Entry 4: Finding the Right Balance

Articles used:

• "Readicide" by Kelly Gallagher
• Chapter five from Bridging English by Milner and Milner
• "What Matters: Meeting Content Goals through Cognitive Reading Strategies with Canonical Texts" by Mary E. Styslinger, Julianne Oliver Ware, Charles W. Bell, and Jesse L. Barrett

Say:

One of these things that all of these articles has in common is the discussion of the canon and how to make works such as The Great Gatsby and Shakespeare's plays relatable and interesting to today's high school students.  One of the biggest concerns and where teachers and experts often disagree is the fact that we all have different opinions on how to best reach students when it comes to reading.  Some believe that we need to move away from the curriculum and allow students to choose books by themselves that really speak to them and which they can relate to.  On the other hand, however, there are those that want to keep the classics in the classroom because of their importance.  I, for one, think there has to be some sort of grey area as far as this issue is concerned.  Not all students loathe reading classics, despite the stereotype.  When I was a high school student I actually enjoyed reading Shakespeare and The Great Gatsby.  Perhaps the best way to reach students is to simply ask them.  I don't feel that it's right to assume that high school students don't enjoy reading classic works just because of their age.  However, I do understand that there are students who don't enjoy the classics.  Despite this, though, there is still a grey area where we can all meet and at least most of us are pleased.

Do:
I think anticipation guides are a wonderful way to introduce a text.  It really helps students become engaged before they even start reading.  It also allows students to make personal connections as well by tapping into their prior knowledge.  I would love to use this for The Great Gatsby because of the recent film adaptation with Leonardo DiCaprio.  Most high school students have likely seen it or at least familiar with its music and it would be really interesting to see what they expect from the novel if they have only been exposed to the film.

I found a great example of an anticipation guide from: http://s264.photobucket.com/user/lizthackeray/media/GreatGatsby-AnticipationGuide.jpg.html

Entry 3: Inviting Other Theoretical Perspectives

Articles used:

• "A Lens of One's Own: Of Yellow Wallpaper and and Beautiful Little Fools" (ch. 5 of Critical Encounters in High School English)
• "Of Grave Diggers and Kings: Reading Literature Through the Marxist Lens, or, What's Class Got to Do With It?" (ch. 4 of Critical Encounters in High School English)
• "Introduction" from Critical Encounters in High School English
• "Responding to Literature" (ch. 5 of Bridging English)

Say:

The first three articles all discuss feminist theory and how it is slowly making its way into today's English classrooms.  Perhaps the most explicit as to its importance comes from the first article when the author talks about telling her students a story about her being at the airport and listening to an announcement about the carry-on policy.  She tells them about her shock and disbelief at the fact that the announcement states women are allowed a carry-on plus a purse while men are allowed a carry-on plus a briefcase or laptop bag.  Her disbelief came when she looked down at her laptop bag and seemed to realize that she was a woman who happened to not carry a purse.  These kinds of incidents are all too common and it has led to more integration of feminist literary theory in English classrooms.  The second article specifically references Marxist, theory, but ties in feminist theory as well.  The main rationale behind including Marxist and feminist theories in English classrooms, they say, is that "more secondary teachers have recognized the potential richness and utility of introducing cultural criticism to their students and encouraging them to view literature through political prisms such as Marxism or feminism."  The third article specifically references an activity that the author did while she was visiting a high school English class.  She brought in Ray-Ban sunglasses that had been specialized for driving in order to better see the traffic lights, etc.  She told the students to put these on and explain how their vision changed; one student exclaimed that the colors of her classmates' clothing became more vivid, and they soon understood the relation between these sunglasses and how reading a text from a different perspective can make the theme more vivid.  

Do:

I think the sunglasses idea is a great one, but instead of bringing in something expensive and valuable I would put up an excerpt from a popular song on the SmartBoard and leave out various lines and words.  I would show them numerous versions of the excerpt and ask students to compare/contrast how this changes the song's meaning.  Then I would ask them to write a brief response on how this can be applied to literature.

