Using Novels In A Sociology Classroom to Improve Student Comprehension

Robert A. Townsend

Master of Education

2003

Major: Social Studies Education

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

The Situation

Statewide Standardized Test Scores Decline in Reading. Children Spending More Time Playing Video Games and Watching TV. Teachers Rely on Textbooks for Their Instruction. These are possible headlines from any national media outlet, which highlight the problems apparent with reading in the classroom. How can teachers improve their students’ reading abilities while making it interesting? How can they increase their students’ sources of information in their subject area?

The Need

Young adults have an increasing variety of entertainment to choose from and are typically exposed to it on a daily basis. However, reading is seldom the preferred choice of entertainment, thus diminishing their reading skills. Teachers need to go beyond using text bound strategies, encouraging students to view and interpret opposing ideas and opinions. As students are introduced to diverse readings they will begin to form opinions and relate to those viewpoints that are most like theirs, determining what they think instead of being dictated to by one source of material.

Purpose of the Study

This study intends to find that reading novels, such as Animal Farm, in a sociology classroom will help the student’s understanding of the concepts they are studying while increasing their desire to read and to discuss their opinions. The intention of this study is to find another effective method of reading in the social studies classroom.

Significance of the Study

This study is significant for teachers who are motivated to incorporate reading in their classrooms beyond traditional standards by improving the relationship between social studies and other classes and by encouraging student self-exploration through reading. As Richardson states (2000 p. 40):

One secondary student commented that he never realized how closely related history and literature are to each other until he studied U.S. history and literature in the same year. Literature will almost always tell us something of our history and social conditions.

These are the connections teachers hope all their students make.

Population

This project was conducted from February through May of 2002 in a public high school located in a working class suburb. There were 24 students involved including one 10^th grader and 23 11^th and 12^th graders in an introductory sociology class. All the students in the class were between the ages of 16 and 18 years of age when the study was conducted and included an ethnic makeup of 15 students who are of European ancestry, eight students who are of African ancestry, and one student who is of Arabic ancestry. The gender ratio included 18 girls and six boys.

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Introduction

This chapter contains a review of literature related to using novels in a sociology classroom. It covers areas involving techniques, benefits, and difficulties of using such activities in the classroom.

Theoretical Bases

As many teachers believe, reading in the classroom will help most students’ reading abilities. “By carefully choosing materials at appropriate reading levels we hope, not only to reinforce social studies content, but also to improve basic reading skills” (Heinly and Hilton. 1982 p. 21). Reading stimulates the learning process and increases the variety of sources read improves one’s ability to read.

Improving the student’s reading ability is not enough in the social studies classroom where teachers not only educate our students about society, but also encourage students to experience social studies at an emotional level, going beyond the facts and figures of textbooks. According to Ceprano and English (1990 p. 66), Madeline L’Engle states, “Facts simply told me what things were. Story told me what they meant” Bringing social studies alive through stories and making it relatable was the goal of the study by Ceprano and English. They found (1990 p. 67),

In Literature for Today’s Young Adults, Donelson and Nilsen (1989) note that literature, used within the social studies context, frees students to travel vicariously to other times and places, and helps them to recognize that members of the human race, regardless of where or how they live, have more similarities than differences.

Ceprano and English conclude (1990 p. 67), “Personalizing the expository facts of the social studies through literature can make the unembellished facts more meaningful to students of all ages.”

Chevalier and Houser agree (1997 p. 428):

. . . we assumed that multicultural literature would help provide experiences that were both diverse and substantive. In addition to evoking intellectual involvement, emotional investment, and deep reflection, multicultural literature can also create opportunities to participate vicariously in the lives of others and it can help break down stereotypes based on race, class, gender, and religion.

Heinly and Hilton also agree (1982 p. 21),

We want our students to read good literature-books and short stories which vividly and realistically portray other times, places, and peoples. We hope that by putting our students in touch with these other times and cultures to help them overcome parochialism of time and place . . .. Affective teaching also occurs as the natural personification and character identification which grows from reading novels and biographies confronts young readers with real life dilemmas and conflicts of persons and values.

Reading is becoming a lost art in the age of multiple media resources. We want to expose our students to the world of reading as entertainment. Wood and Moss (1992 p. 28) also include this as a goal, “the attitude that reading is more than just learning from books. We want students to use reading as a leisure activity that can be used to break daily routines and get away from the humdrum of everyday life.” This may be their only exposure to this form of entertainment; Heinly and Hilton explain (1992 p. 21) “we hope, by choosing good books and stories . . . to turn many of our district’s children into life-long readers.”

