SJHS Honors English Class Explores Elantris

Students at Springville Junior High School who participate in the Honors English class will read many different pieces of literature throughout the school year. The book they are currently reading called Elantris.

“In class, students researched Elantris, along with other titles, and then gave speeches on behalf of it as well as other books. When we finally voted, Elantris was one of the books selected,” said Mrs. Mary Rice, the Honor’s English teacher at SJHS. All the books that the students are going to read this year were selected by a democratic vote by the students at the beginning of the year. Research was done on these books beforehand so the students knew what to expect from the books.

After reading, the students and Mrs. Rice devote a day to class discussion. According to Mrs. Rice, the class doesn’t discuss superficial plot issues, but instead, make comments that will push forward the conversation in a critical-thinking style. The purpose of discussing the book is to locate a few salient ideas from the actual text and then unpack these ideas to learn new things. For example, the students discussed the different religions in Elantris and applied them to real life.

According to Mrs. Rice, the response to the book is good. Most people really enjoy Elantris. Savannah Skinner, a ninth-grade Honor’s English student, said, “Elantris is an incredibly interesting and complex book, it makes you think about how things work and society.”