friend, Robert Washington. Andy must find a way to deal with his grief, guilt, and pain.

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Jerry Renault takes on a dare by his school’s secret society known as The Vigils, when he is asked to resist selling chocolates for the annual Trinity School fundraiser.

Ms. Hernandez selected the novel Tears of a Tiger for this lesson, which focuses on adolescent conflicts of peer pressure, responsibility and consequences for actions, and drinking and driving. The Chocolate War was previously read by the class, which contains similar adolescent conflicts and themes.