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Course Description
Academic Year 2025-2026 • Grade 6 and above • Literature Sequence
The Thought Plickens: Learning to Think Critically
Sections and Teachers
Section 1:
Instructor: Alexandra Dascalu Nelson
Starts: September 2, 2025
Ends: May 30, 2026
Tuesday 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM ET • Thursday 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM ET
Tuition: $600.00
This class is primarily for students in 6th-8th grade. If you intend to take the Fairytales and Mythology class, it would be best to take that before Plickens.
The purpose of this class is to prepare students of a younger age group for the more intensive reading and critical thinking (i.e. the five paragraph essay) assignments of high school.
It will introduce the students to novels that have a deeper subtext, that are applicable to transitioning into their teenage years and in some cases an awareness to social structures in the world at large.
In addition to the aforementioned overarching concepts of the novel, there will be a focus on reading for details as well. Students are essentially being taught to be literary detectives - seeking out general plot themes and picking apart the minutiae of character, narrative and historical background.
Recommended background
Grade 6 (age 12) level reading ability.
Teacher's notes:
Attaining the reading material from your local library is highly encouraged!
Class schedules are flexible and can be altered from what is posted, as long as the proposed time/day change in possible for all students in the class.Please do not hesitate to contact the instructor to arrange class time.
Course reading list will be made up of partially required reading and then filled out with books tailored to the students reading and comprehension level.
Textbooks and Materials
This item is required:
A Wrinkle in Time [Edition or Version: 1], Authors: Madeleine L'Engle
ISBN: 9780312367541
Best sources: Barnes and Noble has a good edition: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wrinkle-in-time-madeleine-lengle/1100128524;jsessionid=FE7605EA2161C25678BF923948091267.prodny_store01-atgap05?ean=9780312367541
This item is required:
Anne of Green Gables , Authors: L.M. Montgomery Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell
ISBN: 055321313X
Best sources: Any edition from your local bookstore or library will do. Option for online search: thrift books, abebooks, powell's, better world bookstore, etc.
Other information: If possible there will be an online or PDF version available as well and posted to the website. If you are having trouble finding the edition, please contact me.
This item is required:
Ender's Game , Authors: Orson Scott Card
ISBN: 0812550702
Publisher's website: Ender's Game
Best sources: Any edition from your local bookstore or library will do. Option for online search: thrift books, abebooks, powell's, better world bookstore, etc.
Other information: This book will be assigned based on the students reading level and age.
This item is required:
Redwall [Edition or Version: 1], Authors: Brian Jacques
ISBN: 978-0-441-00548-2
Best sources: Any bookstore - this book is easily found. Suggestions include: Barnes and Nobles, Powell's Books, Penguin Random House.
This item is required:
The Jungle Books , Authors: Rudyard Kipling Publisher: Oxford World Classics
ISBN: 0199536457
Publisher's website: The Jungle Books
Best sources: Any edition from your local bookstore or library will do. Options for online search: thrift books, abebooks, powell's, better world bookstore, etc.
Other information: If possible there will be an online or PDF version available as well and posted to the website. If you are having trouble finding the edition, please contact me.
This item is required:
The Witch of Blackbird Pond , Authors: Elizabeth George Speare Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
ISBN: 0547550294
Best sources: Any edition from your local bookstore or library will do. Options for online search: thrift books, abebooks, powell's, better world bookstore, etc.
Other information: If possible there will be an online or PDF version available as well and posted to the website. If you are having trouble finding the edition, please contact me.
This item is required:
Treasure Island , Authors: Robert Louis Stevenson Publisher: Modern Library Classics
ISBN: 0375756825
Best sources: Any edition from your local bookstore or library will do. Option for online search: thrift books, abebooks, powell's, better world bookstore, etc.
Other information: If possible there will be an online or PDF version available as well and posted to the website. If you are having trouble finding the edition, please contact me.
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