Applying American Thanksgiving Culture in Senior Secondary English Reading-into-Writing Instruction

Abstract

Anchored in the core competency orientation of the General Senior High School English Curriculum Standards (2017, revised 2020), this paper argues that cultural integration is central to effective reading-into-writing instruction at the senior secondary level. It first diagnoses persistent classroom challenges—disjunction between reading and writing, weak learner foundations coupled with single-track pedagogy, and insufficient cultural infusion—before proposing American Thanksgiving culture as a productive context because of its salient values of gratitude, reunion and service. Building on this premise, the study delineates a practical pathway comprising four mutually reinforcing components: embedding cultural background to create authentic reading contexts; mining the gratitude theme to guide continuation planning; enriching language input to ensure culturally appropriate and idiomatic expression; and emphasising process guidance with diversified assessment aligned to thematic conception, plot coherence, cultural integration, language control and stylistic effect. The approach aims to synchronise language ability and cultural awareness, enhance learners’ engagement, and support coherent, audience-aware narrative continuations. A concise research agenda is outlined to strengthen causal inference, refine assessment instruments, test cultural scope and sequencing, and ensure equitable, scalable implementation. The paper contributes a culturally grounded instructional framework and concrete classroom procedures that can inform English writing pedagogy in senior secondary schools, while signposting future empirical work on durability, transfer and differential impact across learner groups.