Why YA Lit?: YA Lit in the Secondary Language Arts Classroom

1. Why YA Lit?: YA Lit in the Secondary Language Arts Classroom Anna Nero & Shannon Perry Washington-Wilkes Comprehensive High School

2. Perceptions and Misconceptions • Remedial texts • Lacking literary merit • Entertainment • Sentimental • Poorly written

3. So… what is Young Adult Literature? • Brief History • Before 1960s – Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Tom Swift • Avoided serious/controversial issues • White middle-class audience • 1967 – The Outsiders, The Contender, The Chosen, Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones

4. Big, Broad Definitions • Any literature that teens read without prodding, poking and threatening by means of quizzes, tests and public humiliation in the form of class discussion • Books with teenage protagonists • Books written for teenagers • Includes books for adults, but read by teens

5. Don Gallo’s List o’ Characteristics • Focus on teenage characters • Average length of 200 pages • Point of view – often first person, usually a teenager • Narrator most often the main character • Usually told in voice of teenager, not adult (as in To Kill a Mockingbird or A Separate Peace) • Contemporary language • Usually contemporary setting (fantasy, science fiction)

6. Gallo’s List (cont.) • Relatable characters and issues • Minor role of parents • Outcome dependent on decisions and actions of main character • Tone and outcome usually positive/happy • Plot and literary style uncomplicated, not simplistic • Possess all traditional literary elements • As able to appeal to adults as teens (Herz and Gallo, From Hinton to Hamlet)

7. What our students are saying… • Carlsen and Sherril (1989) study: • Dissection and over analysis of literature • Reviewing same material for days • Lack of fun / sense of wonder • Meaning without feeling • Lack of experience and/or maturity • Comprehension difficulty • Disconnect for everyday teenage life • Unfamiliar words

8. What our students are reading . . . • Lack of YA Lit titles in required AND pleasure reading categories • Applebee’s frequent required reading study (1992): • Four Shakespeare plays • Adventures of Huckleberry Finn • To Kill a Mockingbird • The Scarlet Letter • Of Mice and Men • The Great Gatsby • Lord of the Flies

9. What our students are reading… • Several studies (Hale & Crowe, Applebee) • Little change in required texts • Shakespeare dominates • Other canonical texts follow • Favorite genres: • Romance/love stories • Fantasy • Mystery • Sports • Science Fiction

10. Students want . . . • To read about relatable and relevant topics and situations • To read works written in the language that they speak • To read about characters who look, sound and feel like them

11. Theoretical Support G. Robert Carlsen – Stages of Reading Development • Unconscious delight • Living vicariously • Seeing oneself • Philosophical speculations • Aesthetic delight Louise Rosenblatt – Reader-response theory • No meaning in text itself • Readers bring meaning to text • Ability to relate to text = important

12. So, why Not YA Lit? • Many teachers cling to the notion of canonical literature being necessary to a quality ELA curriculum • Must be difficult in order to be studied • Students can read without a teacher, then not worth reading • The test of time • Cultural indoctrination

13. So, why not YA Lit? • Teacher perceptions have changed little • “inferior” form of literature • Most have never taken a YA Lit class • Conference sessions • Comfort and familiarity • Teacher’s reading bias • Experience • Expertise

14. YA Lit in the Classroom • Thematic Links • Archetypal Links • Writing Links • Research Links • Miscellaneous Links • Dialogue • Inferencing Lessons

15. Bibliography Asher, Sandy. “What About Now? What About Here? What About Me?” Reading Their World: The Young Adult Novel in the Classroom. Eds. Virginia R. Monseau & Gary M. Salvner. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1992. 77-82. Bridgers, Sue Ellen. “Creating a Bond Between Writer and Reader.” Reading Their World: The Young Adult Novel in the Classroom. Eds. Virginia R. Monseau & Gary M. Salvner. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1992. 65-70. Bushman, John H. “Young Adult Literature in the Classroom—Or Is It?” English Journal 86.3 (1997): 35-40. Gallo, Donald R. “How Classics Create an Alliterate Society.” English Journal 90.3 (2001): 33-39.

16. Bibliography (cont.) Gallo, Donald R. “Listening to Readers: Attitudes Toward the Young Adult Novel.” Reading Their World: The Young Adult Novel in the Classroom. Eds. Virginia R. Monseau & Gary M. Salvner. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1992. 17-27. Herz, Sarah K. and Donald R. Gallo. From Hinton to Hamlet: Building Bridges between Young Adult Literature and the Classics. 2nd ed. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2005. Monseau, Virginia R. “Students and Teachers as a Community of Readers.” Reading Their World: The Young Adult Novel in the Classroom. Eds. Virginia R. Monseau & Gary M. Salvner. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1992. 85-98. Peck, Richard. “Problem Novels for Readers Without Any.” Reading Their World: The Young Adult Novel in the Classroom. Eds. Virginia R. Monseau & Gary M. Salvner. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1992. 71-76.

17. Bibliography (cont.) Salvner, Gary M. “Young Adult Novels in the Traditional Literature Class.” Reading Their World: The Young Adult Novel in the Classroom. Eds. Virginia R. Monseau & Gary M. Salvner. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1992. 99-112. Santoli, Susan P. and Mary Elaine Wagner. “Promoting Young Adult Literature: The Other ‘Real’ Literature.” American Secondary Education 33.1 (2004): 65-75.