The Unteachables

• Genre: Fiction; realistic middle grade
• Originally Published: 2019
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 740L; grades 3-7
• Structure/Length: 32 chapters; approx. 304 pages; approx. 6 hours on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: When Kiana Roubini enters Mr. Kermit’s middle school class, neither could imagine the twists the school year would take. Kiana excels, and she and the rest of the class begin to like their teacher. When they discover the superintendent is trying to fire him, they make it their mission to save his job.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues:  Learning differences; learning labels

Gordon Korman, Author

• Bio: Born in 1963 in Montreal, Quebec; earned BFA from New York University; wrote This Can’t Be Happening at McDonald Hall when he was 12 years old; before he graduated high school, 5 of his books were published; several of his books were adapted for TV; at age 17, won the Air Canada Award for promising authors; won multiple ALA awards; has written over 100 books
• Other Works: I Want to Go Home (1981); Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire (1997); Jake, Reinvented (2003); The Superteacher Project (2023)
• Awards: Red Cedar Award (2021)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• There Are Different Kinds of Smart
• Belief in Yourself Comes from Inside
• Our Decisions Affect Those Around Us