"She saw her job as the teaching of skills and terms and techniques. The students wanted to address the moral dilemmas presented in the story. Their instincts and inclinations led them to talk about the intense pressure to succeed that comes to bear upon them […] But their teacher wanted to conduct a recitation on the three techniques of characterization.”
Probst, R. (1988). Dialogue with a text. English Journal, 77(1).
“Part of the problem of students’ dislike of classic literature may—I’m hedging here—lie in outmoded and uninspiring methods of teaching that literature, an overweening focus on literary history and biography, for example; hunts for obscure symbols; lit crit kinds of activities that tease out tensions and ironies but make the book an intellectual artifact and not a living, breathing, meaningful, powerful, and potentially life-changing force for its readers.”
Hipple, T. (1996 ). It’s the that, teacher. English Journal, 86(3).
The teacher Probst refers to in this quotation is almost certainly me. I became so caught up in teaching my students theme and figurative language that I think I sucked all the fun out of reading. My students certainly viewed our books as “intellectual artifacts” as opposed to a “living, breathing force” (Hipple, p.16, 1996). I think as a first year teacher without any curriculum guidance, I was so eager to be legitimate and teach my students tangible English concepts that I forgot the whole reason I went into teaching in the first place: to foster a love of reading. Without any real information about what my students were meant to learn, I latched onto the idea of literary terms and ran with it. But towards then end of the year, I had an empty feeling. What did it matter that my students were able to identify hyperbole?
The problem is I don’t feel as though my students have the “instinct or inclination” Probst mentions to always make personal connections with text in class discussion(Probst, p.33 , 1988). When I did try to discuss the issues characters face with the class in relation to their own lives it usually fell flat. There were few times when my class was engaged in a riveting discussion of a novel at all. Perhaps I am asking the wrong question, or not creating the right environment that would allow students to feel that emotional responses, rather than intellectual responses, are welcome. Sometime my “do now” prompts, which were almost always a personal question related to a theme in the text, would elicit so much argument and discussion I would become frustrated and shut down the discussion. I know students love talking about themselves, but arguing over what features you look for in a significant other without any connection to any discussion of literature made me uneasy. I need to find a way to have that energetic discussion in relation to the novel. Most importantly, I want to figure out how to make reading more a process of “making meaning about their own lives” and consideration of life and humanity rather than a means through which one learns literary elements. I loved English class because “of all the arts, literature is most immediately implicated with life itself” (as cited in Probst, p.34, 1998). If my students did was to recognize or sense this aspect of literature I would be thrilled.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Web Quest for The Color of Water
Although this webquest on James McBride’s The Color of Water did not specify the grade level, I imagine that it is for tenth grade students because I taught this text to students at this grade level last year. Apart from the fact that the webquest focuses on The Color of Water, it deals primarily with social problems in New York including poverty and racism. Students are given the opportunity to explore the social problems of poverty and racism and then to evaluate the public policies that have been implemented to address the problems. Then students are asked to assume the roles of public policy analysts and assigned the task of creating new and innovative policies that can improve the conditions and New York City and thus the lives of many people. Students are divided into groups of four and then asked to present an oral report and a short Power Point presentation that will be used by “the Mayor’s commission” to “solve future problems of bigotry and racism. In these reports students must include some highlights on the great contributions that African-Americans and Jews have made to American society, visuals, dance, drama, poetry, and recommendations to the Mayor’s Committee on racism and bigotry. Lastly, student presentations are then to be developed into essays that are a minimum of three pages.
Even though this webquest could be more streamlined, it seems to be fairly comprehensive because it introduces and defines the purpose of the student activities and their connection to The Color of Water, defines the tasks that students must complete, provides the process so that students can understand how to complete the tasks, offers web resources, provides a rubric for the student presentations, addresses the way in which students’ work will be evaluated, and mentions how New York State standards are incorporated into the activities. This webquest is highly stimulating and useful for student learning because it allows students to become public policy analysts in the process of exploring how literary themes exist in society. Also, I particularly liked this webquest because if offers multimodal learning and can appeal to oral and visual learners. The products of the webquest are substantial because students not only have to gather, assess, synthesize, and evaluate information but they also have to present their findings and recommendations in a variety of ways. This can truly ensure that students have processed and grasped content while building their critical thinking skills. While I am not entirely certain if the students’ recommendations for solving social problems are actually submitted to the Mayor’s commission, this is an excellent idea nevertheless.
http://www2.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips/t4prod/kleinwq2.html
Below, I have listed other webquests that I found appealing:
Night webquest
http://students.resa.net/bhsmc/ClassClicks/Peters/NIGHTwebquest.doc
Romeo and Juliet webquest
http://www.manteno.k12.il.us/webquest/high/LanguageArts/RomeoandJuliet/mainframe.html
The Outsiders webquest
http://outsiders06.tripod.com/
Even though this webquest could be more streamlined, it seems to be fairly comprehensive because it introduces and defines the purpose of the student activities and their connection to The Color of Water, defines the tasks that students must complete, provides the process so that students can understand how to complete the tasks, offers web resources, provides a rubric for the student presentations, addresses the way in which students’ work will be evaluated, and mentions how New York State standards are incorporated into the activities. This webquest is highly stimulating and useful for student learning because it allows students to become public policy analysts in the process of exploring how literary themes exist in society. Also, I particularly liked this webquest because if offers multimodal learning and can appeal to oral and visual learners. The products of the webquest are substantial because students not only have to gather, assess, synthesize, and evaluate information but they also have to present their findings and recommendations in a variety of ways. This can truly ensure that students have processed and grasped content while building their critical thinking skills. While I am not entirely certain if the students’ recommendations for solving social problems are actually submitted to the Mayor’s commission, this is an excellent idea nevertheless.
http://www2.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips/t4prod/kleinwq2.html
Below, I have listed other webquests that I found appealing:
Night webquest
http://students.resa.net/bhsmc/ClassClicks/Peters/NIGHTwebquest.doc
Romeo and Juliet webquest
http://www.manteno.k12.il.us/webquest/high/LanguageArts/RomeoandJuliet/mainframe.html
The Outsiders webquest
http://outsiders06.tripod.com/
Web Quests for The House of Mango Street
After having heard several of my classmates present on The House of Mango Street, I am highly interested in teaching this novel to my freshman classes for the upcoming year. I anticipated teaching this novel last year, but it took me longer than expected to get through I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou. Although I have looked at a variety of web quests, I have narrowed my choices down to the ones listed below. I feel that these websites are the most streamlined of the bunch on the web and they are easy to navigate. Moreover, they have set aside specific benchmarks for the students with clear and engaging tasks.
http://coe.west.asu.edu/students/blarson/wquest/index.htm
The web site listed above is extremely well-organized and requires students to write a persuasive essay that explains “whether or not American students could spend a healthy, happy year immersed in the culture presented through a foreign exchange program in a Central or South American country.” This web quest is excellent because it provides a clear set of parameters for the students by breaking up the writing process into five steps:
1. Determining Research Categories
2. Organizing Research Information
3. Selecting Evaluative Criteria
4. Compiling the data
5. Peer Editing
6. Submitting the Product
The web quest has also provided a rubric to accompany this writing assignment.
One web quest that really requires students to employ their critical thinking skills can be seen at the following link: http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/kearny/myhouse/
Students are asked to justify the decisions that they make in designing a house with particular furnishings to represent Esperanza. This activity could be highly enjoyable for students and it really gets them to extend their thinking beyond the novel. They must perform a thorough character study of Esperanza in order to design a house that adequately displays her traits. This web quest also has a prepared rubric for evaluating students.
One final web quest that caught my attention gives students three tasks to choose from. These options are helpful in terms of differentiating the product and giving students some freedom to explore their interests. Students can either examine Esperanza’s interactions with other people through her conversations, create a mini-skit in conducting interviews and role-playing, or allowing students to create vignettes about their own lives. In any case, this web quest allows students to be as creative as they want.
http://webquest.org/questgarden/lessons/09571-051129200337/index.htm
http://coe.west.asu.edu/students/blarson/wquest/index.htm
The web site listed above is extremely well-organized and requires students to write a persuasive essay that explains “whether or not American students could spend a healthy, happy year immersed in the culture presented through a foreign exchange program in a Central or South American country.” This web quest is excellent because it provides a clear set of parameters for the students by breaking up the writing process into five steps:
1. Determining Research Categories
2. Organizing Research Information
3. Selecting Evaluative Criteria
4. Compiling the data
5. Peer Editing
6. Submitting the Product
The web quest has also provided a rubric to accompany this writing assignment.
One web quest that really requires students to employ their critical thinking skills can be seen at the following link: http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/kearny/myhouse/
Students are asked to justify the decisions that they make in designing a house with particular furnishings to represent Esperanza. This activity could be highly enjoyable for students and it really gets them to extend their thinking beyond the novel. They must perform a thorough character study of Esperanza in order to design a house that adequately displays her traits. This web quest also has a prepared rubric for evaluating students.
One final web quest that caught my attention gives students three tasks to choose from. These options are helpful in terms of differentiating the product and giving students some freedom to explore their interests. Students can either examine Esperanza’s interactions with other people through her conversations, create a mini-skit in conducting interviews and role-playing, or allowing students to create vignettes about their own lives. In any case, this web quest allows students to be as creative as they want.
http://webquest.org/questgarden/lessons/09571-051129200337/index.htm
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Names Do Hurt Us
Kajder, S. (2008). The book trailer: Engaging teens through technologies. Educational Leadership 65 (6)
"Garret has participated in programs that identified him as a struggling reader, a reluctant student, an at-risk student, and, most recently, a striving reader. And what has he learned? "School just tells what I'm not-how what I do outside doesn't count," he explained. Garret's low achievement in school led him to question his abilities, which led him to further disengage. "I stopped doing anything 'cause it wasn't going anywhere and I didn't see myself in any of it."
When I read this section of Kajder's "The Book Trailer: Engaging Teens Through Technology" I can't help but to remember all the days I was called names as a child growing up. Usually I just yelled mean things back and that would be the end of my hurt feelings for the moment. But after reading the above, I couldn't begin to imagine the mental toll the labeling which is so widely used in education has on our children. All the names that professionals used to label Garret were all hurtful and I feel as adults we often forget that students are smarter than we think. Just because we give something a fluffy name doesn't mean we are fooling anyone. It's sort of like how they used to label elementary classes. If you were in the Bees program versus the Hornets class, everyone knew which one was considered the slower class with or without the insect name.
After reading this quote I also realized again just how important it is to teach to different modalities and how important it is to honor and spotlight each student's strength, whether it falls in line with traditional skills which are valued in school, because in the real world someone who is power point genius is just as important as the next Jeffrey Deaver. And as educators we need to let our children know this, otherwise we will lose them and their talent.
"Garret has participated in programs that identified him as a struggling reader, a reluctant student, an at-risk student, and, most recently, a striving reader. And what has he learned? "School just tells what I'm not-how what I do outside doesn't count," he explained. Garret's low achievement in school led him to question his abilities, which led him to further disengage. "I stopped doing anything 'cause it wasn't going anywhere and I didn't see myself in any of it."
When I read this section of Kajder's "The Book Trailer: Engaging Teens Through Technology" I can't help but to remember all the days I was called names as a child growing up. Usually I just yelled mean things back and that would be the end of my hurt feelings for the moment. But after reading the above, I couldn't begin to imagine the mental toll the labeling which is so widely used in education has on our children. All the names that professionals used to label Garret were all hurtful and I feel as adults we often forget that students are smarter than we think. Just because we give something a fluffy name doesn't mean we are fooling anyone. It's sort of like how they used to label elementary classes. If you were in the Bees program versus the Hornets class, everyone knew which one was considered the slower class with or without the insect name.
After reading this quote I also realized again just how important it is to teach to different modalities and how important it is to honor and spotlight each student's strength, whether it falls in line with traditional skills which are valued in school, because in the real world someone who is power point genius is just as important as the next Jeffrey Deaver. And as educators we need to let our children know this, otherwise we will lose them and their talent.
So WHAT they are reading trash!
Hipple, T. (1996). It's the THAT, teacher. English Journal, 86 (3) 15-17
"The THAT of teenagers' reading is vastly more important than the WHAT."
All I could think was THANK YOU after reading the above quote. Finally, someone sees it the way I do. Over the past few years Urban Fiction has littered our classrooms, and teachers have trashed this genre left and right, and some of it rightly so. But some of this literature is worthy of being read. I feel when adults insult what teens are reading, the chances of that teen becoming an adult reader disappears. Instead of focusing on what these children are reading, I feel as educators we should use this as a springboard. It's like introducing vegetables to children. You start of with some broccoli, introduce some peas, and before you know it you have a vegan on your hands!
I understand some of the skepticism and criticism of these books are sparked by the racy content contained int eh pages, but I personally don’t see why they shouldn’t be able to read this genre; unless they will be barred from watching movies, television programs and walking through their neighborhoods where the same situations that appear in Street Fiction recur multiple times a day. The only thing I fear about children reading some of these books are perhaps them limiting their vocabulary and comprehension by reading some of the poorly written and edited ones, but you can find bad books in all genres.
"The THAT of teenagers' reading is vastly more important than the WHAT."
All I could think was THANK YOU after reading the above quote. Finally, someone sees it the way I do. Over the past few years Urban Fiction has littered our classrooms, and teachers have trashed this genre left and right, and some of it rightly so. But some of this literature is worthy of being read. I feel when adults insult what teens are reading, the chances of that teen becoming an adult reader disappears. Instead of focusing on what these children are reading, I feel as educators we should use this as a springboard. It's like introducing vegetables to children. You start of with some broccoli, introduce some peas, and before you know it you have a vegan on your hands!
I understand some of the skepticism and criticism of these books are sparked by the racy content contained int eh pages, but I personally don’t see why they shouldn’t be able to read this genre; unless they will be barred from watching movies, television programs and walking through their neighborhoods where the same situations that appear in Street Fiction recur multiple times a day. The only thing I fear about children reading some of these books are perhaps them limiting their vocabulary and comprehension by reading some of the poorly written and edited ones, but you can find bad books in all genres.
Response - Luke Martin DeSiervo
“Most of our students, however, are going to be elsewhere. They’ll be in some line of work far removed from the literary world. They should, nonetheless, be readers. They should be people who enjoy literature, who read it willingly, even enthusiastically, and who respond to it and think about it in ways that enrich their emotional and intellectual lives.”
Probst, R.E. (1994). Reader-response theory and the English curriculum. English Journal
77, 37-44.
