Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative critical discourse analysis study was to determine if there was a benefit to using a young adult adaptation of a canonical piece to increase student comprehension in the 9th grade English-Language Arts classroom. The use of young adult literature in the secondary classroom is a prevalent topic that continues to circulate amongst educators and researchers. This research study addresses how canonical literature is far removed from the current set of twenty-first century students and its disconnect in the classroom. This study sought to discover student thoughts and perceptions on a specific set of text pairings to answer the research question: How, if at all, does young adult literature better inform canonical literature in the 9th grade English-Language Arts classroom. This qualitative study uses critical discourse analysis methods to examine four students' written and verbal transactions through the use of a pre-survey, Google Forms "Quiz", a Zoom interview, and a post survey as a means for critical interpretation. Using critical discourse analysis the researcher identified themes that reflected the following results: students identified with the young adult text because they can relate to the character's struggles and current events, colloquial and neologisms were used to convey understanding, and participant's silences expressed confidence, even when their words did not. Student's through their own narratives have indicated that there is a benefit and need to use, a more culturally relevant young adult literature adaptation alongside a canonical piece to increase student understanding in the high school setting.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2020

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Olan, Elsie

Degree

Master of Education (M.Ed.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

School of Teacher Education

Degree Program

Secondary Education; English Language Arts Education

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0008126; DP0023462

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0023462

Language

English

Release Date

August 2021

Length of Campus-only Access

1 year

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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