Well, I’m very sad that our time together has come to an end. I really enjoyed this class and all of the wonderful teachers (and future teachers) in it. I am so thankful to have had a professor who is so passionate about what she does; it made it so inspiring to be a part of writing and reading and creating and discussing together as a class. I really enjoyed getting to know more about everyone through the multigenre assignments and through our poetry and blogging, too. Dr. Frye is certainly right – we’ll probably always remember what topics each person did because we all invested so much of oursevles in our work. That’s the beautiful thing about dedicated teachers, and I’m so glad to have met and gotten to know each one of you this semester. Good luck to you all! I hope to see you in the future, and keep in touch with all of the amazing things that you will most definitely do!
Owly and Graphic Novels for (Really) Young Readers November 18, 2008
I find it extremely sad that there are still many people who don’t believe that wordless picture books and graphic novels have any use or validity with children in or outside of school. In the Graphic Novels for (Really) Young Readers article, it sort of discusses the case for having graphic novels available to young children, especially those just learning to read, and I wholeheartedly agree! Now, obviously, I don’t teach young children or have any of my own, and I can see where people could say that there are some negative factors involved, but how could people not see the benefit? I’ve actually had my own students write stories and responses to art, and they come up with some of their most brilliant writing when pictures are involved. I know this isn’t exactly the same thing, but it comes from the same place inside, and I think it really deals with some of the same issues of motivation and creativity of kids at any age. In reading a graphic novel or wordless picture book, children create the words in their minds as they form the story, as Bryonna, the little girl in this article, discusses. They are able to build an understanding of story structure this way, as well as develop knowledge about character development, conflict, etc. Also, the way the child’s mind must process what they are seeing or reading in books like Owly allows them to build understanding of HOW to comprehend what they read. And, just like the way I’ve used picture books or just pictures or artwork, children of any age can use the images as inspiration to create their own written stories that will then model their understanding of plot structure, character development, etc. I think it’s brilliant! 
Oh, and I loved Owly! What a cute book and a great story! I think my favorite thing about the way it’s written/drawn is the use of the voice and thought bubbles with pictures and punctuation marks to show what the characters might be saying or thinking. What a great idea!
Best Practices Chapter 3 November 18, 2008
I actually really enjoyed reading this chapter (even though it obviously deals with younger children) because I found it interesting to see the developmental process that children go through in beginning to understand story structure and then become able to write their own stories and develop as writers. I found it interesting to see the most normal pattern by which children begin to learn about the development of plot and characters in narrative writing, especially the idea of understanding the actions or physical world of the characters and how that influences and/or is influenced by the conscious or mental state of the characters and their interpretations of their own actions and feelings and even those of others and the world around them (as discussed mainly on page 54).
I particularly enjoyed that McKeough, Palmer, Jarvey, and Bird give a lot of really great samples of student work. Being a high school teacher, I’m not used to analyzing (or even seeing) young children’s writing and the processes that they go through to get to where they are when I meet them. However, you may find it hard to believe (or just sad…), but many of my students are on a level even with some of the samples in this chapter, even as low as the 10-year-old like Emily’s story of the girl and her bully (or even sometimes almost as low as the 8-year-old story of the Volcano…).
I also really related to the issue discussed on pages 65-67 of children seeming to jump back in the learning process when confronted with a new element to work into their stories. The authors discuss that children struggled to keep order in the plot of their stories (which they had been able to do very well with the conjunction cards, etc. before) when asked to create more elaborate, descriptive stories. I see this a lot, and I think it makes sense because when a kid is trying to focus on one thing too hard, he/she can tend to lose another element, even if they had internalized it before. Speaking of the conjunction card idea - I actually really liked that concept, not just for younger children. I think that technique could even be used with my kids – not necessarily just with conjunctions and transitions, but with other elements of language in writing with which they have been struggling.
