Navigating the reality of school shootings with adolescents through middle grade novels

Abstract

Personally and professionally, the author shares experiences with school safety and how the English Language Arts (ELA) classroom may utilize middle grade novels to address gun violence with adolescents. Highlighting five middle grade novels that address school shootings—Katherine Erskine's (2011) Mockingbird, Emily Barth Isler's (2021) Aftermath, J. S. Puller's (2022) The Lost Things Club, Jasmine Warga's (2022) The Shape of Thunder, and Erin Bow's (2023) Simon Sort of Says, this discussion provides ELA teachers and stakeholders with before, during, and after reading prompts to facilitate students' engagement with the topic through ELA tasks that support critical thinking and open dialog.