Does young adult literature hold value in classrooms outside
of English Language Arts?
Though there are few studies that explore the true value of
young adult literature across content areas other than English, those few
existing studies provide reasons why students benefit from the incorporation of
young adult literature in content areas.
Reasons for using young adult literature include the appeal to students,
illumination of content, synthesis of concepts, and the creation of a shared
experience for all students and teacher.
It is easy for a math, science, or social studies teacher to
use the textbook to teach content; the text follows the curriculum and explores
the factual information that needs to be presented to the student. The problem with this single faceted approach
is that it ignores the different learning styles of students and lacks variety
for the developing brains of teenagers.
Many students enjoy reading young adult literature, and the use of
novels to supplement curriculum provides incentive for reading outside of the
content. Students become emotionally
involved with events and characters, deepening understanding and involvement.
Young adult literature can bring concepts to life for the
students. Though students may not have
experienced the concept being taught in their own lives, a novel can explore “real
world” applications of materials in a way that a textbook does not. Some students may have experienced content
related curriculum, but a novel can bring to life personal connections to the
content area. Teachers often ask
students to think about how content applies to real life, and novels provide an
exploration of that connection.
Students experience curriculum in textbooks, through media,
on the internet, and in newspapers, so young adult literature provides another
textual presentation of content. The
variety of texts gives students the chance to synthesize concepts and explore
the content from different perspectives.
Though content areas outside of English are not
traditionally taught through literature, young adult literature offers a unique
way to introduce, explore, and experience curriculum and deepen understanding.
The following video provides examples of novels that could accompany a social studies unit.
Sources:
Bean, T. W. (2003). Using young adult literature to enhance
comprehension in the content areas. American Institutes for Research. Retrieved
October 18, 2011, from www.learningpt.org/pdfs/literacy/young.pdf
Bucher, K., & Manning, M. (n.d.). Young adult literature
and the school curriculum. Education.com An Education & Child Development
Site for Parents. Retrieved October 21, 2011, from
http://www.education.com/reference/article/young-adult-literature-school-curriculum/
youthliterature. (n.d.). Young Adult Literature Booktalk: The Holocaust. YouTube. Retrieved October 21, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F2AV2DrN24&feature=related
Beth,
ReplyDeleteI agree that literature holds value to content. The reasons that you discussed above, I feel were right on target. Before this class I would not have thought to use literature in chemistry. However after reading one of the annotated books, everything that you mentioned above I experience. For example, some experiments were all of a sudden clear after reading a piece of literature that discussed the experiment. Also, I begin to get a better understanding of why certain elements behave in a certain way. In addition, concepts that are accepted, were explained in simple terms in the literature. The literature also made real life connections that some teachers may not think to discuss.