Teaching ELA Beyond the Novel

As a teacher trainer, I know the challenge of creating an English language arts (ELA) curriculum that keeps students engaged while helping them learn key concepts. One way to do this is to teach not just from novels but also from informational texts, media, and other sources. This approach incorporates a wider variety of both topics and standards. After all, roughly half of reading standards across the country revolve around informational texts.

Allowing students to explore topics of interest through research and other projects connects learning to what motivates them. Incorporating historical context, current events, and real-world issues alongside novels helps students better understand the periods and settings of the novels, while also incorporating informational texts and primary sources. It also shows how literature relates to and reflects the real world, thus gaining student buy-in and interest.

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