I actually think the part that I liked most about this chapter was the discussion of using Trickster Tales to support students’ study of writing and narrative story structure. I really think that all kids can relate to the structure of these tales, and they’re fun! I like how in using these tales and having students use the scaffolded process to create their own, the teachers and children have used graphic novels or comics, in a sense, to prepare their stories, just as we’re discussing in our other articles…
To Dance! November 4, 2008
First, I just need to vent how frustrating it is to try to accomplish anything without access to a computer. Our entire Caldwell County Schools computer system (Active Directory, the Internet, all of our files and documents, even the use of Microsoft Word…) has been messed up SINCE LAST WEDNESDAY. We haven’t had access to our files (which was torture…), email, or anything. Every day when we’d come in, they’d make some announcement about how we still couldn’t get on our computers, and I just had to really remember how important it is to be versatile and quick-thinking as a teacher… Today we have a workday because our school is a polling site, and we weren’t allowed to even turn our computers on… until about 15 minutes ago! All of my files are still there (thank goodness!!!), but I’m scared that they’re going to come back on and say that there are problems again… SO, I feel like I am finally connected to my teaching world again – all of the links to websites that I had been using for my multi-genre project are there again for me to see, and my work seems to be saved and safe. Let’s hope and pray that it stays that way!
Okay, just wanted to share that first. While I have the Internet, I figured I’d better go ahead and post a quick response to Siena Cherson Siegel’s To Dance because I forgot to include that one with my other responses.
I absolutely love this book. The story is so beautifully done and the graphic novel approach/format works so well for this type of memoir because the pictures added so much to her memories and really moved the story in a forward-in-time direction. I love the use of detail to make you feeeeel what she felt and the addition of just enough terminology and factual information (about ballet, the history, the famous dancers, schools, etc.) to interest me and add to the flow of the story, but not get the reader too bogged down. And, how beautifully sad that the final ballet is such an intensely powerful story of love and life and death, and it’s used as a kind of memorial dance in honor of Mr. B. I loved it!
Thoughts on Memoir November 4, 2008
Finding Memorable Moments… -Cecilia M. Espinosa
I love Galo’s story and the description of the process that he went through to get to the final product of his memoir. What a cool little memory! – His internal voice really brought me into and made me feel his story.
I feel very strongly about the idea of “showing not telling,” but it’s a very difficult aspect of writing to incorporate into some classrooms. The way they did it in this article really allowed students to become successful through the process of marinating/immersing them in literature, then modeling and working through the process together. I love the idea of developing a “community of practice of memoirists” on page 139, where peer response and feedback become a major help in getting students going in a positive direction with their writing. The concept of having children ask questions to stimulate ideas is very encouraging, as well.
On page 140, she says, “Classrooms need to be filled with the voices of the children’s and teachers’ stories.” YES! It is so valuable for kids to feel like they have a valid voice and a place in which to share their ideas without being judged negatively and therefore see themselves as “those kids who can’t write.” They need to feel like their stories are worthy of being heard!
I do think that sometimes the most fascinating stories or moments of inspiration in writing come from topics that don’t seem significant or important but become so when expanded on a personal level.
I LOVE Carolina’s piece about her brother waking her up in the mornings. It’s such a seemingly insignificant every-day moment, but is so touching and powerful and filled with emotion!
A Study of Memoir -Amy Arnberg
I love how she shares her writing journey and how it translated into the classroom. As a teacher, we are constantly growing and learning along with our students, and it’s so important for them to see us going through the process (and sometimes struggling, too) along with them.
Again, she brings up the idea of marinating/immersing the students in the literature, and also having them work through a definition themselves of what memoir is. And, not only did she marinate the students, she marinated herself beforehand, as well.
I also really like the idea of having a mentor author – kind of like having their own professional to help guide them in their own writing. Using quality literature samples as a basis for one’s own writing makes perfect sense!
She really brings the kids through a process of not only connecting reading and writing, but discovering the beauty of language in many forms through memoir.
I guess I had written what could definitely be considered “memoir” many times – some even for school – but I had a specific flashback while reading these articles about a reading class I took in my undergraduate program with Terry Cherry. She had us write a “slice of life” story, and I think everyone in the class really took this assignment to heart and shared themselves in their writing. So, I have used this concept in my classes ever since, and the students usually respond overwhelmingly. However, after seeing the process and degree of depth to which these teachers brought these ideas of student memoir writing into their classrooms, I really am enthusiastic about developing my writing assignments like this even further.
