Reading: Teach the Skill and Content will Follow

The majority of English literature taught in schools uses old, dead, white guys as the meat of the content; Shakespeare, Faulkner, Joyce, Poe, Melville… Don’t get me wrong – These authors have contributed greatly to culture, society, and literature. However, the majority of their work does not resonate with the students of today and therefore is inhibiting the learning process. Content is EVERYTHING.

Teach the skill and content will follow.

Teaching kids to read and make connections is what really matters. Once a student feels confident about their reading abilities, they will seek out more challenging content. Skill first, content later. If kids get to learn by using interesting materials (like The Last Kids on Earth or Zita the Space Girl) then they won’t be as hesitant to tackle works by authors like Poe and Shakespeare.

For example, I absolutely love to learn. I have an AA, BA, and two MA’s with every intention of earning my PhD in the future. But learning when the content is ancient and doesn’t resonate is agonizing. So, if we take today’s teenagers, and think about the content that would resonate with them, we should be examining authors like Colson Whitehead, Pam Muñoz Ryan, Donna Tartt, Victoria Jamieson, Ann Patchett, and Khaled Hosseini.

If we look at the goal, such as increasing reading comprehension, do we HAVE to use Faulkner? My son recently had to read Les Miserable by Victor Hugo in high school. He later said he never wanted to read again.

Let me emphasize that –

My avid reader, straight-A student, said he never wanted to read again.

He’d been force-fed one too many books that just did not resonate with him. I have to ask myself, couldn’t the same goal have been reached by letting him read The Sun is Also a Star? Or The Color Purple? Or, here’s a novel idea, let him choose his own book?

Personally, I’d MUCH rather my students enjoy what they are reading while ALSO learning the lesson whether that be reading comprehension, historical information, you name it. Even as a teacher, I don’t want to read Les Mis. Eghk! But Kite Runner? Esperanza Rising? Absolutely! Relatable characters, in settings I can visualize, facing challenges I understand? Let’s go!

This is precisely why I develop reading comprehension lessons and sell them in my shop. There are dozens of reviews by teachers using my lessons stating that their students actually wanted to keep reading, they were engaged, they completed all the lessons for the first time, and so on. So I ask you, doesn’t the content matter? Shouldn’t we pay attention to the signs? Reading scores in the US have been dropping for years. I have to think that the content we are using is largely to blame. NPR states that these scores are the LOWEST they’ve been in decades! This should truly frighten us as a nation. One way to address this is by re-evaluating the content we force-feed students.

What are your students reading?

Best wishes for a healthy school year!