The Benefits of Teaching Through Literacy

Teaching through literacy can be extremely effective when planned and used with clear intentions. You can teach through literacy with a read-aloud, or have students read a novel independently, or as part of a book club. Teaching through literacy will teach them a variety of skills and content along the way! A well-chosen novel can engage your students and have them naturally intrigued about the story. Teaching through literacy can teach students various ways to think about the book, think about real world, and explore a number of topics.

Having students enjoy the novel is the key to success. They will jump on board with class discussions and the numerous projects you can do related to the novel. Choosing a novel that is age-appropriate includes finding content that your students can relate to or are interested in. Usually students enjoy a novel when the main characters are a year or two older than themselves. Having discussions for understanding is also crucial to making sure your students are following and enjoying the book. Allowing discussions for the sake of asking questions and clarifying comprehension can boost students’ appreciation of the book.

Novel studies have evolved to be more than answering comprehension questions about the plot, setting, and characters of the book. Teaching through literacy is about thinking about the book, reacting to problems between characters, interpreting events, and expressing one’s thoughts. A great way to model how to think about a book is to first do a read-aloud novel study with your students. This way, your students will get to see various skills be modelled before practicing these skills on their own. In addition to understanding the novel, have students dig deeper. Does the book remind them of anything in their own life? Or maybe something happening in the world? Have your students discuss what they would do if they were in a similar situation. Before asking your students to do this on their own, give them plenty of examples. After you’ve modelled expectations, have them practice with a partner or small group. They will become great thinkers and be able to communicate their ideas orally and through writing!

A novel study can also be useful to study the language. Planning ahead and having students aware of new vocabulary words is a great way to expand their vocabulary. You can also teach figurative language as examples are used in the novel. By using the context of the book, students may be able to offer suggestions as to what the author means when figurative language is used. You can also teach correct grammar such as the proper use of homophones.

Try a read aloud with your students this year and they will be asking you to read the next chapter every day! They will practice how to develop their ideas and communicate their thoughts. There are many resources available to study novels beyond basic comprehension questions. Choose a novel and see how their thoughts develop with many opportunities to discuss and share!