Middle School Language Arts, Middle School Reading

Teaching Reading Skills to Increase Comprehension – Conflict in Literature

Linda Asaro
December 18, 2023

This is the third in a mini-series on teaching reading skills with a focus on conflict in literature.

If you are a middle school language arts teacher, then you teach reading skills. Teaching conflict in literature and how characters respond to conflict is going to be a definite skill for kids to have in their reading arsenal. Read here for tips on teaching reading skills, specifically conflict in literature, in middle school.

blog post teaching reading skills like conflict in literature for middle school — Read here for tips on teaching conflict in middle school literature.

Why Teaching Reading Skills Such as Conflict in Literature is Crucial

Certain skills are foundational for middle school reading. Teaching types of conflict and how characters respond to conflict is one of those skills. Students need to have a clear understanding of why conflict is the bedrock of plot structure; without conflict, there is no story. Characters will try and fail to solve their problems as part of the rising action, which is the bulk of any novel.

It is also important for students to observe how characters respond to conflict. They should see the differences between a proactive response versus a reactive response. You will also want your students to note that characters change as stories progress, and often their response to conflict will change as well.

Finally, the reason we read literature is to show insights into ourselves and others around us. Many important lessons on dealing with conflict are subtly taught in novels. We want our students to apply these lessons to their own lives, and to help them make sense of the world around them through conflict in literature.

General Tips on Teaching Reading Skills

When you teach reading skills, you will want to use some consistency with your students so they know what to expect and what is expected of them. For me, I use a reading workshop model of instruction. I have a whole series of blog posts on reading workshop which you might like to check out. Please know that I adapted my reading workshop from the “true” model to be more skills-based.

General Reading Workshop Guidelines when Teaching Reading Skills

Teach the mini-lesson – keep it brief…10-15 minutes
Student workshop time- this is when kids work on something in their reading that you taught in the mini-lesson
Conference – meet with kids to check in with their reading and how they are doing with the skills you are teaching
Share- meet at the end of class to briefly share something from their reading

What to Include in a Mini-Lesson for Conflict:

I have an entire blog post related to teaching mini-lessons. Here is a shortened version:

Each mini-lesson follows a pattern. In this way, students not only know what to expect but you will have a “blueprint” for when you begin to create.

I also have a FREE YouTube video series where I teach reading skills with mini lessons to your class. Click here to see the mini-lesson on conflict.

Free mini lesson for teaching reading skills such as conflict in literature — Check out my free YouTube series, where I teach your class and you take a breather.

Here are the components with conflict in literature examples:

Connect: When teaching reading skills, this is where you link what you have learned to where you are going in the lesson. Example: you might say, “When we last met we talked about the types of conflict. Today, you are going to zero in on the type of conflict you are reading about in your novel.”
Teaching Objective: It is crucial to explicitly state to your students what you want them to learn. Example: “Today’s goal is to understand that characters can deal with conflict in two ways: proactively or reactively.”
Strategies: Here you will give kids a strategy or strategies to meet the objective. Example: “As you are reading, be on the lookout for your character’s response to conflict.”
Engagement: This is where you want to show a real-life example and then have students practice during the lesson. Use “turn and talk” here so that students use a skill in a partnership. Example: “Turn and talk to your partner about a time when you were reactive to a struggle you were having.”
Student Objective: This is very important; it’s where students are given their directions for their workshop time. Keep it brief and specific. It is always best to note that students should be doing this every time they read, not just in this lesson. Example: “Today and every time you are reading a novel, notice when your character is responding to conflict. Jot it down in your reader’s notebook.”

I have a mini-lesson on teaching conflict in literature available in my TPT store.

mini lesson on teaching reading skills such as conflict in literature for middle school — Click here to see my conflict mini-lesson.

Practice with Teaching Conflict in Literature– Activities for Students

Once kids have learned the skill, it’s time to practice. This is the portion of reading workshop where students go off to work and do something to apply the skill you taught in the mini-lesson to their reading. Be careful not to “kill the skill”…you are looking for application, not a bunch of extra work for your kids.

Teaching Reading Skills: What practice should NOT look like:

Random worksheets – “skill and drill” style are not conducive to truly learning and applying reading skills
Unrelated exercises – kids should be applying it to the reading they are doing now, or to a mentor text (a short story that is in the same genre as your current unit of study, for example- a short historical fiction story if you are in a historical fiction unit)
Work that is too long – you don’t want kids doing skill work that takes a long time; you want them getting into their reading

What practice SHOULD look like:

Mentor text work: Having a mentor text to refer to throughout a unit is key. You’ll want one that is in the same genre and contains skills that you will be teaching. For example, if you are in a realistic fiction unit and are teaching character traits, symbolism, theme, dialogue, and internal monologue, you’ll want a short story to do that. It should be a high-interest story. I love the story “Raymond’s Run” by Toni Cade Bambara for teaching conflict in literature.
Reading application: As you progress in the unit and kids are reading novels, have them keep a chart of conflict and how characters respond to conflict.
Debate: Having kids debate is a great engagement strategy. For example, students might disagree on whether a response to conflict was reactive or proactive. They could argue the nuances of this and use facts from the story to back up their claims. I would keep it quick (maybe 10 minutes) as you want kids actually reading during reading workshop.
Centers: Having kids do centers on a specific skill towards the end of a unit to show what they know and to extend their learning is ideal. It can also help them to prepare for an upcoming assessment. I have centers for conflict in literature available in my TPT store.