11th ELA

Standards for Classroom Novel Use

To build a foundation for college and career readiness, students must read widely and deeply from among a broad range of high-quality, increasingly challenging literary and informational texts. Through extensive reading of stories, dramas, poems, and myths from diverse cultures and different time periods, students gain literary and cultural knowledge as well as familiarity with various text structures and elements. Students can only gain this foundation when the curriculum is intentionally and coherently structured to develop rich content knowledge within and across grades. Students also acquire the habits of reading independently and closely, which are essential to their future success. - Utah State Core Standards

Purpose of novels in classroom instruction

Guiding questions

1. What standards am I teaching? How does this novel support those standards? 2. What are the needs of the students in my class? How will I scaffold this novel to meet those needs? 3. What background knowledge do students need in order to access this novel? 4. What will students be doing to show their thinking during the reading of this novel? 5. How does this novel relate to other content areas? 6. Which sections will I emphasize in class? Which will I assign as homework?

Implementation and Alignment to Scope and Sequence

Meets Standard

Does Not Meet Standard

A variety of text types and complexities are used in class with appropriately matched tasks. All texts actively read using a strategy on the literacy block, e.g., ● Annotating the text ● Citing textual evidence ● Note-taking (Cornell notes, guided notes, etc.) Use of text is focused on standards. Short sections selected for close reading. Students demonstrate their thinking of the novel through academic discussion and writing in a variety of ways. Teachers require students to use textual evidence to support academic discussion and writing, to demonstrate a varying degree of depth of knowledge. Class time used to actively read sections for whole-class activities. Other sections assigned as outside reading. Limited sections of audio used to support active reading (eg., a few minutes of listening followed by independent reading, followed by partner discussion).

Difficult texts not appropriately scaffolded. Low-level texts not matched to difficult task. Students follow along as teacher reads without accompanying active task. Students listening to tape without accompanying active task. Students reading silently without accompanying active task. No close readings of novel performed. Understanding of the novel demonstrated through an end of novel test focusing on recall. Discussions and writing focus on the events of the novel, not pulling evidence to support larger ideas. Depth of knowledge 1 or 2.

Considerable class time spent to read or listen to the novel in order to read the entire novel in class.

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