I remember reading a few of Robert Probst’s articles at the beginning of the semester and really taking to heart some of the ideas he set forth. Over the course of the summer, I have spent a lot of time trying to make sense of the previous year and thinking critically about how I want to approach my second go around in the classroom. I think more than anything else, I hope to present literature from a much more relaxed and enjoyable perspective. Probst is right—in the real world our students will be far removed from the English classroom. Perhaps the best thing we as English teachers can do is to inspire them to become independent thinkers who enjoy reading, or at the very least enjoy it a little more than they did before they arrived. In retrospect, at many times I felt so overwhelmed by the intense responsibility of making sure my students improved both as readers and writers that I lost track of the bigger picture. As of yet, no magic formula has been found to teach these important skills and we are left to discover the approach that works best in our particular classroom. But the more I think about, I am starting to realize that teaching students how to enjoy literature and the writing process are large pieces in this puzzle. While we work so hard trying to stress the most basic and fundamental skills to build a solid foundation, and rightfully so, I think we would all be surprised to see just how much our student’s skills can grow if we adjust our frame of mind and inspire them to enjoy the process.
I know full well that this is far from an easy task and I am not entirely sure how to turn this vision into a reality. I know I am going to have to work hard and experience many more failures before I ultimately find a method that works for me. But at least I know now that I can take it, and hopefully will not become nearly as frustrated as I did last year. On a more tangible level, I hope to change the perception of literature in my class by locating more interesting reading material that my students will be excited to experience. More than anything else, this course has opened me up to the wide world of young adult literature and helped me to see that if we want our students to become more interested in reading, we need to offer them materials and choices that they will enjoy. In addition, I plan to dedicate myself to modeling better habits and read in front of my students more often. Hopefully, this will create a genuine atmosphere in which reading is valued and respected.
“Contemporary young adult literature is an electrifying genre for getting today’s young adolescents reading and exploring who they are. Such literature contains themes, plots, language, and characters that are consistent with young adults’ experiences…Today’s young adult literature is sophisticates, complex, and powerful. It deserves to be a part of the literary tradition in middle and high schools.”
Stallworth, J.B. (2006). The relevance of young adult leadership. Educational
Leadership 63, 7, 59-63.
At the beginning of this course, I must admit that I was not as open-minded about young adult literature as I probably should have been. I’m not sure exactly why, but I assumed that reading these books would be childish and painful, and that it would have little impact on my day to day teaching practices. Yet as I read Stalllworth’s article, I am pleasantly surprised by how much my opinions have changed in these six weeks. Not only have I enjoyed reading the majority of these books, but I am impressed at how much studying the body of literature has helped me as teacher. One of the biggest adjustments I had to make in this profession was rediscovering what it meant to be a teenager. Being that it was not all that long ago that I was one myself, I assumed that I had an adequate understanding of the 14 year old mind and would be able to connect with their thinking and tendencies. For some reason, I assumed that teenagers were much more stable and able to function more effectively. (Actually, the more I think about it, it’s probably because I thought I knew everything when I was a teenager. Oh how wrong I was!) Of course my initial assessment proved to be far off base and I spent a lot of energy figuring out how vast the needs of teenagers are. Closer to childhood than adulthood, I have come to understand the guidance so many of our students are looking for and the positive influences needed to steer them in the right direction.
Getting back to young adult literature, I believe the genre has been a valuable tool that has helped me to better relate to my students. Putting me in touch with both their interest and abilities as readers, it has caused me to think about what I need to change in order to become a better teacher. Likewise, I now have a better grasp on the important role young adult literature can play and how it can be a valuable resource for our students. By presenting problems and characters that reflect their interests and points of view, teenagers can find solace in literature and most importantly, recognize that there are people out there that understand what they are going through. It offers a necessary reminder that these individuals are still growing, and we as teachers must modify our expectations accordingly. While I still maintain that no adult can truly remember what it feels like to be a teenager, reading these novels has helped me relate to my students and more fully understand their needs.
Probst, R.E. (1994). Reader-response theory and the English curriculum. English Journal
77, 37-44.
I remember reading a few of Robert Probst’s articles at the beginning of the semester and really taking to heart some of the ideas he set forth. Over the course of the summer, I have spent a lot of time trying to make sense of the previous year and thinking critically about how I want to approach my second go around in the classroom. I think more than anything else, I hope to present literature from a much more relaxed and enjoyable perspective. Probst is right—in the real world our students will be far removed from the English classroom. Perhaps the best thing we as English teachers can do is to inspire them to become independent thinkers who enjoy reading, or at the very least enjoy it a little more than they did before they arrived. In retrospect, at many times I felt so overwhelmed by the intense responsibility of making sure my students improved both as readers and writers that I lost track of the bigger picture. As of yet, no magic formula has been found to teach these important skills and we are left to discover the approach that works best in our particular classroom. But the more I think about, I am starting to realize that teaching students how to enjoy literature and the writing process are large pieces in this puzzle. While we work so hard trying to stress the most basic and fundamental skills to build a solid foundation, and rightfully so, I think we would all be surprised to see just how much our student’s skills can grow if we adjust our frame of mind and inspire them to enjoy the process.
I know full well that this is far from an easy task and I am not entirely sure how to turn this vision into a reality. I know I am going to have to work hard and experience many more failures before I ultimately find a method that works for me. But at least I know now that I can take it, and hopefully will not become nearly as frustrated as I did last year. On a more tangible level, I hope to change the perception of literature in my class by locating more interesting reading material that my students will be excited to experience. More than anything else, this course has opened me up to the wide world of young adult literature and helped me to see that if we want our students to become more interested in reading, we need to offer them materials and choices that they will enjoy. In addition, I plan to dedicate myself to modeling better habits and read in front of my students more often. Hopefully, this will create a genuine atmosphere in which reading is valued and respected.
“Contemporary young adult literature is an electrifying genre for getting today’s young adolescents reading and exploring who they are. Such literature contains themes, plots, language, and characters that are consistent with young adults’ experiences…Today’s young adult literature is sophisticates, complex, and powerful. It deserves to be a part of the literary tradition in middle and high schools.”
Stallworth, J.B. (2006). The relevance of young adult leadership. Educational
Leadership 63, 7, 59-63.
At the beginning of this course, I must admit that I was not as open-minded about young adult literature as I probably should have been. I’m not sure exactly why, but I assumed that reading these books would be childish and painful, and that it would have little impact on my day to day teaching practices. Yet as I read Stalllworth’s article, I am pleasantly surprised by how much my opinions have changed in these six weeks. Not only have I enjoyed reading the majority of these books, but I am impressed at how much studying the body of literature has helped me as teacher. One of the biggest adjustments I had to make in this profession was rediscovering what it meant to be a teenager. Being that it was not all that long ago that I was one myself, I assumed that I had an adequate understanding of the 14 year old mind and would be able to connect with their thinking and tendencies. For some reason, I assumed that teenagers were much more stable and able to function more effectively. (Actually, the more I think about it, it’s probably because I thought I knew everything when I was a teenager. Oh how wrong I was!) Of course my initial assessment proved to be far off base and I spent a lot of energy figuring out how vast the needs of teenagers are. Closer to childhood than adulthood, I have come to understand the guidance so many of our students are looking for and the positive influences needed to steer them in the right direction.
Getting back to young adult literature, I believe the genre has been a valuable tool that has helped me to better relate to my students. Putting me in touch with both their interest and abilities as readers, it has caused me to think about what I need to change in order to become a better teacher. Likewise, I now have a better grasp on the important role young adult literature can play and how it can be a valuable resource for our students. By presenting problems and characters that reflect their interests and points of view, teenagers can find solace in literature and most importantly, recognize that there are people out there that understand what they are going through. It offers a necessary reminder that these individuals are still growing, and we as teachers must modify our expectations accordingly. While I still maintain that no adult can truly remember what it feels like to be a teenager, reading these novels has helped me relate to my students and more fully understand their needs.
reaffirmation of books
ReLeah Cossett Lent (2008) quotes Nancy Atwell saying "her goal for is for students to become smarter, happier, more just, and more compassionate people because of the worlds they experience within those hundreds of thousands of black lines of print" (61). When I am asked why I teach reading and writing, I feel silly saying one's life can change through reading and writing, but that is exactly what I believe. I think if students can lose themselves in a book, they are learning how to focus, how to think, how to take time for themselves, how to take care of themselves, and how to understand other people. It is true that many books make people uncomfortable because of their subject matter. Teachers would prefer not to teach such books and parents would prefer their child refrain from reading such material. But when a book is censored, dialogue is denied with the student and the child, and a teachable moment is avoided at a great cost. Certainly, adults should be vigilant in regards to what children put into their minds, but adults also have to understand that the world is something of a terrible place. It is through books that we may understand how to navigate through the wretched and the terrible.
Lent, R. C. (2008). Facing the issues: Challenges, censorship, and reflection through dialogue. English Journal 97 (3), 61-66.
Kauer (2008) details an interaction with a parent: "she answered that she felt that so much of high school literature took people to a dark place" (58). This woman thought that the school's curriculum was "damaging their love of books" (58). Her children's love of books or her love of books? I wonder what kind of parent I will be. Will I force my views on my children to the extent that I shield them from essential pieces of literature? Teenagers understand the existence of "dark places." I was far more entertained by the gruesomeness of The lord of the flies than I ever was by anything Jane Austen wrote. Literature isn't nice. It doesn't have to be. It is fantastic and real. Certainly, the act of censorship brings more to the discussion of literature. It fans the flame of interest. If you ban it, if you forbid it, you better believe they will read it. Maybe it's all a trick to get kids reading. I wouldn't be so surprised if it was.
Kauer, S. M. (2008). A battle reconsidered: Second thoughts on censorship and conservative parents. English Journal 97 (3), 56-60.
Lent, R. C. (2008). Facing the issues: Challenges, censorship, and reflection through dialogue. English Journal 97 (3), 61-66.
Kauer (2008) details an interaction with a parent: "she answered that she felt that so much of high school literature took people to a dark place" (58). This woman thought that the school's curriculum was "damaging their love of books" (58). Her children's love of books or her love of books? I wonder what kind of parent I will be. Will I force my views on my children to the extent that I shield them from essential pieces of literature? Teenagers understand the existence of "dark places." I was far more entertained by the gruesomeness of The lord of the flies than I ever was by anything Jane Austen wrote. Literature isn't nice. It doesn't have to be. It is fantastic and real. Certainly, the act of censorship brings more to the discussion of literature. It fans the flame of interest. If you ban it, if you forbid it, you better believe they will read it. Maybe it's all a trick to get kids reading. I wouldn't be so surprised if it was.
Kauer, S. M. (2008). A battle reconsidered: Second thoughts on censorship and conservative parents. English Journal 97 (3), 56-60.
YA Lit for Lifelong Readers
“The removal of a novel also cost students a unique opportunity for exploring the causes and consequences of bullying within the safety of a fictional account.” (Lent, 2008, p. 62)
“What we want is to excite them about reading while they are in school, help them share our love of it, so that they will remain readers when they are adults.” (Hipple, 1996, p. 17)
“What we want is to excite them about reading while they are in school, help them share our love of it, so that they will remain readers when they are adults.” (Hipple, 1996, p. 17)
It wasn’t until this semester that my view of how to teach literature expanded to include YA novels not just as independent reading in my classroom library, but as core novels to be taught and studied. Although I did not rigidly adhere to the “traditional” literary canon of only the classics, I did not fully accept that contemporary YA novels could serve as valuable a purpose in the classroom as To Kill a Mockingbird or The Outsiders. Furthermore, I did not realize that my view of teen lit was so narrow.
I had several aha moments—when I caught myself impatient to get back to my apartment to rejoin Collin’s road trip (in Green’s An Abundance of Katherines), or when I sat on the edge of my seat as Lakshmi hid in the closet (in McCormick’s Sold), or when the gruesome imagery of Myers’ Exit Here kept me up half the night. Each time I was sucked into another well-crafted novel written for young adults, it sunk it a bit more that these books had literary merit, engaging characters, and relevancy. I admit that before I familiarized myself with YA fiction, teaching—or even recommending—books with mature language and content seemed dicey. As Hipple (1996, p. 16) notes, though, “adolescent literature typically focuses on adolescents’ problems and in their language, a language that often features epithets stronger than ‘oh my goodness’ or ‘shucks.’” I understood Lent’s warnings against self-censorship: the temptation to remove a book from a classroom library can be strong, as it might mean avoiding a confrontation with school leadership or parents. Similarly, as I read some of the YA novels I thought to myself, I could put this in my classroom in the Bronx, but what about back in Texas? The cultural, political, and religious climates of New York City and Magnolia, Texas are starkly different. While I could envision teaching Levithan’s Boy Meets Boy to my public school students in New York, I would probably leave it on the independent reading shelves if I had a classroom in some places south. The book is well-written; it addresses themes of friendship, love, loyalty, community, and coming of age; the story is engaging and preaches tolerance. I think kids could connect to it, and it could serve as a gateway to further literary and personal exploration: it has the potential to be one of those books that Hipple (1996, p. 17) says “could excite them about reading.” As a Humanities teacher, I hope that I can balance my role as a teacher and my role as a community member, to avoid harmful self-censorship that would deprive students of a valuable literary and life experience.
By writing about real issues facing teens, by connecting with them through their language and their scene, skilled YA authors are able to speak to young readers in ways that Austen, Dickens, and Hawthorne may not at this time in their lives. Because students can learn about good writing—masterful characterization, effective literary elements, a variety of techniques—and can be excited about reading through connecting with a YA novel, I have gained a great appreciation for the genre’s place in the middle and high school classroom.
References
Lent, R.C. (2008). Facing the issues: Challenges, censorship, and reflection through dialogue. English Journal, 97(3), pp. 61-66.
Reading Response
Lent, R.C. (2008). Facing the issues: Challenges, censorship, and reflection through dialogue. English Journal 97(3), 61-66.
" . . . reading is an experience that goes far beyond the current notion of comprehending for the purpose of distilling information into answers on tests. When students make choices about their reading, they are engaging in decisions that will contribute to their self-efficacy as well as ones that will facilitate their independence as readers."
With the extremely low rates of parental involvement I doubt that I will receive many complaints about what I choose to teach in class. However, I am still extremely aware of the role that reading could play in my students' lives. With ELA relegated to the task of teaching kids to read so that they can pass state tests, we have lost sight of what the interpretation of literature should and could be. Literature is not fluff; it aids in the creation of a whole person.
