Young adult literature is a powerful tool for all teachers. Whether it is being used as the focus of an English class unit plan, to encourage struggling readers, to engage disengaged readers, or is simply used to compliment a history lesson, young adult literature can be incorporated in the classroom in a myriad of ways. Several arguments have been made against the inclusion of young adult literature in the classroom, stating that it is “lowering the bar,” or only acceptable as material for readers who are struggling, however this is not the case (Groenke and Scherff 1). There are many high quality young adult books available that meet the same criteria as the classics, which are suitable for whole class instruction (3).
One of the main differences between high quality young adult literature and the classics is that according to Groenke and Scherff, young adult literature is “written about adolescents, with adolescent readers in mind” and for that reason is both more relatable and more true to the experiences of adolescent students, making them more engaging. High quality young adult books are “multi-themed, with several layers of character and plot development for readers to mine,” they are also written on a range of different complexities and reading levels (17). For this reason, there are a multitude of books available that are comparable quality with the classics, making them suitable for classroom instruction.
When you increase a students' level of engagement with a text, you increase their motivation to read it (2). When you design your units around texts that students can relate to, it allows them to feel that their experiences are valid, valued, and therefore respected. Many adolescents like to read books that they themselves can relate to, involving the issues that they deal with in their day to day lives. Reading books that encompass their struggles can help them to deal with them, especially when they feel that they may sometimes their needs and personal issues are neglected by the adult figures in their lives (15). It may be hard for students to relate to classic texts written decades and sometimes centuries ago. While these texts are valuable themselves, it is good to incorporate texts that are “informed by the changing social and cultural values,” which contain content that is relevant to adolescent students “across socioeconomic, geographic, and ethnic/cultural boundaries” (14). Many classics are not capable of being inclusive to students on all of these different levels. While teaching the classics is still important, as we progress into a more diverse society we need a more diverse range of texts to meet the needs of our evolving classrooms, and for this reason, young adult literature may be more equipped to do so than the classics and canons, and for that reason, should be used in conjunction with them.
One of the main differences between high quality young adult literature and the classics is that according to Groenke and Scherff, young adult literature is “written about adolescents, with adolescent readers in mind” and for that reason is both more relatable and more true to the experiences of adolescent students, making them more engaging. High quality young adult books are “multi-themed, with several layers of character and plot development for readers to mine,” they are also written on a range of different complexities and reading levels (17). For this reason, there are a multitude of books available that are comparable quality with the classics, making them suitable for classroom instruction.
When you increase a students' level of engagement with a text, you increase their motivation to read it (2). When you design your units around texts that students can relate to, it allows them to feel that their experiences are valid, valued, and therefore respected. Many adolescents like to read books that they themselves can relate to, involving the issues that they deal with in their day to day lives. Reading books that encompass their struggles can help them to deal with them, especially when they feel that they may sometimes their needs and personal issues are neglected by the adult figures in their lives (15). It may be hard for students to relate to classic texts written decades and sometimes centuries ago. While these texts are valuable themselves, it is good to incorporate texts that are “informed by the changing social and cultural values,” which contain content that is relevant to adolescent students “across socioeconomic, geographic, and ethnic/cultural boundaries” (14). Many classics are not capable of being inclusive to students on all of these different levels. While teaching the classics is still important, as we progress into a more diverse society we need a more diverse range of texts to meet the needs of our evolving classrooms, and for this reason, young adult literature may be more equipped to do so than the classics and canons, and for that reason, should be used in conjunction with them.
Works Cited
Groenke, Susan L., and Lisa Scherff. Teaching YA Lit through Differentiated Instruction. Urbana, IL: NCTE, National Council of Teachers of English, 2010. Print.