The Appeal of the Form
A receipt. A birth certificate. A report card. A doctor’s file. What do these types of documents know about us? A lot. In fact, they tell intimate stories about who we are.

The oldest epistolary novel likely dates back to the 15th century, but 21st century secondary students are aware of the form, even if they don’t have a term for it. In its simplest form, it’s a novel written in letters, deriving from Latin from the Greek word for letter.

Students have certainly encountered stories in their English classes that possess epistolary features, such as Gulliver’s Travels, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Diary of a Young Girl, The Color Purple—or excerpts from one or more of these novels. Epistolary narratives gained favor in the 18th and 19th centuries and were typically comprised of letters but varied to travelogues or diary entries. Often, authors used the form merely as a framing device.

However, once again, for readers of all ages, especially young readers, novels that incorporate epistolary features have become popular. Features might include graphic illustrations, maps, diary or journal entries, letters, postcards, and myriad digital files, such as ads, websites, chats, messages, emails, and texts. A page-flip through one of these novels might snare the most hesitant reader.

The appeal of multi-document epistolary narratives may lie in the fact these stories mirror the short-form, hyperlinked reading so many young readers engage in daily as they click or scroll from article to video to photo to website to survey to song to game to graphic illustration, often engaging in multiple media simultaneously. The contemporary epistolary can simulate this authentic ‘text-in-the-wild’ reading experience, creating a natural interactivity between reader and story. Readers puzzle together the story, like a reading anthropologist or gamer. The primary document feel perhaps resonates with young readers due to its popularity in shows and found- footage films, merging the surface appearance of fiction and nonfiction.

Limitless Possibilities
Today’s epistolary novels have broadened and invigorated the form. The choice of documents an author uses to tell their story is as limitless as the types of documents in the world.

At the turn of the Century, two novels in particular The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (1999) and Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak (1999) broke ground in reigniting the form, becoming best sellers as well as often-challenged books, with one told through letters and the other through journal entries. Still popular today, the novels have made waves with readers and gatekeepers alike.

Fifteen years later, Nicola Yoon’s Everything, Everything (2015) stars a mishmash of straight prose and epistolary features, such as simple doodles and a wide array of text types, including doctor’s records, emails, and concrete poetry to name just a few. The novel, albeit lighter in content than the aforementioned two, serves up authentic concerns of a teen living in the 21st century. The protagonist 18-year-old Maddy, who is homebound due to a serious illness, occupies her days observing the world from her window, co-monitoring her health with her mother, reading books, and creating one-sentence book reviews that often contain spoilers. Maddy’s life of isolation is shared through her writing and sketches, observational notes, text messages, and other documents. Eventually, she forges an important relationship outside the
bounds of her physical confines, challenging what she’s always believed about herself and her medical condition.

Everything, Everything is a fast-paced narrative that cumulatively builds background, character, and plot, while the form and theme align. Readers learn about Maddy’s world interactively through the character’s explorations and meaning-making pursuits, creating a high-interest, motivating read.

The concise chapters, sometimes as brief as an illustration, make Everything, Everything fitting for shared and excerpted reading. Additionally, the novel is rich with references to other works, such as the epistolary Flowers for Algernon, Lord of the Flies, and The Little Prince, creating opportunities for the discussion of the intertextuality of literature as well as pointing students to other books of interest.

Why Study Epistolary
The most obvious benefit to studying epistolary is the ways in which students must engage actively as readers. These stories demand detective work on the part of the reader, in the same way a verse novel or graphic novel does, with readers relying on their inference skills as they read beyond the margins. They are tasked with questioning and making connections, pulling together the pieces to see the whole, which is how one makes sense of concepts in science and events in history. Readers must employ critical thinking to uncover the narrative line, like a doctor determining a diagnosis, a lawyer building a case, or a detective compiling witness statements.

The epistolary form often allows readers to approach a story from multiple angles, perspectives, or voices, which is helpful when peering into lives of characters or settings that are different or distanced in time or geography from the reader’s own.

