Teaching Literature to Adolescents

Review #1: Rick Lybeck, Assistant Professor, Minnesota State University, USA. The volumes critical sociocultural approach to teaching literature is exactly whats needed in this era of high-stakes testing and accountability. Here, the spirit of literature as exploration is revivified through real-world examples and methods to help secondary students not only find meaning in the texts theyre reading, but to engage compelling aspects of politics, identity, and agency as they do. Review #2: Russell E. Greinke, Associate Professor of English, University of Central Missouri, USA. Here is why I use the BAFS book (that is how I abbreviate it on my syllabus): Other YA lit texts typically arrange chapters around subjects such as contemporary realistic fiction, historical fiction, biography, adventure, etc. I prefer topics such as reading, responding, evaluating, and assessing, so I am not stuck assigning books from rigid categories like biography. I like those straight-talking teacher vignettes, e.g., p. 3. [I would consider buying the fourth edition]. Consider a condensed version, though. The students need to spend most of the semester reading YA lit and planning how to teach specific works. To give thorough coverage to all 12 chapters of BAFS is a huge time bite. Review #3: Sabrina Jones, English Instructor, Marshall University, USA. There are some things I really like about this text. First, it emphasizes multiliteracy, and thus teaching a variety of literature types. It has activities for teaching social issues through YA fiction and using that as a vehicle for promoting action. This is very empowering for students. Theres also a fresh focus on digital media literacy. As technology grows, it is very important that teachers are able to grow with it and incorporate it in the classroom. I particularly love the detailed use of lesson plans and classroom-ready activities in chapters 8 and 9. I would like to see more of this in other chapters. Review #4: David Bowles, Assistant Professor, University of Texas Ro Grande Valley, USA. The attitude of the authors/editors toward students diversityboth demographic and in terms of reading/learningis a powerful antidote to the overreliance on canon that they have experienced in other English courses. And the chapters are written in a style that eschews convoluted, academic-sounding prose for accessible and forthright discussions of the issues. Finally, to reiterate a point I made above, the immediate application of concepts in the form of lesson plans at the end of chapters is pretty fantastic.

Richard Beach is Professor Emeritus of English Education at the University of Minnesota, USA. Deborah Appleman is the Hollis L. Caswell Professor and Chair of Educational Studies at Carleton College, USA. Bob Fecho is Professor of English Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, USA. Rob Simon is Associate Professor of Multiliteracies in Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, Canada.

Preface Part 1: Why Should I Teach Literature? 1) Why Teaching Literature Still Matters 2) How Will I Come To Know My Students? Part 2: What Texts Will Students Read and View in My Classroom? 3) How Do I Plan an Integrated Curriculum? 4) How Do I Choose and Teach Beyond the Canon? 5) Use of Multimodal/Digital Tools for Responding to and Creating Multimodal/Digital Texts Part 3: How Will I Teach Literature? 6) How Do I Foster Different Ways of Talking and Writing about Literature? 7) How Do I Encourage Students to Respond to Literature Through Multiple Critical Perspectives? 8) How Do I Engage Students in Writing and Enacting Literary Texts? 9) How Can I Engage Students in Responding to Poetry and Spoken Word? 10) How Do I Integrate Reading Instruction with Teaching Literature? 11) How Do I Assess and Evaluate Students' Learning? Part 4: We Make the Road by Walking 12) How Do I Develop as a Teacher Across a Professional Life Span?