Headlines such as “Why Don’t Kids Read for Fun Anymore” and “Literary Reading in Dramatic Decline, According to National Endowment for the Arts Survey” scream impending doom for literature. For many in media, in political office, in school administration, it seems it is a short hop onto this negative bandwagon. But we can flip that wagon on its side. For those of us who work daily with students, for those of us with children of our own, InLand with this issue is determined to build a positive vehicle to guide onto the literary highway. We argue that never before has there been such an abundance of literary riches for young readers. Just take a peek into any bookstore: young adult literature is thriving, overflowing the book shelves; graphic novels, hard to find but a few years ago, now command entire aisles in your Barnes and Noble; and reading is growing on-line where fan fiction abounds, where students can read and interact with writers such as Laurie Halse Anderson on social networking sites such as MySpace. With this issue of InLand, let’s celebrate this prosperity and make sure it continues!
Some possible article topics include:
- What are positive trends you have observed in the novels your students are reading? What are negative trends?
- Middle and junior high schools have integrated young adult literature into their curriculum, but many high schools remain skeptical. Describe a unit that includes young adult novels, graphic novels, manga, or comic books that can be utilized in high school classrooms.
- What can students learn not only as readers but also as writers in reading Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak or Chris Crutcher’s Deadline or Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian? Describe a novel or novels that you have used in your writing instruction.
- Literature for adolescents is not just for adolescents. What young adult novels or graphic novels have you first read as a possible text for your classes then found yourself enjoying? What about the book appealed to you as an adult?
- What young adult novels or graphic novels make bridges across disciplines? Stroll down the hall and collaborate with a teacher in another content area using one of these novels. Write about the journey the two of you took.
- We all have stories we want to tell. Take this opportunity: write the first chapter to your own young adult novel. We can guarantee you a welcoming audience.
- We all are resources for finding good books. Have your students write 50-100 word reviews of their favorite books. Have the teachers in your department write reviews of books their students are reading on a regular basis.
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InLand also accepts articles that are not precisely on the issue's theme
as well as poetry or prose written by teachers of all grade levels.
Send articles to InLand, c/o Crag Hill in a Word attachment by e-mail at [email protected].
InLand serves the interests of approximately 350 K-College Language Arts educators in
Deadline
(Surgeon General’s Warning: Writing for InLand may be more rewarding than filing your taxes.)
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