DeBenedictis, D. (2007). Sustained silent reading: Making adaptations. Voices from the Middle 14(3) 29-37)
"SSR now was divided into a 20-25-minute period to read, write, and/or draw (about what one is reading or writing), and then a 10-20-minute period to discuss the reading, writing, and/or drawing. Students had complete ownership of their reading and writing material, and, with prior permission, could work quietly with another student."
I love the images of SSR as presented by DeBenedictis. SSR in my classroom always felt like a chore for both me and my students. They resented the routine and I struggled to come up with meaningful methods of measuring their reading progress. This version of SSR is much more laid back than my approach. I tried to squeeze in a skill into every twenty-minute period so that no administrator could accuse me of not having my students do enough. As a result SSR was a complete failure. For the next year I would like to have SSR be something that my students enjoy: an opportunity for reflection and expression.
" . . . reading is an experience that goes far beyond the current notion of comprehending for the purpose of distilling information into answers on tests. When students make choices about their reading, they are engaging in decisions that will contribute to their self-efficacy as well as ones that will facilitate their independence as readers."
With the extremely low rates of parental involvement I doubt that I will receive many complaints about what I choose to teach in class. However, I am still extremely aware of the role that reading could play in my students' lives. With ELA relegated to the task of teaching kids to read so that they can pass state tests, we have lost sight of what the interpretation of literature should and could be. Literature is not fluff; it aids in the creation of a whole person.
DeBenedictis, D. (2007). Sustained silent reading: Making adaptations. Voices from the Middle 14(3) 29-37)
"SSR now was divided into a 20-25-minute period to read, write, and/or draw (about what one is reading or writing), and then a 10-20-minute period to discuss the reading, writing, and/or drawing. Students had complete ownership of their reading and writing material, and, with prior permission, could work quietly with another student."
I love the images of SSR as presented by DeBenedictis. SSR in my classroom always felt like a chore for both me and my students. They resented the routine and I struggled to come up with meaningful methods of measuring their reading progress. This version of SSR is much more laid back than my approach. I tried to squeeze in a skill into every twenty-minute period so that no administrator could accuse me of not having my students do enough. As a result SSR was a complete failure. For the next year I would like to have SSR be something that my students enjoy: an opportunity for reflection and expression.
Outsiders Webquest Review
This webquest asks students to examine the events in The Outsiders from the perspective of a juror in a murder trial. It is essentially a jigsaw activity as students are given different roles in the case. For example Juror #1 has the responsibility of defining legal terms and researching murder statistics and minors and the death penalty. Students then report their findings in an online journal. Then in groups students are to debate using both the text and their internet findings as sources to determine a verdict in the trial. I would definitely use this activity with my students as it ties the events in the books to real life facts. It also provides students with a new lens with which to examine the events in the novel and present day incarceration statistics.
Incorporating Book Trailers and Audio-Books in the Classroom
Kajder, S. (2008). The book trailer: engaging teens through technology. Educational leadership. 65 (6), 1-4.
“When we teach creatively with emergent tools in mind, we stand a better chance of engaging reluctant students by giving what we teach real meaning. Each day is an invitation to examine, play, invent, reinvent, and join the conversation.”
In “The Book Trailer: Engaging Teens through Technologies,” Kajder explores the ways in which introducing technology, specifically the creation of book trailers, can invite even the most reluctant students to become engaged with literature. I was particularly struck by the above quote, pulled from Kajder's article, because any strategy that looks to draw students in and increase their motivation is something that I wish to become familiarized with. Above all else, supporting engagement and confidence in students is the most important thing I look to realize, and I spent a lot of time last year trying to think of ways to give what I was teaching “real meaning." As Kajder’s article explains, incorporating book trailers into our curriculum will not only accomplish this, but get students excited and invested in their work. The class featured in the article, with many students reading below level, demonstrates how this can be done. Kajder reveals how this formerly disengaged class experienced tremendous success with projects that involved an innovative product for a newly “invested, real audience.” Stemming from their success, I am eager to incorporate book trailers into my class projects next year.
Weiss, M.J. (2008). The sounds of stories. The alan review. 35 (3), 79-81.
“Letting students read aloud from their favorite books, emphasizing dramatic techniques and interpretation, is a practical way to develop fluency, listening skills, and oral interpretation.”
In “The Sound of Stories,” Weiss investigates the place of audio-books in the classroom. The above quote reflects his belief that audio-books provide an excellent format for students to develop their literacy, particularly fluency, listening skills, and oral interpretation. Weiss offers an extensive list of quality audio-books for young adult readers that includes: Melting Stones, Twisted, Airborn, and On the Wings of Heroes, among others. He further provides categorized lists of notable audio-books such as biographies, short-stories, and cultural diversity. I found his article, and particularly this selected quote, to leave an impression on me because it re-affirms the essential need of oral reading in the classroom. While I was aware of the benefits of read-alouds for students, this article reminds me just how important and advantageous oral reading is for students as they seek to develop literacy skills. The dramatic interpretation of a text can not only aid comprehension, but may engage students that otherwise would become disinterested by silent reading, alone. With this in mind, I am excited to introduce audio-books into my classroom next year, and in doing so, present students with another tool that may spark or enhance their love of literature.
“When we teach creatively with emergent tools in mind, we stand a better chance of engaging reluctant students by giving what we teach real meaning. Each day is an invitation to examine, play, invent, reinvent, and join the conversation.”
In “The Book Trailer: Engaging Teens through Technologies,” Kajder explores the ways in which introducing technology, specifically the creation of book trailers, can invite even the most reluctant students to become engaged with literature. I was particularly struck by the above quote, pulled from Kajder's article, because any strategy that looks to draw students in and increase their motivation is something that I wish to become familiarized with. Above all else, supporting engagement and confidence in students is the most important thing I look to realize, and I spent a lot of time last year trying to think of ways to give what I was teaching “real meaning." As Kajder’s article explains, incorporating book trailers into our curriculum will not only accomplish this, but get students excited and invested in their work. The class featured in the article, with many students reading below level, demonstrates how this can be done. Kajder reveals how this formerly disengaged class experienced tremendous success with projects that involved an innovative product for a newly “invested, real audience.” Stemming from their success, I am eager to incorporate book trailers into my class projects next year.
Weiss, M.J. (2008). The sounds of stories. The alan review. 35 (3), 79-81.
“Letting students read aloud from their favorite books, emphasizing dramatic techniques and interpretation, is a practical way to develop fluency, listening skills, and oral interpretation.”
In “The Sound of Stories,” Weiss investigates the place of audio-books in the classroom. The above quote reflects his belief that audio-books provide an excellent format for students to develop their literacy, particularly fluency, listening skills, and oral interpretation. Weiss offers an extensive list of quality audio-books for young adult readers that includes: Melting Stones, Twisted, Airborn, and On the Wings of Heroes, among others. He further provides categorized lists of notable audio-books such as biographies, short-stories, and cultural diversity. I found his article, and particularly this selected quote, to leave an impression on me because it re-affirms the essential need of oral reading in the classroom. While I was aware of the benefits of read-alouds for students, this article reminds me just how important and advantageous oral reading is for students as they seek to develop literacy skills. The dramatic interpretation of a text can not only aid comprehension, but may engage students that otherwise would become disinterested by silent reading, alone. With this in mind, I am excited to introduce audio-books into my classroom next year, and in doing so, present students with another tool that may spark or enhance their love of literature.
Wikis and Literacy of Emotion & Images
Kajder, S. B. (2007) “Unleashing potential with emerging technologies”. In K. Beers, R.E. Probst, and L. Rief (Eds.) Adolescent literacy: Turning promise into practice (pp.213-229) Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Using the wikibooks.org website, we were able to so set up an annotated text to work alongside our study of the novel…. Our work include[d] various kinds of aids for reading, understanding, and teaching the text, including but not limite to explanatory notes, introductions summaries, questions and answers, charts, lists, indices, references wikilinks, pictures and audio. (p. 223)
Kajder noted that she got the idea to use this in her class when she saw her kids pull out CliffNotes on the class reading. This reminds me of how I sometimes refer my students to Sparknotes, and how they are all very familiar with the site. I checked out Wikibooks and, as described, all these features are available and available for classroom use. I am really excited about this use of technology since this is a format the kids are familiar with, and it engages them because now their knowledge and production would have a legitimate, authentic audience. Students now become teachers and dispenser of information through this medium. The technology is relatively simple so there is little if no explanation to how to use it – the kids have all read Wikipedia, and the same principles apply. My only concern (and surprise) is that this website is not very populated. I searched for popular books and came back with very little information. It is apparently only 5 years old, but I’m hoping more teachers would pick this up as a resource for the classroom. NOTE TO DR. GEORGE: please consider adding this component to next year’s technology class!!!
Kajder, S. B. (2008) “The book trailer: engaging teens through technologies.” Educational Leadership. Volume 65, Number 6: 4 pages
What worked well about Sam’s trailer was his ability to leverage each of these modes to create an effect that speech alone could not have conveyed. (p. 3)
In putting together my own book trailer I engaged on one of the most powerful modes of expression –using a combination of sound and image…. While putting together this one image of people being hanged, I could not articulate in words a viable emotional reaction. (More likely my eyes would skim over it and block its effect.) When I paired it with the cry of a cantor and an animated emphasizing effect, I amplified the emotional content of the image, and I was viscerally affected. These trailers give students the opportunity to see and create emotional texts, emotional expressions. And I do not think there is enough educational emphasis on the Literacy of images and emotion.
However, Kajder mentions that she does not work on tinkering with the applications with the kids, showing the “wows” of the product, I think this may be a mistake. Part of the process (for me at least,) of creating an emotionally expressive film is the affective dimension in its creation – that is, the discovery of the technology, the tinkering, the obsessive tinkering…. These are all an essential part of the learning process that should not be given short sh
Using the wikibooks.org website, we were able to so set up an annotated text to work alongside our study of the novel…. Our work include[d] various kinds of aids for reading, understanding, and teaching the text, including but not limite to explanatory notes, introductions summaries, questions and answers, charts, lists, indices, references wikilinks, pictures and audio. (p. 223)
Kajder noted that she got the idea to use this in her class when she saw her kids pull out CliffNotes on the class reading. This reminds me of how I sometimes refer my students to Sparknotes, and how they are all very familiar with the site. I checked out Wikibooks and, as described, all these features are available and available for classroom use. I am really excited about this use of technology since this is a format the kids are familiar with, and it engages them because now their knowledge and production would have a legitimate, authentic audience. Students now become teachers and dispenser of information through this medium. The technology is relatively simple so there is little if no explanation to how to use it – the kids have all read Wikipedia, and the same principles apply. My only concern (and surprise) is that this website is not very populated. I searched for popular books and came back with very little information. It is apparently only 5 years old, but I’m hoping more teachers would pick this up as a resource for the classroom. NOTE TO DR. GEORGE: please consider adding this component to next year’s technology class!!!
Kajder, S. B. (2008) “The book trailer: engaging teens through technologies.” Educational Leadership. Volume 65, Number 6: 4 pages
What worked well about Sam’s trailer was his ability to leverage each of these modes to create an effect that speech alone could not have conveyed. (p. 3)
In putting together my own book trailer I engaged on one of the most powerful modes of expression –using a combination of sound and image…. While putting together this one image of people being hanged, I could not articulate in words a viable emotional reaction. (More likely my eyes would skim over it and block its effect.) When I paired it with the cry of a cantor and an animated emphasizing effect, I amplified the emotional content of the image, and I was viscerally affected. These trailers give students the opportunity to see and create emotional texts, emotional expressions. And I do not think there is enough educational emphasis on the Literacy of images and emotion.
However, Kajder mentions that she does not work on tinkering with the applications with the kids, showing the “wows” of the product, I think this may be a mistake. Part of the process (for me at least,) of creating an emotionally expressive film is the affective dimension in its creation – that is, the discovery of the technology, the tinkering, the obsessive tinkering…. These are all an essential part of the learning process that should not be given short sh
Response to Kauer article on censorship
When the topic of book censorship arises – particularly in response to a parent who does not want their child to read a specific novel in school – a common reaction is to see the parent as somehow “crazy” and/or “close-minded.” Frequently, the assumption is that the parent has some sinister motive for wanting to “protect” their child from great works of literature and, as a result, is allowing the young person’s worldview to remain as narrow as possible.
However, as Suzanne Kauer (2008) explains in her article, “A Battle Reconsidered: Second Thoughts on Book Censorship and Conservative Parents,” parents usually have genuine reasons for their concerns and the best way to address their hesitations about a classroom book is to simply speak with them (p. 57). She notes parents’ concerns are typically limited to their individual children alone – not the entire class (p. 56, 2008). So it’s not as though there are thousands of fanatical crazies out there trying to get every copy of “The Chocolate War” pulled from school shelves. Instead, there are simply cautious parents trying to make decisions in the best interests of their children.
Kauer’s article is meant for teachers and she poses many excellent questions for K-12 educators to consider. For instance, she writes, “Do we choose books because they are what we were taught? Do we just choose what’s available, what the school bought? This may be our reality. But we have a responsibility, nonetheless, to thoroughly interrogate our curriculum and to make sure we know why we are arguing that a few damns and hells are worth reading to get to the heart of Steinbeck, and why little English boys murdering each other on an island is worth discussion” (Kauer, p. 59, 2008).
It is important for any/every teacher to know the answers to Kauer’s questions about the books they teach. It will help them lead classroom discussions about the texts, but to also have discussions with concerned parents as well.
Kauer, S. (January 2008). A battle reconsidered: second thoughts on book censorship and conservative parents. English Journal, 97(3) 56-60.
However, as Suzanne Kauer (2008) explains in her article, “A Battle Reconsidered: Second Thoughts on Book Censorship and Conservative Parents,” parents usually have genuine reasons for their concerns and the best way to address their hesitations about a classroom book is to simply speak with them (p. 57). She notes parents’ concerns are typically limited to their individual children alone – not the entire class (p. 56, 2008). So it’s not as though there are thousands of fanatical crazies out there trying to get every copy of “The Chocolate War” pulled from school shelves. Instead, there are simply cautious parents trying to make decisions in the best interests of their children.
Kauer’s article is meant for teachers and she poses many excellent questions for K-12 educators to consider. For instance, she writes, “Do we choose books because they are what we were taught? Do we just choose what’s available, what the school bought? This may be our reality. But we have a responsibility, nonetheless, to thoroughly interrogate our curriculum and to make sure we know why we are arguing that a few damns and hells are worth reading to get to the heart of Steinbeck, and why little English boys murdering each other on an island is worth discussion” (Kauer, p. 59, 2008).
