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Peynado’s teachers are assigning more editorials this year because the state is phasing in new national standards, which put a greater emphasis on non-fiction. Yuet Chu leads a network of 23 city schools including University Neighborhood Middle School. She notes that various researchers have found American students read texts that are too easy. This leaves them unprepared for the more complex skills they need later.

The approach Ms. McNeill uses, in which students choose their own books, discuss them individually with their teacher and one another, and keep detailed journals about their reading, is part of a movement to revolutionize the way literature is taught in America’s schools. While there is no clear consensus among English teachers, variations on the approach, known as reading workshop, are catching on.

In the method familiar to generations of students, an entire class reads a novel — often a classic — together to draw out the themes and study literary craft. That tradition, proponents say, builds a shared literary culture among students, exposes all readers to works of quality and complexity and is the best way to prepare students for standardized tests.

“I just never felt that they were as excited about reading as I wanted them to be.”