‘I actually enjoyed it, Miss’: Setting up for a successful class novel experience
By Judy Douglas and Nicole Marie
A rite of passage for the English student is the class novel. Even as adults we can still remember those texts that we encountered (with love or with suffering) in the classrooms of our teen years. Ask someone what books they studied in school and they are likely to not only tell you what they were, but also what they thought of them, or even if they actually read them. If we take this back to our own students in our classrooms, the question arises: what aspects of the class novel do we want them to remember when their school years are behind them, and how do we wish these encounters to be remembered? And, how can we plan for success before we even start the unit?
The good:
A class novel encourages a community of readers who share the same learning experiences, guided by someone (the teacher) who is familiar and an ‘expert’ of the text. It opens up opportunities for rigorous and lively discussions about characters and themes and ideas in which students get to hear the perspectives and interpretations of others, which in turn expands their own understanding of what they are reading. It takes reading from mostly a solitary experience to a communal one. Just as we love unpacking, critiquing, and debating a movie with our friends as we leave the cinema, a class novel can create the same enriching and thrilling interactions. As Kylene Beers reflects on her blog, “reading together helps me grow in a way that I don’t grow when I read in isolation. Reading is a solitary act that has a strong social connection.”
This also opens up opportunities to expose students to more complex texts and texts they might not usually read, which may in turn open them up to a whole new interest in a genre, or type of text, or author (I know that I would go and read the other books of the author of a class novel that I enjoyed). As a teacher, there isn’t more of a thrill than when a student (especially a reluctant reader) expresses enjoyment or even love for a book that you have taught. That glimpse of them connecting and responding meaningfully with that book definitely gives that ‘teaching high.’ Even the ‘I actually liked that book, Miss’ would be enough for me to feel like I had been successful.
There is also value in building ‘reading grit’ and perseverance in reading texts that may not be of initial interest or too challenging or unfamiliar. With a class novel, there is a level of guidance and support from the teacher, which can help students navigate complex texts. Lemov, Driggs, and Woolay (2016: 6) state that ‘to send students who are unfamiliar with the struggle of a challenging text - never mind having never read a book more than a hundred years old - to (university) is to send then unprepared.”
The bad:
However, there can also be the class novel study that is a less-than-pleasurable experience for both teacher and students, as well as a hindrance to reading comprehension development. In A Novel Approach by Kate Roberts, she reflects on her experiences as a consultant and suggests that “when kids are asked to read the same texts all the time, reading does not get better; it often vanishes. It seems as though when we take away choice, and demand constant struggle, most kids stop reading at all.” As much as we can remember those students who we ‘opened up a new world’ to through the study of a class novel, there are as many students who did not enjoy it all, understand it, or even read it. For as many pleasurable essays we read with interesting insights of a novel, there are as many (or more) who simply regurgitate what we’ve said in class, or retell the story, or do not complete it. And while we know that even when students are given choices, they still may not read, or enjoy it, or connect with it, a class novel does not usually provide the flexibility to adjust or change texts to find that reading ‘sweet-spot.’ The most obvious draw-back to the class novel is its complexity; in a diverse classroom, a class novel is bound to be too challenging, too easy or ‘just right’ depending on the reader. While differentiating tasks and strategies can counter this, it can take away from one of the main benefits; that feeling of being a part of a communal reading experience.
So how do we get to a place where a class novel encompasses all the benefits, while minimising the disadvantages? The difference between a novel study that endures (those novels that we still remember as adults) and one that is forgettable often lies with the choice of text. We need time and space for teachers to be investigating, reading, discussing, and evaluating potential texts. We need to be aware of what they have read previously, and what they will be reading in the future. We need flexibility in what the class novel will be, and we need student input. Because when we talk about the class novel we shouldn’t be asking ‘What book are we teaching?’ but ‘What book will students be reading?’
Planning for success:
Have a clear, specific purpose that sits ‘behind’ the class novel:
There are many reasons a class novel can be a reading experience that improves comprehension, collaboration and engagement. However, expecting one class novel to meet all the purposes all the time is putting a lot of pressure on that one novel, the teacher and the students! Having a clear purpose for a class novel study will help make a purposeful text selection. Purposes could include:
Developing student collaboration and conversation.
Building and expanding students’ interpretations and perspectives of texts.
Exposing students to a particular genre or type of text.
Ensuring students experience diverse texts (in particular, indigenious texts).
Going deeper with a specific reading goal or skill (for example, plot and setting, or character, or themes, vocabulary and figurative language).
Supporting the studies of another disciplinary area (for example, supporting a Unit on World War II with a novel or memoir set in that context).
2. Consider the length of the text and the unit:
When introducing the class novel, there is inevitably the student who always asks, “how long is it?” It might kill us a little bit inside when that is their first criteria for a ‘good’ class novel as we try to convince them that the upcoming 350 page book is worth every page, but the length of the text should actually be taken into consideration. Here are a few points to think about:
The amount of time in the curriculum devoted to the study of the class novel. Even in a six week unit we wouldn’t want to spend that amount of time reading the text.
Students’ attitudes toward reading. This is definitely when we need to ‘know our readers’ beyond comprehension levels. We want to encourage aspirational reading but not so far that students are immediately ‘turned off’ from even trying. The reality is that the length of text is something that can be a barrier for a student. The simple selection of a short text is an easy way to overcome a possible barrier for students engaging with the class novel.
