Students Must See Themselves and Others in the Literature They Read
Students need a variety of texts and topics in their reading diet. We often think about that as offering a variety of genres and text structures. But that’s only part of it. The topics, authors, characters, settings, and ideas students
encounter should vary widely, too. Students also need to see themselves as valued and present in the books they’re reading to develop a sense of self as readers, an ingredient, we argue, that is crucial to the outcomes we’re all looking for. Furthermore, they need access to books with characters that look and live like them, but also with people, settings, and cultures that are unfamiliar to them. That’s the right and equitable thing to do, so everyone has access to books with characters that look and live like them and everyone also gets to read about people, settings, and ways that are completely unfamiliar. But there’s even more to this. When readers are familiar with a book’s topic or setting, it’s easier for them to make the crucial connections that lead to comprehension. You’ll learn about that in Chapter 1: “The Role of Knowledge.” Readers don’t have to work as hard to make connections because they’re swimming in familiar and comfortable waters. That’s good because it builds confidence and is an important assist to comprehension. But reading for deep understanding is often hard work. In supportive ways, we need to provide all students with frequent opportunities for productive struggle. Otherwise, we won’t build their reading muscles and capacity to hang in there when the going gets tough.
A Note on Teaching Multilingual Learners In educational settings and in instructional materials, the needs of English language learners are often marginalized. We don’t do that in this book. We weave in frequent modifications that support multilingual English learners— and everyone else—through a universal design approach to teaching ELA. We’re fans of “designing at the margins,” the idea that when designing systems, accounting for the needs of the group(s) furthest away from the center of our attention will end up serving everyone better, and often in unexpected ways. That’s definitely true when it comes to teaching multilingual learners (MLs). The language-rich practices we include help MLs learn to speak and understand what they read in English in order to thrive alongside their peers—while making learning more vibrant for all students.
When we introduce such a practice, we call your attention to it with this blue symbol:
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INTRODUCTION
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