Research

This type of classroom reading activity has had success as a recent study by Roser, N.L. and Keehn, S. (2002 p. 424), who made their observations through student thought, talk and questions, explains:

Given all this support and attention, did the children think, talk, inquire, and learn? Yes. On sheer understanding of the concepts and content involved in the socials studies investigation, we found a fourfold increase in children’s accurate notions about this period (Texan independence) of state history; further, their misconceptions were reduced by half. No child held the same misconception he or she had at the unit’s onset . . .. Finally, the teachers told us that children had never before compared information from multiple sources, built summaries by adding together evidence, or begged to continue a social studies unit.

Roser and Keehn (2002) also found some drawbacks of the process, including the student’s lack of attention to one another’s responses, the difficulty of the text for some students, and time constraints.

Reynolds, J.C. (1983 p. 405) studied the use of science fiction to teach socialization and found positive responses in his survey:

The teachers in the survey listed the following ways that science fiction assisted them in the classroom in presenting themes dealing with socialization and societal values: (1) by exploiting curiosity and enthusiasm about other societies; (2) by transcending socio-economic, class, and racial lines; (3) by relating the social consequences of technological innovations; (4) by enhancing affective education; and (5) by stimulating student discussion on pressing social issues involving values, feelings, and attitudes.

Ceprano and English (1990 p. 76) find using novels with textbooks beneficial for the students, “This textbook-trade book connection will result in a better understanding of textbook facts.” Previous research has shown that implementing novels in the social studies classroom can be an effective technique for improving reading and understanding of sociological concepts.

Suggested Approaches

Research offers a variety of suggested approaches to using literature in the classroom. Reynolds (1983 p. 404) offered, “another method could be that of teaching socialization through future events, as found in science fiction works.” This suggestion offers students the chance to study future social patterns and determine if these patterns can and should be changed. Ceprano and English (1990 p.74) suggest that, “once instruction from the text begins, it is useful, at all levels, to design a series of questions to guide textbook-tradebook discussions. The questions should emphasize, not only recall, but higher level thinking: questions which require analysis, synthesis and evaluations.”

Roser and Keehn (2002 p. 416) felt the best way to examine this type of unit would be to observe student thought, talk, and questions, “We defined the best examples of talk as those conversations in which students seem most focused, engaged, inquisitive, and eager to sustain a topic.” Another study by Wood and Moss (1992 p. 17) explains, “Here we want to take students beyond discussion about mere interpretation of what they have read and help them discover new ideas about themselves and the world.” These are three recommended approaches to using novels in the social studies class:

(1) Use novels including historical fiction and science fiction;

(2) Create questions on those readings that encourage a higher level of thinking:

(3) Stimulate conversation of the readings and observe which students were most focused, engaged, inquisitive, and eager to sustain a topic.

Summary

The research suggests that using novels to teach in the sociology classroom is an effective method to increase student understanding of sociological concepts. The research offers many different approaches to use to make this successful.
CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

Introduction

This chapter provides the hypotheses, student sample, description, setting, and the time frame for the project. At the conclusion of this chapter an explanation will be given as to how the data was collected and what methods were used to collect it.

Hypotheses

1. Using novels to teach in a sociology classroom will increase student understanding of the concepts of sociology as measured by a pre- and posttest.

2. As a result of using novels in a sociology classroom, students will have a high completion rate for homework and class work as measured by the consistency of their assignment completion.

3. Using novel to teach in a sociology classroom will increase the student’s desire to read, as measured by a student self-evaluation questionnaire.

Population Sample

Description

This project commenced with a pretest of general sociology knowledge (Appendix A) and a student reading self-evaluation (Appendix B). It included the reading of two novels, Alas, Babylon written by Frank, P. (1959) and published in New York by Bantam Books and Animal Farm written by Orwell, G. (1946) and published by Penguin Putnam Inc. Each reading was prefaced with background information on the themes of the novels and reading assignments were spaced at approximately one chapter every two days for Alas, Babylon and a chapter daily for Animal Farm. At the end of each chapter a class discussion was stimulated by a series of questions from the readings of the previous day.

Roughly, every two weeks, written assessment questions were assigned to the students based on the discussions from the readings, (Appendix C) ensuring the students’ completion of the reading assignment, encouraging discussions and assuring the teacher that students comprehended the material. Assessment question completion rate was tracked to determine if students were completing the assignments on a consistent basis. This follows from the idea that students at this school are more likely to complete an assignment that appeals to them.

