I saw
this article on the Arkansas Newswire today, and I thought of y'all. The study argues that high school students are reading books that are far below their reading level. As we've noticed over the course of the semester,
Twilight seems to be a particular punching bag for those who have problems with the millennial generation overall. As the article notes,
Some examples of popular books written at a fifth-grade level include Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Twilight, To Kill a Mockingbird and Lord of the Flies.
What do you think about Dr. Stostky's recommendation?
She feels that the system must increasingly challenge students in every subject they take, including the literature curriculum. Assigning books with low reading levels to upper-grade students is not conducive to this goal, even if the books have mature interest levels.
Does
Twilight challenge high school students? Is it really at a fifth-grade reading level? What type of books or texts do you think high school students should read?
I think Twilight may be at a lower reading level, but if the teacher is using the book as an example along with other higher level readings, like Ms. Hodges, it is fine. If the college level class only focused on Twilight that would be a different situation. There really is no way to talk about the book for a whole semester unless it was breaking down every little thing that was wrong with the book, which could be done with any book. I think Twilight could challenge high school students by reading it and finding the underlying messages of Stephanie Myers beliefs, kind of like we did in class. As for the reading level being a 5th grade level, I do not think that is right. I would call it a 7th or 8th grade reading level to really understand the book.
ReplyDeleteIn my High School we read all the old classics, To Kill a Mockingbird, Romeo and Juliet, and The Crucible. We also read more modern books. Having a mix keeps High School kids interested, but also teaches them the history of writing styles that are not really around today.
Sometimes the best books are those that are easy-reads, but that doesn't mean they aren't useful. Even easily read books feed our imagination and thats something we cannot afford to lose because our imagination helps influence who we are as indivuals.
ReplyDeleteyes, i also think twlight is an easier book to read. However, that does not mean that is does not server an educational purpose. I like how we can read the twlight series but also read books like Northanger Abbey and Carmilla. This helps us to relate the older books to more modern books which then helpss us to better understand them. Most kids in fifth grade i believe would not really understand the symbolism of the book; therefore, i do not believe it to be at a fifth grade reading level.
ReplyDeleteTwilight is an easy book to read and being an 8th grader when I first read it it was at my reading level and I understood what was happening in the book and I don't think a 5th grader would be able to get some of the messages that are in the book. To just read the Twilight books in upper high school and college level classes would be below our reading levels, but mixing it with the other books and comparing and contrasting them makes it better to understand the more challenging books having something we all understand to relate it to.
ReplyDeleteI read To Kill A Mockingbird and Lord of the Flies in high school, and while the reading is easy, the content and underlying context is much more mature than that. You can understand what is happening, but some of the things that happen are slightly more mature than a fifth grade level.
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