Why Do We Have to Read This? How to Answer Your Students.

Do your students think reading literature is a waste of time? You are not alone. In this video, I walk you through a ready-to-use presentation that helps teens discover why great stories and poems matter: how literature builds empathy, trains focus, grows vocabulary and shapes who they become. You will get a slide-by-slide guide on what to say, practical notes for connecting each idea to the text you're already teaching, and a 10-minute "Mind Movie" activity that lets students test these ideas on their own brains. If this was helpful, subscribe for more classroom-ready ideas, and tell me in the comments how your students responded. Here is the activity – Mind Movie - https://tinyurl.com/3kk782x5 Classroom Presentation: https://tinyurl.com/2we9nw67 #EFL #ESL #EnglishTeacher #TeachingLiterature #ReadingMatters #LiteratureInTheClassroom #ActiveLearning #TeacherPD #ESLTeacher #TeachingTeens Chapters: 00:00 Before You Begin 00:27 Know Your WHY 00:57 Your Brain on Stories 02:13 Practice for Real Life 02:46 How Reading Shapes Your Words – IMPORTANT*** 03:26 Understanding Other Minds 04:24 Empathy and Understanding Others 04:49 Training Focus 05:47 How Stories Stay With Us 06:38 What Literature Builds 08:32 What Shapes Your Brain? 09:05 Reading as a Practice 10:23 Classroom Activity: Mind Movie 11:44 Your Takeaway