Entry 2: (Re)Introducing Reader Response

SAY:

Articles used:

• "Critical Literacy as Comprehension: Expanding Reader Response" (Maureen McLaughlin, Glenn DeVoogd)
• "Where We Are: Responsive Reading Using Edmodo" (Mary E. Styslinger, Emily Langdon Eberlin)
• "The Lens of Reader Response: The Promise and Peril of Response-Based Pedagogy" (from Critical Encounters in High School English)
• "The Challenge of Literature" (from Literature as Exploration)

McLaughlin and DeVoogd's article offers great insight on how students actually respond to what they are reading by using Rosenblatt's "Efferent-Aesthetic Contiuum".  According to Rosenblatt, "readers transact with text from aesthetic and efferent stances. The aesthetic stance is a more emotional perspective; the efferent stance is a more factual one" (2004).  Rosenblatt also claims that when students are reading, they are not engaged in either efferent or aesthetic by themselves, but a combination of both.  McLaughlin and DeVoogd go on to make a really good point when they say that exposing students to more than one perspective opens them up to new ideas which benefits their connecting to the text in a personal way.  To integrate this into the classroom, they suggest "juxtapositioning texts, photos, videos, and lyrics".  To further illustrate their point, they mention a middle school teacher who incorporated the theme of World War II by reading her class snippets from Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation.  The students were also exposed to the perspectives of German soldiers, Holocaust victims, and Japanese internment camp victims.  They were then put into groups and created a visual display of these perspectives.

I completely agree with McLaughlin and DeVoogd's points about exposing students to multiple perspectives, especially ones that are not normally encountered (such as the German soldiers' viewpoints during WWII).  While being careful not to be biased towards one perspective, students learn about more than just literary criticism; they discover things about themselves and how everyone has a different perspective and story on the same event.  The WWII unit the teacher in the article used is a great example of how to integrate multiple viewpoints of the same event because of all of the players involved in WWII.  Night by Elie Wiesel is a wonderful resource to use for the viewpoint of a Holocaust victim while interviews from actor George Takei would be good resource to gain more insight into how Japanese-Americans were affected after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Styslinger and Eberlin's article tackles a similar issue that McLaughlin and DeVoogd dicussed, but in a technological context.  Their main question revolves around how best to incorporate reader response in classrooms that are either completely paper free or are in the process of becoming paper free.  They also wanted to know how to integrate reader response with technology, including social media.  Styslinger and Eberlin decided to turn to Edmodo, a site that mirrors the social media site Facebook but with an educational twist.  According to the article, "incorporating Edmodo allowed her [Eberlin] to meet students in their worlds".  The authors continue their praise of using Edmodo with reader response and say "not only were students responding individually, they were responding collaboratively.  In lieu of a dialogue between the self, text, and perhaps teacher, they were engaged in a digital response conversation with one another".
Having used Edmodo myself, I can confidently concur with Styslinger and Eberlin.  Not only are students comfortable with using this type of technology, it allows them to hone their skills in connecting with the text and how to use technology in a way other than for social reasons.  While it seems unfortunate that print books are slowly becoming archaic, it is a sign of the times that students are more comfortable using technology to respond to reading.  Some critics would say that this type of response is not beneficial to students due to the unorthodox use of technology in literary analysis, we must find a way that allows students to best connect to the text in order for them to understanding it.

This next article also discusses the many "benefits of the reader-centered approach".  According to the author, "it has forced us to rethink what we do when we teach literature, why we do it, and whom we do it for".  While reading that is centered around the audience has not always been popular, it has gained steam in modern times.  The author then moves on to talk about Rachel, a teacher who is an advocate of "the reader-centered approach" but who is having difficulty in taking advantage of its full benefits.  Her main concern deals with the fact that "something that might trivialize the importance of the real differences that exist between the students' world and the world of the text.  Are we really all the same?...We know the personal connection and engagement with literature that is gained when students measure the relationship of Hester and Chillingsworth through their own dating experiences, or measure issues of adultery with contemporary examples involving American presidents.  But what is lost?"  The author then turns to Rosenblatt who has come up with a way to bridge this gap between focusing solely on the personal connection and understanding the text as it is.  Rosenblatt's diagram has "meaning" in the middle with "reader" and "text" on either side.  According to the article, students look at "the textual properties that might affect their reading or response and to list those properties".  After this, students then turn to their personal reactions to the work and use these along with "the textual properties" to analyze and connect to the text.
This issue involving "the reader-centered approach" never phased me until now, but the problems discussed in the article are completely legitimate.  There needs to be a line between the reader's personal connection to the text and the actual analyzing of the text itself.  We can connect to a text until we are blue in the fact but this does not necessarily mean we are understanding the text and its meaning.    However, students still need to believe that their personal connections matter in their understanding of a text but that the author does have an intent and that needs to be taken into consideration in the analysis as well.  Using Rosenblatt's diagram is a great idea to use in the classroom to help students remember how to draw the line between their personal connections and the author's intent.