Students were also given an assessment (Appendix D) at the completion of each novel in the form of an open essay response to questions from the readings so students could elaborate on their opinions of the book. Essays were evaluated on the depth of thought and accuracy of the events in the novel. At the completion of the two novels, the same sociology test (Appendix A) was given as a posttest to evaluate the student’s understanding of sociological concepts. They once again took the reading self-evaluation (Appendix B) to assess if there had been any changes in their attitude towards reading since the start of the project.

Timeline

The project was conducted from February 26, 2002 until May 29, 2002 beginning with the sociological pretest (Appendix A) and the reading self-evaluation (Appendix B). The first book, Alas, Babylon, a futuristic story whose setting after a nuclear holocaust wiped out much of the country, was assigned on March 8, 2002 and was completed on April 25, 2002. The second reading, Animal Farm, which follows a group of farm animals through the range of governmental power, was assigned May 3, 2002 and completed on May 24, 2002. The students were then given a posttest (Appendix A) and self-evaluation (Appendix B) completing the project.

Data Collection

To determine if using novels in a sociology classroom increased student understanding of the concepts of sociology, a pre- and posttest were designed (Appendix A) with general sociological terms and concepts. The test was scored by comparing the number of right answers on the pretest to the number of correct answers on the posttest. To determine if using novels in a sociology classroom increased the student’s desire to read, the student performed a reading self-evaluation (Appendix B). Students rated their feelings on reading before and after the project, those ratings were compared to determine if there was an increase. Written assessment questions (Appendix C) were also tracked to determine if the student was reading the material as assigned. These were rated based on understanding of material covered.

CHAPTER FOUR

FINDINGS

Introduction

This chapter introduces the findings of this study, first reporting whether or not the student’s understanding of sociological concepts had improved, indicated by the results in Table 1. Secondly, it also shows if the student’s desire to read was increased, once again the results are explained by a table and graph.

Hypothesis #1

Using novels to teach in a sociology classroom will increase student understanding of the concepts of sociology as measured by a pre- and posttest.

Table 1

Number of Students	Average Pretest Score	Average Posttest Score	Change
24	68.35	86.58	+ 20.65

Table 1 gives the average scores from the pretest and posttest and the change, indicating the improvement that was obtained. The results in Table 1 support the hypothesis that students increased their understanding of sociological terms and concepts by using novels in their sociology class.
Hypothesis #2

As a result of using novels in a sociology classroom, students will have a high completion rate for homework and class work as measured by the consistency of their assignment completion.

Graph 1

Graph 1 shows a decrease in students who completed their assignments in the middle of the study with a slow rise in completion percentage near the end. Although the decrease may be associated with the spring break, the hypothesis is not supported.

Hypothesis #3

Using novels to teach in a sociology classroom will increase the student’s desire to read, as measured by a student self-evaluation questionnaire.

Table 2

Number of Students	Original Average Score	New Average Score	Change
24	3.45	3.56	+0.11

The data in Table 2 demonstrates a small positive increase when the students retook the reading self-evaluation. This shows little support of the hypothesis.

Summary

Comparing the scores of the pretest and posttest one can see that students did increase their understanding of sociological terms and concepts by reading novels in sociology class. The scores of the student self-evaluations do not show an increase in the students’ desire to use novels in the classroom. Observing the assignment completion rate, one can see that reading novels in a sociology class may or may not improve the student’s desire to read.

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Introduction

The purpose of this project was to determine if using literature in the sociology classroom would improve the student’s ability to understand sociological concepts and terms, while increasing the student’s desire to read. After looking at the results, the following conclusions and recommendations can be made.

Conclusions

Based on the findings from the study;

Students do increase their understanding of sociological concepts and terms when using literature in a sociology class.
The improvement in understanding may or may not coincide with a student’s desire to read.

Recommendations

The following recommendations can be drawn from this project:

Students should be given an opportunity to read from sources other than textbooks, including novels in a social studies class.
Teachers should research books through the Internet, library, National Council for Social Studies (www.ncss.org), or other teachers, that offer good background information.
Teachers who use novels in the classroom should conduct class discussion on the topics relatable to students, such as current news events or age related issues, to serve as an outlet for student opinions, questions, and concerns.
A teacher who is preparing to use this technique needs to prepare a list of prospective books and plan or team with other teachers to ensure students are not exposed to the same material twice.
A teacher that is planning to use literature in the social studies classroom should secure funds to purchase books that are appropriate to grade level and topic. Teachers can apply for grants, appeal to their school board, or ask for donations from libraries or companies.