Furthermore, such reading reinforces, especially in the case of Everything, Everything where mental and physical health are topical, the importance of being an active participant in life—reading the fine print, the full contract, the extended agreement—to be your own best advocate.

Opportunities for Writing Instruction and Practice
Astute teachers who seamlessly link reading to writing instruction will realize how the study of epistolary narratives naturally lends itself to opportunities for students to practice creative expression and a slew of other writing skills. Students can be invited to write in response to an epistolary novel they’ve read, summarizing, analyzing, synthesizing, and demonstrating their comprehension. Or they can be invited to create their own narrative story using epistolary
features.

Epistolary loans students already existing forms (e.g., letter, email, text), so they can focus their energies on creating the story itself. This provides an easy entry into telling a story, akin to quilting, collage, or Lego play. Students can create the parts and then thoughtfully order them, building a story one piece at a time until it takes tangible shape in front of their eyes. Students can also be tasked with explaining what each piece contributes to their story—theme, characterization, advancement of plot, illustration of setting, and so forth. For example, Maddy’s book reviews in Everything, Everything help to establish her characterization, specifically her love and breadth of reading.

On a basic level, epistolary writing can aid brainstorming. Students can groupthink endless types of documents that could be used to tell a story, and what secrets could be revealed or hidden in certain documents. Students will get creative and conjure such oddities as gravestones, horoscopes, obituaries, dating profiles, prescriptions. They might even consider their own primary documents—their driver’s license or permit, their discipline file, their report card—and what these reveal about them. Students can brainstorm one-off lists for a character in a novel or their own original character, such as a character’s to-do list, list of favorites or fears, life plans, bucket list, playlist, map of their bedroom, and others, all of which could be included in a story. The teacher can lead students in a discussion of how these documents create exposition differently than in a traditional prose novel. In fact, many authors naturally engage in this type of writing play when building the worlds of their novels, as a type of creative research.

Teachers can adapt epistolary writing activities to include specific forms or a specific number of documents. They can even isolate and practice certain writing skills. For instance, if a teacher wants students to practice letter or email writing that introduces or summarizes, for example, then that can be part of the assignment. Differentiation can occur by requiring a certain number, length, or type of text at students’ proficiency levels. Additionally, teachers can engage different learning modalities by allowing students to create song lyrics or digital or hand-draw illustrations as part of the story assignment.

The most elementary epistolary writing assignment may be letter writing, which is beneficial as students practice both story skills (i.e., character, setting, plot) and letter writing/direct communication skills. Letter writing, although dated, is still a valuable skill in the world at large. Students could write a letter to an existing character in an epistolary novel; in the point of view of a character; from one character to another, such as the protagonist to the antagonist; or they could have two characters tell their side of the same conflict, demonstrating comprehension of multiple perspectives and motivation. The possibilities are endless. If the student drafts an original story using letters, then they will have to consider how each letter moves the story along through the beginning, middle, and ending. Furthermore, epistolary writing is naturally scaffolded, as more advanced writers can attempt experimentation with multiple narratives, angles, or points of view.

As a nonfiction extension, students could explore historical events or eras by creating a brief epistolary in response, demonstrating their learning and newfound knowledge. For example, students could consider what documents could tell Rosa Park’s story. A bus ticket? An arrest record? Building a story, fiction or nonfiction, around multiple texts and witnesses can provide a deeper understanding of the world in which we live.

As we gear up for a summer where we are blasted with advertisements and news from across America about protests at colleges, elections, and the like. Dr. Seema Yasmin asks “What are the facts? What are reliable sources? What is news?” in her 2022 book What the Fact? Finding the Truth in All the Noise. These are important questions for us, as teachers, to begin planning for as when August rolls around we are going to need to be able to have open and honest conversations with our students.  This book is about the viral spread of information and how it makes its way across the internet and makes its way into classrooms. Working with students to explore how information is shaped before it reaches is critical and this book provides many of the tools and definitions that will help our students unpack the viral spread of information.
 
