Remember the days when your high school English teacher would select a fiction title for the entire class and everyone read the same book? Well, things have changed. Now students studying for NCEA English have a wide range of reading options available and are able to choose books that interest them – within reason.
It is the ‘within reason’ proviso that can cause confusion for students, parents and librarians. However, don’t despair. There’s plenty of help available to ensure students find a book they will enjoy while also meeting NZQA criteria.
Christchurch City Libraries’ Pulse website contains up-to-date information about studying for NCEA English, including booklists. Here you’ll find links to quality on-line dictionaries and databases, study guides, information about authors and eBook and audio book sites.
- The Golden Bay High School Wiki lists titles within Level 1-3 categories, Year 11-13 groups, Short Stories and Themes.
- The School Library Association of New Zealand (SLANZA) has an extensive page of booklists divided by wide reading themes.
- Dunedin Public Libraries’ Independent Reading pages lists titles under headings such as Cultural Perspectives, Biographies, and Dysfunctional Families. So, there’s no need to panic next time a student asks for an award winning book.
These sites list recommended titles only and students should always check with their teachers before making a final selection, but it’s great to know there is somewhere to start when opening a window into a world of reading possibilities for teen readers. When I look at some of the titles I almost wish I could head back to school again!
Christchurch City Libraries Blog 
One day we went with the teacher into the storeroom of “Class Texts” – what a treasure trove. That’s how we first got our hands on 1984…he thought we would have no interest. I am grateful to some of my secondary school teachers for their selections for compulsory reads (e.g. Grapes of Wrath, The Power and the Glory, The Rainbow) but I can never forgive them for others (e.g. Pickwick Papers and some stupid book where a ship was at sea in a storm and they spent most of the book pouring oil down the toilets to calm the waves..) What gems have others had “forced” on them at school?
We had to read Steinbeck, which I quite enjoyed, and Graham Greene’s The power and the glory. We also had a book where we all took turns reading chapters aloud. Set in World War II, some young fellows were on the run from the Germans. There were gun battles and motorbikes … I got to read out the chapter where the main character, David, found a bar of soap and washed for the first time in ages. Three or four pages of excruciating description followed as every part of David was examined and scrubbed. Highly embarrassing!