Chartwell educator, Meghan Sanchez, shares her successful strategies for keeping students engaged while honing their reading comprehension skills.
In my classroom, I’ve discovered a successful strategy for keeping students engaged is by creatively incorporating Humanities content into our Language Arts class novels. By selecting graphic novels that delve into historical nonfiction, each reading assignment becomes a captivating journey through some pivotal moments in American history that the students are simultaneously learning about in our Humanities class. For instance, my class explores the mysteries of the Roanoke Colony and the many theories on how they disappeared in Roanoke Colony: America’s First Mystery by Chris Schweizer. The students unravel the challenges that the Donner party faced during the Westward Expansion of America through reading and analyzing Donner Dinner Party.
This approach not only helps students practice their comprehension skills and citing text evidence, but also provides a more approachable lens to view American history and reading! Connecting literature with history sparks curiosity, enabling students to visualize what they are learning about. Plus, in my experience, graphic novels have been a gateway text to get disenchanted or unsure readers into reading for enjoyment!
Meghan Sanchez brings 10+ years of experience to the classroom and has been a key member of the Chartwell team for the last two. Her passion for student success is clear in all of her interactions both in and out of the classroom. She received her Bachelors from Haverford College and her Masters in Education from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. She worked as a Graduate Assistant at Johns Hopkins University while simultaneously completing the Urban Teachers Program rigorous clinical training program. Prior to joining Chartwell, Meghan served as the director of academic support and as academic dean at Lake Tahoe Preparatory School.
