This inquiry helps students understand current censorship efforts as played out in the past year’s unprecedented number of book bans. Students will examine commonly banned books and will evaluate why different groups–families, teachers, and politicians–argue those books should be banned. The performance tasks provide space for students to understand why people ban books and how students are taking action in response to book bans. Ultimately, the tasks provide students with evidence they can use to construct an argument in response to the compelling question, Why should I care about book bans?
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About the inquiry
Compelling Question
Why should I care about book bans?
Staging Question
Students generate a class list of their favorite books and respond to the question, Why are these books worth reading?
1
Supporting QuestionWhy are books frequently banned?
Formative TasksSort books into categories around why they are frequently banned.
SourcesSource A: Frequently Banned Books source set
2
Supporting QuestionWhat arguments are community members making for banning certain books?
Formative TasksCreate a list of claims community members are making to ban certain books.
SourcesSource A: A Texas lawmaker is targeting 850 books that he says could make students feel uneasy, NPR, 2021.
Source B: South Carolina police object to high-school reading list, The Guardian, 2018.
Source C: Oklahoma lawmaker introduces book-banning bill with $10,000-a-day penalty, The Hill, 2021.
3
Supporting QuestionHow are students taking action in response to book bans?
Formative TasksFill in an action/impact chart assessing how students took action in response to book bans.
SourcesSource A: Upset by book bans, teen starts forbidden book club in small Pa. town, The Washington Post, 2022.
Source B: During Banned Books Week, a school district wrestles with how to allow book challenges, New Hampshire Bulletin, 2022.
Source C: What Students Are Saying About Banning Books From School Libraries, The New York Times, 2022.
Summative Performance Task
Argument: Construct an argument addressing the compelling question–Why should I care about book bans?–using evidence from the sources.
Extension: Turn your argument into an editorial and address the question, What do we lose when we ban books?
Taking Informed Action
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