DO:

I think Rosenblatt's "Reader Response Diagram" would be worth making copies of and handing to students.  Revisiting the diagram at the start of each text would also be beneficial to remind students to refer back to as they are reading.

To highlight the points made in the McLaughlin and DeVoogd article,  I think showing students an interview with George Takei about the Japanese-American internment camps during WWII and comparing it to an interview with a WWII veteran.

An interview with George Takei: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yogXJl9H9z0

Interview with WWII veteran: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LK2sRmffc0

Entry 1: Transacting with Literature

Articles used:

• "Teaching Young Adult Literature"/"Making Magic with YAL" (Mike Roberts/Jeanette Haskins)
• "Using Graphic Texts in Secondary Classrooms: A Tale of Endurance" (Mary Rice)
• "Directing Versus Exploring: How to Get to Where You're Going without a Literary Map" (From Hinton to Hamlet)

In "Teaching Young Adult Literature/Making Magic with YAL", I love that Haskins, a high school English teacher, uses examples from her classroom to pave the way for the reader as to how she evolved as a teacher and how that helped her students as well.  One question she asked herself early on in her career is something that I think is still on the minds of all new teachers, especially those who love YAL.  Haskins says, "But no matter how much I loved all the YAL I was reading, I couldn’t help but feel a little unsettled. After all, if I wanted to be a high school English teacher, shouldn’t I have been devoting more time to reading the classics?" (Haskins 101).  As a future English teacher, this seems to always been at the back of my mind: how do we balance the classics with the new?  Haskins recalls how she began each school year with having her students complete a "Reader's Profile" questionnaire in order for her to get a better sense of who they are as readers.  Along with questions that pertain to their reading lives, she asks them about YAL as well and lists popular titles where the students must circle each one they have read and rank them on a scale of 1-5 on how much they enjoyed it.  Of course, Haskins addresses the fact that not every high school student enjoys reading and her solution is to recommend I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa  Schroeder.  Of course, she uses a female student as an example but her logic here is to appeal to the audience.  For a male student, perhaps The Maze Runner by James Dashner because of its male characters and the action and mystery of the plot.  Haskins goal rests on her students actually enjoying what they read, whether it be a classic or YAL and she says, "Let me set the record straight. I’m not saying young adult literature should replace the literary canon. At the same time, if I can use YAL to help make reading enjoyable, my students stand a better chance of someday appreciating The Scarlet Letter and Ethan Frome. And even more importantly, they stand a better chance of leading literate lives" (Haskins 104).

Haskins is truly an inspiration and I felt connected to her personally as a future English teacher and a fellow lover of YAL and the classics.  One of my biggest concerns is that my students will not walk out of my classroom as lovers of the written word, whether that be Shakespeare or Suzanne Collins.  I also want my students to understand that just because something was written in the 16th century doesn't mean it can't apply today.  Even Romeo and Juliet has themes that are relatable for today's readers.  One of my biggest goals as a teacher is for students to be able to connect to the classics and to today's YAL.

I loved Mary Rice's article about graphic novels.  Like she said, people are very apprehensive in using these in a classroom but I think she provides very good points as to why it's beneficial.She begins by talking about her artistic students and that she wanted to implement graphic novels to appeal to their interests.  She then did extensive research on its history in order to gain more knowledge on why they were invented in the first place.  She ultimately decided on one and says, "as I flipped through the pages of American Born Chinese, my husband stopped me. “If you are turning the pages that fast,” he said, “you are not really reading it. You have to read the pictures and the text together.” When I started to do as he recommended, the book took me four hours of intensive study." (Rice 37).  I love that she included this part because it shows those who may be against using graphic novels in the classroom that they actually take time and effort to fully appreciate them, such a Shakespearean play.  Despite graphic novels being nontraditional, they can still serve a wonderful purpose in the classroom.  Rice then went on to do more research on how to best use graphic texts in a classroom and she found that "The literature on instructional uses of comics also suggests that one may also use graphic texts to guide students to create superhero comics or to engage in word-level tasks such as using comics to study literary devices, particularly onomatopoeia in superhero comics. There are also more integrated strategies such as using graphic novels for free voluntary reading (Edwards), examining experiences of “other” (Boatright), and using graphic texts as fodder for book club reading (Seyfried)" (Rice 38).  Rice then goes on explain how she taught her students to read graphic novels and uses an example of when she taught summer school to Chinese students.  She says that she and her co-teacher "... taught this text by providing background about Chinese culture, including the legend of the Monkey King. My colleague arranged for a guest speaker to talk about the importance of this legend in Chinese culture, and I found several written versions of the legend. We also talked to the students about how to read panels directionally, how to discern narrative from dialogue, and how to observe images looking for contradictions between things such as facial expressions and dialogue" (Rice 41).