Before diving into the book with students a pre-reading activity could be to pick a current event and a headline from one source from each of the columns in the “All Sides Media Bias Chart.” For example, here are 5 headlines about the college campus protests arrests in the last week. I wouldn’t include the source in the parentheses… that’s just for the teacher reading this post.

• Colleges Love Protests -When They're in the Past (The Atlantic)
• Here’s what we know about those arrested at NYC pro-Palestinian campus protests Tuesday night (CNN)
•  Over 1000 People Arrested at Campus Protests in A Week (Forbes)
• Student protesters should be arrested, charged, and expelled (The Washington Times)
• Trust Fund Kids Protesting on Campuses Know Nothing About Oppression (The Federalist)

 
Students can compare headlines from throughout the events. Some possible focal areas:

•  How are the students/colleges described in the headline? What do they mean? Why would news outlets use student instead of trust fund kid? 
• How are their actions described? What do these words connotate? 
• Why might these words have changed over the course of the day or among news outlets? (Push them to nuance here; etc.
• What is the responsibility of news groups when they decide which terms to use? In what ways should we also be thoughtful about the terms we use, and what can help us decide?

 
Then ask which one of these headlines is true?
 
We think that we read the news to get new information but is that true? Yasmin (p.168) offers some helpful language around ritual models of communication, which is less about consuming new information and more predictability and ease. The ritual model says that we “read, watch, or listen to the news… to tell you to the world is exactly the way you think it is and everything works the way you think it works.” So, which headline is true? The one that resonates with our worldview. Hello Cozy Echo Chamber.
 
Have students complete a quick write: A 2017 study from Common Sense Media finds that the top three news sources for tweens (ages 10 to 12) and teens (ages 13 to 18) who got news ‘yesterday’ are family (45%), social media (38%), and television (37%). [Note: This adds up to more than 100% because respondents could select multiple news sources).]  How interested are you in news? Where do you get your news? How reliable is the news you get? What questions do you ask the news you read, watch, listen to? Are there things in your feed you don’t agree with?
 
This is the first post of several of the next few months thinking about how to support students through figuring out facts! How are you thinking about supporting students through the coming elections and other big events on the horizon?

Adolescent vulnerability, and that represented in young adult literature (YAL), largely focused on common social or relationship concerns. Today, however, more teens and novels describe those literally unsafe in America and facing harassment, physical assaults, denigration, or worse, all due to family situations.

The protagonists from the titles below represent being undocumented, the working poor, an immigrant, and homelessness. None of these conditions (several unexpected and shocking) are of the teens’ own doing, with all initially unequipped to handle them.

While these protagonists must find ways to cope and move forward, they also experience being an outsider, some for the first time, and now vilified by society, friends, teachers, and perhaps even themselves in the past. Many, like contemporary readers, judged and blamed quickly, having naïve views of situations and issues rather than understanding complexities and aware of individual circumstances. Still, these novels end with hope, their solutions ones readers with
similar issues could emulate.

Educators can assist all students, and those most vulnerable, by using or recommending YAL featuring characters in the above situations and others, along with providing accurate, non-biased information about them. Likewise, their classrooms should be safe for all students, regardless of situation, whether known, or not. Adolescents also need to learn, understand, and discuss these issues as well as others’ responses and views.

This discussion can be difficult, as some students may be experiencing these circumstances, others terrified of their probable appearance, and some contemptuous of them. By considering characters (rather than particular individuals) objectively in novels, their entire story can be heard, surely resulting in greater comprehension and compassion, along with providing hope and sense of commonality to those likewise vulnerable.

The following four novels depict vulnerable teens and were used for the activity below:

• de la Cruz, M. (2016). Something in between. Harlequin Teen.

Jasmine has worked and studied hard, wanting to make her immigrant parents proud while eager for college and a career. After receiving a full scholarship to her dream school, she learns her parents let their visas expire and they are all undocumented, her ambitions replaced by fears.

• Evison, J. (2018). Lawn boy. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.

Mike is a stellar gardener but can only find menial work. He knows he must make immense changes for a better life, but as a member of the working poor, he has neither the resources nor connections needed, his life beginning to seem hopeless.

