ABSTRACT
Literature allows students to imaginatively step into alternative worlds, both like their own as well as far-distant, and gain understanding of self and others in rich social, cultural, and historical contexts. From this perspective what matters most about the study of literature is not the memorization of different genres or forms or gaining passing familiarity with a canon of cultural monuments. Instead, you can select works that will be effective in helping students understand and address issues in their lives and in the broader world. The Common Core State Standards emphasize a variety of skills that support students gaining this kind of understanding, including careful reading, understanding of characters and how they develop, recognition of point of view, recognizing differences in representation in different media, and connecting literature study to the basic documents and values of a democratic society. The Common Core State Standards don’t emphasize an approach that is common in secondary schools, the study of literary terms and genres. The emphasis is on understanding content and on careful and thematic analysis. We believe that students are more likely to become engaged
C H A P T E R 7
when literature instruction is thematically organized, when a curriculum is not a set of “pearls on a string.” Instead, texts in a language arts class should foster imaginative journeys that relate to each other in the context of issues that matter.
