Bibliotherapy for Adolescents with Learning Disabilities:
Addressing Social Skills through Shakespearean Literature
Peggy L. Anderson, Ph.D., Metropolitan State College of Denver
8840 E. Long Court, Englewood, Colorado, 80112
andersop@mscd.edu
Judith D. Anderson, J.D., Declues & Burkett
38 Fort Sumter, Irvine, California 92629
janderson@db-legal.com
Abstract
Bibliotherapy has historically been accepted as an appropriate social/emotional
strategy for providing assistance to both children and adolescents with disabilities.
Typically bibliotherapeutic techniques have been used to help the individual come to
terms with the disability by reading about literary characters who have faced the
challenge of problems similar to those of the reader. The premise of this instruction is
rooted in bibliotherapy theory, which suggests that reading can promote a type of
affective healing. During the past decade educators have begun exploring the use of
literature in a structured curricular framework for teaching social skills to students who
have not spontaneously learned these. This approach represents an extension of
previously used bibliotherapeutic techniques. The current paper describes one
instructional approach that involves the pairing of social skill objectives with the teaching
of Shakespearean literature for purposes of improving social cognition and problemsolving.
Teachers of children with learning disabilities have tremendous responsibilities in
meeting both the academic and social/emotional needs of their students. However, in the
past two decades of educational reform in the United States, it appears that attention to
social and emotional needs has been relegated to a less significant curricular role as
emphasis has shifted almost exclusively to meeting academic standards. Arguably,
academic standards are of critical importance, but meeting the educational needs of the
student with a disability must include attention to the social/emotional as well as the
academic. For if these individuals do not exhibit social and emotional competence, it is
highly unlikely that they will meet the challenge of independent living when they
transition into the community. Teachers of students with learning disabilities must be
prepared to practice affective therapy to support the emotional needs of these students
and to teach critical social skills.
Social Skills Research
It has been documented that students with learning disabilities often exhibit
significant problems with social relationships, such as making friends and behaving
appropriately in different social contexts (1). In fact, the acquisition of social skills by
students with learning disabilities has been cited as a problem that is equally significant
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as the academic and language problems of this group of learners (2)(3). These deficits
continue to persist through adulthood, when they have a devastating effect on the lives of
these individuals---perhaps even more so than a lack of academic skills (4).
Although the literature clearly documents the social difficulties that are often
concomitant to the academic deficits of students with learning disabilities, practitioners
have struggled with the best intervention for alleviating these problems. Forness and
Kavale (5) conducted a meta-analysis of 53 studies of social skills training in the 15 years
prior to the date the research was published. The results of this meta-analysis revealed
that little measurable progress has been made with these students in terms of social skills
growth. Forness and Kavale suggested that a number of variables, including insufficient
emphasis on cognitive, linguistic, or academic components, could be responsible for the
absence of growth in this area. These researchers suggested that social skill training
might need to be more closely coordinated with academic training to achieve maximum
results.
Bibliotherapy and Social Skill Development
Given the social and academic needs of students with learning disabilities, it
would appear that bibliotherapy would be an appropriate strategy that could be highly
effective for supporting academic as well as emotional growth. Although there are many
perspectives on bibliotherapy, Johnson, Wan, Templeton, Graham, and Sattler (6) address
one perspective that is particularly relevant to the bibliotherapeutic technique described
in this paper. They interpret bibliotherapy as the process by which teachers make
decisions regarding appropriate literature and then match this literature to the needs of the
learner in an effort to assist the learner in the development of self-awareness, problemsolving, and perspective-taking with the objective of achieving enhanced perception of
problems. Consistent with this interpretation is Caffee’s (7) observation that
bibliotherapy employs literature as a “change agent,” suggesting that when change does
occur through reading, it must be described in terms of a growth process encouraged by
identification with characters and catharsis, leading to greater self-awareness.
