As a teacher trainer, I know the challenge of creating an English language arts (ELA) curriculum that keeps students engaged while helping them learn key concepts. One way to do this is to teach not just from novels but also from informational texts, media, and other sources. This approach incorporates a wider variety of both topics and standards. After all, roughly half of reading standards across the country revolve around informational texts.

Allowing students to explore topics of interest through research and other projects connects learning to what motivates them. Incorporating historical context, current events, and real-world issues alongside novels helps students better understand the periods and settings of the novels, while also incorporating informational texts and primary sources. It also shows how literature relates to and reflects the real world, thus gaining student buy-in and interest.

Using Informational Texts to Put Fiction in Context

Novels can teach students about historical events through a fictional lens, but they can’t do all the heavy lifting. Informational texts and primary sources provide additional context and heighten students’ understanding of historical events in ways that may be more accessible to them. These materials could also include different forms of media, including podcasts. (Just make sure to listen to any podcast before assigning it — in some cases, you may be well served by removing material that isn’t age-appropriate.)

Students tend to be naturally interested in reading about people close to their age. For example, I used to teach the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton to my eighth-grade class. This powerful novel is about two groups of teenagers from different sides of town living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, during the 1960s. To truly grasp all the intricacies of the novel, the students needed the added historical background of the tumultuous 1960s: the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the moon landing, Woodstock, the explosion of youth culture, and so much more. Using informational texts adds historical facts that enrich students’ understanding of the novel and its importance in the literary canon.

As another example, I used to teach Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story about Brain Science. This nonfiction book is about a man working on the railroad who suffered a horrific brain injury and the impact it had on his personality. In addition to reading the story, we discussed the history of the medical industry, including the use of the now-debunked “science” of phrenology and the theory of the four humors. Informational texts were instrumental in getting students to look beyond the story to a more historical level and think about how far we’ve come in medical knowledge — and how far we still have to go. In this unit, we were able to study cross-curricular texts in both science and math, which not only makes for stronger readers, but also helps students make connections between subjects.

Exploring Students’ Interests

Students have varying interests, some of which might make excellent research papers — even when the teacher might disagree! For example, a student of mine once wanted to write a research paper on body piercings. Not knowing much about piercings, I had reservations and tried to persuade her to consider other topics. She surprised me, though, by presenting one of the best research papers I’ve received, including information on piercings for migraines and the role of piercings in different religious cultures. I learned a lot, and she enjoyed the process of researching and writing about a topic that was genuinely interesting to her.

In an inquiry-based classroom, students need the freedom to explore topics that are interesting to them, and they need access to diverse, relevant resources about those topics. Of course, teachers should be there to guide their research. But in doing so, we must remember that the students know what they are interested in far better than we do, and they may have more knowledge on their topic of interest than we do. To promote student agency, our role is to ask questions, give students the tools they need to research effectively, then get out of the way and let them do their work.

Interdisciplinary Fun Through Theme Days

Finding the balance between rigor and fun can be a challenge. As a teacher, I enjoyed incorporating students’ interests into lessons to keep them engaged. Sometimes, they would enjoy the lesson so much that they didn’t even realize how much they were learning!

For instance, I would often turn Fridays into fun days that incorporated some type of eccentric topic into various learning activities. One day, I wore a sweater with a goose on it and decided to theme the lessons around that. Then we did goose activities all day: We did a gallery walk identifying idioms and phrases using the word “goose.” We read Aesop’s The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg and incorporated some math — for example, how much would the golden egg be worth today? This required researching the value of gold, determining the egg size of the average goose, and solving for mass and volume. We also read some informational texts about how geese flying over mountains ride the thermal updrafts like rollercoasters. I set up timed stations, so the students had to work through them within a certain time frame to keep the pace moving and ensure everyone did everything. We did so much work that day, practicing various skills like close reading and critical thinking. Was it a little silly? Sure. Did the students have fun? I think so. And most importantly, did they learn? Absolutely — even if they didn’t quite realize it at the time.

Different Proofs of Learning

While many ELA classes culminate in students writing a paper that demonstrates their ability to compare texts, debate points, or determine an author’s purpose, offering other options can drastically increase engagement. For instance, I would make room for student choice by assigning a “choice board” to accompany a novel. This allowed some students to create a playlist for The Outsiders and explain their reasoning for choosing particular songs as the backdrop for specific scenes. This exercise broadens students’ perspectives and is a fun way to get them thinking about what is happening in different parts of the book. Other students of mine chose to record a podcast episode, make a drawing, or paint a picture.

I’ve also held Socratic debates, which allow students to make arguments based on their research and understanding of a particular text or topic. This gives them an opportunity to formulate their arguments for an oral audience, which requires different skills than presenting an argument on paper, where you don’t have somebody facing you and directly opposing you. This is a great way to target speaking and listening standards outside of the traditional speech format.

Here again, giving students the latitude to pursue their own research topics improves engagement. Even if they don’t have much experience presenting in front of a classroom, they’ll be eager to present their arguments because they feel comfortable and confident with their research.

Just as all students choose different topics, all students learn differently. Teachers who bring a combination of creativity and flexibility to their classrooms will be rewarded with students who are engaged, learning, and having fun.

About the author

A former English Language Arts and Social Studies teacher, Hannah Roudebush is now a training consultant at Gale, part of Cengage Group, where she develops and delivers trainings for K-12 schools and public library customers. She can be contacted via LinkedIn.