3. Ensuring a ‘sweet spot’ of academic challenge:
This is probably the most challenging part of the selection process as we know that there is not a ‘just right’ book for a class of students. Inevitably it will be too challenging for some students, and not challenging at all for others. However we can still be selecting a text that will (hopefully) ensure all students are able to access and engage with it. Some things to consider include:
If it is within an accessible reading range for the majority of students. A text at an instructional (teaching) level can be more challenging than an independent text as it will have more instructional support and scaffolding from the teacher.
Being aware of students for whom the text will be a struggle and have strategies to support their understanding of the text.
Being aware of students who will need to be challenged beyond the instructional level and have strategies to do so.
If it is engaging enough so that students are willing to ‘work a bit harder.’
How much prior or background knowledge students will need or use to access the text. A text in which students are familiar with the context allows the reading level to be more challenging. Alternatively, an unfamiliar context requires the reading level to be much more accessible.
4. Consider where this text ‘sits’ in the curriculum continuum and a student’s school reading journey (i.e: Its role within a student’s ‘rich reading diet’)
Having a class novel as part of the curriculum means students can experience a variety of texts that they may not select for themselves. Widening a student's independent reading preferences can be challenging, and so a class novel provides that crucial exposure to a rich and diverse ‘reading diet.’ Over a student’s schooling life, they will usually be part of many class novel studies. Our aim should be that at the end of a student’s schooling, their class novels experiences have been diverse. This means:
A scope and sequence that covers a diverse range of purposes and exposure to different text types in the class novel studies. For example, in Year 7 the ‘spotlight’ might be on development of character, and in Year 8 the ‘spotlight’ might be on themes and ideas. Other examples might include Year 7 focussing on a text that reflects students’ own worlds, and Year 8 focussing on texts from unfamiliar contexts. Or, studying a class text of poetry in Year 7 and a collection of short stories in Year 8. It is important that the focus is on the purpose of engaging students in the class novel, and not the name of a novel itself (i.e: teaching students to connect to and interact with texts, rather than ‘teaching Hatchet'‘ or ‘teaching Holes’). This doesn’t mean we ignore context and literary devices that might be specific to particular texts. Rather, the scope and sequence should highlight what the focus of the particular novel study will be and what we want students to do with it.
Students have an opportunity to show growth in their reading skills; In particular, the skills we ask them to apply as they study the class novel. If we are teaching the same broad skill (eg: analysing characterisation) in a similar way each year, we aren’t necessarily building on their reading skills. Breaking these broad skills down into smaller ‘sub-skills’ can be useful in making this more explicit to our students, and as a starting point to create a progression. Asking yourself questions like, ‘What smaller actions do students need to take to deeply analyse characterisation?’ can be a useful starting point here. Or it could involve outlining more general, deeper reading skills that students will develop over time, such as beginning with having personal thoughts and opinions about a text, and then progressing towards having informed and evidence-based interpretations. Below is an example of how a ‘micro-progression’ of success criteria about character change can help both teachers and students monitor the growth of a specific reading focus, inspired by the work of Kate Roberts and Maggie Beattie Roberts in their book DIY Literacy:
5. Consider multiple entry points for student curiosity and interest:
The easiest way to a rigorous, enjoyable, and rewarding class novel experience (for both teacher and students) is when the students have a reason to read the book. When they are interested and look forward to reading and talking about the book students are more open and willing to embrace the learning. This does not necessarily mean that it has to be a popular and current YA book (but it certainly could be). The following points consider the engagement and interest level of the selected text and students’ reading experiences:
Before introducing students to the text, asking them what has worked well for them in the past when they studied class novels (along with what hasn’t!) can provide you with a rich starting point over how to proceed next
Consider whether the genre is one that students enjoy reading for pleasure. If we start with a genre students are already reading and enjoy, it can open up gateways to more diverse, complex texts from that same genre which they may not have been exposed to before. For example, if students enjoy reading crime, mystery, or true crime texts, we can introduce them to texts by Raymond Chandler or Truman Capote to stretch them.
Thinking about whether there are different ways students can interpret the text. Instead of limiting students to one way of ‘how they should be reading the text’, the emphasis could be placed on ‘how they could be reading the text’ and how they justify their readings, opening up different possibilities and interpretations. This shows that we value what students bring to the text, and ensures students are reading closely and thinking more deeply about it.
Considering whether the students can see themselves in the text. Engagement can develop organically when students feel they are reading about people they know, see themselves in the characters and ‘world of text’, or identify with the issues explored within it.
Ensuring students have had input into the selection process. For example, having a core list of texts that a class could vote for according to their preferences (after having an opportunity to engage with the different texts), or being able to select the genre of text.
What will you take into account when you plan for your next novel study?
References:
Driggs, C., Lemov, D & Woolway, E. (2016). Reading Reconsidered: A Practical Guide to Rigorous Literacy Instruction. John Wiley & Sons: San Francisco.
Roberts, K. & Roberts, M.B (2016). DIY Literacy: Teaching Tools for Differentiation, Rigor and Independence. Heinemann: Portsmouth.