Cultural Literacy and Bibliotherapy
A teacher who embarks upon the journey to implement bibliotherapy into a
literacy program has a vast array of literature to choose from. Why then should a teacher
be encouraged to select Shakespeare? After all Shakespeare is feared by many, the
majority of whom may perceive him to be a scholastic ogre of sorts rather than a brilliant
playwright who weaves fanciful plots with wide audience appeal. Persuasive arguments
are needed to encourage adolescents to adjust their negative preconceptions of this
author. Marva Collins (8), a teacher and author of considerable reputation in the United
States, provides a convincing testimony for the integration of Shakespeare into the
curriculum. In an egalitarian fashion, Collins recommends the use of classic literature,
and Shakespeare in particular, for students of all ages and ability levels. And she has
written extensively on her successful experiences teaching Shakespeare as part of the
elementary education curriculum in an inner city school. Her experiences counter the
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anachronistic notion that Shakespeare’s works should be the exclusive territory of
accelerated classrooms for high achieving college preparatory students. Hirsch, Kett, and
Trefil (9), advocates of what is referred to in the United States as “cultural literacy,” have
also attested to the importance of classic literature for everyone. They have discussed the
idea of becoming culturally literate as a cumulative journey that will assist a learner to
make increasing sense of the world. Hirsh and his colleagues stated that achieving
cultural literacy should be the objective of all educational reform. It is certainly possible
to argue that an individual who has no frame of reference for phrases, such as “to be or
not to be” and “I smell a rat” might be at a disadvantage in any number of social or
educational situations. Teachers who are concerned with the reading demands of classic
literature for their students with learning disabilities should be referred to numerous
teaching resources that offer modifications of this material
Using selected Shakespearean works to teach social skills is a strategy that
maximizes available instructional time. The student has the benefit of learning the
literature while at the same time acquiring essential social cognition skills that will
hopefully be transferred to other settings. This type of integrated curriculum may also be
more effective than teaching these areas separately, as Forness and Kavale (5) have
suggested that growth in this area may be contingent upon coordinating the academic
content with the affective to achieve optimal results.
Shakespeare and Adolescence Interests: The Perfect Match
If social skills are to be learned within the curriculum, the teacher’s challenge is
to offer a framework that is compatible with the context of the students’ lives. Power
struggles with adults, sex, and TV/movie violence are usually of great interest to teens.
Thorson (10), who taught a Shakespeare unit to students with learning disabilities, found
it unsurprising that this group of adolescents was always interested in her comments
about “disgusting violence, teen sex, blue jokes, and disagreeable adults prevalent in
these works” (p. 576). Thus, teachers who teach Shakespeare with an emphasis on those
story elements are likely to get more mileage from the curriculum. Perhaps it was the
bawdiness of the jokes running throughout all of Shakespeare’s works that made his
plays favorites of the common man in the 16th and 17th centuries. And perhaps it will be
the fighting between teen and parent in Romeo and Juliet or the feminist theme in the
Merchant of Venice that will strike a spark of interest and open the door for problemsolving and increased self-awareness for today’s teen reader.
A Structured Bibliotherapeutic Approach to Social Skill Instruction
Sclabassi (11) recommended that bibliotherapy could best be understood in terms
of four separate applications: self-actualization, social utilization, psychotherapeutic
utilization, and educational/didactic utilization. For purposes of this paper, the
application of social utilization will be emphasized. Sclabassi described this aspect of
bibliotherapy as exerting influence on social functioning; the premise being that social
skill development can be improved through reading selected works. Thus, instructional
objectives that address social acceptance, social standing, and social awareness may
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significantly impact this aspect of the individual’s life. In terms of incorporating
bibliotherapy into instructional units, there are many different approaches. Aiex (12) has
suggested a comprehensive plan that includes a sequence of steps to assist teachers and
therapists for implementation of an effective program. This instructional sequence
includes the following steps: (1) motivational activities, (2) actual reading, (3) incubation
time, (4) discussion activities and (5) evaluation and closure. When working with
students with disabilities, it is important that the teacher or therapist provide extension
activities at each level to reinforce the material and accommodate the learner’s unique
instructional needs. Aiex’s instructional sequence lends itself particularly well to a
bibliotherapeutic approach that addresses social skill instruction.
Program Planning
In reference to the motivational activities, teachers may need to use additional
strategies that are more varied for learners with disabilities. It may well be enough for
typical learners to have their teacher provide some thought provoking questions for
consideration before beginning their reading, but the student with a disability will likely
need more intensive activities that provide additional stimulation. Preparing students with
learning disabilities to study Shakespeare is as important as the actual introduction and
teaching of the lessons. Many of these students may be apprehensive because of what
they have heard regarding the complexity of Shakespeare. Achieving some level of
comfort and piquing interest will assist in meeting the objectives of the bibliotherapy.
