How can teachers more effectively engage
middle school students in reading and writing?
Middle school students are often taught as if they all know how to read well, and they are expected to write as if they are already well-practiced editors. I, too, have been guilty of teaching this way in the past. In fact, many middle school teachers (regardless of their content-area expertise) are not prepared to offer additional support to their students when reading is a challenge. This is a paradox because middle school students need explicit instruction while learning how to be successful with specific content-area literacies; reading and responding like authors, historians, scientists, and mathematicians is new to them. By the end of their middle school years, it is expected that students will have mastered critical thinking skills and be able to highlight evidence of those skills (synthesis, analysis, and evaluation) in their future coursework. At the same time, this age group of students craves time to read for pleasure, and increased workload often leads to less time for choice books.
Teachers can be more intentional with their instruction in order to meet the needs of these learners through their use of research, needs assessments, scaffolding of basic skills (i.e. close reading strategies), technology, and project-based inquiry opportunities. Teachers should also model reading (read alouds and sustained silent reading) and writing for their students to increase engagement. They should be knowledgeable of young adult literature of all genres in order to offer recommendations to both hesitant and avid readers. In order to incorporate these strategies well, middle school teachers must be offered quality professional development and coaching in literacy. See the "Course Connections" tab for specific ideas on how to most effectively engage middle school learners.
Teachers can be more intentional with their instruction in order to meet the needs of these learners through their use of research, needs assessments, scaffolding of basic skills (i.e. close reading strategies), technology, and project-based inquiry opportunities. Teachers should also model reading (read alouds and sustained silent reading) and writing for their students to increase engagement. They should be knowledgeable of young adult literature of all genres in order to offer recommendations to both hesitant and avid readers. In order to incorporate these strategies well, middle school teachers must be offered quality professional development and coaching in literacy. See the "Course Connections" tab for specific ideas on how to most effectively engage middle school learners.