FROM THE FIELD

Reading Fiction WholeA language arts teacher uses a 'whole novels' approach

to give her students an authentic literary experience, BY ARIEL SACKS

English teacher ArielSacks believes it'simportant to leadstudents to maketheir own discoveriesin literature.

Literary fiction is an art that seeks tocreate an immersive experience for thereader, but we often don't approach itthat way with our students. We parcelout books in pieces and ask studentsto analyze them along the way without

the ability to understand a work in its entirety.This is sort of like asking students to interpret acorner of a painting. Without the entire (context,it lacks meaning and can become frustrating.

Imagine walking into a movie theater andfinding that the movie is switched off every fewminutes. Someone in the front of the room asksquestions designed to see if you understandwhat you are seeing and demands that youanalyze the clip in front of the othermoviegoers. Only then does he move to the nextclip. It takes 12 hours to get through the entirefeature-lengtli film. If this were the norm, wouldyou ever go to the movies?

Yet, as teachers, we continue to segment,literary works and erect barriers betweenstudents and their experience of fictionalworlds. In my view, this is one of the bigcontributors to the widespread phenomenonthat teacher Kelly Callagher famously dubbed"readicide."

When I was studying to be a teacher at BankStreet College in New York City nine years ago,my advisor and children's literature instructor,Madeleine Ray, planted a different concept inmy mind: Let students read novels in theirentirety. Then let them talk about what theyfind interesting in the book, facilitating thegroup's exploration of the text. She convincedme to do away with prescribed comprehensionand discussion questions and let the studentslead the way.

I first tried this "whole novels" method as astudent-teacher in Bank Street's own private labschool. I gave students a schedule for readingWalter Dean Myers' Scorpions at home andPost-it notes to record their thoughts on thepages as they read. A week later, we gathered

oo

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EVERY TIME I'VE TAKEN THIS LEAP OF FAITH with my students,they have surprised me. I've found that students can discover on their own justabout everything I might have planned to 'teach' them about literature.

for discussions. To my surprise, everystudent had read the novel and postedsticky notes as requested. We had afascinating time discussing and takingapart the elements of the novel, acting outscenes, and writing about the issuesMyers raises.

Naturally, I tried the format again inmy first teaching position in a Title Ischool in East Harlem. On the date thebook was due, we gathered together fordiscussions. It quickly became apparentthat exactly half the class had read thebook and the other half hadn't gotten pastthe first few pages. I realized I had someproblem-solving to do if I wanted to keepusing this approach in an environmentwhere students' reading abilities andstudy habits varied widely. At the sametime, I was impressed that many of thestudents had completed the reading ontheir own. This group's discussions werefull of energy, driven by their authenticresponses to the novel. They feltrewarded and were hungry for more. Iwanted to help all my students rise to thechallenge.

Since then, I have been developingw ays to work with students of varyingabilities in reading whole novels anddriving their own discussions. Every timeI've taken this leap of faith with mystudents, they have surprised me. I'vefound that students can discover on theirown just about everything I might haveplanned to "teach" them about literature.The keys are to create a supportiveclassroom community and give them thetime and space to interact authenticallywith the literary work. Here's how I dothat:

Framing the projuct. After selecting adevelopmentally and thematicallymeaningfiil work, I launch each whole-novel study with a ritual I learned fromMadeleine. Each student receives agallon-size Ziploc bag with a copy of thebook and a letter from me introducing the

novel and expectations for their workinside. Also enclosed are a readingschedule and Post-it notes for them torecord their responses. The studentsrecognize this ritual as the beginning of apersonal literary journey.

Providing reading time and support.After that first year, I learned that I had tosupport students through the readingprocess. The key, I've found, is to makestudents feel part of a group processwithout getting in between them and thetext. Once the project has begun, I oftenbegin class with a check-in meeting. I ask,"How's the reading going?" and get someinformal responses. Sometimes I askstudents to choose a section from lastnight's reading to read aloud together, andwe talk briefly about it.

