It is not uncommon to see students in an English Language
Arts classroom with their noses deep in a novel, but that is not the case with
most classrooms outside of the English hallway.
My last post revealed that there is value in incorporating young adult
literature into other curriculum, so now we need to know how it is that we can
do this as teachers.
Historical fiction lends itself to go hand-in-hand with
Social Studies curriculum. Textbooks can
reveal the facts about times of war and peace internationally, but historical
fiction novels allow students to experience how history relates to
humankind. With the look into the human
aspect of history and the emotions that go along with experiences, students
develop more well-rounded concepts of events.
When approaching curriculum, teachers can make decisions based on their
specific situation whether they wish to incorporate the reading of a novel
directly into their classroom or teach cooperatively with an English Language
Arts teacher since many historical novels add value to both classrooms. If working cooperatively is not an option,
and teachers are uncomfortable with taking the lead on pulling historical
fiction into the classroom, cooperating with the library media specialist is an
excellent option. Lessons can use a
novel as a supplement to enrich understanding and encourage and engage students
in class discussions.
A content area that I would not have considered using young
adult literature in is high school Health, but Crag Hill did an interesting
trial unit that included Angela Johnson’s The
First Part Last in sexual education curriculum that changed my mind. A young adult novel about a teenage father
who decides to care for his child, The
First Part Last gave students a unique insight into the life of a teenage
parent. Students in the class were asked
to use what they read to think critically about topics related to teen sex and
teen pregnancy in a variety of ways including exit slips, four corner debates,
and silent discussions. Questions were
related less to the content of the book and more to how students felt about the
issues that the book raised, such as how having a child as a teenager changes
life and the roles of teenage parents in the life of their child. Students experienced along with the main
character the exhaustion, personal turmoil, relationship changes with a
girlfriend and parents, and the joyous moments of becoming a father as a
teenager, giving the students enlightened perspective that could be compared to
their own lives and their own decisions.
The video below is a review of The First Part Last.
The techniques that Hill used with the health unit (exit
slips, four corner debates, silent discussions) could be used across all
content areas. Exit slips required
students to ask a question or comment about the activities that occurred in
class that day. Four corner debates
forced students to take a stance on a given statements standing in a corner
that represents agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or disagree, and then
defend their decisions. Based on the
arguments that occurred, students were allowed to move to a different corner
during discussions. Silent discussions
happened when all students responded to questions in writing and the questions were
passed around the room for peers to comment on in writing. The comments built on each other creating
discussions on the topic without overly assertive students dominating the
conversation.
As we think about the depth of understand that comes from students
relating to human experience, using young adult literature in content area
classes seems like a great idea. If teachers
do not know how to do so, the above activities are a great way to start the
incorporation of text into curriculum and generate discussion and
understanding.
Sources:
Crag, H. (2009).
Birthing dialogue: using The
First Part Last in a health class. The ALAN Review (Fall 2009), 29-34. Retrieved from http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/v37n1/pdf/hill.pdf
dmbleighton (n.d.). June
2010 Teen Book Talk: The First Part Last by Angela Johnson. YouTube.
Retrieved November 11, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNArG0RTYYQ
Rice, L.J.(2009).
Writing and teaching historical fiction:
the lantern of learning with L.M. Elliott. The
ALAN Review (Summer 2009), 42-58.
Retrieved from http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/v36n3/pdf/rice.pdf
I hereby affirm that I have neither given nor received
help on this work.
First Part Last seems like a wonderful addition to the often overlooked area of Health. So many of our students seem to characterize the health component as learning about fitness and nutrition which are important aspects but the whole aspect of teenage sexuality is an issue that they can identify with. Reading what life is like for a teenage father should be a real 'eye opener" for students. This was a gutsy move by Craig Hill and I commend him for going above and beyond to find such an absorbing text to use to supplement his Health class.
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