Exemplary Practice Abstract
The exemplary practice I chose to research was the inclusion of literature into content area classes. It is not surprising that researchers, such as Mazzoni and Gambrell (2003) noted that students learn best if they are interested and involved.
The term "Literature" for this project is meant include any supplemental reading used in a lesson aside from the textbook students have been assigned. The literature included a short story from a picture book, except from an informational text or fiction. In addition to the students reading the literature, or having it read to them, there was a follow-up activity in which the students interacted with the material. The importance of having the students interact with the literature read aloud is supported by Routman (2000) who stated that it is the interaction and conversations about a book that makes reading aloud powerful.
Two classes were involved in this study, a control group in which there was no intervention, and a class in which the in the intervention was presented. The intervention consisted of literature and an accompanying activity presented twice during a unit of study. At the conclusion of the unit, students in each class completed a graphic organizer. The research also included classroom observations of both groups, a questionnaire completed by the literature-enhanced class, and a review of the unit exam from both groups of students.
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