It is important for any/every teacher to know the answers to Kauer’s questions about the books they teach. It will help them lead classroom discussions about the texts, but to also have discussions with concerned parents as well.
Kauer, S. (January 2008). A battle reconsidered: second thoughts on book censorship and conservative parents. English Journal, 97(3) 56-60.
Webquest Review for Maus
Cited for 11th and 12th graders. This webquest assignment was very interesting to me but I have some doubts as to its appropriateness for high school students.
The quest jigsaws the class into several groups and asks each group to evaluate the book according to the groups’ field. The groups are: Art teachers, English teachers, Social Studies teachers and Holocaust Survivors. The three teacher groups must decide if Maus is appropriate to teach and the survivor group must decide if Maus is respectful or offensive to survivors.
Students in the groups are further jigsawed to read one of five web based and library based articles that support a position for the group. In the end the group comes together and puts together all their arguments that support or oppose a decision on a provided graphic organizer.
What I like about this webquest: The question seems rather simple but the reading content is rather sophisticated; it tackles everything from textual criticism, aesthetics, historical narrative, classroom standards – college level stuff. I guess that is also why I don’t like this webquest. The reading material is very sophisticated, in some cases the links are no longer there and in other cases the connection between the arguments that students need to make and the reading is a bit disconnected, students would have a hard time extrapolating.
I would appropriate some readings and perhaps one or two questions from this webquest, but I would NOT assign this to a (typical) 10th grade class reading Maus.
Since this is a core book for my curriculum I really wanted to explore everything available. I was surprised to find this is the ONLY webquest available! If anyone knows of an additional one Maus, please let me know!!!
The quest jigsaws the class into several groups and asks each group to evaluate the book according to the groups’ field. The groups are: Art teachers, English teachers, Social Studies teachers and Holocaust Survivors. The three teacher groups must decide if Maus is appropriate to teach and the survivor group must decide if Maus is respectful or offensive to survivors.
Students in the groups are further jigsawed to read one of five web based and library based articles that support a position for the group. In the end the group comes together and puts together all their arguments that support or oppose a decision on a provided graphic organizer.
What I like about this webquest: The question seems rather simple but the reading content is rather sophisticated; it tackles everything from textual criticism, aesthetics, historical narrative, classroom standards – college level stuff. I guess that is also why I don’t like this webquest. The reading material is very sophisticated, in some cases the links are no longer there and in other cases the connection between the arguments that students need to make and the reading is a bit disconnected, students would have a hard time extrapolating.
I would appropriate some readings and perhaps one or two questions from this webquest, but I would NOT assign this to a (typical) 10th grade class reading Maus.
Since this is a core book for my curriculum I really wanted to explore everything available. I was surprised to find this is the ONLY webquest available! If anyone knows of an additional one Maus, please let me know!!!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Webquest of Monster
I discovered a webquest for Monster that I will definitely refer back to next year when I use this text in literature circles. The webquest can be found at: www.garfield.sparcc.org/Middle/special_ed/Cozad/monster/MONSTER. I was particularly fond of this webquest, as opposed to the others that I reviewed, because I thought the webpage was easy to manage and the task itself to be worthwhile and thought-provoking for students. The page, that is, is easy to navigate with five sections that guide students through the assignment at hand. The project is centered on investigating juvenile delinquency and the death penalty and asks students to consider several higher-order thinking questions as they search related links and look to write their final essay on the topic. The attached rubric is also conveniently provided and clearly defines the expectations for the project. I will definitely use this webquest as a reference for next year and think it is a worthwhile site for anyone else teaching 8th grade to check out as well.
Lit Discussions and YA Lit
After taking the Adolescent Literature course, I have new ideas about how I will teach literature in my classes. Last school year, I was disappointed in the number of students who became excited about reading and books. I was overcome by fighting illiteracy, low efficacy, and low motivation in most of my classrooms. Probst’s experience of a classroom discussion session is what I want to see happen in my classroom literature discussions. “There was a first a lot of talking (this in itself is sounded good); very little listening. It was as if the reading had filled them with a passion and energy they could discharge only through speech. Gradually, however, the monologues became dialogues and kids began to hear what others were saying and to pause long enough to actually listen and reflect." (2000, p.9) Probst then goes on to talk about overly-guided discussion that occurs in many classrooms and its potential to suppress students’ urges to reflect on and discuss what they think about the literature. I felt in many ways this had occurred in my classroom, and was even encouraged by administrators as a way to maintain control of the classroom. Since literature discussion is what I want in my classrooms, I plan on attempting a freer structure with in-class reading time, free-write time, and class discussions. I don’t really like literature circles as they have been proposed to me, so I will try Probst’s suggestion of small group share in which each students speaks about what they free-wrote, and then large group share where conversation can take its own course. We’ll see what happens.
Probst, R. (2000). Literature as invitation, Voices from the Middle, 8 (2). pp. 9-15.
I had some strong reactions to the article, “It’s the THAT teacher.” I agree with some of arguments such as the one against fixations on classics and the traditional cannon of literature taught in secondary schools. I also agree that YA literature has a place in the secondary classroom and can lead to good thinking and good discussions, especially since many students are not prepared to read adult literature. However, I feel that adult literature should be the goal. I feel like Hipple’s argument, “enjoyment is what we’re after, at least at the secondary school level, where our students are going to grow up to be pediatricians and politicians, carpenters and car mechanics….but only very rarely English majors who need this early lit crit training.” (1996, pp. 16-17) I feel like the equivalent of the high-school student’s argument, “When are we ever going to have to use this?”
Which, actually, is a pretty good argument, as every teacher knows. Who needs physics or geometry proofs? What fun are they? I’m an English major, and I don’t ever have to use them, but I have an appreciation for them, understand that some people need them when designing a bridge or vehicle or theory about how the world works. What if we said “that” about math? “It’s not what kind of math students are doing, it’s that they’re doing math!” I somehow don’t think that argument would fly.
I feel like students should know higher literary ideas, symbols, extended metaphors exist, or they probably will not enjoy literature beyond a certain caliber. I happen to know a 7th grader personally, who attends a public school in a middle to lower class neighborhood, she plays video games, chats online, text messages, and loves to read. Her mother took her to the bookstore where she purchased adult-level books of her choice and read them each in a day. I gave her Speak and The Chocolate War to read, and after a few chapters, they languished on the couch, un-read. My theory is, they were too easy. The craft was not at a level that challenged her. Enjoyment is key, and no one enjoys learning something they are not ready to learn, but the opposite is true as well; no one enjoys being taught something they already know. Like I said before, YA lit has a place in the classroom, but as soon as students are able to move to adult literature, teachers should be ready to as well.
Hipple, T. (1996). It’s the THAT, teacher. English Journal. 86 (3). pp. 15-17.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Webquest: Drown by Junot Diaz
I explored webquest resources for Drown, a collection of short stories by Junot DÃaz. The stories are set in both the Dominican Republic and the US, and they focus heavily on Dominican culture. To help my students understand the background of the country as well as the protagonist, I would suggest http://exploredominicanrepublic.com/links.html. This site provides links to statistical data, traditional music, history, travel information, and more. Also, some of the links are in Spanish, which could be extremely useful in my classroom. Unfortunately, some of the links do not work, but enough of them do that this site could be a great tool to introduce students to Dominican history and culture. The teacher would have to supplement the resources with questions or assignments, because the site is more information-based than activity-based.
I came across some additional websites that focused on the lives of Dominican immigrant children and Dominican writers, but I found problems with links and other technical issues. Overall, I did not have much luck finding webquests for Drown. A great class activity requiring critical thinking and technology would be to have the class create a webquest after reading the book. They could work in groups to create several different options, approaches, and themes.
I came across some additional websites that focused on the lives of Dominican immigrant children and Dominican writers, but I found problems with links and other technical issues. Overall, I did not have much luck finding webquests for Drown. A great class activity requiring critical thinking and technology would be to have the class create a webquest after reading the book. They could work in groups to create several different options, approaches, and themes.
Book Trailers and Literature Circles
Book Trailers
“But technology is not the goal. Student writers and readers are at the center of our instruction. And we, as mindful teachers, must thoughtfully and deliberately prepare all of our students for success by critically exploring the new technological tools and then using the ones that can help us and our students to powerfully convey what we think and know” (Kajder, 2008, p.4).
Kadger (2008) makes an important point about not using technology for technologies sake, a concern I have about utilizing it in the classroom. Technology cannot be used as a substitute for good teaching. If the technology or the way the technology is used does not supplement the students learning then it has no place in the classroom. “Student writers and readers are at the center of our instruction,” and the technology is only an element of this overarching goal. When used probably, technology can be a valuable component, especially in this technological era when students need to be able what they “think and know” in increasingly complex and innovative ways.
Kajder, S. (2008). The book trailer: Engaging teens through technologies. Educational Leadership 65 (6), pp. 1-4.
Literature Circles
“In our own Chicago schools, teachers rarely use role sheets, but instead have kids capture their responses in reading response logs, on sticky notes (the favorite tool by far), on homemade bookmarks (great for nonfiction), by using text coding, in drawn and graphic responses or written conversation” (Daniels, 2006, p. 12-13)
Though Daniels (2006) decries the overuse of role sheets for literature circles, it might have been my inexperience but I still found that assigning students roles was a significant part of my success with them. Due to the low skill levels of my students I felt that the role sheets truly helped them focus on the skills that I wanted them to practice. The more free response avenues that Daniel’s seems to want to implement would have been to confusing for my students I think. In that way role sheets I think are least an important early phase implementation for literature circles. Perhaps early in the year in the first literature circles role sheets can be used to teach the students the skills. As students increase in skill level then “reading response logs, on sticky notes,” etc. would work well to continue challenging the students.
Daniels, H. (2006). What’s the next best thing with literature circles?. Voices from the Middle. 13 (4), pp. 10-15.
“But technology is not the goal. Student writers and readers are at the center of our instruction. And we, as mindful teachers, must thoughtfully and deliberately prepare all of our students for success by critically exploring the new technological tools and then using the ones that can help us and our students to powerfully convey what we think and know” (Kajder, 2008, p.4).
Kadger (2008) makes an important point about not using technology for technologies sake, a concern I have about utilizing it in the classroom. Technology cannot be used as a substitute for good teaching. If the technology or the way the technology is used does not supplement the students learning then it has no place in the classroom. “Student writers and readers are at the center of our instruction,” and the technology is only an element of this overarching goal. When used probably, technology can be a valuable component, especially in this technological era when students need to be able what they “think and know” in increasingly complex and innovative ways.
Kajder, S. (2008). The book trailer: Engaging teens through technologies. Educational Leadership 65 (6), pp. 1-4.
Literature Circles
“In our own Chicago schools, teachers rarely use role sheets, but instead have kids capture their responses in reading response logs, on sticky notes (the favorite tool by far), on homemade bookmarks (great for nonfiction), by using text coding, in drawn and graphic responses or written conversation” (Daniels, 2006, p. 12-13)
Though Daniels (2006) decries the overuse of role sheets for literature circles, it might have been my inexperience but I still found that assigning students roles was a significant part of my success with them. Due to the low skill levels of my students I felt that the role sheets truly helped them focus on the skills that I wanted them to practice. The more free response avenues that Daniel’s seems to want to implement would have been to confusing for my students I think. In that way role sheets I think are least an important early phase implementation for literature circles. Perhaps early in the year in the first literature circles role sheets can be used to teach the students the skills. As students increase in skill level then “reading response logs, on sticky notes,” etc. would work well to continue challenging the students.
Daniels, H. (2006). What’s the next best thing with literature circles?. Voices from the Middle. 13 (4), pp. 10-15.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
The value of knowledge
In the article titled, The Book Trailer: Engaging Teens Through Technology, Sara Kajder made a point that I have thought about at length, but have never been able to say, “When we expand our idea of what counts as valued communications, we value our students.” (Kadjer, 2008) In reading it, it seems so simple, but then why is it so hard to believe. Education is a field that is constantly changing, and in the beginning it seemed that teachers had the knowledge and students had to simply tap into that knowledge in whichever ways said teacher made it accessible for them. Throughout constant inventions and reinventions of the education system that idea has changed, in theory, but not always in practice. With technology advancing and dizzying rates, sometimes the tools used to educate change fast than teachers know how to use them…and that is simply unacceptable. If, as teachers, we continue to value only the core facets of traditional education, that we are sending the message that innovation, creativity, and independent learning are simply unnecessary. While technology may seem to get in the way sometimes (students accessing AIM from their phones during a lecture, focusing more on MySpace than literature, etc.) we should do everything possible to incorporate the skills our students have into the curriculum, and applaud them for the abilities they have in fields that, sometimes, they grasp much fast than we do.
Kajder, S (2008).The book trailer: Teaching teens through technology. Educational Leadership. Vol. 65.
Kajder, S (2008).The book trailer: Teaching teens through technology. Educational Leadership. Vol. 65.
Fostering Good Readers and Writers
Book Trailers
“These students are reading and writing, but in modes and media that are different from the print literacies valued in schools. Classrooms that value these 21st-century literacies provide students with opportunities to create, think critically, genuinely collaborate with participants around the globe, and communicate through a variety of modes and media” (Kajder, 2008, p.1).
It is amazing how we seem to push the traditional means of reading and writing in schools. Book trailers as an alternative means of engaging students in the reading and writing process will definitely work in my classroom. Kajder has definitely found a “hook” to capture the interest of these students. Most of my students seem to be more technologically inclined than I am. These students are waiting to be reached in a medium that is familiar to them. I often complain about the lack of creativity from my students, technology is a means to bring student-creativity back in the classroom. The only set back I foresee in some schools is the lack of computers for students to accomplish these goals. All hope is not lost because students can collaborate with their peers and create their projects. The book trailers could also be completed from home or the library. Once the teacher provides a model of what is required then students can always work outside of the class.
Kajder, S. (2008). The book trailer: engaging teens through technologies. Educational Leadership 65 (6), pp. 1-4.
Literature Circles
“You can have a written conversation while sitting side by side in real time, passing notes back and forth, or in letter form, where writers send “mail” for readers to answer when they get time” (Daniels, 2006, p.14).
