ERIC Number: EJ1002959
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Sep
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-8274
EISSN: N/A
Why Should We Have All the Fun? Encouraging Colleagues to Read YA Novels across the Curriculum
Roberts, Mike
English Journal, v102 n1 p92-95 Sep 2012
Recently, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) helped create the National Center for Literacy Education (NCLE) to help support literacy across all disciplines. NCLE Director Kent Williamson notes, "Schools that sustain progress in literacy learning pay attention to the little things and the big things. They create organizational conditions that promote communication about student learning across disciplines and outside of classroom walls. They expect their faculty to deepen their knowledge not only about content, but about how kids learn, and they give them the flexibility to act on their findings." For English teachers, discussions like this are an essential part of what happens within their classrooms nearly every day. Such discussion not only helps solidify concepts for students, it also allows them to make personal connections with texts, connections that will remain with them long after they leave their classrooms. But for teachers who deal primarily in facts, dates, and numbers, creating relevant discussion topics and valuable questions based on fiction or literary non-fiction can be a struggle. The author dedicates this article to those non-English teachers who are looking for a new way to approach things. He suggests that an important idea to remember when confronting one's colleagues about using young adult literature (YAL) in the classroom is to let them know that they don't need to teach it the same way one would. Explain to them that these novels should be used to "supplement" their curricula, not to "replace" them. The primary function of using YAL across all disciplines is to help students connect with and better understand what they are learning in class.
Descriptors: Adolescent Literature, Literacy Education, Literacy, Novels, Young Adults, English Teachers, Reading, Academic Achievement, Childrens Literature, English Instruction, Adolescents, Literature Appreciation
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A