Classroom Strategies for Reading in the Secondary Art Classroom
High school readers are most likely to continue reading in art if they engage in positive, shared peer reading experiences. Depending on the needs and interests of the students, I suggest the two reading strategies below.
Class Read-Alouds
This type of reading experience involves the entire group. The teacher or student volunteers read aloud from the text while the rest of the class listens.
- Arrange students in a comfortable way that facilitates group listening and participation. Everyone should be able to see each other to emphasize the shared experience.
- Before each read-aloud session, prepare students by giving them some things to be looking for or paying attention to in the story as you read. Write these on the board.
- Get students to volunteer to read aloud by letting them choose when to read, knowing they will all have to read at some point before the book is done. (Start a sign up sheet so students know when they are expected to read and this does not disrupt the flow of the book.)
Literature Circles or Book Clubs
This type of reading experience takes place in small groups composed of 5 or less students. Students can meet in these groups to read and discuss literature that meets their mutual interests. Students take responsibility for their learning as they share ideas and opinions with their peers.
- Students should choose their own group and the book to read.
- Assign each member a role/responsibility for each meeting. These can include group leader/facilitator, summarizer, record keeper, finder of specific story ideas in the text, etc.
- Make sure each member asks at least 3 questions to keep up the discussion.
*Students should be given opportunities to view the artworks mentioned in the story. For fictional novels, students should also investigate how much and which elements of the story are based in truth.
Check for student understanding through dramatizations of the text
Dramatizations bring the story into the classroom and make it real and relevant for students by asking them to take on character roles or extend the story. Each of the titles suggested on this website are listed with accompanying dramatization exercises for the classroom.
- Students will demonstrate their understanding of the text by inferring, hypothesizing, predicting, and applying their knowledge as they enact parts of the text through studio experiences and embodying different roles from the story.