I also give students time to readindependently roughly three days a week,while I circulate, conferring withindividuals, or reading aloud with a smallgroup. On other days, I pair studentsstrategically and have them read aloud toone another and write notes together.

lYacking progress. The sticky notes havebecome my primary method for holdingstudents accountable for the reading,though they also serve other purposes.The idea is for students to use them torecord real-time, free-form responses tothe story—questions, observations,connections, and opinions. In general, Irequire students write four notes pernight, though I give some stronger readersmore fiexihility.

As the project moves forward, Iregularly assess students' notes to findareas where I can help them bettercomprehend or deepen their experiencewithout breaking their flow or doing thework for them. I grade their notes andfollow up with families when studentsfall behind.

Not surprisingly, many students findthat writing the notes helps them become

more engaged in the story. Some of mystruggling readers choose to write Post-itnotes on almost every page of the book.

Creating group mini-projects. With eachnovel, we focus on a literary element orcombination of elements. For example,with The House on Mango Street bySandra Cisneros, we look closely atsetting and theme. I design group mini-projects that allow students to investigatethe literary world of the book through thelens of this literary element. For example,students might select quotes that describesetting and create drawings based onthem, or map relationships betweencharacters.

In these projects, students collaborateto expand their understanding of whatthey read without interrupting thesubjective, immersive nature of theirexperience and without having me fallinto the role of chief thinker ininterpreting the novel.

nisciLssing literature. By the time the duedate arrives for completing the reading,students are usually dying to discuss thehook. We sit in a circle. I do this with halfthe class at one time, while the other halfworks on creative writing related to thenovel. We go around the circle to air gutreactions to the book. "You may sayanything you want about the book—something you liked or hated, a characteror scene you want to comment on,something that confused you, or you canshare a favorite Post-it note," I tellstudents. I take notes on my laptop,projecting them onto a screen so we canrefer to them later.

After everyone has spoken once, thediscussion is open, and studentsdetermine its direction. For example,students may debate a character'smotivation in a particular scene or themerits of the novel's ending. I moderateand encourage students to back up theirpoints with evidence from the text.

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FROM THE FIELD

We continue the discussions over threedays. At the start of each session, I passout copies of the previous day's notes toprovide context.

I never really know how the discussionwill unfold, but I've discovered sometrends over the years. In the secondsession, we tend to do a lot of rereading ofcontroversial or confusing sections,examining evidence for students'opinions and seeking further insight inthe language. This work often guides us tothe discovery of patterns or themes withinthe text. I try not to lead the group with aheavy hand to discover such patterns, hutI do make a point to direct attentiontoward pertinent comments when theycome up.

I also look for occasions to introduce

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ÍÍ, I LEADING awhole-novei study is iike

throwing a boomerang. Ifthe boomerang is carvedwell, and I aim it properly,

it will take a journey andcome back to me.

discipline-specific terms to namestudents' discoveries. I celebrate thesediscoveries and tell the students, forexample, "There's an official name in theworld of literature for what you've justdescribed—it's called foreshadowing."By the time I introduce the term, manystudents already understand it on aconceptual level.

In the third session, we usually shiftfocus toward the author's role andpurpose in creating the work. If the groupdoesn't enter this level of analysis on itsown, I lead gently with a question."We've talked a lot about this character,"I might say. "Why would the authorinclude someone like this in the story?"Or I might ask, "Why might the authorchoose to end the book this way?" Wereread the end for clues as to what theauthor wants us to think about uponleaving his or her literary world and whatthe overall message might be.

Leading a whole-novel study is likethrowing a boomerang. If the boomerangis carved well, and I aim it properly, itwill take a journey and come back to me.If the literary work is artfully written andmeaningful to students, and I support theclass well, they will arrive at all thelearning objectives I am responsible forteaching and then some. What's more isthat they build stamina, confidence,critical thinking, and the habit of readingwhole books by themselves. •

ARIEL SACKS is a 7th grade English teacherin Brooklyn, N.Y. A member of the TeacherLeaders Network, she writes the blog On theShoulders of Giants and is working on a bookon teaching whole novels.

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