Teachers’ Decision-Making about Teaching Novels in Middle School

Middle school is a place where many students are first introduced to more complex novels. Novel instruction in middle school English language arts classrooms is potentially influenced by the elementary focus on reading strategies and/or the secondary focus on literary analysis. Using a qualitative methodological approach, six middle school language arts teachers were interviewed about their novel instruction. The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which middle school ELAR teachers engage students in novel study and factors that appear to impact novel instruction. Findings reveal great diversity in teachers' instructional goals, planning, and activities. Some participants worked from a cohesive framework that reflected one or more theoretical perspectives. Still others struggled to articulate goals for novel instruction and the resulting instruction appeared to be a patchwork of activities.