A Critical Inquiry Approach to Teaching Young Adult Literature
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Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 6-2018 A Critical Inquiry Approach to Teaching Young Adult Literature Steffany Comfort Maher Western Michigan University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons Recommended Citation Maher, Steffany Comfort, "A Critical Inquiry Approach to Teaching Young Adult Literature" (2018). Dissertations. 3293. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/3293 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A CRITICAL INQUIRY APPROACH TO TEACHING YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE by Steffany Comfort Maher A dissertation submitted to the Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy English Western Michigan University June 2018 Doctoral Committee: Allen Webb, Ph.D., Chair Gwen Athene Tarbox, Ph.D. Meghann Meeusen, Ph.D. Amanda Haertling Thein, Ph.D. Copyright by Steffany Comfort Maher 2018 A CRITICAL INQUIRY APPROACH TO TEACHING YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE Steffany Comfort Maher, Ph.D. Western Michigan University, 2018 This dissertation presents a critical inquiry approach to teaching young adult literature in English language arts classrooms. Critical inquiry is derived from critical theory and critical pedagogy approaches, as well as pragmatic philosophies of inquiry. The author shows from convincing examples that a critical inquiry approach to teaching empowers students to ask meaningful questions about both what they are reading and the world they live in. Chapter One: Methods of Teaching Young Adult Literature: Past, Present, and Future is an introduction to critical inquiry and the teaching of young adult literature. Chapter Two: Critical Inquiry in Teaching Young Adult Literature: Whole-Class, Literature Circle, and Independent Reading presents three effective approaches for teaching young adult literature in the English language arts classroom. Chapter Three: Critical Inquiry and Cultural Studies: Teaching Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Walter Dean Myers’s Monster provides an in- depth, whole-class-read unit for teaching one of the most commonly taught novels in secondary English classrooms with a critical inquiry, cultural studies approach. Chapter Four: Critical Youth Studies and Young Adult Literature discusses an emerging field of scholarship in English education—critical youth studies—and how to apply it to the teaching of young adult literature. Finally, Chapter Five: Remixes and Mashups: Critically “Playing Around” with Young Adult Literature empowers students to playfully and critically inquire into culture; to analyze stories, contexts, themes, and issues in young adult literature and other forms of popular culture; to engage meaningfully with technology in the English classroom; and to share ideas and make a difference in their local communities and in the world. Drawing upon observation of several different English language arts classrooms, interviews with in-service teachers, the author’s own teaching experiences, and solid theory and scholarship in the field of English education, this dissertation demonstrates how young adult texts have an important role to play in student inquiry. English teachers want students to question and read analytically, to explore complicated ideas and materials, to foster their imagination, and to become critically thinking citizens in a culturally diverse and still-developing democracy. This dissertation will help teachers to achieve these goals. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is fitting that my dissertation begins with thanks to my husband, Doug, as his encouragement and support have sustained me throughout the last five years. Without our long walks, talking and working through issues in my coursework, exam prep, and dissertation, I don’t know that I would have made it through this degree. I definitely wouldn’t have made it without his help caring for our girls and home. He is an incredible partner. I also want to thank my daughters Alex, Gabby, Madeline, and Emma for their willingness (sometimes grudgingly) to find activities to do outside, upstairs, downstairs, or completely away from the house so I could work. Their unwavering faith and pride in me is steady motivation to persevere. Faith and support from “those who have gone before” is invaluable as well. Suzanne Ehst, Kristin Sovis, Christy McDowell, and Lindsay Jeffers have all shared materials, advice, encouragement, and friendship throughout my degree. I’m indebted to Suzanne, Kristin, Christy, Lindsay, and Sara Hoeve, who have also shared hotel rooms at conferences—I never could