I happen to use literature circles in my classroom. I also assign different roles for each student in the group; this is my way of making sure that everyone participates. I do not give students a standard worksheet or prompts of what they should write or talk about, but I allow them to explore the novel and put their ideas on post-its. I do like the idea of writing little notes to each other. I think this strategy is an excellent means to get reluctant and reserved students to participate in their group. I will expand this strategy to other areas of my English class. I also like the idea of creating a partnership with students and having them write about what they do and don’t understand about the lesson. This is a terrific way to assess student-understanding as I read or have students share their notes. What a great way to keep students engaged!
Daniels, H. (2006). What’s the next best thing with literature circles?. Voices from the Middle 13 (4), pp. 10-15.
“These students are reading and writing, but in modes and media that are different from the print literacies valued in schools. Classrooms that value these 21st-century literacies provide students with opportunities to create, think critically, genuinely collaborate with participants around the globe, and communicate through a variety of modes and media” (Kajder, 2008, p.1).
It is amazing how we seem to push the traditional means of reading and writing in schools. Book trailers as an alternative means of engaging students in the reading and writing process will definitely work in my classroom. Kajder has definitely found a “hook” to capture the interest of these students. Most of my students seem to be more technologically inclined than I am. These students are waiting to be reached in a medium that is familiar to them. I often complain about the lack of creativity from my students, technology is a means to bring student-creativity back in the classroom. The only set back I foresee in some schools is the lack of computers for students to accomplish these goals. All hope is not lost because students can collaborate with their peers and create their projects. The book trailers could also be completed from home or the library. Once the teacher provides a model of what is required then students can always work outside of the class.
Kajder, S. (2008). The book trailer: engaging teens through technologies. Educational Leadership 65 (6), pp. 1-4.
Literature Circles
“You can have a written conversation while sitting side by side in real time, passing notes back and forth, or in letter form, where writers send “mail” for readers to answer when they get time” (Daniels, 2006, p.14).
I happen to use literature circles in my classroom. I also assign different roles for each student in the group; this is my way of making sure that everyone participates. I do not give students a standard worksheet or prompts of what they should write or talk about, but I allow them to explore the novel and put their ideas on post-its. I do like the idea of writing little notes to each other. I think this strategy is an excellent means to get reluctant and reserved students to participate in their group. I will expand this strategy to other areas of my English class. I also like the idea of creating a partnership with students and having them write about what they do and don’t understand about the lesson. This is a terrific way to assess student-understanding as I read or have students share their notes. What a great way to keep students engaged!
Daniels, H. (2006). What’s the next best thing with literature circles?. Voices from the Middle 13 (4), pp. 10-15.
Newmark: Navigating between YA & Classic Lit
Although I am still a firm believer in teaching classic literature to adolescents, I have seen my students yearn for a “mirror” to better understand their lives, and classic literature, unless explicitly tied to other texts, cannot provide this “mirror” for urban adolescents to explore their identities and the communities to which they belong. Gibbons et al. (2006) argues that Young Adult literature is, in fact, the mirror students long for, and finds that “part of the problem, as most teachers are fully aware, is that the classics are often too distant from our students’ experiences or the reading level is too difficult” (Kaywell in Gibbons et al., 2006, p. 56). When students do not read at grade level and we ask them to analyze a text that is levels above—and too far from their own lives—are we asking something unreasonable of our students? Perhaps.
Yet, “part of the problem of students’ dislike of classic literature may—I’m hedging here—lie in outmoded and uninspiring methods of teaching that literature (Hipple, 1996, p. 16). If we choose classic texts that are at or near our students’ reading level, and we manage to develop lessons that evoke thought and feeling, that allow for reflection and interaction with peers, perhaps, the teaching of classic literature can be saved. Its purpose will be two-fold: students will learn to work within a community to problem-solve, to ask for help, to teach one another, and students will learn to value “windows” to people, cultures, and language other than their own.
In a unit on Romeo and Juliet, my students adapted scenes to contemporary settings, and to do this, they had to understand and appreciate Shakespearian language—they had to “translate” his language into their own and to navigate the similarities and differences. They saw the usefulness of each discourse and learned to travel between two vastly different times and people. Not only did they have a ball developing and performing their plays, they also learned the value and purpose of multiple discourses. Although they had difficulty reading the play at certain points, when working as a group, they took to the challenge. Furthermore, what appeared as “vastly different” people became as real and relevant to them as characters from their own lives.
Teaching Romeo and Juliet was not all fun and games. When we were not role-playing, there was some moaning and groaning, especially because we read the play slowly and they began to lose interest over time. Next year, I would pair it with Street Love by Walter Dean Myers, and in doing so, my students will once again be able to connect their own lives, their own language, to that of Shakespeare. They will come to see that poetry is poetry, no matter what century it is written in. I think the key to reviving classic literature is to ensure that students are involved in authentic and “inspiring” projects while also providing that “mirror” adolescents so desperately need in their search for the self.
References
Gibbons, L. C., Dail, J. S. & Stallworth, B. J. (Summer, 2006). Young adult literature in the English
curriculum today: Classroom teachers speak out. The Alan review, 33 (3), 53-61.
Hipple, T. (March, 1996). It's the THAT, teacher. English journal, 86 (3), 15-17.
Yet, “part of the problem of students’ dislike of classic literature may—I’m hedging here—lie in outmoded and uninspiring methods of teaching that literature (Hipple, 1996, p. 16). If we choose classic texts that are at or near our students’ reading level, and we manage to develop lessons that evoke thought and feeling, that allow for reflection and interaction with peers, perhaps, the teaching of classic literature can be saved. Its purpose will be two-fold: students will learn to work within a community to problem-solve, to ask for help, to teach one another, and students will learn to value “windows” to people, cultures, and language other than their own.
In a unit on Romeo and Juliet, my students adapted scenes to contemporary settings, and to do this, they had to understand and appreciate Shakespearian language—they had to “translate” his language into their own and to navigate the similarities and differences. They saw the usefulness of each discourse and learned to travel between two vastly different times and people. Not only did they have a ball developing and performing their plays, they also learned the value and purpose of multiple discourses. Although they had difficulty reading the play at certain points, when working as a group, they took to the challenge. Furthermore, what appeared as “vastly different” people became as real and relevant to them as characters from their own lives.
Teaching Romeo and Juliet was not all fun and games. When we were not role-playing, there was some moaning and groaning, especially because we read the play slowly and they began to lose interest over time. Next year, I would pair it with Street Love by Walter Dean Myers, and in doing so, my students will once again be able to connect their own lives, their own language, to that of Shakespeare. They will come to see that poetry is poetry, no matter what century it is written in. I think the key to reviving classic literature is to ensure that students are involved in authentic and “inspiring” projects while also providing that “mirror” adolescents so desperately need in their search for the self.
References
Gibbons, L. C., Dail, J. S. & Stallworth, B. J. (Summer, 2006). Young adult literature in the English
curriculum today: Classroom teachers speak out. The Alan review, 33 (3), 53-61.
Hipple, T. (March, 1996). It's the THAT, teacher. English journal, 86 (3), 15-17.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Book Trailers and Literature Circles, gee I've got a lot to learn--Jeannine Green
About Book Trailers
Throughout the process, I guide students in how to ensure their product conveys their intended meaning. I teach multimodal composition—ways of working with multiple modes to create a rich compelling product…. Once they have a clear plan for their trailers, students receive written “entrance tickets” for the computer lab. Instructional time within the lab, or in the classroom if we’re lucky enough to gain access to a cart of laptops, is not about where to point and click. This is not because I believe that our students are digital natives (Prensky, 2001) who already know the tools and will be successful with the taks because it involves a computer. It is because our planning leads students to…focus on content as opposed to bells and whistles. (Kajder, 2008, p. 13)
Kajder, S. (2008). The book trailer: Engaging teens through technologies. Educational
Leadership: 65 (6), 1-4
The process this Kajder’s quote speaks of is the process of creating book trailers. Initially when I learned about the process of creating a book trailer as a form of giving a book talk, I thought of it simply as a way to utilize computer technology; hence, I thought it was simply a gimmick. Kajder says that the usage of the computer is not the objective of the lesson; instead, the idea is to help students have an alternate way to present the take away message about a book they have read or to give their inner thoughts about a book. I am among those teachers who complain about the lack of access to technology my students have. Kajder says in essence that the meat of the work of the book trailer project occurs away from technology. Technology becomes the minor end process.
As I look as Kajder’s preparation process for the book trailer, I recognize multiple entry points to touch on those items required by the New York State Performance Standards for English Language Arts. Likewise, I can imagine how engaged the students will be in building a blueprint for the final result while improving writing skills, reading skills and persuasive skills. This preparation process for the final book trailer project can actually be thought of as a disguise for the hard part of the job without students realizing it since ultimately their focus is on the final end product. It’s like walking up a demanding hill not thinking about the journey itself but what you expect to find at the top. It’s the thought of the top that makes the journey less daunting.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
About Literature Circles
In the early days, Literature Circles were promoted…as a kind of if-you-build-it-they-will-come proposition. If you trained the groups properly, kids would do the reading….We now realize that peer-led reading groups need much more than a good launching; they require constant coaching and training by a very active teacher who uses minilessons and debriefings to help kids hone skills…. (Daniels, 2006, p. 13)
Daniels, H. (2006). What’s the next big thing with literature circles. Voices from the Middle
13(4) 10-15.
As a new teacher, I am still learning how to design literature circles for my tenth grade English classes. What I take away from Daniels’ quote is that the learning process of how to utilize literature circles effectively is continual. Learning how to function in a literature circle is not something that is understood instantly and can thus function on its own. It is a continual work in progress for the students and for the teacher. Visiting a You Tube video of how literature circles work, what struck me the most was the outrageous comments written beneath this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SykNmAFrFY4). At first I was angered by the comments then I realized as I read these comments that there is an assumption that people (teachers) should know everything they need to know by the time they reach the classroom. This made me think that there is this belief that learning is stagnant, that it reaches one specific point and from there it does not go any further. I realize that I initially suffered from this same sort of thinking as a first year teacher. I believed that once I taught a lesson, or a unit, then the lesson was learned for life; therefore, I never needed to revisit it. My goal was to just cover as much stuff as possible. I have since learned to drop this thinking. Likewise, I think literature circles need room for expansion and exploration.
Response to Readings" Sophia is too liberal
Suzanne M. Kauer explores the issue of censoring adolescent literature. Her position seeks to invite and encourage parental involvement while maintaining that certain literature is simply too imporant to remove from the classroom. She attempts to reconcile the families' belief systems with her desire to teach literature. I take this quote very seriously because I often find myself pushing the envelope with some of the texts that I read aloud in the classroom. She writes:
"A book in which an adolescent hires a prostitute would definitely fall under the category of "not part of Mormon values."
I find the balance between literary merit and smut to be precarious because I read Henry Miller, Anais Nin, and such for both. I have to realize that my love of certain literature does not translate into a middle school classroom, but the reality is that of the greatest works of literature, sex, sexuality, human development, love, regret, and despair are always present. That is the attitude that I take with me into the classrooms. I understand, and agree with Kauer that we must "concede that parents have a right to decide what their children will or will not read." Moreover, Kauer notes that the "dark side of humanity" is important for adolescent readers to experience. I think parents should be involved with their child's education, but I would have to argue that teachers should be the judges of what is taught in the classroom, ultimately. It is easier for me to argue this from my position, though, because my experience with parental involvement is nearly nonexistent. Yet, for those parents that want to stand at a schoolboard meeting and argue against Catcher, (Ulysses, Tropic of Cancer, and "Howl"), I say its a relevant and important debate to have over literature; it speaks to the ultimtae lesson that I hope my students would learn: texts, in historical contexts particularly, have power, a power to change the way people think in a certain time period or culture. I am resisting the urge to enter into a discussion of the canon vis-Ã -vis Guillory or Greene because I do not think it is a teacher's responsibility to defend the literary canon to a parent nor do we often control what is in our secondary curriculum let alone what students face once they enter college. Despite my similar concerns to Kauer, I think she is right to pose an alternative and reflect on the question: Why do we choose to teach certain texts in the classroom?
"A book in which an adolescent hires a prostitute would definitely fall under the category of "not part of Mormon values."
I find the balance between literary merit and smut to be precarious because I read Henry Miller, Anais Nin, and such for both. I have to realize that my love of certain literature does not translate into a middle school classroom, but the reality is that of the greatest works of literature, sex, sexuality, human development, love, regret, and despair are always present. That is the attitude that I take with me into the classrooms. I understand, and agree with Kauer that we must "concede that parents have a right to decide what their children will or will not read." Moreover, Kauer notes that the "dark side of humanity" is important for adolescent readers to experience. I think parents should be involved with their child's education, but I would have to argue that teachers should be the judges of what is taught in the classroom, ultimately. It is easier for me to argue this from my position, though, because my experience with parental involvement is nearly nonexistent. Yet, for those parents that want to stand at a schoolboard meeting and argue against Catcher, (Ulysses, Tropic of Cancer, and "Howl"), I say its a relevant and important debate to have over literature; it speaks to the ultimtae lesson that I hope my students would learn: texts, in historical contexts particularly, have power, a power to change the way people think in a certain time period or culture. I am resisting the urge to enter into a discussion of the canon vis-Ã -vis Guillory or Greene because I do not think it is a teacher's responsibility to defend the literary canon to a parent nor do we often control what is in our secondary curriculum let alone what students face once they enter college. Despite my similar concerns to Kauer, I think she is right to pose an alternative and reflect on the question: Why do we choose to teach certain texts in the classroom?
Writing as a "Communicative Act"
“Writers who have real audiences listening and responding to their writing learn firsthand how writing is a communicative act; they learn to take responsibility for their words, to defend and modify them based on reactions from the real people sitting around them.”
I must admit that blogs seem to be supplanting older methods of introducing writing in the classroom. Such an activity could be invaluable to the growth of a student in terms of stimulating learning, and notably writing, beyond an academic setting. My one concern is that it would be dangerous to tell students that writing is a “communicative act.” While I fully understand the point that Kadjer is trying to make in saying that students take a more active role in the writing process if they feel valued, I am not sure that it is beneficial to think of writing as a “communicative act.” Surely students take responsibility for their words and learn to defend their statements, but my fear in treating writing as an act of communication is that students will provide personal opinions based on impulse rather than justifying the answer with textual support or other evidence. Without constant monitoring of a blog, students will have free reign to write as they please. I suppose that through direct instruction, students will learn how to compose well-written responses. In any event, it takes a highly motivated group to run an efficient blog that demands students to work on the craft of writing. The majority of blogs that I see on the web deal almost exclusively with personal reflection and venting societal, political, or economic concerns. To successfully transition students from these kinds of blogs to perhaps a more structured blog, provided within the English class, it would be important to teach students the importance of defending arguments based on rational explanation derived from sources rather than allow them the freedom to speak their minds without justifying statements with direct evidence.