Personal Observations

The review of related literature explained the reasons that students increased their understanding of sociological concepts and terms. In this area I would like to present possible explanations on the success and failures of this project. It was successful because students were able to offer their viewpoints and ask questions in a safe and open environment. I researched the subject matter of the readings and provided background information to the students. Students then used this knowledge to help them understand the material. For example, before reading Alas, Babylon the class researched nuclear bombs. Additionally, current political and military situations were utilized, making the stories more relevant to the students.

The second hypothesis may have shown small increases because of the sample, 63% were seniors in their final semester of high school some of which had senioritis, or less of a desire to give an effort in school. The lowest scores in the middle of the Graph 1 coincided directly with spring break.

Lastly, finding a classroom set of books related to sociology was much more difficult than I had imagined. Books were not plentiful in our library and although the English department gladly opened its bookroom for me, they do not all use the same books for the same class. Therefore, I had students who had read or were reading many of the various possible novels in their English classes.

This project reinforced my belief in the benefit of using many reading resources in the social studies classroom, providing ample evidence as to the importance of that goal and helped me to determine when a methodology is being used successfully.

REFERENCES

Beach, R. (1995, October) Constructing cultural models through response to literature. English Journal. 87-94.

Ceprano, M., & English, E. B. (1990, Winter) Fact and Fiction: Personalizing social studies through the textbook – tradebook connection. Reading Horizons. 67-77.

Chevalier, M., & Houser, N. O. (1997, March) Preservice teachers’ multicultural self-development through adolescent fiction. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 40:6, 426-436.

Heinly, R. E., & Hilton, K. (1982, January/February) Using historical fiction to enrich social studies courses. The Social Studies. 21-24.

Richardson, J. (2000). Read it aloud: Using literature in the secondary content classroom. Richmond, VA: Virginia Commonwealth University Press.

Roser, N.l., & Keehn, S. (2002, February) Fostering thought, talk, and inquiry: Linking literature and social studies. The Reading Teacher, 55, No. 5, 416-426.

Wood, K., & Moss, A. (Ed.). (1992). Exploring literature in the classroom: Contents and methods. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers.

APPENDIX A

Pretest and Posttest

Name_____________________

Date______

Multiple Choice – 2 points each

___ 1. The social science that studies past events is

a. history

b. political science

c. economics

d. psychology

___ 2. Abstract human creations, such as language, ideas, and skills, make up

a. cultural traits

b. material culture

c. artifacts

d. morals

___ 3. Any act that is labeled as such by those in authority, is prohibited by law, and is punishable by the government.

a. more

b. folkway

c. crime

d. stigma

___ 4. The policy that allows each group within a society to keep its own unique cultural characteristics is

a. subjugation

b. population transfer

c. cultural pluralism

d. genocide

___ 5. The behavioral and psychological traits considered appropriate for males and females make up

a. roles

b. gender

c. gender statuses

d. gender roles

___ 6. A negative consequence of modernization is

a. economic growth

b. lower birth rate

c. pollution

d. increased technology

___ 7. A positive consequence of modernization is

a. a decreased literacy rate

b. an increased standard of living

c. weaker social relationships

d. conflicting role expectations

___ 8. A politically independent community that is next to or near a city is a

a. megalopolis

b. town

c. suburb

d. metropolitan area

___ 9. The use of threatened or actual violence in the pursuit of political goals is

a. a riot

b. propaganda

c. a mob

d. terrorism

___ 10. The process by which a society’s social institutions become increasingly more complex as the society moves toward industrialization is called

a. social integration

b. equilibrium

c. modernization

d. conflict

___ 11. The maximum length of life that is biologically possible is called

a. life span

b. life expectancy

c. infant mortality

d. fecundity

___12. A permanent concentration of relatively large numbers of people engaged in mainly nonagricultural pursuits is a

a. megalopolis

b. population

c. suburb

d. city

___13. A grouping of people who have similar levels of wealth, power, and prestige is a (n)

a. interest group

b. political party

c. caste

d. social class

___ 14. The belief that one age category is by nature superior to another age category is called

a. ageism

b. ethnocentrism

c. subjugation

d. segregation

___ 15. The authority pattern in which family authority is held by the father is the

a. matriarchal system.

b. egalitarian system

c. bilateral system

d. patriarchal system

___ 16. Truth and knowledge are sought through faith and religion in a (n)

a. sensate culture

b. counterculture

c. ideational culture

d. idealistic culture

___17. The specific behaviors and attitudes that a society establishes for men and women are called