Trade Books to Interest and Educate Students

I did not know it until I read the chapters, but trade books are definitely the kind of texts I would like to use in my classroom.  While sometimes it might be helpful to read a textbook description of an author's life or about how different literary elements work together, most learning will come from actually experiencing the elements in play inside a text.

A trade book would be an excellent way to introduce my students to a wide variety of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and the like to teach a wide array of topics.  If I could find a trade book that had multiple literary example pieces, I could strategically assign students to a certain one based on his or her reading skill level.  Then, all of the students would be able to discuss a specific theme or element without having to struggle with just the reading aspect of it; I would be able to scaffold literacy skills while simultaneously having them learn a curriculum standard.  I could use this approach to let them select a text that is suited to their interests or skill level - i.e. one student chooses a novel about the Revolutionary War, while another chooses a Shakespearean play, then they both must explore the texts looking for symbolism.  It is also a great opportunity to include community-building and cooperative learning into my classroom by having students with similar interests read the same book and form a sort of book club to explore elements.  I could then use things like a discussion forum such as Blackboard as a way to incorporate the technology that interests students and to allow a collaborative discussion.

The trade book approach also allows for a way to uniquely assess and support their learning.  If my students are all reading different texts, I can assign them a write to learn as a way to consolidate, expand, or explore their thoughts.  Because each student is reading something different, an ungraded and relatively unstructured assignment would be an excellent way to learn something about their specific text by approaching it from a fresh perspective.  Write to learn is also a great way to improve writing and analytical skills (which is a big portion of my job).

Reader response is the perfect way to assess students that are all reading different texts.  At the beginning of the unit (say, theme) I would tell give them background knowledge on theme, and eventually a set of texts to choose on that have very strong themes I know the students could learn a lot from.  After a certain amount of time of them reading with special focus on theme, I would ask for a reading response about how theme is present in their novel.  There are other interesting questions I could ask to address things like racism, culture, etc., such as "how does your theme connect to current issues of race in society?"  This covers content area (literature), specific standards (theme), practices skills (analyzing and writing), critical issues (race), and is gives me and my students an opportunity to get to know them/selves (personal opinion).  The combination of letting my students choose something that is important to them and asking them to write reflective pieces will allow me to connect with my students and understand their personal learning style better.