Kajder, S. (2008). The book trailer: engaging teens through technologies. Educational Leadership 65(6).
“All trailers have to include the title of the book, the author’s name, and a presentation that is both authentic to the text and that works to ‘hook’ readers. I also require students to submit their trailers with a piece of writing that explores the choices they made, with an analysis of the book that shows they made decisions on the basis of the text, and not just by using the aspects of technology that would best captivate an audience.”
This notion of a “hook” reminded me of thesis statements. This process of getting students to captivate an audience could provide vital insight into understanding how to formulate effective thesis statements, which is incredibly difficult to teach adults let alone teens. As for the piece of writing that students must submit, I feel that if this assignment is framed in the proper light, most students will invest the time and energy in ensuring its completion. That is to say, if the teacher makes this writing task seem like a laborious process rather than one that is meant to supplement the book trailer, students are likely to become displeased with the assignment. My advice for introducing this assignment is to tell students that they are architects of a master plan and they must provide the blueprint for future architects. In getting them to explore the choices they make, I would ask them write a kind of manual in documenting each and every step leading up to the book trailer. Not only would this be more enjoyable for the students, but it would solidify in their minds that they have mastered the process of making a book trailer.
Kadjer, S.B. (2007). Unleashing potential with emerging technologies. In K. Beers, R.E. Probst, and L. Rief (eds.), Adolescent literacy: turning promise into practice (213-229). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
I must admit that blogs seem to be supplanting older methods of introducing writing in the classroom. Such an activity could be invaluable to the growth of a student in terms of stimulating learning, and notably writing, beyond an academic setting. My one concern is that it would be dangerous to tell students that writing is a “communicative act.” While I fully understand the point that Kadjer is trying to make in saying that students take a more active role in the writing process if they feel valued, I am not sure that it is beneficial to think of writing as a “communicative act.” Surely students take responsibility for their words and learn to defend their statements, but my fear in treating writing as an act of communication is that students will provide personal opinions based on impulse rather than justifying the answer with textual support or other evidence. Without constant monitoring of a blog, students will have free reign to write as they please. I suppose that through direct instruction, students will learn how to compose well-written responses. In any event, it takes a highly motivated group to run an efficient blog that demands students to work on the craft of writing. The majority of blogs that I see on the web deal almost exclusively with personal reflection and venting societal, political, or economic concerns. To successfully transition students from these kinds of blogs to perhaps a more structured blog, provided within the English class, it would be important to teach students the importance of defending arguments based on rational explanation derived from sources rather than allow them the freedom to speak their minds without justifying statements with direct evidence.
Kajder, S. (2008). The book trailer: engaging teens through technologies. Educational Leadership 65(6).
“All trailers have to include the title of the book, the author’s name, and a presentation that is both authentic to the text and that works to ‘hook’ readers. I also require students to submit their trailers with a piece of writing that explores the choices they made, with an analysis of the book that shows they made decisions on the basis of the text, and not just by using the aspects of technology that would best captivate an audience.”
This notion of a “hook” reminded me of thesis statements. This process of getting students to captivate an audience could provide vital insight into understanding how to formulate effective thesis statements, which is incredibly difficult to teach adults let alone teens. As for the piece of writing that students must submit, I feel that if this assignment is framed in the proper light, most students will invest the time and energy in ensuring its completion. That is to say, if the teacher makes this writing task seem like a laborious process rather than one that is meant to supplement the book trailer, students are likely to become displeased with the assignment. My advice for introducing this assignment is to tell students that they are architects of a master plan and they must provide the blueprint for future architects. In getting them to explore the choices they make, I would ask them write a kind of manual in documenting each and every step leading up to the book trailer. Not only would this be more enjoyable for the students, but it would solidify in their minds that they have mastered the process of making a book trailer.
Kadjer, S.B. (2007). Unleashing potential with emerging technologies. In K. Beers, R.E. Probst, and L. Rief (eds.), Adolescent literacy: turning promise into practice (213-229). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
The Sometimes Hidden Power in Book Trailers and Audiobooks
“Having students create trailers instead of giving traditional presentations opens up the modes and media students can use to communicate. Students can use images, motion or special effects, a recorded soundtrack, and print text to share their thinking, their interpretations, and their critiques of the books they read.”
One of the key skills that can be developed in English class is communication. By giving students the opportunity to create book trailers, communication is emphasized in multiple modes. As an English teacher, I want my students to be proficient in communicating in a variety of ways. The use of book trailers not only enables the classroom environment to be more engaging and interactive but also calls upon students to demonstrate several skills. In addition to developing their communication skills, students also will inevitably access their creative, critical, and independent thinking skills when producing a book trailer. Students essentially have to identify key aspects of literature, piece together the aspects in somewhat cohesive ways, and accompany the aspects with images, sounds, and text to capture the interests of others. If students were simply asked to interpret or analyze novels that they read, there would likely be some resistance and the activity may not fully access the students’ thinking. However, with a book trailer, it is possible that students will be so interested in the dynamism of the activity that they will not be as resistant to the process and will freely access their creative and critical thinking skills without being entirely aware of it. In short, this technology would allow for students to expand their creative, critical, and independent thinking skills while communicating with their peers in multiple modes.
Kajder, S. (2008). The book trailer: engaging teens through technologies. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 20.
“Students should be able to listen and find the magic of interpretation as actors read aloud or participate in dramatizations based on the finest young adult literature.”
Audiobooks can be highly effective in classrooms because reading is modeled for students and the emotions of characters are on display. I found that an audiobook for Romeo and Juliet was especially effective because it enabled students to better understand Shakespeare’s language and to improve their pronunciation skills. Also, allowing students to focus on the actions of characters rather than the language helped to clarify difficult moments in the plot. Overall, I feel that students felt more comfortable with reading Shakespeare after they were repeatedly exposed to the language.
However, I have also found that the pacing in other audiobooks is too fast for students and does not allow them to fully process the reading. After realizing that an audiobook for The Color of Water had fast pacing, did not follow the exact words of the text, and, at times, omitted large passages of the text, I used it only in a supplementary way. In fact, I have never fully replaced my reading and my students’ readings of a text with an audiobook because I want students to improve their own reading skills and not rely on the readings of others. Thus, I typically use audiobooks in a supplementary way. Interestingly, I found that since the audiobook for The Color of Water omitted large passages, I could use this as a learning tool to question my students as to why certain passages were left out. I wanted students to recognize that the audiobook was focusing on main ideas and discarding some of the smaller details, and I had students look at a chapter and identify the main ideas and then observe whether or not the audiobook focused on the same pieces of information.
Weiss, M.J. (2008). The sounds of stories. The Alan Review, 35(3), 79.
One of the key skills that can be developed in English class is communication. By giving students the opportunity to create book trailers, communication is emphasized in multiple modes. As an English teacher, I want my students to be proficient in communicating in a variety of ways. The use of book trailers not only enables the classroom environment to be more engaging and interactive but also calls upon students to demonstrate several skills. In addition to developing their communication skills, students also will inevitably access their creative, critical, and independent thinking skills when producing a book trailer. Students essentially have to identify key aspects of literature, piece together the aspects in somewhat cohesive ways, and accompany the aspects with images, sounds, and text to capture the interests of others. If students were simply asked to interpret or analyze novels that they read, there would likely be some resistance and the activity may not fully access the students’ thinking. However, with a book trailer, it is possible that students will be so interested in the dynamism of the activity that they will not be as resistant to the process and will freely access their creative and critical thinking skills without being entirely aware of it. In short, this technology would allow for students to expand their creative, critical, and independent thinking skills while communicating with their peers in multiple modes.
Kajder, S. (2008). The book trailer: engaging teens through technologies. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 20.
“Students should be able to listen and find the magic of interpretation as actors read aloud or participate in dramatizations based on the finest young adult literature.”
Audiobooks can be highly effective in classrooms because reading is modeled for students and the emotions of characters are on display. I found that an audiobook for Romeo and Juliet was especially effective because it enabled students to better understand Shakespeare’s language and to improve their pronunciation skills. Also, allowing students to focus on the actions of characters rather than the language helped to clarify difficult moments in the plot. Overall, I feel that students felt more comfortable with reading Shakespeare after they were repeatedly exposed to the language.
However, I have also found that the pacing in other audiobooks is too fast for students and does not allow them to fully process the reading. After realizing that an audiobook for The Color of Water had fast pacing, did not follow the exact words of the text, and, at times, omitted large passages of the text, I used it only in a supplementary way. In fact, I have never fully replaced my reading and my students’ readings of a text with an audiobook because I want students to improve their own reading skills and not rely on the readings of others. Thus, I typically use audiobooks in a supplementary way. Interestingly, I found that since the audiobook for The Color of Water omitted large passages, I could use this as a learning tool to question my students as to why certain passages were left out. I wanted students to recognize that the audiobook was focusing on main ideas and discarding some of the smaller details, and I had students look at a chapter and identify the main ideas and then observe whether or not the audiobook focused on the same pieces of information.
Weiss, M.J. (2008). The sounds of stories. The Alan Review, 35(3), 79.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
"So much of what we've done in bringing technology into the classroom has been about speed. Emergent technology use is different. It requires time spent deeply considering the instructional value added by new tools and time spent crafting instruction that puts content and instructional goals ahead of teaching the technology."
-Sara Kadjer, "Unleashing Potential with Emergent Technologies"
As I have reflected on the use of technology in the classroom, I have considered it a way to do some aspects of traditional teaching in a faster way. My primary goal for using technology in the classroom would be to teach them technological literacy. Kadjer is arguing that this is a very common view, but that the opposite is in fact true. Educational technology should help students better achieve the learning outcomes of the class, not simply be a skill unto itself. Technological skills aren't going to mean much to students if they don't have a sense of what they can be used for and why they should be. In other, technology shouldn't just be adopted because it can be; a teacher really needs to think on its long-term utility before adopting it.
"'Classic' literature circles have used sets of novels, and this has certainly been a way to help kids find authors and genres of fiction. But since lit. circles are essentially well-structured collaborative learning applied to reading, the model is just as powerful and effective for non-fiction texts."
-Harvey Daniels, "What's the Next Big Thing with Literature Circles?"
I'm trying to figure out a way to use more non-fiction in my curriculum, as I think it is a genre underutilized by most English teachers. Daniels seems to agree with me. I wish I knew more non-fiction texts that would work well in a high school setting, and I definitely wish I knew how to get my hands on more class sets. Some of the books he mentioned in the article could be very useful.
-Sara Kadjer, "Unleashing Potential with Emergent Technologies"
As I have reflected on the use of technology in the classroom, I have considered it a way to do some aspects of traditional teaching in a faster way. My primary goal for using technology in the classroom would be to teach them technological literacy. Kadjer is arguing that this is a very common view, but that the opposite is in fact true. Educational technology should help students better achieve the learning outcomes of the class, not simply be a skill unto itself. Technological skills aren't going to mean much to students if they don't have a sense of what they can be used for and why they should be. In other, technology shouldn't just be adopted because it can be; a teacher really needs to think on its long-term utility before adopting it.
"'Classic' literature circles have used sets of novels, and this has certainly been a way to help kids find authors and genres of fiction. But since lit. circles are essentially well-structured collaborative learning applied to reading, the model is just as powerful and effective for non-fiction texts."
-Harvey Daniels, "What's the Next Big Thing with Literature Circles?"
I'm trying to figure out a way to use more non-fiction in my curriculum, as I think it is a genre underutilized by most English teachers. Daniels seems to agree with me. I wish I knew more non-fiction texts that would work well in a high school setting, and I definitely wish I knew how to get my hands on more class sets. Some of the books he mentioned in the article could be very useful.
fear and loathing in los clases
"Just like writing a traditional book report, developing trailers requires prewriting. Students read. They write first drafts. They storyboard those images that will best drive the narrative of the trailer. They plan for transitions and effects. They received peer review. They revise.
- Sara Kajder, Educational Leadership
This sounds all well and good, but "just like writing a traditional book report," I think there's a good chance that I'll lose a lot of students during the writing process. Many of my students will not begin most of their assignments. Some of them will care enough to write a first draft. Thus far, only one of them in a year and most of a summer, has ever written a second draft of something. The fact that he wrote a second draft was fantastic, but there was really no writing process involved. Aside from a few spelling mistakes I corrected that he rewrote, the first and second drafts were virtually the same thing. There was no "process," no editing, no rethinking through it. Though I think the book trailer will go over much better with students than asking them to write a traditional report, I don't actually know that my students will be willing to take the time and put in the effort to complete them, or for that matter, to even start them. I need a way to motivate them before all that goes into making a book trailer can happen.
"By most accounts, literature circles have been a valuable addition to many kids' school experience, helping to grow more self-sustaining lifelong readers."
This sounds all well and good, but "just like writing a traditional book report," I think there's a good chance that I'll lose a lot of students during the writing process. Many of my students will not begin most of their assignments. Some of them will care enough to write a first draft. Thus far, only one of them in a year and most of a summer, has ever written a second draft of something. The fact that he wrote a second draft was fantastic, but there was really no writing process involved. Aside from a few spelling mistakes I corrected that he rewrote, the first and second drafts were virtually the same thing. There was no "process," no editing, no rethinking through it. Though I think the book trailer will go over much better with students than asking them to write a traditional report, I don't actually know that my students will be willing to take the time and put in the effort to complete them, or for that matter, to even start them. I need a way to motivate them before all that goes into making a book trailer can happen.
"By most accounts, literature circles have been a valuable addition to many kids' school experience, helping to grow more self-sustaining lifelong readers."
- Harvey Daniels, What's the Next Big thing with Literature Circles?
I think this quote has a lot of truth to it. The more a teacher can encourage student-led reading, the more a student will continue to read on his/her own. I also love the idea of having students reading together in class, but not a core novel. My concern is that because I have a transient population of students, that even if they are doing the right thing when I ask them to, none of them will be on nearly the same page as their literature circle at the same time. I am unsure how to conduct such a group when I might have a student leave before he/she finishes the book. Do I ask this student to write a report on what he/she has read of the book? Also, what do I do for students who refuse to read and consistently put their heads down during reading time? I want to help students grow into these self-sustaining lifelong readers, but I don't know that literature circles are the way to go for my situation.