• Nayeri, D. (2020). Everything sad is untrue (A true story). Levine Querido.

Khosrou (called Daniel for teacher/peer convenience) relays his dangerous trek from Iran to Oklahoma to his new middle school classmates. His harrowing, yet fascinating, narrative is met with disdain and suspicion from his largely unaccepting peers.

• Strasser, T. (2014). No place. Simon & Schuster.

Dan is a popular baseball star and dating the hottest girl in school, so when his family suddenly falls from middle class to homeless, his entire world changes.

The following chart may be used to describe emotions/situations (many may be selected) experienced by these protagonists, which can be used for discussion of both individual treatments and comparing/connecting titles. Of course, a single novel could be examined or other combinations; students may enter multiple examples under each category, perhaps the three, or one, felt most important, etc., with its classroom talk surely perceptive and valuable. For space issues, table content is summarized, another format fitting whole class discussion.

​​It’s [reading] a wonderful opportunity to meet those who may – in whatever way – be different from us. By taking us into characters’ minds, hearts, and lives, literature has an uncanny ability to help us understand that those we previously regarded as “the other” are – in terms of our common humanity – actually “us.” Michael Cart, Editor of How Beautiful the Day, Twelve Stories of Identity.

60 Minutes recently covered book bans, spotlighting a school board's approach. Despite facing 97 challenges, the board, including a self-identifying conservative retired military member, upheld true freedom by reviewing books with 140+ diverse volunteers tasked with reading and reasonably discussing the merits and appropriateness of books. Their inclusive process resulted in 92 books remaining, recognizing them as stories of human experience rather than falsely identifying them as tools of indoctrination. This stood in stark contrast to another interview in the segment featuring a group well-known for their divisive rhetoric and advocacy for book banning. As the retired military office board member stated in the 60 Minutes episode, “diversity breeds tolerance. The more you understand what other people think, and what they say is important…the more you see the power in diversity.” He urged against judgment and keenly noted in his interview, knowing we can never live another’s story, that reading the stories of those different than ourselves helps increase our empathy and decrease our othering.

I began to think about the analogy of mirrors and windows. I’m good at the mirror. As a former school librarian, I know how to curate titles for readers. However, the window is not my strength but a much-needed focus. With division in the country at the highest I’ve ever seen, and exclusion policy and legislation wielding its hurtful powers to prevent students from reading the stories of people different than themselves, I look to youth today as the solvers of this crisis that some of the adults have created. That is the power of books and stories that kids love to read. If the window or sliding door is open, and kids begin to read the stories of others, they won’t see people different from themselves as something to fear and ban the way some adults currently do.

At my public library, I found an impressive array of YA anthologies. I'm drawn to their short form and annually splurge on The Best of series, intrigued by the editor's curation. Unlike school anthologies, which can feel outdated, those in the YA section were modern, diverse and visually appealing. They serve as mirrors, windows and sliding doors, offering insights into different lives and experiences for young readers.

Each of these anthologies highlights often overlooked groups.

• How Beautiful the Day, Twelve Stories of Identity edited by Michael Cart has short stories with LGBTQIA+ characters at the forefront. With the inclusion of some of the most prolific writers like Jacqueline Woodson and David Levithan, students not part of the LGBTQIA+ community will find commonalities with the characters and familiar situations on love, home, and being a young person.
• Black Enough, Stories of Being Young & Black in America edited by Ibi Zoboi showcases stories by award-winning authors like Jason Reynolds and Renee Watson. The stories allow for students to metaphorically try to step into the shoes of the Black, youth experience in this country that breaks stereotypes and expectations of a monolith often placed on Black culture. The storis show young, Black Americans as diverse persons in experiences and cultural tastes.
• The graphic anthology, Our Stories Carried Us Here, edited by Julie Vant, Tea Rozman, and Tom Kaczyniski, and curated by the Green Card Voices (which has a fantastic website of stories) breaks the migrant invasion narrative that dehumanizes immigrants. The artwork and stories are alive on the page and like all of these anthologies, helps all readers break down stereotypes and understand just how hard, and brave, life is for those who seek a different life in America.
• Don’t Call Me Crazy, 33 Voices Start the Conversation About Mental Health edited by Kelly Jensen is perhaps the most appealing to young readers visually with a wide array of people from all walks of life including famous actors and elite athletes writing with abandoned honesty creative nonfiction essays about their experiences with mental health.
• ​Lastly, Allies, Real Talk About Showing Up, Screwing Up, and Trying Again edited by Shakirah Bourne and Dana Alison Levy serves as a valuable companion to other anthologies. It addresses the delicate balance of being an ally, especially for those in positions of privilege, without overshadowing the groups they're supporting. This anthology offers practical guidance on listening, learning, and relinquishing power to those being advocated for. It's essential reading for anyone seeking to navigate allyship effectively.

