Critiquing and Constructing Canons in Middle Grade English Language Arts Classrooms

Middle grade language arts teachers can expect to encounter an array of “canonizing” forces as they navigate their instructional choices, including awards programs, tests and textbooks, and— most recently—the Common Core State Standards. This article outlines some of those forces, illustrating how they serve to construct and perpetuate canons. It also offers an alternative framework for selecting texts—one that challenges teachers to work with their students to critique the narratives in the most common canons and to construct their own classroom canons that encourage students’ particular interests and identity needs. The authors conclude that such critique and construction has the potential to empower rather than limit students as they select, engage with, and construct literary texts.