Reclaiming Students’ Voices

Abstract

In this study, a researcher investigated how teachers can negotiate their practice to engage high-needs students whose life experiences are not reflected in the curriculum, without compromising administrative demands for standardized curriculum and pacing. A fourth-grade teacher in a high-achieving, high-poverty urban primary school in Detroit adhered to paced curriculum, but supplemented it with a Book Club Plus curriculum that included peer-led discourse, collaborative efforts, and deeper construction of meaning with relatable texts. A teacher-and-researcher collaboration supplemented texts about the Great Migration by including students’ cultural and historical heritage. An examination of varying peer-led discussion group modes and reading logs revealed students reclaiming their voices as they mediated personal and cultural linkages with the literature. Recommendations are made for supporting teachers’ autonomy in engaging learners, and for teaching fewer selections, thereby promoting deeper reflection and student engagement, while fulfilling curriculum requirements.