I aim to use anthologies as a means to offer marginalized students’ reflection and others a window. However, mere access isn't sufficient; we must take further steps akin to the sliding doors analogy, fostering exploration and understanding through curated literacy experiences.

I propose employing these texts in a book club format rather than assigning mass readings. Through student surveys, I'll form groups to facilitate discussions on texts, intentionally pairing students with characters vastly different from themselves. Moreover, I'll appoint a student who mirrors the stories as the discussion leader, providing a platform for marginalized voices.

While using these anthologies in a classroom setting, I would also involve an elevated level of collaboration with those tasked leading SEL in our schools. This provides a number of opportunities for students and teachers to dig deep into conversing about the texts as well as providing supervision of conversations to help decrease misunderstandings.

By leveraging short stories and essays, we can replicate this process to maximize exposure to diverse perspectives, fostering empathy and reducing social barriers as we have learned through Allport’s Contact Theory.

As always, there must be some metric to measure success. I would offer two. The first would be a traditional response to literature. An analysis of style and structure could be utilized. The second would be narrative about experience. I would seek to see if indeed this did succeed in providing a window and sliding doors to those often overrepresented to marginalized persons in our society, and if the mirror for those that are marginalized, was a considerable experience and
opportunity to see, and lead, discussions about themselves and others like them.

As a final note, all of the anthologies I checked out of my public library had a name plate on the front cover imploring readers to write in the margins on the pages. While my former school librarian-self stopped and held my breath when reading that, I then read what was written in the margins by young readers over the next few days. My heart was warmed and encouraged that indeed, the youth will solve this issue of books. While I fully appreciate the school board from
the 60 Minutes segment and how they dealt with book challenges so reasonably and responsibly I realized something. I didn’t see any of those most impacted by the bans and challenges at the table reading and discussing the merits and appropriateness of books. The students. That is the group who is most needed at the tables, and whose voices we need to listen to the most.

Today's post is written by Roy Edward Jackson. He is an assistant professor of education at Goshen College and holds degrees in English, Education, Library Science and Creative Writing.

 Lurlene McDaniel’s website (lurlenemcdaniel.com) is facing technical issues as of this writing, but Amazon lists all titles, and Most Recommended Books and Book Series in Order have compiled her titles and dates written. These addresses are below, with multiple sites appearing by simply entering her name in a search engine.

Her nearly 80 titles, all mass market series books, appeal to ‘tween females (grades 5- 7/8), with the majority depicting a female protagonist’s cancer diagnosis, subsequent treatment, remission, reoccurrence, death, and family/friends’ acceptance and moving forward.

These titles also all follow the same plotline; stories are so identical that events occur on approximately the same page in all novels. Frankly, if having read one Lurlene McDaniel novel, one’s read them all.

‘Tweens devour these quick, easy reads and share among friends, and although they know what will occur in each novel and when, this matters little, as each protagonist is a new character, and they are eager for her story. They resemble the protagonists (or wish to), and enjoy experiencing their intense emotions and situations, losing themselves inside the novels.

