{"id":81,"date":"2018-05-18T19:50:57","date_gmt":"2018-05-19T00:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.wordpress.com\/?p=72"},"modified":"2025-08-27T19:49:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T23:49:07","slug":"the-hate-u-give-the-most-important-book-i-ever-taught","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/the-hate-u-give-the-most-important-book-i-ever-taught\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hate U Give: The Most Important Book I Ever Taught"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I&rsquo;m not exaggerating when I say the book <em>The Hate U Give<\/em> changed my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> <strong>Before I<\/strong> <strong>taught <\/strong><em><strong>The Hate U Give<\/strong><\/em><strong> by Angie Thomas, I was bored.<\/strong> The curriculum bored me. My lessons bored me. My job bored me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This book changed all of that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>The Hate U Give<\/em> revolutionized my classroom, my teaching, my attitude, and it made a positive impact on my students as well.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I personally use and love, or think my readers will find useful.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/the-hate-u-give-the-most-important-book-i-ever-taught\/?tp_image_id=235\" data-pin-title=\"The Hate U Give: The Most Important Book I Ever Taught\" data-pin-description=\"Looking for an engaging book to teach that change everything for your classroom? Teaching The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas allowed me to try new things, connect with my students, and build better relationships. Click here to find out more about what makes The Hate U Give the most important book I ever taught. #itslitteaching #thehateugive #highschoolenglish #secondaryela\" data-pin-id=\"THUG: The Most Important Book I Ever Taught Pin 5\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"Pinterest pin for blog post from It's Lit Teaching: &quot;The Hate U Give: The Most Important Book I Ever Taught&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-235 lazyload\" style=\"width:300px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/THUG_-The-Most-Important-Pin-5-683x1024.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Book The Hate U Give Forced Me To Change My Approach<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Usually, I took the curriculum plan, mapped it out on a calendar, and plodded through required lessons. We read. We answered questions. I bullied my students into writing essay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>With <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0062498533\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0062498533&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=itslitteach05-20&amp;linkId=d083a23d016d504fabcbcd8fa7fc12bb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">The Hate U Give<\/a><\/em>, though, I had to change my approach.<\/strong> (I talk about some of the decisions I had to make and the new strategies I tried in <a href=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/implement-a-new-novel\/\">this post<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/The-Hate-U-Give-Reading-Journal-and-Workbook-3753261?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=THUG%3A%20The%20Most%20Important\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-nopin=\"nopin\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/the-hate-u-give-the-most-important-book-i-ever-taught\/?tp_image_id=2361\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"Teachers Pay Teachers Product Cover: Reading Journal and Workbook for The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas\" class=\"wp-image-2361 lazyload\" style=\"width:190px;height:190px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Slide1-14.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This reading journal contains the writing prompts I used with my students. They give students several writing options and include easy-to-grade rubrics. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This novel was so new, that there were no resources out there. There were no textbooks, no abridged version, no help in teaching it. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>That meant that I was also going to have to create all of my teaching materials from scratch<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This was a totally new approach for me. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before, I had assembled units from Teachers Pay Teachers sellers or old curriculum documents. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> <\/span>Now I was going to have to get creative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>I created my <em>The Hate U Give<\/em> book unit for<em> my students<\/em>.<\/strong> <\/span>I designed everything&ndash;from the design to the worksheets to the topics we discussed&ndash;to intrigue and engage the students I was working with at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>My whole unit became about adapting to my students&ndash;a strategy far more successful than trying to adapt my students to the curriculum.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I made sure the writing was short because they needed the practice but didn&rsquo;t have the attention span.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I included coloring sheets and creative activities because I had artistic students that <em>needed<\/em> to doodle while they listened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the first day of the quarter, I played Tupac as students entered. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As they walked in, I handed them a bag of unit supplies, telling them it was their gift (and it was&ndash;all of my students got to keep <a aria-label=\"their copy of The Hate U Give! (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas\/dp\/0062498533\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1573402658&amp;sr=8-1&amp;linkCode=ll1&amp;tag=itslitteach05-20&amp;linkId=2f300de7714312429184723f8a0995ba&amp;language=en_US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">their copy of <\/a><\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a aria-label=\"their copy of The Hate U Give! (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas\/dp\/0062498533\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1573402658&amp;sr=8-1&amp;linkCode=ll1&amp;tag=itslitteach05-20&amp;linkId=2f300de7714312429184723f8a0995ba&amp;language=en_US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Hate U Give<\/a><\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a aria-label=\"their copy of The Hate U Give! (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas\/dp\/0062498533\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1573402658&amp;sr=8-1&amp;linkCode=ll1&amp;tag=itslitteach05-20&amp;linkId=2f300de7714312429184723f8a0995ba&amp;language=en_US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">!<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot of my students don&rsquo;t have books at home; I thought they would enjoy having a copy that was just theirs. And they did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&ldquo;We get to keep these?&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When students dug into their bags and found the reading journals, I hear even more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&ldquo;These are cute!&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Book The Hate U Give Forced Me to Try New Assessments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This is a book that students will <\/strong><em><strong>need<\/strong><\/em><strong> to talk about. <\/strong>They&rsquo;ll have a lot to say. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/The-Hate-U-Give-Discussion-Assignment-3818318?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=THUG%3A%20The%20Most%20Important\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-nopin=\"nopin\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/the-hate-u-give-the-most-important-book-i-ever-taught\/?tp_image_id=2591\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"Teachers Pay Teachers Product Cover: The Hate U Give Discussion Assignment\" class=\"wp-image-2591 lazyload\" style=\"width:234px;height:234px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Slide1-14.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The materials for the discussion\/conversation cafe we did at the end of the unit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>A traditional essay just didn&rsquo;t feel powerful enough. So I threw it out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, our summative assessment became a conversation cafe, something I had never done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we read, there were no comprehension questions to answer. We didn&rsquo;t take notes on textual evidence or fill out graphic organizers. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Instead, <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>I gave the students the five essential questions t<\/strong><\/span><strong>o answer<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong> during their formal discussion<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we discovered a passage, a quote, or an example that related to one of the topics, they highlighted it in the coordinating color associated with that thematic idea. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every now and then, I flipped through their novels to make sure that student were keeping it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(You can read more about how we did that <a href=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/how-to-close-read-a-whole-novel-with-student-of-any-skill-level\/\">here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I didn&rsquo;t do anything the traditional way with this novel. <strong>It forced me to teach outside of my comfort zone. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"ml-embedded\" data-form=\"kQfVjV\"><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My Students Wrote More<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Because we didn&rsquo;t do a big essay, I had students answer a writing prompt every week. S<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tudents were able to choose a question from 3-4 possibilities.  <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because they cared about the material (and because I graded each piece of writing like a test), they worked hard. <strong>They went back and revised when they failed.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I even overheard two students discussing ways to avoid run-on sentences in their writing!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The shorter, but more frequent, writing exercises gave me more opportunities to provide specific feedback. It also gave my students more attempts to improve their writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By the time we finish the book <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0062498533\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0062498533&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=itslitteach05-20&amp;linkId=d083a23d016d504fabcbcd8fa7fc12bb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">The Hate U Give<\/a><\/em>, my students&rsquo; abilities to use claims<a href=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/cerwriting\/\">, evidence, and reasoning<\/a> in their writing always dramatically improve. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/the-hate-u-give-the-most-important-book-i-ever-taught\/?tp_image_id=237\" data-pin-title=\"The Hate U Give: The Most Important Book I Ever Taught\" data-pin-description=\"Ready to get students engaged, inspired, and excited? Teaching The Hate U Give turned a boring classroom into an exciting place. It woke me up from a career that had become boring and routine. Find out why this novel has been the most important book I ever taught and how it can benefit you and your students too! #itslitteaching #thehateugive #highschoolenglish #secondaryela\" data-pin-id=\"THUG: The Most Important Book Pin 4\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"Pinterest pin for blog post from It's Lit Teaching: &quot;The Hate U Give: The Most Important Book I Ever Taught&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-237 lazyload\" style=\"width:300px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/THUG_-The-Most-Important-Pin-4-683x1024.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Book <em>The Hate U Give<\/em> Made Connections Between People<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Toward the end of the unit, one of my best and most engaged students showed up without her book<\/span>.<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">  <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My heart melted,<\/span> though,<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> when she told me why. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Black-Lives-Matter-Social-Justice-Lit-Circle-Unit-Bundle-6363221?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=THUG%3A%20The%20Most%20Important%20Book\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-nopin=\"nopin\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/the-hate-u-give-the-most-important-book-i-ever-taught\/?tp_image_id=3353\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"Teachers Pay Teachers Cover for It's Lit Teaching resource: Black Lives Matter Social Justice Lit Circle Bundle\" class=\"wp-image-3353 lazyload\" style=\"width:203px;height:203px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Slide1-1.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this literature circle unit, students will choose between three Black Lives Matter movement-inspired novels: The Hate U Give, Dear Martin, or All American Boys. As students read, they&rsquo;ll also prepare a social justice speech. Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Black-Lives-Matter-Social-Justice-Lit-Circle-Unit-Bundle-6363221?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=THUG%3A%20The%20Most%20Important%20Book\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here <\/a>to learn more!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>S<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">he had already made her sister read the book (who finished it in two days). So then her mom had stolen it that morning to read, so she could discuss it with her daughters. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I almost teared up while handing that student a backup book. <strong>A family was reading and talking together because of what we were doing in my classroom. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Word spread through the building about my &ldquo;innovative&rdquo; unit as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My colleagues were asking for copies of this new book. They were reading it and carrying it around the halls, which prompted conversations between students and staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> Every week, I heard a new story of a staff member and a student stopping to discuss the text!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"The Hate U Give book (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas\/dp\/0062498533\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1573402658&amp;sr=8-1&amp;linkCode=ll1&amp;tag=itslitteach05-20&amp;linkId=2f300de7714312429184723f8a0995ba&amp;language=en_US\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>The Hate U Give<\/strong><\/a><\/em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"The Hate U Give book (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas\/dp\/0062498533\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1573402658&amp;sr=8-1&amp;linkCode=ll1&amp;tag=itslitteach05-20&amp;linkId=2f300de7714312429184723f8a0995ba&amp;language=en_US\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> book<\/strong><\/a><strong> gave staff and students a way to connect and build relationships. <\/strong>Students would approach adults they saw carrying the book and begin a conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At our final summative discussion, staff members and my students spoke about our big essential questions. Both my colleagues and my students loved the experience. They all said that time flew by and that they could have kept talking even longer!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/the-hate-u-give-the-most-important-book-i-ever-taught\/?tp_image_id=352\" data-pin-title=\"The Hate U Give: The Most Important Book I Ever Taught\" data-pin-description=\"Bitter, bored, and burnt out of teaching? I was too before I taught Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give. This novel shook up my curriculum and my students in the best way possible! Find out more about how The Hate U Give can revolutionize your classroom too inside this post. #itslitteaching #thehateugive #highschoolenglish #secondaryela\" data-pin-id=\"THUG: The Most Important Book Pin 6\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"Pinterest pin for blog post from It's Lit Teaching: &quot;The Hate U Give: The Most Important Book I Ever Taught&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-352 lazyload\" style=\"width:300px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/THUG_-The-Most-Important-Pin-6-683x1024.