An Investigation of Preservice Teachers' Engagement in Reading a Novel in Verse.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	An Investigation of Preservice Teachers' Engagement in Reading a Novel in Verse.
Authors:	Stortz, Rebecca¹, Harmon, Janis¹ janis.harmon@utsa.edu, Martinez, Miriam¹, Tice, Rashanna¹, Wilburn, Marcy¹
Source:	Literacy Practice & Research. 2024, Vol. 49 Issue 1, preceding p1-19. 20p.
Subject Terms:	Student engagement, Storytelling, Stories in rhyme, Novels in verse, Literary settings
Abstract:	This qualitative investigation focused on preservice teachers' experiences reading a novel in verse. Initially few participants had read novels in verse and some were hesitant due to previous negative experiences reading poetry. Participants identified a variety of challenges, including the lack of narration, the need to make connections across the short verses, and the need to adjust reading pace. Some participants met the challenges by conducting rereadings and adjusting their pace. As participants moved through the story world, their written responses reflected engagement with the characters and their experiences. They also identified text features supporting this engagement, such as the diary-like quality of the book. Participants found opportunities to talk with peers to be particularly supportive. Participants also valued the close poetic read modeled by the instructor and indicated that this modeling pushed them to move beyond reading for plot to looking more deeply into elements of the story. Telling stories in verse is not a new phenomenon. Campbell (2004) observed that long stories in verse are likely the prototype for all literature, though with the emergence of the prose novel, this form of storytelling largely faded away in the 18th century--until recent years. We have witnessed an explosion of novels in verse (also called verse novels), especially since the turn of the century (Abate, 2018; Cadden, 2011; Cullings, 2015). In recent years, novels in verse have received increasing critical acclaim. In the first 76 years of the Newbery Award, the only verse novel to be recognized by a committee was Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust in 1998. Since 2000, six verse novels have been recognized by Newbery committees. From 2000 to 2022, seven novels in verse have also been recognized by Printz committees. In addition to the critical acclaim, publishers are attending to readers' interest in the novel in verse by drastically increasing the publication of this engaging format. The novel in verse is a distinct literary format in which the author presents a narrative in poetic form. Given the distinctive features of the format, reading verse novels may be inherently different from reading prose, and teachers should be prepared to support students' reading experiences with attention to elements such as poetic devices as well as the development of literary elements. As a result, teachers need to increase their own awareness of what is involved in reading this unique format. The purpose of this study was to explore preservice teachers' experiences in reading verse novels and learning how to support their future students' engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	This qualitative investigation focused on preservice teachers' experiences reading a novel in verse. Initially few participants had read novels in verse and some were hesitant due to previous negative experiences reading poetry. Participants identified a variety of challenges, including the lack of narration, the need to make connections across the short verses, and the need to adjust reading pace. Some participants met the challenges by conducting rereadings and adjusting their pace. As participants moved through the story world, their written responses reflected engagement with the characters and their experiences. They also identified text features supporting this engagement, such as the diary-like quality of the book. Participants found opportunities to talk with peers to be particularly supportive. Participants also valued the close poetic read modeled by the instructor and indicated that this modeling pushed them to move beyond reading for plot to looking more deeply into elements of the story. Telling stories in verse is not a new phenomenon. Campbell (2004) observed that long stories in verse are likely the prototype for all literature, though with the emergence of the prose novel, this form of storytelling largely faded away in the 18th century--until recent years. We have witnessed an explosion of novels in verse (also called verse novels), especially since the turn of the century (Abate, 2018; Cadden, 2011; Cullings, 2015). In recent years, novels in verse have received increasing critical acclaim. In the first 76 years of the Newbery Award, the only verse novel to be recognized by a committee was Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust in 1998. Since 2000, six verse novels have been recognized by Newbery committees. From 2000 to 2022, seven novels in verse have also been recognized by Printz committees. In addition to the critical acclaim, publishers are attending to readers' interest in the novel in verse by drastically increasing the publication of this engaging format. The novel in verse is a distinct literary format in which the author presents a narrative in poetic form. Given the distinctive features of the format, reading verse novels may be inherently different from reading prose, and teachers should be prepared to support students' reading experiences with attention to elements such as poetic devices as well as the development of literary elements. As a result, teachers need to increase their own awareness of what is involved in reading this unique format. The purpose of this study was to explore preservice teachers' experiences in reading verse novels and learning how to support their future students' engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	24755737