12 Strategies For Teaching Literature In The 21st Century

1. Use combinations of media–classic and modern together, leveraging one against the other. Music,
video streams, short videos (like TikTok), video games, plays, poems, film, posters, poems, essays,
novels, podcasts, etc.
2. Have students analyze diverse media forms for their strengths and weaknesses–and involve both
classic and digital forms.
3. Have students turn essays into videos into podcasts into letters into simply-coded games into poems
into apps.
4. Allow students to choose media while you choose themes and/or academic and/or quality standards.
5. When designing units, choose the media first, then the standards (yes, this likely goes against what
you were taught–but give it a try).
6. Insist all student work ‘leaves the classroom’ and is published–then design units accordingly.
7. Use RAFT: Role, Audience, Format, and Topic/Tone/Theme. Then have them revise media in
response to new roles, audiences, formats, or topics, tones, or themes.
8. Use a thematic focus to design units, assessments, project-based learning–whatever activities
students ‘touch.’
9. Use tools for digital text annotation on pdfs, note-sharing, and more to help students mark text,
document questions and insights, and revisit thinking or collaborate with others during the reading of
classic texts.
10. Create social media-based reading clubs.
11. Have students create and produce an ongoing podcast or YouTube channel on, as above, relevant
themes, authors, texts, etc.
12. Connect the old with the new in authentic ways to center the knowledge demands of modern
readers.
Y on HOW to make literature INTERESTING to students One of the challenges that English
Tips
oteachers face is making literature interesting for their students. Often the material is old, as in
Shakespeare, or it is confusing, as in Whitman. There are ways to teach literature without your students
u
falling asleep at their desks. Here are a few tips to waking them up.
s
e1 Bring literature to life.
. 2 Have the students create artwork.
n
t3 Play games.
 4 Assign the students to be Teacher for the Day.
5 Write it out.
T
o6 Laugh a lot.
d7 Participate in the above activities! Students love it when their teacher joins in.
a8 Ask the principal if you can display the students’ artwork in the hallway or library, or if your students
ycan perform their play in during an assembly.

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THE VALUE OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

Reading is important for students to develop cognitive skills and emotional intelligence.
Donna Norton identifies the value of literature for young people in her book Through the
Eyes of a Child. Children's literature is important because it provides students with
opportunities to respond to literature. It gives students appreciation about their own
cultural heritage. It transmits important literature and themes from one generation to
the next.
They can learn to evaluate and analyze literature, as well as summarize and hypothesize
about the topic. Students reading wordless books like A Ball for Daisy will be able to
analyze the illustrations and develop their own dialogue for the story. Quality literature
does not tell the reader everything he/she needs to know. It allows for some difference in
opinion. One reader may take something completely different away from the piece of
literature than the next reader based on the two personal viewpoints and experiences.
This strengthens students' cognitive functions in being able to form opinions.
Children's literature provides an avenue for students to learn about their own cultural
heritage. Authors: One should be careful in selecting which books to recommend to
young readers. Some stories contain blatant stereotypes and inaccuracies about certain
cultural groups, authors say. Some books are more accurate in teaching the cultural
differences of others, they say, such as Tales from Outer Suburbia. The books depict
culture as an important piece of society that is to be treasured and valued, writers say..
The author recommends Going Home, a story about a Mexican immigrant family and
their children. It has a positive message about accepting differences between people,
author says. It's something we want to help nurture in our students, authors says.  "We
are all Americans. We are all part of the same country.
Children's literature helps students develop emotional intelligence. Stories have the
power to promote emotional and moral development. The Scar is an effective book to
teach students about responding to grief. Selma is a philosophical story within a picture
book and challenges students to think about what happiness really is. The Big Box is a
story about children who have their freedom taken away and the deeper problems that
exist with not being given one's freedom.   Norton stresses "the role that literature plays
in nurturing and expanding the imagination" The House in the Night (Swanson, 2008)
depicts the creativity that a young girl has in her dreams at night. The Amazing Pop-up
Music Book (Petty, 1999) is an imaginative and original book about music and art.
Children are very impressionable during the formative years, and children's literature can
help them develop into caring, intelligent, and friendly people. Literature can foster social
development by encouraging students to accept other people and their differences. In
Loop the Loop, an elderly person and a young child become good friends and share the
common joy of playing with yo-yo's. Literature encourages students to be considerate
and friendly. These traits may be consistent with developing students into quality
citizens.
Exposing children to quality literature can contribute to the creation of responsible,
successful, and caring individuals. Dr. Seuss' And to Think That I Heard it on Mulberry
Street and The Cat in the Hat are important books to read to children because of their
literary heritage. Quality children's literature has the great power to captivate audiences
for many generations. Teachers and parents should both be able to differentiate
between quality and mediocre literature, authors say. It's important to give students
access to the best books to encourage these important values of literature and
considering developmental domains.

5 Strategies for Introducing New Read Alouds in the Classroom.

Look at the Book Cover or Title Illustration. Invite students to make predictions and make
a list of questions. Prep students for what they are to learn from the story before they
start reading. The text selected for students is often at their instructional level, which
means that children need scaffolding and support as they attempt to read it. Many
teachers won't touch on these strategies until they read the story with their students,
however starting them before the text is ever read allows for deeper discussion
throughout the reading as well as following the reading.  Teachers can minimize
frustration by introducing new vocabulary to students. Students must compare concepts
in the story to their personal experiences and background knowledge. This gives the
students a feeling of confidence as they begin actually reading. Of all of the steps, this
one cannot be skipped. You will find your students interacting more with the story as
they read, and developing deeper interests in new topics. And you will find as a result,
they will become better readers, too! The five strategies for introducing new read alouds
are outlined as;
Look at the Book Cover or Title Illustration

Open to the Story and Read the Pictures

Discuss Possible Predictions and Make a List of Questions

Introduce New Vocabulary and Concepts

Relate Concepts to Students’ Background Knowledge and Personal Experiences

Reading instruction continues to be one of the most debated topics in education. Some
experts tout the importance of basal-based instructional methods. Others maintain that
a literature-based approach is more effective. The advantages of this is the AUTHENTICITY. the
value of using authentic literature is emphasized by proponents of literature-based teaching. Books
designed to teach children to read are often dull, contrived, and lacking in color. Students can learn
about diverse traditions, social systems, and plot lines through authentic literature. THE SECOND
ADVANTAGES IS Higher Level Thinking Skills. Reading authentic literature can improve
vocabulary, reading comprehension, reading ability and language growth. Many teachers
choose literature-based instruction because they feel it addresses higher level thinking skills.
Rather than forcing children to give pat answers to basic questions, literature encourages
children to think deeply. On the other hand, teacher's Perspective are dominating. Teaching
using a literature-based approach can be more difficult than using other approaches. First-
time teachers may find it especially challenging. Teachers may struggle with effectively
assessing a child's progress. The scope and sequence, Find appropriate literature selections
that address the skills that students need to learn. Finding selections that build from one year
to the next is virtually impossible. Using literature-based instruction may prevent students
from building their skills in a systematic fashion. This result to students may miss out on
some skills entirely. A lack of continuity can prevent them from growing as readers