Teaching Literature to Adolescents

In its Fifth Edition, this popular textbook introduces prospective and practicing English teachers to current methods of teaching literature in middle and high school classrooms. This new edition features updated chapters that incorporate critical race theory; perspectives on teaching fiction, nonfiction, and drama; the integration of digital literacy; working with English Language Learners; and teacher research for ongoing learning and professional development. It highlights the importance of offering students a range of critical approaches and tools for interpreting texts. It also addresses the need to organize literature instruction around topics and issues of interest to today's adolescents. By using authentic dilemmas and contemporary issues, the authors encourage preservice English teachers and their instructors to raise and explore inquiry-based questions that center on the teaching of a variety of literary texts, both classic and contemporary, traditional and digital. New to the Fifth Edition: ¿ A new chapter on issues of censorship and the New Culture Wars ¿ New examples of online tools for writing multimodal literary texts, digital storytelling, zines, comics, and graphic novels, including productive and problematic uses of A.I. ¿ Further engagement with critical race theory as a critical lens ¿ Methods for engaging students with critical media literacy ¿ Updated examples for teaching contemporary texts, including popular Young Adult novels ¿ Added focus on multicultural literature regarding race, class, and gender issues ¿ Methods and strategies for working with ELL students ¿ Each chapter is organized around specific questions that preservice teachers consistently raise as they prepare to become English language arts teachers. The authors model critical inquiry throughout the text by offering authentic case narratives that raise important considerations of both theory and practice. The book invites teachers to consider important issues in the context of their current or future classrooms.