• Although many communication arts teachers may love reading, their students may not. New teachers--and even veteran ones--struggle with getting students interested in works of literature. A number of activities, however, can help engage students and improve their understanding of literature. These activities can be tailored to fit a wide variety of grade levels.
  
  

Theme Maps

• To help students understand the concept of a literary theme, consider using a theme map. Theme maps work well for novels in the high school setting. Divide students into heterogeneous cooperative learning groups. Each group should have a mix of abilities and genders. Students should not know that they're being grouped any certain way. Keep students in the same cooperative learning group for the entire literature unit. Next, explain the different themes that your literary work exhibits. A theme map will work only if the work of literature you're studying has more than three possible themes. Give the members of each group a large sheet of white paper and have them draw a picture to represent each theme you will be discussing. For example, if one of the themes is "mankind is evil and shouldn't be trusted," students might draw a crowd of people who look evil and/or scary. While students are reading the novel, have them take time every few pages or once a chapter to jot down anything that's happening that goes with one or more of the themes. Students might notice that a character cheats on his wife but acts like a good guy to all of his friends. They would then jot this plot point down next to their picture of the evil crowd.
  
  

Foldables

• Foldables allow students to get creative before reading a piece of literature. Foldables contain large amounts of information on a piece of literature or unit of study and give students a chance to synthesize what they've learned. There are several different foldables to try with your students, but to make a basic one, give students a large piece of construction paper. Have them fold it in half. Now, your students have a book-like foldable with which they could do a variety of activities. For instance, on the inside left flap you could have students write down any new vocabulary words they've come across and then have them write down the definition. Or on the inside right flap you could have them "dissect" a character's personality. They could draw the character as they see him and then use old magazines to find pictures of what they think best expresses different facets of that person. They can cut the pictures and paste them on the appropriate page in their foldable. They should be ready to explain their choices.
  
  

Guessing Games

• Leila Christenbury, author of "Making the Journey: Being and Becoming a Teacher of the English Language Arts," suggests reading the first line of a piece--or even the first paragraph--and asking students to surmise what they think will happen next. Ask them to pretend that they are the author. What would they write about next? Use this technique throughout the piece to keep students guessing and on their toes.