Educators do care, however, and as these are mass market books, they aren’t taught and probably not recommended in schools. Moreover, many were written in the 1990s (although as series ones, less dated than contemporary fiction) with beginning educators not as familiar with them.

Still, although their readers discuss novels together, such talk is largely focused on emotions and drama, and individuals’ feelings of characters and situations. ‘Tweens are too young and inexperienced to recognize and understand McDaniel’s deeper textual implications without teacher assistance or discussion.

Below is these novels’ format/plotline (full of foreshadowing), with their often- overlooked messages of female strength and choice in italics:

•  Stage 1: The Beginning
  

The protagonist (PT) excitedly begins a new school year, and while playing a sport, falls with pain remaining. A Dr.’s appointment is finally made, difficult with busy schedules.
​

• Stage 2: The Diagnosis

The PT has an atypical cancer, but she assumes she’ll be cured although her disease warns otherwise. The PT chooses to begin treatment immediately.

• Stage 3: The Illness and Treatment

​Treatment becomes more arduous, but the PT is informed of and approves all treatments and has no desire to stop or halt procedures, although some rests are recommended.

She remains optimistic and befriends a patient with her form of cancer, now in remission and going home. The PTs excitement and hope is renewed.

• Stage 4: Remission

​The PT enters remission in Feb/March and is adamant to return home earlier than advised.

Still weak, she’s tutored at home but eager to return to school and works hard to prepare to attend classes again. She chooses to return to school earlier than recommended and quickly discovers she no longer fits in, having been away for so long. Still, she presumes things will improve and actively works for better acceptance.

Pivotal Point: The PT learns of the death of her hospital friend. She is shocked but remains confident about her own diagnosis.

Soon stronger, the PT spends time with friends and boyfriend. She feels there is much to anticipate and looks forward to better days.

• Stage 5: Reoccurrence

The PT begins feeling worse and at first presumes nothing serious, but eventually knows her remission has ended. She’d planned to attend a dance/party and decides to go although feeling ill, believing it will be her final, magnificent event and not recognizing the extent of her decline. She chooses to keep her health status private.

• Stage 6: Acceptance

​The PT collapses at the party and returns to the hospital, denying additional treatments and ready to accept her terminal condition.

Pivotal Point: The PT considers whether or not to sleep with her boyfriend, a difficult decision. Ultimately she declines having sex, feeling it inappropriate and ultimately hurtful. She has the power of choice over all aspects of her body, with this decision not from fear or shame.

The PT declines quickly, and the decision to end treatment is her own, although additional ones could be explored.

• Stage 7: Finality

The PT asks her boyfriend to take her outside where she dies in sunlight. She chooses when, where, and how she will die, a sad, yet beautiful, moment.

• Stage 8: Grief

The PT is buried in a pre-chosen white dress, symbolizing purity and heaven’s wellness, with a significant symbol associated with her (dove, rainbow, tulip) appearing during the funeral.

• Stage 9: Moving Forward

​The PTs boyfriend remains paralyzed with grief, and at a crisis point, a miraculous sign (e.g., a vacant field fills with her favorite flower) appears. This is presumably from the PT, indicating grief’s end and wanting others to resume their lives.
​

McDaniel’s novels are more thoughtful and purposeful than the above summary and as their covers appear, as all demonstrate that while individuals cannot choose what happens in life, they can decide how to respond. Content is direct and realistic, honestly portraying the details and emotions regarding teens’ terminal illnesses and dying, without resorting to miracle cures. They show that bad things happen, regardless of how good a person or how hard one prays and permit the PT control of choices for all treatments and procedures, including final ones.

Characters express love, friendship, and sadness; more emotions than only fear or dread, and don’t resort to prolonged self-pity, antagonism, or blame. These PTs are living while dying; continuing to be their best selves until the end with death portrayed as joyful, a release from pain.

Additionally, all depict the human element, as ethics, morals, values, and hard decisions are often overlooked in other stories in favor of portraying technological explanations/treatments. As such, readers are left with inspiration, peace, and hope.

Most importantly, however, is these novels portray female strength and empowerment throughout.

