Literature and Reading

  1. Start with a Clear Purpose! Before starting, decide what kind of book club you want. Will it focus on fun reading, academic support, or specific genres like fantasy or mystery? Having a clear goal helps attract the right members and choose books that fit everyone’s interests.   2. Gather Your Readers Invite classmates or friends who enjoy reading, or those who want to read more often. You can form small groups (5–10 students) to keep discussions lively but manageable. If it’s part of a class project, your teacher can help you organize groups by reading levels or themes.   3. Choose the Right Book Selecting the book is one of the most exciting parts. Choose a text that’s appropriate for your group’s age and reading level, but also engaging and meaningful. Consider letting members vote from a short list — that way, everyone feels included in the decision.   4. Organize Meetings and Roles Decide how often you’ll meet — weekly, biweekly, or once a month — and where:...

  Reading Comprehension: Strategies to improve students’ reading comprehension skills.   Many students can read fluently, pronouncing every word perfectly, but when you ask them what the story was about, they pause — unsure of how to answer. This is a familiar scene in classrooms everywhere. The truth is, reading isn’t just about saying the words on a page; it’s about making sense of them. Reading comprehension is the bridge between reading words and understanding ideas . Without it, students may go through pages of text without truly learning from them. When students comprehend what they read, they can summarize, question, infer, and connect — skills that are essential not only for academic success but also for navigating the world around them. Unfortunately, many learners struggle with comprehension because they’ve never been explicitly taught how to approach a text. They might focus on finishing a story quickly instead of pausing to think about what it means. That’s why t...

  Workshop Resources on Multicultural Literature & Diverse Authors Teaching Multicultural Literature: A Workshop for the Middle Grades This is a multi-part video workshop (8 one-hour programs) showing how to teach multicultural works meaningfully to middle school students. It includes classroom demonstrations, author interviews, instructional strategies (reader response, critical inquiry, cultural studies, social justice) and activities.  The Expanding Canon: Teaching Multicultural Literature in High School This is a professional development series (8 one-hour video programs) intended for high school teachers. It explores ways to include works by African American, Latino/a, Native American, Asian American writers using approaches like inquiry, cultural studies, and critical pedagogy.  “What You Can Do: Bring Multicultural Text to Your Classroom” A more succinct video offering actionable steps for teachers to integrate multicultural texts in their classroom...

  Key Strategies & Ideas Connect with modern themes:  Show students how timeless themes in classic literature (love, power, injustice, identity, etc.) still show up today. This helps make the old texts feel relevant instead of distant.  Use intertextual pairing:  Pair classic texts with contemporary works (novels, movies, music, articles) that echo similar themes or situations. This helps students compare, contrast, and see the enduring relevance.  Active, creative assignments:  Let students retell a classic from a different perspective (modern setting, different gender, or marginalized viewpoint); create character social‐media profiles; write newspaper articles from a character’s point of view.  Drama, performance & multimedia:  Role-plays, hot-seating, acting out scenes help with comprehension of archaic language, social norms, etc. Also use movie/TV adaptations, visual aids, audio versions.  Scaffolded support for archaic language:...

  What is Young Adult Fiction?  Young adult fiction isn’t just about teenage drama or dystopian worlds it’s a mirror that helps students see themselves, their fears, and their hopes. When teachers bring YA novels into the classroom, they spark curiosity and empathy in ways traditional classics sometimes can’t. Why Young Adult Matters YA often deals with issues very relevant to adolescents (identity, belonging, moral dilemmas, etc.), so high intrinsic motivation. Many YA books are more accessible in terms of reading level, language, and pacing. Strategies for Using Young Adult in the Classroom Let students choose titles (partially):  Give a list of YA books and have students vote or pick, so they feel invested. Use YA for bridging to classics or other curricula:  Compare YA text to classic literature for themes, narrative style, etc. Discuss sensitive topics with care:  Many YA texts bring up difficult issues (mental health, race, gender, sexuality). Set norms, p...