Today, I have a reading comprehension sort of question. One of the bigger shifts in language arts courtesy of the Common Core state standards is the move away from fiction texts toward more focus on nonfiction texts. As a lover of the expository essay (and as someone who wishes he could write a whole lot more of them), I find this shift to be a smart one. I make a substantial portion of my living as a result of being able to write in different informative styles, so I can see the practicalities of it for today’s students.
However, I’m also a really big fan of fiction. I write a lot of that too. And I enjoy reading it even more. Heck, I even enjoyed teaching fiction writing (a fact about as surprising as admitting I love writing expository essays). And I believe there’s a tremendous amount of practical writing skills that can be gathered by studying fiction texts.
What work of fiction that you have shared with students in the past would you fight to keep in your curriculum going forward with Common Core standards? Whether it’s reading a play out loud or sharing a moving short story or a beloved novel, share with us!
I teach 5th grade and we do novel studies of several different novels throughout the year. I don’t have a favorite that I feel absolutely MUST be saved, but I do want my students to be exposed to a variety of genres. In our daily lives, we MUST learn how to navigate nonfiction text in order to be successful, but I also want my students to develop a love of reading by letting them choose stories that interest them – be it fiction or nonfiction.