‘Tweens are discovering new limitations, more uncertainties, different expectations and dangers, and fewer choices in their rapidly changing lives. Reading of older females retaining the power of choice during the saddest and severest situations imaginable provides invaluable role models and can assist their assertion in uncertain situations. These novels further permit ‘tweens to understand there are many life stages, with none to be feared. All lives can be lived authentically and with purpose, regardless of length.

Granted, minorities are largely unseen, families are loving and nuclear, financially secure and educated, and PTs bright, talented and popular. These novels are melodramatic in places (boyfriend issues), but not unrealistic and valuable for younger, impressionable ‘tweens.
​
Why not reconsider McDaniel’s titles and their positive effects upon ‘tween females? Although not recommended for classroom teaching, their informal discussion and other talk could easily occur with ‘tweens and would certainly be valuable.
​

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As English educators and English Language Arts teachers, we know that teaching is never apolitical. When educators and curriculum writers fail to include texts, voices, and identity representations in curricular materials, they are making political moves by omission. Yet, for preservice and in-service teachers, navigating the local sociopolitical contexts of public schools can be tenuous when those spaces deem the existence of marginalized sexual identities - either by law or de facto - as topics that are ‘controversial.’ It is important for English educators to demystify the idea of what is ‘controversial’ in ELA spaces and engage preservice teachers in sensemaking around the particular threshold concept that teaching is inherently political in order to include every student - at every identity marker - in coordinated efforts of literacy engagement. 

What is deemed controversial is often localized, and these spaces are governed by local laws and ethoses that can often be at odds with the educators’ personal philosophies and lived identities. Disrupting the dehumanizing status quo in these spaces can require a lot of bravery, especially for a teacher new to the district or local schooling context  (e.g., Rushek, Vlach, and Phan, 2023).  Therefore, it is the teacher educator’s job to address this praxial at–odds-ness with their preservice teachers. This Monday Motivator blog post explains how three preservice ELA teachers in Kelli’s Literature and Other Media for Adolescents course went about tackling this at–odds-ness in the reading and teaching of young adult literature that features LGTBQ+ protagonists.

In Weeks 13 and 14 of the course, students are engaged in a module entitled “Removing the ‘Controversy’ from Teaching LGTBQIA+ Literature,” in which they engage with critical scholarship about the topic [see Figure 1]. In Week 14, students chose between six YAL texts that feature protagonists that identify as LGTBQ+. Choices for those preparing to teach secondary ELA were Kacen Callender’s (2020) Felix Ever After, Isaac Fitsimmons’ (2021) The Passing Playbook (set in rural Ohio, so of particular interest to the context of our teacher education program), Adbi Nazemian’s (2019) Like a Love Story, and Gabby Rivera’s (2016) Juliet Takes a Breath (either graphic novel or prose version). Choices for those preparing to teach middle grades ELA included Alex Gino’s (2015) Melissa and Ashley Herring Blake’s (2018) Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World. 

During Week 13 in the Fall of 2023, students were asked to come to class prepared to give a “one minute announcement” about their individual deep dive into the news and local law-making attempts surrounding gender and sexuality where our teacher preparation program is located in Ohio. Kelli purposefully did not assign news articles or readings onto the syllabus at the  beginning of the semester, knowing that things were bound to change between August and November, for better or for worse. When the students entered the classroom, they were engaged in a turn and talk exoscaffolding activity [see Figure 2] before heading into student-designed-and-led Deep Discussion of the scholarly articles and an Application Activity to synthesize and apply the knowledge gained from the readings. ​

When we presented our newspaper front pages (of which we left hanging in the classroom so all courses using the room could see… which is why we don’t have photographs, unfortunately), we were applauding, whooping, high fiving, smiling. We felt part of the same (literal) page. We felt weirdly hopeful, like we had changed a localized, anti-queer narrative, even if only in our space.  Sarah, Hannah, and Maya led us in some application questions [See Figure 6], and we were able to name and identify why this matters for the teaching and learning of ELA, for our queer selves, our queer brethren, and our queer students. ​