Although I enjoyed reading all of the articles, this was my favorite out of the three.  I remember one of my first college English classes used a graphic novel and I was very skeptical at first but once my professor explained its importance and usefulness, I have been hooked ever since.  I think it's important that teachers choose works that appeal to more than just one type of learner.  There will no doubt be students who enjoy reading the classics, there will be just as many, if not more, who will loathe trying to figure out what Shakespeare meant in his plays.

In the final article, taken from From Hinton to Hamlet, the author makes a very good point when they talk about how teachers who, while having good intentions, produce copies of questions for the chapters in a book that they are reading at the time.  The author says, "although the teacher believes he or she is being helpful in giving students these materials, in fact, by discussing the answers to these questions on a daily basis, the teacher has stolen the students' freedom to express their own personal reactions to the novel" (Hinton 15).  I could not agree more, however, I do think it is a good idea to provide prompt-like questions in order to get students thinking about a particular work without telling them what to think about specifically.  It really does do a disservice to the student and teacher because students who like to think outside the box feel chained to what they believe they "should" think as opposed to the teacher telling the students that it's okay to disagree with literary critics.  As a teacher, I want to see my students flourish and acknowledge that we're all literary critics even if we're not published or world renowned.  One of my favorite things about literature is that there are so many possibilities to what an author meant and even if the author explicitly stated the meaning, it seems that they are more than open to hearing other interpretations.  Another great statement the author touches on the same topic.  He says "enjoyment of reading is not a consideration, discovery and exploration by students are immaterial, and allowing them to select what they want to read or are interested in is often ignored by many of us" (Hinton 16).  This is something that I have just recently discovered about what books I choose to be a part of my classroom library.  Throughout my undergraduate career I came across several books that are considered YAL that I told myself I would never keep in my classroom library because I didn't agree with the content.  However, as I matured as a teacher and a student I decided that this isn't fair to my students.  Just because I don't agree with a book's message doesn't mean I get to decide what my students are going to be exposed to.  The author goes on to cite Louise Rosenblatt and her thoughts on adolescent literacy.  The author says, "the literary experience also helps the student develop sensitivity and understanding about the human condition; it relates experiences that aid the emotional maturation of the developing reader and allows him or her to listen and exchange ideas with other students" (Hinton 20).  This really drives home the point that reading is so much more than just academic interpretation and benefit; it's about students maturing their thinking about the world around them.

Included is a lesson plan on how I would incorporate classic literature with graphic novels:

Subject: English I CP (90 minutes)

Topic: Multimodal discourse with Act I of Hamlet

Title: “What is the best way to deal with the unfairness of life?”

Objectives:

1.       Students will explore Hamlet’s circumstances through reading and analysis of act I.

a.       4.1 Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.

2.       Students will begin creating their storyboard which will serve as their final projects.

a.       2.1 Analyze ideas and information from text and multimedia by formulating questions, proposing interpretations and explanations, and considering alternative views and multiple perspectives.

3.       Students will delve deeper into Hamlet’s way of thinking and attempt to think about how they would handle unfair circumstances through the reading of news articles and events in history.

a.       3.2 Examine historical, social, cultural, or political context to broaden inquiry and create questions.

Purpose:

The purpose of this lesson is to introduce Hamlet and to get students thinking about the unfair circumstances he has been put in by his mother and step-father.  Also, students will begin imagining unfair circumstances in their lives along with recent events and historical events and what they think would be the best way to handle that situation.

Materials:

Whiteboard, whiteboard markers, computer with Internet connection, iPads, SmartBoard

Procedures:

·         Introduction (20-25 minutes):

o   As soon as students begin arriving for class, there will be a quote on the board for them to write a journal entry about.  The quote is, “Hurting people hurt people, but forgiving people forgive.” -Unknown author.  Simply tell students that they are to write a journal entry on what they think this means (re-word it), what it means to them, and how it relates to the world and recent or historical events and to Hamlet.(Allow no more than 20 minutes for students to write.)

o   Give students a 2 minute warning and ask them to finish their thoughts.  After everyone has finished writing, ask for volunteers to share what they wrote.  3-5 should be enough.

o   Tell students what the purpose of the lesson is and how it will help them understand Hamlet and the world as well as their own lives.

