On My Bookshelf: The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz

Basic plot from Amazon: Fourteen-year-old Joan Skraggs, just like the heroines in her beloved novels, yearns for real life and true love. But what hope is there for adventure, beauty, or art on a hardscrabble farm in Pennsylvania where the work never ends? Over the summer of 1911, Joan pours her heart out into her diary as she seeks a new, better life for herself—because maybe, just maybe, a hired girl cleaning and cooking for six dollars a week can become what a farm girl could only dream of—a woman with a future. Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz relates Joan’s journey from the muck of the chicken coop to the comforts of a society household in Baltimore (Electricity! Carpet sweepers! Sending out the laundry!), taking readers on an exploration of feminism and housework; religion and literature; love and loyalty; cats, hats, and bunions.

Why I liked it: The Hired Girl's central character, Joan is one you are constantly rooting for, that is when you are not shaking your head at her. At the age of 14, things look bleak for Joan. She can no longer attend school, as her mother is dead and she must keep house for her father and brothers. When she tries to take a stand for her rights as the woman of the house, her father punishes her by burning her books, taking away her only respite from her hard life. But Joan is headstrong and determined not to be ruled by her father, so she decides that she will leave home using the little money her mother left for her. I found myself comparing my own life at the age of fourteen to Joan's and being very thankful that I was not born in the early 1900s.

Joan takes the train from her Pennsylvania farm, stopping briefly in Philadelphia (I love any mention of my home city!), and ends her travels in Baltimore where she hopes to find work. But amazingly, and this is where the head shaking begins, that is the extent of Joan's plans. She would have spent her first night in Baltimore sleeping in a park if not for the kindness of a stranger, Solly Rosenbach, whose family gives her a place to stay and employs her as the help to their aging housekeeper. because she is so tall, Joan lies about her age to the Rosenbachs, which once they discover the truth, explains much of her "misbehavior" and childish impulses. Joan is eager to please and often meddles in the family's affairs, ending up in over her head. Each chapter, formatted as a diary entry, is a roller coaster of emotions which leaves you wondering what Joan will get into next.

Classroom application: While all of the characters are fictional, the details of the setting and time period are not. During or after reading the novel, students could research what life was like in 1911 in their city or town. Using The Hired Girl as a mentor text, students could then create characters and write diary entries from their perspectives based on their research. Students could also research how children's and women's rights have changed over time.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of The Hired Girl for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here. 

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

#2ndaryELA Twitter Chat Topic: Differentiation in the ELA Classroom

Brynn Allison, The Literary Maven & Kristy, 2 Peas and a Dog are hosting #2ndaryELA on Twitter every Tuesday evening from 8 - 8:30 PM EST. #2ndaryELA is a weekly chat for secondary English Language Arts teachers focused on a topic. Every Sunday, we will post the topic and questions on our blogs to allow you to prepare for the upcoming Tuesday evening's chat. Thank you to everyone who joined us last week and we hope that you will join us again.

Looking for the recap? Click on the image below.

New in 2016 is our 2ndaryELA Facebook group, which we would love to have you join even if you aren't on Twitter. 2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. This group is an extension of our Twitter chat and a place for collaboration, questions, and encouragement. Feel free to post teaching ideas, success stories, resource links, photos, etc. that will enhance our instruction.

On Tuesday, March 29, our #2ndaryELA chat will focus on differentiation in the ELA classroom.

The Format:
8:00 Intros: What and where do you teach? Include a link to your blog if you have one. #2ndaryELA
8:05 Q1: How do you differentiate reading to meet all learners’ needs? #2ndaryELA
8:10 Q2: How do you differentiate writing to meet all learners’ needs? #2ndaryELA
8:15 Q3: What role does choice play in differentiation in your classroom? #2ndaryELA
8:20 Q4: What differentiation tool or strategy do you find the most effective? Why? #2ndaryELA
8:25 Q5: Share any differentiation strategies, resources, or lessons that you love. #2ndaryELA

The Directions:
1. Log into Twitter on Tuesday from 8-8:30 PM EST.
2. Search for tweets with the hashtag #2ndaryELA in the search bar. Make sure to click “All tweets.”
3. Introductions are for the first 5 minutes.
4. Starting at 8:05 (@literarymaven or @2peasandadog) will post questions every 5 minutes using the format Q1, Q2, Q3, etc. and the hashtag #2ndaryELA.
5. Respond to questions using the format A1, A2, A3, etc. with #2ndaryELA.
6. Follow any teachers responding and who are also using #2ndaryELA.
7. Like and respond to other teachers' tweets.

You can schedule your responses to the questions ahead of time using a scheduler like TweetDeck or HootSuite (but don't forget to use A1, A2, etc. and #2ndaryELA). Links are encouraged, so be sure to use a link shortener like tinyurl, bitly, goo.gl or ow.ly Just visit one of those links and paste your long link to shorten it for Twitter. Using images is also encouraged when relevant.

New to chats? Here are the rules:
1. Stay on topic & stay positive!
2. Please do not post or promote paid products unless specifically asked.
3. If you arrive late, try to look through other posts before beginning.
4. Feel free to just read, like, and/or retweet.
5. Always use our hashtag #2ndaryELA, including in your replies to others.
6. Make sure your twitter feed is set to public. (Also keep in mind that Twitter is completely public – that means students, parents, and administrators can and will read what you tweet.)

Be sure to spread the word to any teacher friends who might be interested in joining us as well. We look forward to chatting with you Tuesday evening and in our 2ndaryELA Facebook group!

Get caught up on past chats here: