Alissa Vovakes

SED 720, Professor Cooks

December 5, 2002

1. "Looking across Space and Time: Reconceptualizing Literacy Learning in and out of School." Research in the Teaching of English (2002)

www.ncte.org/pdfs/subscribers-only/rte/0363-feb02/RT0363Reconceptualizing.pdf

In this article, Katherine Schultz discusses a study of urban adolescentsí literary practices. She emphasizes that there needs to be a focus on studentsí writing practices both in and out of school to develop a comprehensive understanding of their capacities in the classroom. Overall, the article suggests the importance of looking outside the physical space of schools and beyond the time that students are in classrooms to see studentsí capabilities. For example, an English teacher would be more effective if she had her students reading everyday outside the classroom and keeping a reading journal that charts their responses, what they have learned, and how much they are reading. An outside school reading method, such as this one, will increase literacy opposed to the traditional in-school reading.

Basically, this article is saying that teachers must focus on literacy both inside and outside of the classroom ñ a fact that we sometimes forget. A student can improve literacy, both reading and writing, only a little inside of the classroom. However, if the same student spends time practicing writing outside of the classroom, then his literacy skills will dramatically rise. Itís essential that all teachers emphasize the importance of literacy at home and not just at school. This article speaks to all content areas, not just English. Itís essential that all teachers have their students completing projects and assignments outside of school that affect their literacy.

www.cela.albany.edu

This article is based on a classroom study that is part of an initiative called the Partnership for Literacy, which began in the Spring of 2001. The authors represent the three aspects of the Partnership: Melissa Anderson, the classroom teacher; Laura Morrill, the classroom research; and Mary Adler, the instructional facilitator. The purpose of this program is discovering what strategies and classroom interactions are the most effective in improving studentsí achievement in literacy. Specifically, this article addressed a class of 7^th graders, the majority at a reading level at least 2 years behind. Over the year, their reading levels and writing abilities drastically improve because they were introduced to literature that they could relate to.

A problem that all English teachers share is that their students usually arenít interested in the literature, especially in urban schools. This problem causes a domino effect: students donít read or feel forced to read, therefore not improving their writing, reading comprehension, and critical thinking skills. All of these skills are pertinent to literacy, yet students can easily build these skills if they are taught a book that is relevant to their lives. Based on research, this article proves that all students are capable of increasing their literacy when they enjoy the literature inside the English classroom.

3. "A Literacy Growth Spurt during Inquiry: Tommyís Story." Language Arts (2001)

www.ncte.org/pdfs/subscribers-only/la/0784-march01/LA0784Literacy.pdf

Esther Gray presents the theory of inquiry in a 3^rd grade classroom, taught by Mary Pietsch Alexander. Specifically, the article focuses on Tommy, a 3^rd grader who avoided writing and had poor literacy skills. Yet, after working collaboratively with his classmates and learning through inquiry, Tommy had become an avid note-taker and editor of his own journals by the end of the year. Students worked in groups and had guided learning from each otherís knowledge and questions, hence "inquiry." The foundation of literacy in this classroom was social learning ñ asking questions of each other and discovering together the answers.

This article affirms how effective a student-centered classroom and social learning can be. Students, of all ages, can improve their literacy by realizing how valuable these skills are to everyone. By using each other as resources and working in inquiry groups, students begin to build their literacy skills by learning from one another and questioning their own abilities. Group inquiry-based learning can be used at all grade levels and should be used to build studentsí social, communication, and teamwork skills. Also, this method offers a safe learning environment where students feel comfortable learning from their mistakes and increasing their literacy through improved writing and reading comprehension.

4. "Promoting Academic Literacy with Urban Youth through Engaging Hip-hop Culture." English Journal (2002)

www.ncte.org/pdfs/subscribers-only/ej/0916-july02/EJ0916Promoting.pdf

In this distinctive article, Ernest Morrell and Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade use Hip-hop music and culture as a method of teaching literary ideas to their students. They argue that Hip-hop texts are literary texts and can be used to scaffold literary terms and foster literary interpretations. They designed a Hip-hop unit with 3 objectives: 1) to utilize studentsí involvement with Hip-hop culture to scaffold the critical and analytical skills that they already possess, 2) to provide students with the awareness and confidence they need to transfer these skills into the literary texts of the canon, and 3) to enable students to critique the messages sent to them through the popular cultural media that permeate their everyday lives. For example, students would analyze and interpret music lyrics, then apply those same skills to poetry. Overall, their unit was a success and met their objectives.

This article illustrates the importance of making literacy relevant to students. By utilizing studentsí culture, teachers have the ability to transcend all student barriers, including race. Hip-hop music and culture can function as a learning tool in the classroom. The students in the article improved their literacy because they became active participants, who enjoyed what they were learning. They were willing to practice their analytical skills on other literature and discover how it was related to their Hip-hop culture. Basically, incorporating Hip-hop into the classroom made learning fun, therefore captivating studentsí attention and learning abilities.

5. "Engaging Students in the Disciplines of English: What Are Effective Schools Doing?" English Journal (2002)

www.ncte.org/pdfs/subscribers-only/ej/0916-july02/EJ0916Engaging.pdf

Arthur Applebee discusses the challenge of engaging students in the disciplines of English, literature, composition, and language study, and displays what effective teachers do to engage their students. Simply put, effective teachers use interconnectedness: they relate lessons to applying those skills; they relate experiences between home and school; they relate literary skills to real life. The most effective English teachers provide literacy skills using three methods: direct instruction, simulation, and integration with other tasks. When all three methods are used and made relevant to each other, students gain a better comprehension of the skills they are learning and why they are learning them.

This article indicates the significance of practicing different teaching methods in order to become the most effective teacher. Some questions that English students often ask are, "Why are we reading this?" or "Why is it important to learn this term?" Teachers must know how to answer these questions and demonstrate the relevance of the lessons. Teaching literacy skills can be made relevant when students are taught to apply these skills to real life, such as learning how to write a resume, speak appropriately, and write correctly. Students need to learn why itís important to develop these skills in order to become motivated students. Essentially, teachers must daily instruct their students in learning, applying, and making relevant literacy skills.

Home

http://www.askeric.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Literature/LIT0209.html

After finishing the first four acts of the play, students will read the last act, then watch it in the 1996 movie version. Working in groups, they will share ideas about what was changed, and what they liked or disliked about it. Their final assignment is to rewrite the ending of Romeo and Juliet, using a dialogue. Positive aspects: working in groups to collaborate ideas, analyzing how directors change scenes from text. Negative aspects: no rubric for writing assignment, such as length or terms; there needs to be more guided questions for video to further critical thinking skills

I will be teaching this play next semester and thought of a similar writing assignment. Writing an alternative ending in dialogue form is a good assignment for creative writers, but other students may have difficulty with this assignment. Therefore, my students will also have the choice of writing an alternative ending in essay form, using events from the play to support their thesis.

http://atozteacherstuff.com/lessons/foil.shtml

Students learn the literary term "foil" by describing someone who would be a foil to themselves and then creating an aluminum foil representation of that person. First, students fold a sheet of notebook paper in half and list several characteristics that describe themselves. Then they write the opposite of each of those characteristics on the other half of the paper, which describes someone who is their "foil." Positive aspects: The lesson plan lists step-by-step directions and materials. Also, it tells you how to demonstrate lesson by making a foil yourself. Negative aspects: No objective is given, so relevance isnít clear to students. Also, there is no assessment factor.

This is a great activity for teaching Shakespeare, who has many "foils" in his plays. I would keep this activity the same, except that I would use an example from a play we were reading in order to illustrate the relevance. I would evaluate projects by making it a credit/no credit assigment.

http://atozteacherstuff.com/lessons/litboardgames.shtml

Summary:

Students create board games based on literature they have read. This works best for a mythology or adventure text. After reading the text of choice, students work in small groups to create the story in board game format, while the teacher guides them with questions. Then, games are played, and students evaluate each other based on visual appeal, difficulty of the game, the challenge presented, and whether or not each builder included all the elements assigned. Positive aspects: The materials and steps are listed, and it is a creative, interactive project that tests studentsí comprehension of the book. Negative aspects: There is no objective and no length given, making it difficult to establish how many periods this project would take.

This is a fun project, but I donít think it would work well with "classic" literature. If I ever were to use this idea, then I would probably follow the lesson plan as it is and add an objective.

http://atozteacherstuff.com/lessons/SchoolRoomSquares.shtml

This is a game based of the television show, Hollywood Squares. Students create several questions about the topics covered in class, with help from the teacher. Then, nine kids are chosen as the squares and go to the front of the room. Three are sitting in chairs, three stand behind them, and the last three stand on chairs behind everybody. The game is played as the television show. Students call on squares, and the host (the teacher) asks the questions. Students supply the right or wrong answer, and the contestant decides to agree or disagree. A correct answer awards a x or o to the team. The purpose of the game is to make a tic-tac-toe. Positive aspects: The materials and steps are listed, and itís a fun game for students. Negative aspects: No objective or assessment is given.

This is a great interactive game. I would use this lesson at the end of a unit, perhaps before an exam or written assignment, in order to review what has been learned. Otherwise, I wouldnít change anything from the lesson plan.

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20021018friday.html

In this lesson, students learn about the importance of folk music in various ethnic cultures. Then they work in small groups to research a specific culture's folk songs, "modernize" the music, and add lyrics to make it relevant and appealing to young people today. Positive aspects: The lesson plan lists materials, steps, objectives, and period length. Also, itís a creative assignment that is relevant to students. Negative aspects: No assessment or alternative singers/music is given.

This is a great lesson because it will relate to studentsí different cultures. By "modernizing" the music, they are bringing in their own Hip-hop culture. However, I would change this lesson by also bringing in popular music, not just folk music. There is a lot of Hip-hop music that represents various ethnic cultures, which may be more relevant for students.

Home

55 minute period

Objective: After this lesson students will be familiar with Shakespeareís time and how to read his language.

• Overhead projector
• "Setting Priorities" handout

1. Quick write: Students respond to the question, "As a teenager, what kind of power to you have in this world? (think school, friends, family, society) (5 minutes)
2. Shakespeareís world: on the overhead projector, teacher discusses what the Elizabethans saw as their priorities on Earth ñ a pyramid system where God is the highest ranking and children/teenagers are the lowest. (10 minutes)
3. Theater: Discuss the Globe Theater ñ daytime, only men, rowdiness, costumes, stage properties (10 minutes)
4. Stage properties: In groups of four, students list the properties they think would be absolutely necessary for Romeo and Juliet to be successful. The purpose is for them to begin thinking of the play as a performance, not just a text. (10 minutes)
5. Reading Shakespeare Aloud: discuss the importance of stopping at punctuation marks, stressing the end of a sentence, vocabulary and using the footnotes (10 minutes)
6. Practice reading: the teacher reads a sonnet aloud, demonstrating how to read the language. Then the whole class practices reading aloud, then smaller groups at a time (10 minutes)

Homework: "Setting Priorities" handout ñ students complete handout, identifying the priorities that are most important to them, then explain why. Then they write why they think their priorities differ so much from Elizabethansí priorities.

Assessment: There is no formal assessment for this activity, just participation points.

Literacy Aspect: This is just a basic introduction to prepare students for the difficulty of reading Shakespeare. They will learn how to read the perplexing language and why itís important to pay close attention to certain words and punctuation. Reading a play is about orally performing the language, a different literacy aspect that they havenít learned before.

Reflection: Was there enough time to cover this information? Did the students get the gist of the language?

55 minute period

Objective: Student will identify the term "foil" by creating an accurate representation of a foil character present in the play.

• aluminum foil
• glue
• glitter/sequins
• yarn
• colored markers

1. On a folded sheet of paper, students write down the traits of one character (e.g. Romeo), then on the other side, write down the characteristics of the "foil" character who has the opposite traits (e.g. Tybalt) (15 minutes)
2. Students make a foil representation of this opposite character. It can be a figure or just a symbol. For example, a bloody sword could represent Tybalt. (35 minutes)
3. Clean-up and turn in project. (5 minutes)

Homework: Find another foil character in studentsí outside reading book.

Assessment: Students will be graded on a credit/no credit system. A completed foil receives full credit.

Literacy Aspect: Students practice their reading comprehension skills by being creative ñ they must understand who the foil characters are in the play in order to complete the assignment.

Reflection: Do students have a complete understand of what a foil is? Is one day enough time?

55 minute period

Objective: Students will identify free verse poetry and interpret popular music lyrics and one modern poem.

• Movie/VCR
• movie, SLAM
• Langston Hughes and William Carlos Williams poems

1. Students silently read poems and write a journal response about their interpretation, comments, and questions about one poem. Some guided questions would be: what is different about the structure of these poems? Can you find any imagery? (10 minutes)
2. Discuss the evolution of free verse in modern American poetry and Hip-hop. Have students give some examples of their favorites songs that donít always rhyme. (15 minutes)
3. Show a 20 minute clip of the movie SLAM. Why did these people begin slamminí? What is the purpose behind slamminí, poetry, and rap? (25 minutes)
4. Wrap-up the discussion and assign homework. (5 minutes)

Homework: Students can bring their favorite song that utilizes free verse (must be PG version) and share with class, or students can write a slam/rap about a personal topic or modern issue

Assessment: This lesson is a success if students are more actively involved than usual and ask questions.

Literacy Aspect: Students practice their interpretation and reading comprehension skills by focusing on the meaning of certain words, phrases, and symbolism. By applying these skills to their favorite music, students will improve their literary analysis ability.

Reflection: Did the students enjoy this lesson? Do they want to bring in their own music?

55 minute period

Objective: Upon completing this project, students will understand the meaning of birth years in the Chinese culture and how these representations are important to the theme of the novel.

• Almanac
• Magazines
• Poster board
• Markers/paint
• Glue
• Scissors

1. Students look up their animal year in the Almanac and write down characteristics of that year. (10 minutes)
2. Students begin making a collage of their Chinese animal year, illustrating the similarities between themselves and their animal year. Collage must include images, drawing, and a written description of the characteristics of that animal. (40 minutes)
3. Clean-up and assign homework. (5 minutes)

Homework: Finish projects and bring tomorrow.

Assessment: Students will be graded on creativity and accuracy. Collage must represent the animal year and collage should have three things: pictures, drawings, and words explaining the animal year and how it relates to them.

Literacy Aspect: Learning more about the Chinese culture is pertinent to understand the different elements of the book, which is rich in Chinese culture. Students will be using basic reading comprehension skills to identify the symbols that their year represents.

Reflection: Were there enough supplies for everyone? Is the Almanac enough or should we do Internet research too?

55 minute period

Objective: After this lesson, students will correctly use quotations in their upcoming essay.

• Overhead projector
• Transparency
• Handouts

1. Teacher will give lecture on how and why to use quotes from the text to support answers. Specific attention will go towards citing relevant quotes that support the thesis/topic sentence and further supporting this quote with comment. (25 minutes)
2. Students will practice using quotes on handout, with some guided help from the teacher.

3) Wrap-up and assign homework. (5 minutes)

Homework: Choose an event/topic that you want to discuss in the essay and find a quote that supports it. Correctly use the quote.

Assessment: Students will be assessed on the accuracy of the classwork that they turned in. The goal is to have 70% of students accurately using quotations in their writing.

Literacy Aspect: Students are furthering their knowledge of mechanical skills and critical thinking/analysis skills. In order to correctly use quotes, they must be able to add their original thought/interpretation as to why this quote is important for their answer.

Reflection: Were enough examples given? Did students need more practice time during class?

Home

DiYanni, R. (1998). The scribner handbook for writers. Needham Heights, Mass: Allyn & Bacon

Harmon, W. (2000). A handbook to literature. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

Milner, J.O. (2003). Bridging english. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill Prentice Hall.

NCTE Teaching Ideas. http://serv1.ncte.org/teach/ (17 Nov. 2002)

PBS Teacher Source. http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/arts_lit.htm (17 Nov. 2002)