Niagara University faculty who teach first-year students are encouraged to integrate the freshman summer reading book into their courses, where appropriate.  This can provide students with a fuller and more meaningful experience with the book.  This page provides some resources to help instructors find ideas for using the book in their courses.

Useful Resources

• Links to sites related to this year's book, including educational and informational materials.
• Links to discussion questions about the book that have been used in other locations.
  • Reading Group Guides: The Things They Carried
  • Discussion Questions about The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
  • Questions for The Things They Carried

Ways that Instructors Have Used Previous Niagara Reads Books in Their Classes

The Niagara Reads committee wishes to recognize these instructors who used The Kite Runner, the 2007 selection, in their courses.

• In the NUOP Summer Program, Sharon Green guided students as they read The Kite Runner for LSK 096, “Introduction to College Reading.” Students took four comprehension tests and four vocabulary tests on the book. In LSK 097, “Introduction to College Writing,“ Heather McEntarfer asked students to research topics related The Kite Runner. Students summarized their research on posters, which they presented to the campus community. In the fall, the posters were displayed in Dunleavy Hall and St. Vincent’s Hall.
• In his REL 101 class, Father Joseph Hubbert required students to write a two-page essay on the concept of religion in The Kite Runner. In addition, he integrated The Kite Runner in his discussion of Islam.
• Sharon Green and Virginia Pasceri culled a list several hundred vocabulary words from The Kite Runner, which they taught for the first four weeks of LSK 045.

The Niagara Reads committee also wishes to recognize these instructors who used Escape From Slavery, the 2006 selection, in their courses.

• In the NUOP Summer Program writing course, Dr. Rita Pollard asked students to research other forms of 21st -century slavery.  Students prepared posters summarizing their research, and then presented their research to the campus community in July.
• WRT 100 instructor Anna Luce required a 4-5 paper on Escape From Slavery, and she strongly encouraged her students to enter the Niagara Reads contest.  Two of the three contest winners were her students.
• In October, CRL 101 instructors Heather McEntarfer and Sharon Green took their students to the library for research instruction by Jonathan Coe.  Their students had to locate two articles on either a topic related to course readings or on any aspect of 21st-century slavery.
• In October, Dr. Joseph Little asked students in his ENG 231 (“Business Communication”) course to recommend books for future Niagara Reads programs, via an informal written report and a brief oral presentation.  He invited Niagara Reads committee members to attend the presentations in his class.
• Dr. Jennifer Morrison offered her students in her WRT 100 class extra credit if they entered the NU Reads contest.  Two of her students entered.
• Sharon Green culled a list of 90 words from Escape From Slavery for her LSK 045 students, who had to define unfamiliar words on the list.