Orientation to the story can be accomplished in a number of different ways. Showing
films to the students can be very helpful in this process. There are many choices in the
case of Romeo and Juliet. The film West Side Story is a modern day version of this
classic Shakespearean play, as is the more recent film version of Romeo and Juliet
starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes. Typically adolescents find it relaxing and
entertaining to view films, which can ultimately be a nonthreatening and enjoyable way
to introduce Shakespeare to reluctant readers.
For the actual reading of the selected Shakespearean work, the teacher or therapist
will want to choose one of the numerous adaptations available to reduce the complexity
of the literature. The Streamlined Shakespeare Series (13) is recommended because it
offers a summary of each play in narrative form and an adaptation of the play at the
fourth grade reading level. Even though the adaptation may be significantly lower in
reading level, it is important that the teacher guide the adolescent throughout the reading
to be sure that actual comprehension is within performance expectations.
During the “incubation time” students can engage in some free writing activities
explaining how they have reacted to various aspects of the play. These free writing
exercises allow the students to begin to form ideas about the characters and their actions.
In some cases, adolescents with learning disabilities will be opposed to writing because
of weak skills in this area. In that situation, oral discussions within cooperative learning
groups will serve as an alternate strategy for “incubation” activities. Teachers will again
want to guide the discussion with particular reaction questions that will encourage
thinking about the social situations in the play.
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Social Skill Literature Strategy (SSLS)
During steps four and five (i.e., discussion and closure), it is recommended that
teachers use a structured approach to encouraging problem-solving and social cognition.
A strategy such as the Social Skill Literature Strategy (SSLT) (14) can be a particularly
effective bibliotherapeutic approach. This strategy involves the use of three separate
instructional activities: (1) interpreting events, (2) interpreting feelings and signals, and
(3) developing alternate outcomes. In reference to interpreting events, the teacher
instructs the student to write down one of the main events that occurred in a particular
scene. For example, in Romeo and Juliet, the student might respond by writing “Tybalt
starts a fight.” Then the student must interpret that event by indicating the consequence,
which in this example is the death of Mercutio. For the next step (Interpreting Feelings
and Signals), the student is asked to identify one of the main characters of the scene and
describe in one or two words the emotions that this character experienced. The student
then identifies specific signals indicating that these emotions were felt by this character.
In the case of the character Tybalt, the student would identify “anger” as the most
obvious emotion and “drawing his sword” as the signal for this emotion. In the final step
(Developing Alternate Outcomes), the student must identify a character’s actions that are
specifically linked to outcomes. For example, the teacher would want the students to
recognize that Tybalt started the fight that eventually resulted in the separation of Romeo
and Juliet. After a thorough discussion that emphasizes the relationship among actions,
events and consequences for the examples given, the students can go back and choose
another main event to evaluate and repeat the process.
Throughout the activities in the SSLT, the teacher leads the students through the
steps necessary to examine the profiles of the characters in relation to their feelings,
actions and the consequences. In this bibliotherapeutic process, the students are
encouraged to discuss real life experiences and outcomes that are similar to those
described in the play. This strategy offers the potential to bring students to the level that
they begin to understand the degree of control they could maintain over their
environment and the obligations they have to others, which hopefully empowers the
individual to make positive changes. When adolescents begin to see parallels between
their own life events and events in the play, teachers can use reflective discussions to
encourage problem-solving and social awareness.
Conclusion
As a teacher of adolescents, it is important to remember that constructivist
principles dictate that students will learn content that is most relevant to their lives.
Poplin (15) asserted that teachers need to know what is valued by their students in order
to take advantage of optimal learning situations. While many teachers might question the
relevance of Shakespeare’s plots to the lives of students today, a closer look may reveal a
different picture. A student who is experiencing anguish because her parents will not
allow her to date the boy of her choice may find it easy to relate to Juliet’s experiences
with her parents. Using Shakespeare in a bibliotherapeutic technique will not only help
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that adolescent better understand her current predicament and options, but it will also
assist in the achievement of important literacy standards. Although there are many critics
of bibliotherapy who contend that this technique is questionable, it is important to
remember that students who are provided with this instructional approach would
ultimately have gained a working knowledge of Shakespeare at the very least--- and at
the very best, they would have also increased their social cognition and social problemsolving skills, which is a significant step toward enhancing healthy emotional adjustment.
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