A Luddite Speaks
I. Creative Use of Technology
"It's as if our instincts lead us to take what we've done in the past and reproduce the process using different tools to create the same product" (Kajder, 2008, p. 210).
Guilty as charged! I've used computers in my classroom, but mostly as glorified typewriters and occasionally for research. It's how I use computers, and so it makes sense that I'd bring into my classroom those applications (all two of them) with which I'm most comfortable. What Kadjer's article doesn't acknowledge is that not every teacher is as tech-savvy as she is, that some of us became English majors because we fell in love with the very low-tech idea that we could create entire worlds by making black marks on a blank sheet of paper. I very much want to engage my students in the study and appreciation of language and literature—and firmly believe that that could best be accomplished through the use of technology—but I don't feel confident in my ability to lead them in those endeavors. I broke out into a cold sweat when I read Kadjer's articles. It all seems so daunting, but I suppose I'll have to take it one application at a time.
Kadjer, S.B. (2007). Unleashing potential with emerging technologies. In K. Beers, R.E. Probst, and L. Rief (eds.), Adolescent literacy: turning promise into practice (213-229). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
II. The Sounds of Stories
"Letting students read aloud from their favorite books, emphasizing dramatic techniques and interpretation, is a practical way to develop fluency, listening skills, and oral interpretation (Weiss, 2008, p. 79)."
My mom loves books on tape—it's how she "reads" books these days—but I'm proof that the auditory learner gene doesn't get passed down through the mother. I cannot, for the life of me, make it through an audiobook. (I've tried now three times with Stargirl.) My frustration with audiobooks, instead of making me right them off as a pedagogical tool, has made me more appreciative of how varied the learning styles, preferences, and intelligences of my students are. Despite my antipathy for audiobooks, I had fully intended to use audiobooks in my classroom but had viewed them mostly as options for lower-level readers. Reading Weiss's article, it occurred to me that audiobook performances might be a good way to model for all my students what fluent, lively reading sounds like. Instead of having the audiobook be an end in itself, listening to the performance could be used to prepare students for doing their own recording of books (as was suggested by Professor King) or to turn books into "scripts" that could then be "performed" rather than read. I know that my students are always filled with dread at the prospect of hearing a poor reader read a selection from a shared text. Emphasizing the performative aspects of reading may make reading more appealing to a lot of my students—and may increase their fluency in the process.
Weiss, M. J. (2008). The sounds of stories. The ALAN Review, 35(3), 79-81.
"It's as if our instincts lead us to take what we've done in the past and reproduce the process using different tools to create the same product" (Kajder, 2008, p. 210).
Guilty as charged! I've used computers in my classroom, but mostly as glorified typewriters and occasionally for research. It's how I use computers, and so it makes sense that I'd bring into my classroom those applications (all two of them) with which I'm most comfortable. What Kadjer's article doesn't acknowledge is that not every teacher is as tech-savvy as she is, that some of us became English majors because we fell in love with the very low-tech idea that we could create entire worlds by making black marks on a blank sheet of paper. I very much want to engage my students in the study and appreciation of language and literature—and firmly believe that that could best be accomplished through the use of technology—but I don't feel confident in my ability to lead them in those endeavors. I broke out into a cold sweat when I read Kadjer's articles. It all seems so daunting, but I suppose I'll have to take it one application at a time.
Kadjer, S.B. (2007). Unleashing potential with emerging technologies. In K. Beers, R.E. Probst, and L. Rief (eds.), Adolescent literacy: turning promise into practice (213-229). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
II. The Sounds of Stories
"Letting students read aloud from their favorite books, emphasizing dramatic techniques and interpretation, is a practical way to develop fluency, listening skills, and oral interpretation (Weiss, 2008, p. 79)."
My mom loves books on tape—it's how she "reads" books these days—but I'm proof that the auditory learner gene doesn't get passed down through the mother. I cannot, for the life of me, make it through an audiobook. (I've tried now three times with Stargirl.) My frustration with audiobooks, instead of making me right them off as a pedagogical tool, has made me more appreciative of how varied the learning styles, preferences, and intelligences of my students are. Despite my antipathy for audiobooks, I had fully intended to use audiobooks in my classroom but had viewed them mostly as options for lower-level readers. Reading Weiss's article, it occurred to me that audiobook performances might be a good way to model for all my students what fluent, lively reading sounds like. Instead of having the audiobook be an end in itself, listening to the performance could be used to prepare students for doing their own recording of books (as was suggested by Professor King) or to turn books into "scripts" that could then be "performed" rather than read. I know that my students are always filled with dread at the prospect of hearing a poor reader read a selection from a shared text. Emphasizing the performative aspects of reading may make reading more appealing to a lot of my students—and may increase their fluency in the process.
Weiss, M. J. (2008). The sounds of stories. The ALAN Review, 35(3), 79-81.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Book Trailers and Literature Circles
I. Book Trailers
"'This is different because school is something better than the place where I just feel dumb. This place sees me as a reader and a writer in the ways that I get something from'" (Kajder, 2008),
It's true; I picked the obvious "feel good teacher" quote from Sara Kajder's The Book Trailer: Engaging Teens through Technologies. But I didn't do it for sentimental purposes, but rather because I think it really illuminates an idea that I've been mulling around for a couple of weeks--students like to do "things", and they don't necessarily see reading, talking, and writing as "things". Recently, I looked into the benefits of what was once known as vocational training and is now known as CTE (career and technical education). CTE curriculums have been updated for the times; in fact, creating a book trailer, with the software and editing skills required, might now be considered central to a CTE course. I speak of this because I think its important that students feel, despite what we as adults already know, that they are taking something tangible away from school. A student may see engagement in a book trailer project as working towards developing a skill that s/he could use in a job setting, all the while, being "tricked" into summarizing and reflecting on works of literature. This action, that with planning can be both technically active and ELA relevant, can counter students' feelings of school being a place to "feel dumb". School should, I think, be less about feeling, and more about doing.
Kajder, S. (2008). The book trailer: engaging teens through technologies. Educational
Leadership, 65(6).
II. Literature Circles
"You can have a written conversation while sitting side by side in real time, passing notes back and forth, or in letter form, where writers send 'mail' for readers to answer when they get time" (Daniels, 2006, p. 10).
While I have seen teachers employ strategies that ask students to write back and forth with them about a book, it never occurred to me to put students to writing one another about a book. In one of my classes, I spent a significant amount of time trying to get a group of very bright, but very distracted, girls to stop passing notes. This strategy might provide an answer that involves less fruitless fighting on my part, and actual student engagement during class. Perhaps pairs of students could have a dedicated notebook, or packet designed for the project, in which they pass notes back and forth regarding a text. This would allow for teachers to monitor and grade the dialogue. I really love the idea; it's so simple and obvious--I know it would appeal to students, and it offers teachers lots of opportunities for differentiation.
Daniels, H. (2006). What's the next big thing with literature circles?. Voices from the Middle,
13(4), pp. 10-15.
"'This is different because school is something better than the place where I just feel dumb. This place sees me as a reader and a writer in the ways that I get something from'" (Kajder, 2008),
It's true; I picked the obvious "feel good teacher" quote from Sara Kajder's The Book Trailer: Engaging Teens through Technologies. But I didn't do it for sentimental purposes, but rather because I think it really illuminates an idea that I've been mulling around for a couple of weeks--students like to do "things", and they don't necessarily see reading, talking, and writing as "things". Recently, I looked into the benefits of what was once known as vocational training and is now known as CTE (career and technical education). CTE curriculums have been updated for the times; in fact, creating a book trailer, with the software and editing skills required, might now be considered central to a CTE course. I speak of this because I think its important that students feel, despite what we as adults already know, that they are taking something tangible away from school. A student may see engagement in a book trailer project as working towards developing a skill that s/he could use in a job setting, all the while, being "tricked" into summarizing and reflecting on works of literature. This action, that with planning can be both technically active and ELA relevant, can counter students' feelings of school being a place to "feel dumb". School should, I think, be less about feeling, and more about doing.
Kajder, S. (2008). The book trailer: engaging teens through technologies. Educational
Leadership, 65(6).
II. Literature Circles
"You can have a written conversation while sitting side by side in real time, passing notes back and forth, or in letter form, where writers send 'mail' for readers to answer when they get time" (Daniels, 2006, p. 10).
While I have seen teachers employ strategies that ask students to write back and forth with them about a book, it never occurred to me to put students to writing one another about a book. In one of my classes, I spent a significant amount of time trying to get a group of very bright, but very distracted, girls to stop passing notes. This strategy might provide an answer that involves less fruitless fighting on my part, and actual student engagement during class. Perhaps pairs of students could have a dedicated notebook, or packet designed for the project, in which they pass notes back and forth regarding a text. This would allow for teachers to monitor and grade the dialogue. I really love the idea; it's so simple and obvious--I know it would appeal to students, and it offers teachers lots of opportunities for differentiation.
Daniels, H. (2006). What's the next big thing with literature circles?. Voices from the Middle,
13(4), pp. 10-15.
Book Trailers & Audiobooks
I. Book Trailers
“These students are reading and writing, but in modes and media that are different from the print literacies valued in school.” (Kajder, 2008)
I really think there is something to be said for the idea of having students engage in ‘alternative’ means of reading and writing because I feel that students will naturally be more interested and therefore more involved in the process of learning and expanding their knowledge. Kajder has found a way to boost academic achievement and excitement, through book trailers, podcasts and Internet discussions. The article points out how students are able to introduce their own interests in the class, which I think is necessary for students to feel invested in what they are doing in the classroom. As well, the benefit of having students learn how to create book trailers reaches beyond the classroom in the sense that students are learning valuable skills that they can take out in the real world and potentially use on a job or in college. The introduction and use of something like book trailers is in some ways necessary in order to keep students current with the trends of work and education life.
How one (that is, a teacher) is able to go about making all the components that Kajder discusses come together when there are 150 students involved in the process is mind-blowing. At one point Kajder writes: “students will work together to award three trailers with the highest honor—a place on the class’s weekly podcast, which is broadcast from the class’s password-protected Web site,” and all I can think is how, how, how, does this happen. A weekly podcast, award ceremony, and password-protected Web site…just a once a month podcast seems like a lot, let alone everything else mentioned. I would imagine however it was a process to get to the point of having so many technology components going at once, and so as a still new teacher with little experience with technology, I need to think about taking baby, not giant, steps towards integrating technology into my instruction.
Kajder, S. (2008). The book trailer: engaging teens through technologies. Educational Leadership 65(6).
II. Audiobooks
“Today we are blessed with audiobooks. Students should be able to listen and find the magic of interpretation as actors read aloud or participate in dramatizations…” (Weiss, 2008)
My Ah!Ha! moment while reading “The Sounds of Stories” came when my eyes crossed the above quotation. This moment was more of an ‘Ah! Ha! I can’t believe the writer is saying this,’ rather than a ‘this guy is genius’ moment. I am not sure if I stand alone in my belief that audiobooks, in fact, are not a blessing, but I’m willing to go ahead and say it. My experience, as a learner and listener to of audiobooks, has been less than satisfying. I find them difficult to follow, unless perhaps you were driving cross-country, and not nearly as rewarding as reading. This perhaps speaks to the kind of learner that I am and my preferences. Regarding the notion of “the magic of interpretation,” well, I’ve yet to have had that experience. The actors that I’ve listened to have been more boring than magical, and the different voices that they try to assume in a story are distracting and sometimes a bit laughable.
All that said, I do believe that as a teacher, because remember, I’ve been speaking a listener/learner, I could utilize audiobooks in valuable and meaningful ways. For example, audiobooks could be used for those students with disabilities that might require the type of learning that audiobooks provide, or perhaps even for reluctant readers, audiobooks could be a segue into literature. I do think audiobooks can be a nice compliment to a text, and perhaps could be used if there were portions of a class novel that students were struggling with, an audiobook could be used to try and help with students’ understanding. As well, as Weiss noted, audiobooks can be used constructively to help students with their listening skills. All and all, I am for audiobooks as a teacher and the uses it can have in the classroom, but as a listener, I will stick to the page.
Weiss, M. J. (2008) The sounds of stories. The Alan Review, 35(3), 79-81.
“These students are reading and writing, but in modes and media that are different from the print literacies valued in school.” (Kajder, 2008)
I really think there is something to be said for the idea of having students engage in ‘alternative’ means of reading and writing because I feel that students will naturally be more interested and therefore more involved in the process of learning and expanding their knowledge. Kajder has found a way to boost academic achievement and excitement, through book trailers, podcasts and Internet discussions. The article points out how students are able to introduce their own interests in the class, which I think is necessary for students to feel invested in what they are doing in the classroom. As well, the benefit of having students learn how to create book trailers reaches beyond the classroom in the sense that students are learning valuable skills that they can take out in the real world and potentially use on a job or in college. The introduction and use of something like book trailers is in some ways necessary in order to keep students current with the trends of work and education life.
How one (that is, a teacher) is able to go about making all the components that Kajder discusses come together when there are 150 students involved in the process is mind-blowing. At one point Kajder writes: “students will work together to award three trailers with the highest honor—a place on the class’s weekly podcast, which is broadcast from the class’s password-protected Web site,” and all I can think is how, how, how, does this happen. A weekly podcast, award ceremony, and password-protected Web site…just a once a month podcast seems like a lot, let alone everything else mentioned. I would imagine however it was a process to get to the point of having so many technology components going at once, and so as a still new teacher with little experience with technology, I need to think about taking baby, not giant, steps towards integrating technology into my instruction.
Kajder, S. (2008). The book trailer: engaging teens through technologies. Educational Leadership 65(6).
II. Audiobooks
“Today we are blessed with audiobooks. Students should be able to listen and find the magic of interpretation as actors read aloud or participate in dramatizations…” (Weiss, 2008)
My Ah!Ha! moment while reading “The Sounds of Stories” came when my eyes crossed the above quotation. This moment was more of an ‘Ah! Ha! I can’t believe the writer is saying this,’ rather than a ‘this guy is genius’ moment. I am not sure if I stand alone in my belief that audiobooks, in fact, are not a blessing, but I’m willing to go ahead and say it. My experience, as a learner and listener to of audiobooks, has been less than satisfying. I find them difficult to follow, unless perhaps you were driving cross-country, and not nearly as rewarding as reading. This perhaps speaks to the kind of learner that I am and my preferences. Regarding the notion of “the magic of interpretation,” well, I’ve yet to have had that experience. The actors that I’ve listened to have been more boring than magical, and the different voices that they try to assume in a story are distracting and sometimes a bit laughable.
