Grades 8–12
60+ Minutes
Memoir, PersuasiveSparksYour students will learn about the current trend of book bans in the United States and how to engage with nonfiction prompts.
Your students will produce an essay or personal story about why the freedom to read is important.
Why Is the Freedom to Read Important to You?
Last fall, at a time of rising book bans, The New York Public Library hosted a “Freedom to Read” writing contest, open to all teens across the country.
The winning essays are now featured in Teen Voices, a magazine from The New York Public Library. See the original prompt that inspired these powerful essays below:
You may want to consider the following: How have book bans affected you and how have you stood against them? How have books and reading shaped your identity? Why is it important in your community that we share the right to read freely? You don’t need to answer these questions—please feel free to interpret the prompt however you like.
Educator Note: Below are a few prompts to help students engage with this prompt. You may choose to focus on one prompt with your students, or to give students the option to choose.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
While book bans are on the rise across the United States, some teens may be relatively unfamiliar with the term or practice. Before you get started, ask students to share what they know about the topic, and if it has impacted them. You can also share the following, from The New York Public Library, to build collective understanding:
What Are Book Bans and Why Do They Matter?
Books are considered banned when they’re removed from a library’s collection after being challenged by a person or group. Book bans and challenges have reached an all-time high in the U.S., overwhelmingly targeting books for young adults written by or featuring LGBTQ+ people or people of color. Bans and challenges can also lead to “quiet censorship,” which occurs when books are not made available out of fear that they will be challenged.
Book bans matter because they silence perspectives, erase identities, and eliminate choice. Being able to read about different perspectives and experiences is essential to the free flow of ideas that’s at the heart of our democracy. In uniting against book bans and censorship in all forms, we champion intellectual freedom and the right of all voices to be heard.
For more information about NYPL’s Books for All initiative, including our Teen Banned Book Clubs, visit: nypl.org/booksforall.
Prompt 1: Engage with ALA’s Freedom to Read Statement
Prompt 2: Explore the Current State of Book Banning
Prompt 3: Reflect on How Books Have Shaped Your Identity
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