have afforded to attend otherwise! As my cohort in the doctoral program at Western Michigan University, Lindsay has been a constant presence (until this year—it’s been lonely without her!). I value the friendship we’ve forged and hope to collaborate—and room together at NCTE—in future. Thank you to Dr. Lisa Hazlett for her mentorship. I have appreciated her advice, support, and constructive criticism this year as I’ve worked to complete my dissertation. And many thanks to D r. Scott Slawinski for his guidance as Director of Graduate Studies. Living so far ii Acknowledgements—Continued from campus, I have sent him many last-minute emails, but he has always responded promptly and with care. Without the participation of English teachers I observed and interviewed, this dissertation could not be possible. Welcoming me to their classrooms, meeting during lunch and after school, or corresponding via email, Katie Sluiter, Jenny Sanford, Katina McKibbin, Jamie Isham, Betsy Verwys, Sara Pitt, Anah Austin, and Steven Arinas have been incredible, and I am honored to share their meaningful classroom work with others. Finally, thank you to my committee—Dr. Gwen Athene Tarbox, Dr. Meghann Meeusen, and Dr. Amanda Haertling Thein—for their hard work of reading and responding to my writing. Their fingerprints are visible throughout this project. And to Dr. Allen Webb, with whom I’ve had the privilege of working on my Master’s thesis and my Doctoral Dissertation, special thanks for his many readings and honest, gentle feedback. Through these collaborations, he has encouraged me to grow as a teacher, writer, and scholar. His drive to make a more just world has inspired me to be an advocate and a better human being, while his mentorship has empowered me to believe in myself. Steffany Comfort Maher iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………………….ii LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………..………viii CHAPTER I. METHODS OF TEACHING YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE…………………………………………………………...1 Teaching Young Adult Literature……………...………..………………………...1 Defining Young Adult Literature……………..…………………………………...8 Young Adult Literature in the Classroom………………….…………………….10 “Mirrors” and “Windows”……………………………………………………….15 Critical Inquiry…………………………………………………………………..17 Chapter Overview……………………………………………………………….23 Chapter Two: Critical Inquiry in Teaching Young Adult Literature: Whole-Class, Literature Circle, and Independent Reading……………...24 Chapter Three: Critical Inquiry and Cultural Studies: Teaching Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Walter Dean Myers’s Monster…………………………………………………………………..24 Chapter Four: Critical Youth Studies and Young Adult Literature…...…25 iv Table of Contents—Continued CHAPTER Chapter Five: Remixes and Mashups: Critically “Playing Around” with Young Adult Literature……………………………………………..25 II. CRITICAL INQUIRY IN TEACHING YOUNG ADULT LITEATURE: WHOLE-CLASS, LITERATURE CIRCLE, AND INDEPENDENT READING….27 Critical Inquiry…………………………………………………………………..29 Whole-Class Reading……………………………………………………………30 Evaluating Young Adult Literature Texts……………………………….32 Teaching Whole-Class Reading with a Critical Inquiry Approach……...36 Reading as Homework…………………………………………...37 Writing…………………………………………………………...42 Reading Aloud…………………………………………………...45 Reading Workshop………………………………………………46 Discussion in the English Language Arts Classroom……………47 Large Group Discussion…………………………………………48 Advantages of Whole-Class Reading…………………………....50 Differentiated Instruction………………………………………...52 Literature Circles………………………………………………………………...53 Critical Inquiry in Literature Circles………………………………….…59 Teachers Modeling Critical Inquiry……………………………………..62 v Table of Contents—Continued CHAPTER Advantages of Critical Inquiry Circle Reading……………………….…64 Independent Reading and Critical Inquiry………………………………………65 Critical Reading Journals………………………………………………..69 Assessing Student Reading…………………………………………………..….76 Combining Reading Approaches………………………………………………...79 III. CRITICAL INQUIRY AND CULTURAL STUDIES: TEACHING HARPER LEE’S TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD AND WALTER DEAN MYERS’S MONSTER……………………………………………………………………..……..81 Single-Parent Families…………………………………………………………..82 Racial Discrimination and Lynching…………………………………………….88 Poverty…………………………………………………………………………...96 The Criminal Justice System…………………………………………………...102 Choosing Texts to Teach…………..…………………………………………...107 Moving from Awareness to Advocacy………………………………………....108 IV. CRITICAL YOUTH STUDIES AND YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE………...110 Evaluating and Connecting with Young Adult Literature………………..…….115 Reading with Lenses, Including the Youth Lens…………………………….…119 Social