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Sydney Andrews
Professor Poole
ENG 356
28 October 2019
Evidence-Based Literacy Strategies for Teens: Annotated Bibliography
Henderson, Shannon C., and Connie Buskist. “Promoting the Comprehension of Teachers and
Students Using Young Adult Literature.” Theory Into Practice, vol. 50, no. 3, June 2011,
pp. 231–238. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/00405841.2011.584034. Accessed 3 October
2019.
This article explains how young adult literature can be used to increase teen reading
comprehension levels, as teachers and students discuss YA literature themes, characters and
other non-surface level elements that are relevant and interesting to the students. The authors
explain the importance of YA literature as a ‘medium’ for critical learning and comprehensive
understanding to grow. Henderson and Buskist use passages of real dialogue from online
teacher discussions of YA literature to show how teachers becoming engrossed in literature that
their students may relate to leads to a larger awareness and usage of meaningful comprehension
processes. The article further explains that students benefit from teachers revisiting and
becoming aware of their own processes of comprehension, because educators can then use this
knowledge to help students develop and internalize good reading habits/content comprehension
methods.
This source appears valuable, and seems sound, as it uses lots of empirical evidence to
back up claims that YA literature discussions can help improve teen reading comprehension
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levels. It is published in a trusted academic journal, which speaks to its credibility as a reference
for evidence-based literacy strategies. Additionally, this article was written by two prominent
members of the education and literacy research community: Shannon C. Henderson, and Connie
Buskist are both professors in departments of early childhood, elementary, and literacy
education at their respective institutions, the University of Alabama, and Auburn University in
Montgomery. The status and qualifications of this article’s authors further implies its trustable
nature.
This article represents a useful evidence-based strategy and method for teaching reading
comprehension: one of the most important aspects of literacy. It also illustrates worthwhile
examples of how young adult literature may be better utilized by teachers in the ongoing struggle
to promote teen literacy. These sentiments will be helpful in my ongoing research, as they
explain the value of young adult literature in secondary education, the field I plan to enter.
Brozo, W. G. and Flynt, E. S. “Motivating Students to Read in the Content Classroom: Six
Evidence‐Based Principles.” The Reading Teacher, vol. 62, pp. 172-174.
ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1598/RT.62.2.9. Accessed 26 October 2019.
This article cites evidence from multiple studies, which find that student who are more
engaged readers because of the interests they have in various subjects reflected in literature, are
better students. The article then talks about how to motivate students to read and become
engaged in classroom content, by connecting this content to various outside sources of interest
for teens, such as social media, young adult literature, etc.; encouraging structured
collaboration in the classroom; promoting self-efficacy in students; engendering interest in new
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learning; and allowing students more autonomy in the classroom, as well as more options in the
types and subject matter of literature available to them.
W. G. Brozo is a professor at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, while E. S.
Flynt teaches at the University of Memphis, Tennessee. Combined, they have published dozens of
peer reviewed articles on subjects relating to evidence-based literacy strategies and motivating
students of all ages to become engaged in the classroom and in course content. The author’s
points and strategies were well written and backed up by solid evidence. This appears to be a
very sound source, especially because the sheer number of evidence/sources cited in the short,
two-page article (25 sources) amounted to almost a page of references by themselves.
This source will be valuable for me in determining the best strategies for literacy
achievement in my own classroom in the future. The points made in this article concerning how
to encourage student engagement in content literature may also help guide my research into
these subjects in more depth, increasing my understanding of how to be a good teacher.