Odds in Your Favor: Teaching Information Literacy through Dystopian Fiction for Young Adults
Type of Presentation
Individual paper/presentation (20 minute presentation)
Target Audience
K-12
Location
Room 218
Abstract
Teachers and librarians can capitalize on the popularity of dystopian novels for young adults and use it as a way of engaging students with information literacy practices and skill development. Series such as The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and Epic have become so popular in recent years that they have merited articles in The New Yorker and Wired Magazine. What is that makes these books resonate so thoroughly with young people? Various theories have been offered, ranging from arguments that the books metaphorically reflect the already bleak world in which young adults live to assertions that the books show the extent to which young adults can effect change in society.
Dystopian fiction holds different appeals for different readers, but one thing many of these books have in common is their emphasis on the importance of information literacy skills. Overcoming the monster, whatever form it may take, involves knowing how to find, evaluate, and use information to engage in critical thinking and problem solving. For the protagonists of these books, information literacy skills are, quite literally, survival skills.
This paper will discuss how teachers and librarians can use dystopian fiction to demonstrate information literacy skills in action and to foster information literacy skill development in young adults. It will focus on three popular dystopian books—The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and Epic—and offer specific strategies and activities, such as reading journals and information literacy journals, for using these books as gateways to information literacy instruction.
References
Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic.
Dashner, J. (2009). The Maze Runner. New York: Delacorte.
Kostick, C. (2004). Epic. Dublin: O’Brien Press Ltd.
Presentation Description
Teachers and librarians can use young adult dystopian fiction to demonstrate information literacy in action and to foster information literacy skill development. Focusing on The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and Epic, this paper will discuss strategies for using these books as gateways to information literacy instruction.
Keywords
information literacy skills, dystopian fiction, critical thinking, problem solving
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Latham, Don and Hollister, Jonathan M., "Odds in Your Favor: Teaching Information Literacy through Dystopian Fiction for Young Adults" (2014). Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. 10.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2014/2014/10
Odds in Your Favor: Teaching Information Literacy through Dystopian Fiction for Young Adults
Room 218
Teachers and librarians can capitalize on the popularity of dystopian novels for young adults and use it as a way of engaging students with information literacy practices and skill development. Series such as The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and Epic have become so popular in recent years that they have merited articles in The New Yorker and Wired Magazine. What is that makes these books resonate so thoroughly with young people? Various theories have been offered, ranging from arguments that the books metaphorically reflect the already bleak world in which young adults live to assertions that the books show the extent to which young adults can effect change in society.
Dystopian fiction holds different appeals for different readers, but one thing many of these books have in common is their emphasis on the importance of information literacy skills. Overcoming the monster, whatever form it may take, involves knowing how to find, evaluate, and use information to engage in critical thinking and problem solving. For the protagonists of these books, information literacy skills are, quite literally, survival skills.
This paper will discuss how teachers and librarians can use dystopian fiction to demonstrate information literacy skills in action and to foster information literacy skill development in young adults. It will focus on three popular dystopian books—The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and Epic—and offer specific strategies and activities, such as reading journals and information literacy journals, for using these books as gateways to information literacy instruction.
References
Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic.
Dashner, J. (2009). The Maze Runner. New York: Delacorte.
Kostick, C. (2004). Epic. Dublin: O’Brien Press Ltd.