All that said, I do believe that as a teacher, because remember, I’ve been speaking a listener/learner, I could utilize audiobooks in valuable and meaningful ways. For example, audiobooks could be used for those students with disabilities that might require the type of learning that audiobooks provide, or perhaps even for reluctant readers, audiobooks could be a segue into literature. I do think audiobooks can be a nice compliment to a text, and perhaps could be used if there were portions of a class novel that students were struggling with, an audiobook could be used to try and help with students’ understanding. As well, as Weiss noted, audiobooks can be used constructively to help students with their listening skills. All and all, I am for audiobooks as a teacher and the uses it can have in the classroom, but as a listener, I will stick to the page.
Weiss, M. J. (2008) The sounds of stories. The Alan Review, 35(3), 79-81.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
To Technologize or Not
"School is about fitting things into tight little boxes that you measure with a test. You can't do that and use these tools." (Kadjer, 2008)
"I stopped doing anything 'cause it wasn't going anywhere and I didn't see myself in any of it."
(Kadjer, 2007)
By "these tools," this student is referring to blogs. This student dislikes writing in school because it is so structured, and a pencil and paper is very limiting. When he goes home, he writes and writes, putting up his own blog, and adds pictures, music, whatever. While I firmly believe that a student's learning and writing must be well grounded in the fundamentals, it is highly important that teachers become more aware of other modes of writing out there in the world of the internet. There are more than just pretty little paragraphs being crafted, there are little movies, links, pictures, sounds, music, etc. With some assistance, students can create multimedia experiences on any subject under the sun. Why wouldn't a teacher want that for their classroom? As the second quote suggests, if they cannot see themselves in what we're doing in the classroom, they will not be engaged. Giving them something to do, something that can be seen, creates a feeling of being able to change something, maybe even the world.
Students are writing and reading blogs from all over the country and the earth. The possibility that someone from another place will read something that you created from your mind, is quite alluring. Essential in this idea is, according to Kadjer, that we must speak to the kids in order to know where to look. We cannot just use computers, typing up papers and looking on websites for understanding, and simply call it high-tech work. We must talk with them, find out what they are looking at, what trends there are, and then explore. They are up on the trends, and what they are interested in will dictate where things are going- they are the audience and the creators; we owe it to them to listen.
Kadjer, S.B. (2008). Educational leadership: Reaching the reluctant learner, March 2008, vol. 65, number 6. The book trailer: engaging teens through technologies.
Kadjer, S.B. (2007). Unleashing potential with emerging technologies. In K. Beers, R.E. Probst, and L. Rief (eds.), Adolescent literacy: turning promise into practice (p213-229). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann
"I stopped doing anything 'cause it wasn't going anywhere and I didn't see myself in any of it."
(Kadjer, 2007)
By "these tools," this student is referring to blogs. This student dislikes writing in school because it is so structured, and a pencil and paper is very limiting. When he goes home, he writes and writes, putting up his own blog, and adds pictures, music, whatever. While I firmly believe that a student's learning and writing must be well grounded in the fundamentals, it is highly important that teachers become more aware of other modes of writing out there in the world of the internet. There are more than just pretty little paragraphs being crafted, there are little movies, links, pictures, sounds, music, etc. With some assistance, students can create multimedia experiences on any subject under the sun. Why wouldn't a teacher want that for their classroom? As the second quote suggests, if they cannot see themselves in what we're doing in the classroom, they will not be engaged. Giving them something to do, something that can be seen, creates a feeling of being able to change something, maybe even the world.
Students are writing and reading blogs from all over the country and the earth. The possibility that someone from another place will read something that you created from your mind, is quite alluring. Essential in this idea is, according to Kadjer, that we must speak to the kids in order to know where to look. We cannot just use computers, typing up papers and looking on websites for understanding, and simply call it high-tech work. We must talk with them, find out what they are looking at, what trends there are, and then explore. They are up on the trends, and what they are interested in will dictate where things are going- they are the audience and the creators; we owe it to them to listen.
Kadjer, S.B. (2008). Educational leadership: Reaching the reluctant learner, March 2008, vol. 65, number 6. The book trailer: engaging teens through technologies.
Kadjer, S.B. (2007). Unleashing potential with emerging technologies. In K. Beers, R.E. Probst, and L. Rief (eds.), Adolescent literacy: turning promise into practice (p213-229). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann
Monday, July 21, 2008
Central WebQuest
(Sidenote: I got this link at a base for tons of webquests. Here is the link-http://www.asu.edu/clas/english/englished/yalit/webquest.htm)
This webquest includes not only an interactive page, but features a summary, bio of the author, a reading quiz, and other related links. The page is colorful and allows you to navigate through the different facets of the book. I think by teaching the kids powerpoint, you can build to learning/teaching to create a webquest/site like this one. With the navigational capabilities of the site, as well as its visual appeal, I think it speaks well for the students' understanding of the book.
JDonohue
This webquest includes not only an interactive page, but features a summary, bio of the author, a reading quiz, and other related links. The page is colorful and allows you to navigate through the different facets of the book. I think by teaching the kids powerpoint, you can build to learning/teaching to create a webquest/site like this one. With the navigational capabilities of the site, as well as its visual appeal, I think it speaks well for the students' understanding of the book.
JDonohue
Lord of the Flies Webquest Review
The Lord of the Flies webquest I found (http://www.longwood.k12.ny.us/lhs/
teach/webq/lmasterjohnlord/index.html) is one of the better webquests I have seen for this book. What I like about webquests in general is that they allow for students to take charge of what their activities and products, and they are open for varying creative responses. The longwood quest asks students to do three things, create a survival manual with a map of their island, choose and make a poster of a shell to be used as a symbol of the group, and create a human rights poster detailing the rules and rights of everyone on the island. I would do this webquest as a group project, because it is ready-made for differentiation. It can easily be differentiated for student learning styles and abilities.
The survival manual allows for a lot of creativity because students use their imagination to chose which tools they find on their crashed plane. The shell poster allows students to display their artwork, and encourages them to thinking about symbols and subtle meaning. The human rights poster is a great idea. It sends them to Amnesty International websites, and touches on the heart of the book, which is how human beings treat each other. This higher-level task encourages students to make text-to-world connections and think critically about why the author chose this subject.
teach/webq/lmasterjohnlord/index.html) is one of the better webquests I have seen for this book. What I like about webquests in general is that they allow for students to take charge of what their activities and products, and they are open for varying creative responses. The longwood quest asks students to do three things, create a survival manual with a map of their island, choose and make a poster of a shell to be used as a symbol of the group, and create a human rights poster detailing the rules and rights of everyone on the island. I would do this webquest as a group project, because it is ready-made for differentiation. It can easily be differentiated for student learning styles and abilities.
The survival manual allows for a lot of creativity because students use their imagination to chose which tools they find on their crashed plane. The shell poster allows students to display their artwork, and encourages them to thinking about symbols and subtle meaning. The human rights poster is a great idea. It sends them to Amnesty International websites, and touches on the heart of the book, which is how human beings treat each other. This higher-level task encourages students to make text-to-world connections and think critically about why the author chose this subject.
Friday, July 18, 2008
9th Grade Webquests
As I approached this posting, I was very excited to begin searching the web for interactive webquests that would help my students engage the various texts we read throughout the year. I felt that this medium would offer a great way for them to use a forum they are comfortable with and interested in to better understand ELA content material. Yet as I continued to search the web, I must say I found myself disappointed with the overall quality of the webquests I encountered. While there were plenty to choose from, most seemed to be pretty basic and followed the same generic formula. With so much technology and possibility out there, I was surprised that I did not find more interactive sites that included video and audio components that would engage more students and help differentiate instruction for all types of learners. It appears as if the medium is still developing, and hopefully there will be a great number of more involved websites once this next generation of internet savvy teachers makes its way onto the internet. All that being said, however, I have no doubt that the webquest genre will continue to evolve into a valuable teaching tool that will greatly supplement classroom instruction. Throughout my search, I was able to find several sites that I found both engaging and informative. Here is a list of the best webquests I found for some of the books I studied with my 9th grade students this past year:
The Outsiders by SE Hinton:
http://www.bgsu.edu/colleges/library/crc/webquest/OutsidersWebQuest/
- offers an interesting task & great pictures from the movie to engage student interest
The Odyssey by Homer:
http://www.janaedwards.com/odyssey.html
- very interactive…includes the full-text, games, picture-book version of the story, animation, sound bites, & various handouts/worksheets
Greek Mythology:
http://home.swbell.net/bobj1/webquestgreek.html
- provides informative links & a good class project
Othello by William Shakespeare:
http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/educators/technology/lessonplan.html
- not really a traditional webquest, but offers a great deal of resources including lesson plans & video clips
The Outsiders by SE Hinton:
http://www.bgsu.edu/colleges/library/crc/webquest/OutsidersWebQuest/
- offers an interesting task & great pictures from the movie to engage student interest
The Odyssey by Homer:
http://www.janaedwards.com/odyssey.html
- very interactive…includes the full-text, games, picture-book version of the story, animation, sound bites, & various handouts/worksheets
Greek Mythology:
http://home.swbell.net/bobj1/webquestgreek.html
- provides informative links & a good class project
Othello by William Shakespeare:
http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/educators/technology/lessonplan.html
- not really a traditional webquest, but offers a great deal of resources including lesson plans & video clips
Kate is always late...with assignments
My computer is a piece of junk. My internet is sort of working. It is kind of frustrating. Any moment now my computer could just decide to stop working. It already told me that my C drive is filthy. I don't even know what that means.
I found some sites that list audio books for a teen audience, since that is an assignment . My biggest problem is finding books that my students can connect to.
http://www.wiredforyouth.com/books/index.cfm?booklist=audio
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/selectedaudio/08audio.cfm
http://www.acrl.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/selectedaudio/audiobooks.cfm
Here is a link to a book version of this internet search:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=9780618612963
All the books I want webquests on don't exist: The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean, The Book Thief and I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak, and Slam by Nick Hornby. So I guess that means I have to make them. What a sad webquest that would be!
Here is a site that links you to other webquests (that I am not interested in, but you might be):
http://www.writinglife.org/eci721/eciprojects.htm
John Green's site: http://www.sparksflyup.com/
I hate my computer. I will discuss this issue more in my next blog: Viva la Kate and Death to technology and all its friends.
I found some sites that list audio books for a teen audience, since that is an assignment . My biggest problem is finding books that my students can connect to.
http://www.wiredforyouth.com/books/index.cfm?booklist=audio
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/selectedaudio/08audio.cfm
http://www.acrl.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/selectedaudio/audiobooks.cfm
Here is a link to a book version of this internet search:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=9780618612963
All the books I want webquests on don't exist: The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean, The Book Thief and I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak, and Slam by Nick Hornby. So I guess that means I have to make them. What a sad webquest that would be!
Here is a site that links you to other webquests (that I am not interested in, but you might be):
http://www.writinglife.org/eci721/eciprojects.htm
John Green's site: http://www.sparksflyup.com/
I hate my computer. I will discuss this issue more in my next blog: Viva la Kate and Death to technology and all its friends.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
9th Grade Webquests
http://www.geocities.com/exploring_citr/tour.htm
I must say, I was quite eager to find a great Catcher in the Rye webquest, because I felt that my unit last year could have used something more engaging. So I was incredibly disappointed when all of the novel's webquests were lackluster. Some webquests simply asked students to answer comprehension questions online after reading different websites, or the questions seemed tedious and lacking meaning. None of the websites were colorful and ready to grab me, let alone a reluctant student. I really enjoyed one website, that wasn't formatted as a standard webquest ala Dodge, but was simply a photo tour of the NYC landmarks and period fashions that Salinger mentions (see above). While this website is also not visually appealing, it provides a wealth of pictures so that our students can actually visualize gladstones, the movies Phoebe mentions, Grand Central Terminal or the Central Park carousel. I'm not sure how to use this website as anything other than a reference. I would ask students to go to the website and look at particular links that align with the reading for that night. More creative ideas are welcome!
Catcher in the Rye webquests:
http://www.rockwood.k12.mo.us/Lafayette/languagearts/Main%20Dept%20Folder/Class%20Hotlinks/salinger.htm
http://www.asdk12.org/schools/west/pages/education/Haas4/catcherintherye_.htm
I also teach Greek mythology to my ninth graders and found a website that was more appealing than others. The website is colorful and tells students that they are investigative reporters assigned to find out who is the best and worst of the Olympians. The webquest is a group assignment and each student has a role. They must research the Olympians using the provided links and create a powerpoint presentation about the best and the worst. This website has the engagement factor that was lacking from the Salinger webquests, but doesn't necessarily demand higher-order thinking. I think this webquest would be appropriate for a fun pre-reading activity to have students understand who's who on Mount Olympus.
Greek Mythology Website:
http://www.coollessons.org/indexilani.htm
I must say, I was quite eager to find a great Catcher in the Rye webquest, because I felt that my unit last year could have used something more engaging. So I was incredibly disappointed when all of the novel's webquests were lackluster. Some webquests simply asked students to answer comprehension questions online after reading different websites, or the questions seemed tedious and lacking meaning. None of the websites were colorful and ready to grab me, let alone a reluctant student. I really enjoyed one website, that wasn't formatted as a standard webquest ala Dodge, but was simply a photo tour of the NYC landmarks and period fashions that Salinger mentions (see above). While this website is also not visually appealing, it provides a wealth of pictures so that our students can actually visualize gladstones, the movies Phoebe mentions, Grand Central Terminal or the Central Park carousel. I'm not sure how to use this website as anything other than a reference. I would ask students to go to the website and look at particular links that align with the reading for that night. More creative ideas are welcome!
Catcher in the Rye webquests:
http://www.rockwood.k12.mo.us/Lafayette/languagearts/Main%20Dept%20Folder/Class%20Hotlinks/salinger.htm
http://www.asdk12.org/schools/west/pages/education/Haas4/catcherintherye_.htm
I also teach Greek mythology to my ninth graders and found a website that was more appealing than others. The website is colorful and tells students that they are investigative reporters assigned to find out who is the best and worst of the Olympians. The webquest is a group assignment and each student has a role. They must research the Olympians using the provided links and create a powerpoint presentation about the best and the worst. This website has the engagement factor that was lacking from the Salinger webquests, but doesn't necessarily demand higher-order thinking. I think this webquest would be appropriate for a fun pre-reading activity to have students understand who's who on Mount Olympus.
Greek Mythology Website:
http://www.coollessons.org/indexilani.htm
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