Effects of the use of Contemporary Young Adult Fiction within Literature Circles

Abstract

After years of seeing students disengage from literature circles, I realized that I needed to investigate a way to increase student engagement during literature circles. This was a mixed methods action research study which examined the impact of the use of contemporary young adult books for literature circles on the engagement and reading comprehension skills of ninth grade English students. This study attempted to answer the following research questions: (a) What is the impact of the use of contemporary young adult books within literature circles on the engagement of ninth grade English students, (b) What is the impact of the use of reading contemporary young adult books within literature circles on student- perceived reading achievement of ninth grade English students, and (c) What is the relationship between reading contemporary young adult books in literature circles and student analysis of more complex texts? The participants in this study were ninth grade students in an eight/nine building in the Central Midwest. This study found that when students were given contemporary young adult novels to read in literature circles (rather than the traditional, outdated titles), their levels of engagement and self-efficacy increased. This study will be shared with colleagues in the attempt to encourage the use of more contemporary young adult novels in literature circles, in the hopes that their presence will increase student engagement and achievement.