·         Developing (40 minutes)

o   Ask a volunteer to hand out the class set of iPads to every student while they are getting ready to move on to the next activity.

o   While the iPads are being passed out, have students take out their copies of Hamlet and call on 2 or 3 students to summarize what happened in act I.

o   Pull up www.storyboardthat.com on the SmartBoard so that students can see the website from their desks.

o   Show students a tutorial on how to use the website and explain to them that they will be creating their own storyboard as they read the play.  Also tell them that this will serve as their final project and they need to complete a storyboard for each act.

o   Create the storyboard for act I scene I with students so that they can become familiarized with how the website works.  Make sure to go through step by step on how to add characters, backgrounds, text bubbles, etc. and mention that they do not need to use the same language that Shakespeare did.  Allow about 30 minutes for this part because students will need time to become comfortable with creating their storyboards.  Also, as we are creating the storyboard as a class for act I scene I, call on different students to contribute.  Don’t just rely on volunteers because you need to know who read and how well they understand the material.

·         Conclusion (20 minutes):

o   Allow students to play around with the storyboard website and to begin their storyboards for act I scene II by the end of class.  They will need to show you as they are leaving.

o   Tell students to finish act I for homework and to come prepared to discuss it tomorrow.  You will also be checking their storyboards periodically so they need to keep up with them.

Evaluation:

o   Before: this will be based on their journal entries.  In order to receive full credit, students must 1) reference the play; 2) reference a historical or recent event; 3) how it relates to them; 4) what it means to them (how would they re-word this quote?)

o   During: this will be based on class participation.  Are they volunteering even if they aren’t called on?  When they are called on, whether or not they volunteered, how detailed are their answers?  Are they able to sufficiently summarize act I by referencing specific scenes and characters?  How engaged are they during the storyboard tutorial and activity?  Are they volunteering useful information that contributes to the understanding of the play, such as characters, quotes, setting?

o   After: this will be based on the storyboard activity that they were to start on their own.  As they are leaving, look at how far they got and what they have so far.  Is it indicative of 10-15 minutes of hard work?  As in, they didn’t just focus on the aesthetics, but they have characters, text bubbles, accurate quotes, etc.?  If they have at least 4 panels completed, they will receive full credit.

Accommodations:

o   ESL students: will be allowed to complete the storyboards in their native language.

o   Students at risk for failure: will be allowed extra time to complete the storyboard activity if they do not have access to technology at home.

o   Students with special needs: will be allowed to use my computer or a desktop computer in the classroom instead of the iPad.

o   Students from diverse language and learning backgrounds: will be allowed to complete the storyboards in their native language.

o   High achieving students: will be given the option of creating another storyboard in which they are the main character and they are faced with unfair circumstances but they must use Shakespearean language.

Link to storyboard for act I scene i: https://www.storyboardthat.com/portal/storyboards/mattietalbert/classroom-public/hamlet1

Rubric for storyboard project:

Storyboard- multimedia : Hamlet Storyboard Final Project Teacher Name: M Talbert Student Name:     ________________________________________

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Content	All content is in the students\' own words and is accurate.	Almost all content is in the students\' own words and is accurate.	At least half of the content is in the students\' own words and is accurate.	Less than half of the content is in the students\' own words and/or is accurate.
Spelling & Grammar	No spelling or grammatical mistakes on a storyboard with lots of text.	No spelling or grammatical mistakes on a storyboard with little text.	One spelling or grammatical error on the storyboard.	Several spelling and/or grammatical errors on the storyboard.
Required Elements	Storyboard included all required elements as well as a few additional elements.	Storyboard included all required elements and one additional element.	Storyboard included all required elements.	One or more required elements was missing from the storyboard.
Use of Time	Used time well during each class period (as shown by observation by teacher, and documentation of progress in journal) with no adult reminders.	Used time well during most class periods (as shown by observation by teacher, and documentation of progress in journal) with no adult reminders.	Used time well (as shown by observation by teacher and documentation of progress in journal), but required adult reminders on one or more occasions to do so.	Used time poorly (as shown by observation by teacher and/or documentation of progress in journal) in spite of several adult reminders to do so.
Clarity and Neatness	Storyboard is easy to read and all elements are so clearly written, labeled, or drawn that another student could create the presentation if necessary.	Storyboard is easy to read and most elements are clearly written, labeled, or drawn. Another person might be able to create the presentation after asking one or two questions.	Storyboard is hard to read with rough drawings and labels. It would be hard for another person to create this presentation without asking lots of questions.	Storyboard is hard to read and one cannot tell what goes where. It would be impossible for another person to create this presentation without asking lots of questions.