“It was better than a boring textbook”: Using Middle Grade Novels in an Adolescent Development Course, a guest post by Heidi Sackreiter

University students are sometimes reluctant to read the formal, often-lengthy textbooks required of them. Rather than traditional textbook reading, I decided to allow undergraduate university students enrolled in an Adolescent Development course to explore content by reading and discussing notable literature selections. This enterprise included specific middle-grade chapter books and graphic novels intended for older children and young adolescent readers. Because these Adolescent Development students were Education majors pursuing careers in middle level and high school classrooms, I felt this middle-grade book reading experience offered a special opportunity to study examples of development and get inside the minds and hearts of adolescents. And for some Education majors this was a more engaging reading experience.

The Education majors explored a range of implications associated with adolescent development through specific characters and their unique yet relatable circumstances. Various moments in these middle-grade stories help readers of any age to appreciate all that comes with growing up and the factors that affect young people’s well-being and school experiences.

Physical development can significantly affect how an adolescent is perceived as well as self-confidence. Prospective teachers must realize that relying solely on physical appearance to make judgements could be misleading, particularly during puberty. Caring teachers will not assume things about a learner based looks alone, and this can be appreciated when reading Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya. In this book, a much-taller-than-average boy enters a meaningful journey with his family to explore his culture and search for his father. Readers can also take in Marcus’s touching relationship with his brother who has Down Syndrome.

While reading Planet Earth is Blue by Nicole Panteleakos, readers enter the thoughts of a non-verbal girl on her journey through the foster care system and as she heartbreakingly waits for her beloved older sister’s return. This book also speaks to the value of appropriate, accessible instruction and peer interactions of learners with disabilities. Themes related to family separation and neurological differences are also examined in another notable book, Tune It Out by Jamie Sumner. Readers meet a talented young singer with a sensory processing disorder and observe as she navigates a new home, school, and some extraordinary friendships.

Pony and Prairie Lotus allow readers to relate current adolescent concerns to the characters living over 100 years ago. These coming-of-age stories explore topics of death, family, and perseverance with main characters striving to conquer obstacles. R.J. Palacio’s mysterious Pony speaks to friendships, bravery, and the loving memories between father and son. Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park reflects issues of unfairness and prejudice through the eyes of an Asian girl as she pursues academic and personal dreams in the 1880s.

Relationships and sexual orientation are also important aspects of development.  K.A. Holt’s Redwood and Ponytail tells a poetic story of two girls’ feelings of romantic interest amidst parental pressure. Set mostly in a school setting, this book also reflects peer relationships and celebrating your true self. 

Finally, Wink by Rob Harrell brings readers along for the difficult and sometimes tense journey of a seventh-grade boy with a rare cancer. This main character’s serious health concerns and interactions with teachers, peers, and caregivers offer worthwhile lessons in compassion and flexibility for future educators.

These middle-grade books allow Education majors to examine their own knowledge about development and biases they have about individuals and families different from their own. To support adolescent learners effectively, one must understand intellectual and physical development as well as the various layers of an adolescent’s life. It is important for educators to consider any assumptions they might have about learners and embrace teaching everyone with an open mind.

The Education majors responded favorably to reading middle-grade literature. Nearly all (98%) reported that they enjoyed reading a middle-grade novel instead of a traditional textbook. When asked how reading these books helped them to understand implications of teaching adolescents, some reported that these books encouraged them to “not just look at what is on the surface” when they see their learners and to have an awareness of the stereotypes and microaggressions that affect classroom climate. They also expressed that reading these middle-grade books opened their minds to many issues that affect development, and it helped them to understand development in a more personal and engaging way. A couple of Education majors shared that the books “helped me to think more than a boring textbook” and “it’s hard to relate to a formal textbook but by using literature I was able to read and see real examples of what we learned in class”.

The Education majors were also invited to read one of the three current graphic novels: New Kid by Jerry Craft, When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed, and Living with Viola by Rosena Fung. Through these emotional stories, future educators explored race, cultural identity, socioeconomic status, anxiety, trauma, parenting styles, and the universal desire for acceptance and belonging.

For some of my Education majors this was their first experience with graphic novels. Approximately half of the Education majors reported not having read a graphic novel before this class, and some reported a change in how they perceived graphic novels after reading and discussing one in the Adolescent Development course. One Education major stated that “reading the graphic novel gave me a tool to save to encourage my future students to read”. This perspective gives a hopeful prediction that new teachers will value the use of graphic novels in their classrooms.

More than being able to read about natural and representative examples of adolescent development, the Education majors’ reading experience with middle-grade books gave them something even better: an increased sensitivity to the circumstances that many adolescent learners encounter. Empathy and compassion in the classroom are musts if educators want all learners to genuinely feel they belong. With an improved awareness of the diverse abilities and interests of their prospective learners, new teachers can do more to be responsive to individual needs and be respectful of the difficulties and excitement that come with the shift from being a child to an becoming an adolescent. And they can revisit the joy of middle-grade books and see that these stories are truthfully for readers of any age. 

Meet the author

Heidi Sackreiter is an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education at South Dakota State University. She has spent many years in working higher education, mostly teaching courses related to child and adolescent development, literacy, K-8 methods, and graduate-level topics. A lifelong fan of books, Heidi enjoys bringing children’s literature into her university courses. When she and her husband are not working, they love spending time with and cheering on their three beautiful children.

Filed under: Guest Post