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Hate U Give: Why It&rsquo;s the Most Important Book I Ever Taught<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We get so caught up in a curriculum, paperwork, standards, and observations that we often lose the magic of literature; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a aria-label=\"The Hate U Give (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas\/dp\/0062498533\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1573402658&amp;sr=8-1&amp;linkCode=ll1&amp;tag=itslitteach05-20&amp;linkId=2f300de7714312429184723f8a0995ba&amp;language=en_US\" target=\"_blank\">The Hate U Give<\/a><\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> brought it back to my class. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The book <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0062498533\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0062498533&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=itslitteach05-20&amp;linkId=d083a23d016d504fabcbcd8fa7fc12bb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">The Hate U Give<\/a><\/em> made my students <em>want <\/em>to read<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On days that <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">we didn&rsquo;t read, my students were disappointed. They spoke to each other about the book, ribbing each other when one was absent and missed juicy bits. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For a school full of at-risk, trauma-sensitive teens who are mostly all behind grade level, that&rsquo;s huge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"The Hate U Give  (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas\/dp\/0062498533\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1573402658&amp;sr=8-1&amp;linkCode=ll1&amp;tag=itslitteach05-20&amp;linkId=2f300de7714312429184723f8a0995ba&amp;language=en_US\" target=\"_blank\">The Hate U Give<\/a><\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"The Hate U Give  (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas\/dp\/0062498533\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1573402658&amp;sr=8-1&amp;linkCode=ll1&amp;tag=itslitteach05-20&amp;linkId=2f300de7714312429184723f8a0995ba&amp;language=en_US\" target=\"_blank\"> <\/a>revolutionized my classroom because it reminded me of every reason I ever thought I should teach. <a href=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/why-i-love-teaching-young-adult-literature\/\">It showed my kids that they actually liked reading, as long as it was the right book. <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I don&rsquo;t know if <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"The Hate U Give (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas\/dp\/0062498533\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1573402658&amp;sr=8-1&amp;linkCode=ll1&amp;tag=itslitteach05-20&amp;linkId=2f300de7714312429184723f8a0995ba&amp;language=en_US\" target=\"_blank\">The Hate U Give<\/a> <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is for every classroom. <a href=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/cant-teach-the-hate-u-give\/\">Maybe it&rsquo;s not for yours.<\/a> But I highly encourage you to <a href=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/is-dear-martin-the-right-novel-for-your-class\/\">find out that book that does spark something within you<\/a> and your students. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Having the right novel brought my classroom together.<\/strong> It helped our culture and pushed my students to try harder in every other aspect of the class. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Going forward, I&rsquo;m going to work harder to find more &ldquo;lit literature&rdquo; like this&ndash;contemporary, important pieces in which my students can see themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Want to incorporate <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas\/dp\/0062498533\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1573402658&amp;sr=8-1&amp;linkCode=ll1&amp;tag=itslitteach05-20&amp;linkId=2f300de7714312429184723f8a0995ba&amp;language=en_US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"The Hate U Give (opens in a new tab)\">The Hate U Give<\/a><\/em> into your class? Snag all of the resources I created here!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/The-Hate-U-Give-Whole-Unit-Bundle-3856971?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=THUG%3A%20The%20Most%20Important\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/the-hate-u-give-the-most-important-book-i-ever-taught\/?tp_image_id=2362\" data-pin-nopin=\"nopin\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"Teachers Pay Teachers Product Cover: Unit Bundle for The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas\" class=\"wp-image-2362 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Slide1-13.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Here you can find the whole unit I use every time I teach this novel! It has been tried-and-true through several semesters of students!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We get so caught up in a curriculum, paperwork, standards, and observations that we often lose the magic of literature; The Hate U Give brought it back to my class.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[339],"tags":[24,26,29,44,45,46,49,50,60,66,69,72],"class_list":["post-81","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-literature","tag-book","tag-classroom","tag-connections","tag-lit","tag-lit-literature","tag-literature","tag-novel","tag-novel-study","tag-strategies","tag-teaching","tag-the-hate-u-give","tag-thug"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Hate U Give: The Most Important Book I Ever Taught - It&#039;s Lit Teaching<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Prior to teaching the book The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, I was getting pretty bored with teaching. 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