Updated Recommended Text List
Originally, MAXCourage's curriculum included an extended series of novel study curricula structured around five middle-grade books with themes of courage, which teachers followed to get to the capstone Courage Essay. In 2019, in response to teachers' feedback and evolving pedagogical best practices, we began shifting our curriculum towards a more flexible model for implementation, acknowledging that no two students, teachers, or communities are the same, and one understands the unique needs and character of each participating classroom better than its teacher. Today, MAXCourage provides a lean, adaptable ELA and SEL curriculum that focuses on helping students understand the meaning of courage and successfully construct a personal narrative about courage in their lives, which can be paired with any texts teachers see fit.
For those seeking texts with themes of courage to pair with the capstone essay writing task, in 2022, MAXCourage released the first edition of its list of Recommended Texts for Teaching About Courage. With an eye toward increasing accessibility through multiple means of representation and expanding the diversity of authors and narratives we amplify, the list covers an expanse of genres and mediums, incorporating forms such as audio, film, and visual art alongside written narratives of varying lengths and literacy levels. We encourage teachers to select texts which hold up a mirror to the students’ identities and experiences and are culturally responsive to their unique group of learners, as well as texts which offer windows into lived experiences different from their students’ own.
We will continue to update and expand this resource —and if you have a story of courage that you think we should add, we welcome your recommendations! Email Program Director Molly McCafferty at molly@maxcourage.org to suggest a text for the next list.