The Value of Literature in Education

Literacy is about more than reading and writing - it is about how we communicate in society. It is about social practices and relationships, about knowledge, language and culture. Being literate is a key aspect in life, hence why throughout student’s lives, reading is so important and so valued. A variety of famous literature are part of history, and many other famous novels take place in historic time periods, such as the Ancient Greek Era, The Great War, and The Great Depression. One truly known example of a masterpiece in literature is the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. In the tenth grade english curriculum, literature is one of the main focuses (considering the “OSSLT”). The curriculum includes a variety of well-known novels students read in the course. Inquiry and research into

Throughout this course, I have discovered that literature is more than just words being brought together by an author to form an emotionally charged story. Literature provides an engaging outlet into an imaginary realm to its audience. As the reader is captivated by the story, poem or play, a, emotional connection is established.

The students at our school can be influenced about what to think based on the books that they read without even knowing it. They can change our ideas of what should and should not be written about by either eliminating the positive or the negative part of the story and by only containing one side of a story. In the library at this school, almost all students can see representations of themselves and their life experiences in the books, but some do not. Although literature tries to appeal and relate to everyone, there are always a few stories that are not told and have not been represented. These people whose stories are not represented can grow up to tell their own stories and possibly change the world.

There are many important skills that students must learn in school. One important skill would be how to read and write and the other would be how to think critically. These two skills are very important in different ways. However, they are both important skills that will help individuals throughout different times in their lives. The skill of reading and writing can open a door into a new world, a world filled with words. Critical thinking can help with having to make life changing decisions or it can help find a solution to a difficult issue. The skills reading and writing and critical thinking are all important skills in their own way, and they are both important during many aspects of life.

In the article, “Why Literature Matters” by Dana Gioia, Gioia argues that the decline of interest in art in young Americans is a major problem. Gioia uses polls, studies, and a quotation from a credible author in order to illustrate this point. Gioia’s overall purpose in writing this article is to highlight the lack of art interest in young Americans. His primary audience would most likely be the American people, with an emphasis on millennials.

Throughout all of time, literature has played an important role in people’s lives. Books are more than just stories to laugh at, cry with, or fall asleep to, but books can teach. Books can teach a person a simple task such as baking cookies or an extremely complex one such as solving for the derivative of a trigonometric path and its parabolic motion. Whatever the subject, whomever the reader, books can teach people many lessons. One of the most important lessons that a book can teach a reader is a lesson about himself, about the difficulties of life, and about living a good life. As time has passed, so has literature itself. Older books focused on historical events, fictional poetry, and important figures; however, books now have evolved to

Throughout all of time, literature has played an important role in people’s lives. Books are more than just stories to laugh at, cry with, or fall asleep to, but books can teach. Literature

Reading has the power to broaden my perspective, expand my mind, and take me on an adventure far away from reality. Unsurprisingly, I am very enthusiastic about reading and it has earned its title as my favorite pastime. Admittedly, before this class, I usually chose to read my favorite genre, fictional novels, and would only read nonfiction books on occasion. This was due to my illusory belief that only a work of fiction would have the power to whisk me off into another world and evoke powerful emotions. However, after the first three lessons, I was challenged to read literature from all kinds of different genres, including speeches. I was astounded by how much I enjoyed all of the different works of literature. They were able to take me on an adventure, regardless of the genre.

Since the mid 20th century literature has been a prominent aspect of life in American culture, beginning how to read it in our childhood to benefiting by it throughout adulthood. Throughout the texts of “Heels over Hemingway”, “Why Literature Matters” , and “Good-bad books” all similarly argue the idea that Literature has changed over the years, due to the fact that American has changed as well effecting literature. For this reason Dowd, Orwell, and Gioia assert to their audience the importance of literature, and that it should have a place in society by utilizing rhetorical strategies such as analogy, ethos, pathos, logos, and diction.

As a teacher one looks forward to the beginning and the end of a school year. The beginning of a school year brings in new minds and attitudes that a teacher can influence and educate. Students also bring with them new ideas and knowledge that a teacher can use to work with them. My objective as a teacher is to get students acquainted with major works of literature and allow them to dissect the different meanings of the texts while fostering critical thinking. Literature works as a way to allow students an insight into a writer’s mind and the time period they resided in. The pain of a poet or writer is inscribed in their writing and this is one of the main things that a student will

Every year, students in all grades read novels ranging from To Kill a Mockingbird to The Great Gatsby. Yet, these students almost always complain about being required to read these classic works of literature. Classic novels have been put in the school curriculum for ages. Why would we change that now? Students need to continue reading the classic novels in school in order to further their education, expand their reading selections, and keep author’s legacies alive and well.

Literature is used by authors to entertain and inform readers as well as to teach important lessons. Readers take pleasure in being swept away to varying worlds as the eloquent words and powerful characters transport them from the reality of one’s daily lives, into mysterious places that entice one to read on. Authors successfully captivate readers because of their dedication and inspiring words that help readers comprehend their beliefs and motives for writing. Lessons are also used in literature to teach readers about issues that could be applied generations later. Many times an author will not come out and tell one what these lessons are, they are embedded deep in the author 's characters and

Using nonfiction text requires appropriate implementation strategies. Children need explicit instruction in identifying unique features to nonfiction text, such as print features, table of contents, index, and graphic aides (Moehlman, 2013). Close reading of nonfiction text is an approach to help students critically read increasingly complex texts across the curriculum by exploring deep structures of the text. The Tools Approach is a strategy in which the teacher provides scaffolding to help students advance to the next learning stage and students develop new knowledge about nonfiction texts through interactions with peers and adults (Hall, 2016). Literature circles are excellent for students to explore nonfiction texts. Literature circles are small groups in which students all read the same story and contribute unique information about the story through an assigned responsibility (Barone & Barone, 2016). Teachers can assign students jobs within the group that will be appropriate for each individual student. Even struggling students can contribute to the group and learn from their peers at the same time. The use of graphic

As with any area in curriculum and instruction, teachers should not be fully dependent on one source, but rather use a variety of resources to help students understand content. The same can be said with the use of textbooks. Teachers should supplement core curriculum with quality trade books (GCU, 2012). Trade books can offer a wealth of information such as a means to expand vocabulary, clarify concepts, explore real-world situations, and entertain (GCU, 2012). Furthermore, Johnson & Small, (2008) stated, “In contrast to textbooks, nonfiction trade books can support instruction in nearly every subject…which

Education plays an imperative role in developing these skills. Young and Warren (2011), in their review of the education literature, stated that a number of cross-sectional research studies have shown that a student’s critical thinking ability can improve while at college. While Parcarella and Terenzini (2005) approximate that a student can improve their critical thinking skills by 63% by the end of their sophomore year. According to Hurt (2007) these skills must be developed consistently, purposefully and rationally over time to enable students to appropriately respond to the intricate issues that the working environment