Responses to Pic Book Memoirs November 3, 2008
Donald Crews’ Shortcut
This was a really cute little “moment” memoir; I really loved the pictures in this one and the realistic nature of the children in the story. The foreshadowing used to create suspense really makes the story very intense, as does the intensity of the colors, especially the use of black. I also really like the use of the “klak-klakity-klak” to demonstrate the sound of the train very effectively. The only issue I had with reading this book is that it really left me wanting more, as if there was a lot of build-up, but no intense climax. However, I guess in this type of memoir story that makes sense to leave it that way. And, of course, you can really see the lesson that this “slice of life” is intending to teach children, too.
Patricia Polacco’s My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother
This was a really cute story about sibling rivalry. I have had similar sibling conflicts throughout my childhood being the middle child of three girls… So, just like the children in the Espinosa article, I felt that I could come up with many personal experiences to relate to this story. The stock character of the mean older sibling really could be something that many children could relate to and use to inspire them to write their own stories. In fact, I’m thinking of writing a short little memoir story about my older sister after reading this one. Oh, and I love how the competition conflict is somewhat resolved between the girl and her brother after her merry-go-round accident – It was a really cute way to end the story.
Carmen Lomas Garza’s Family Pictures
This was my favorite of these three to read. I really loved the snippets of memory that Garza shares. They are so real and so vivid in several ways. She really draws you into her memory, even if you have no familiarity with the culture that she shares. I love how you could spend a long time investigating all of the different happenings in each painting. You could even use these kinds of pictures as inspiration for fiction writing for students as well as inspiration for their own personal memoir vignettes. Having the story in English and in Spanish adds a lot to this book, as well. Children probably love to be exposed to bits of another language along with a different culture, and I think it is very important to expose children to as many different cultures at as young an age as possible. I particularly liked learning about the cactus on pages 14-15, and I love the scene wear the family is making tamales on pages 22-23. Her pictures and descriptions use so many different kinds of imagery: sight, smell, touch, sound, even taste (the watermelon!), and she really draws you into the feelings and emotions of each scene, as well. I love the last selection about dreaming for the future - what a brilliant way to end this great story.
Some thoughts on Writing Without Boundaries October 20, 2008
I think studying many genres is essential, especially in a language arts classroom mainly because, in school, I believe that students need to be exposed to more “real-world” activities as opposed to simply “school-type” academic writing that is done in English/L.A. classrooms. Students need more opportunities to learn about what is going on in the world around them in ways that will actually affect them outside of school. How often will students be exposed to dry, research papers like the ones they write in school on a daily basis in their everyday lives that actually relate to them, their own lives, and their own learning?
I love the idea of allowing students opportunities to learn about the genres and then do independent research into their topic to determine what genres fit best for them. This allows so much more creativity than any formal, traditional research paper-type assignment that I’ve ever seen. And, I think the more choice and creativity that students are given and required to put into something (in most instances…), the more they’ll get out of it, the more they’ll be required to use and practice higher order thinking skills, the more they’ll be invested in their own research and learning, and the more they’ll internalize and remember and care about what they’ve learned.
I really enjoyed reading this book in large part because I like to find new ideas to work into my teaching in teh classroom and into the curriculum that will inspire and excite students about learning. So much that teachers have kids do in school bores them and turns them off from learning (and especially reading and writing), and the ideas presented in this book about multi-genre study and using multi-genre research papers/projects is something that I think kids would really get into and excited about – and that makes me excited about using it in my classroom.
Students at any age and level and in any type of classroom should learn to be and be required to practice justifying their work and analyzing their own learning. I’m a strong believer in requiring students to evaluate themselves and their own learning, so when Youngs and Barone discuss this part of the multi-genre assignment, I felt very encouraged. Students are required to give justified, strong reasons/explanations as to why they their topic in their Introduction and each genre to show their research in their Defense, as shown in Katie’s and Anna’s examples on pages 36-38. I really liked seeing student work samples in this book. Although they were showing student work on a much lower level in most cases than most of the students that I work with, it was helpful to see what kids could come up with!
I also love the idea of using the Writer’s Notebook to keep track of ideas and organize students’ writing processes. I have toyed with Writers’ Workshops several times in my own classroom and find the process detailed in the book (pages 46-47) to be one that is useable, workable, and probably feasible for most classrooms. Requiring students to formulate and track their own writing goals is pretty essential. In addition, they are required to reflect on their own progress. In large part, I require my students to track their own work and progress. Otherwise, the time on task for writing in class greatly suffers with students at any level (very low regular to advanced up to even the highest functioning honors students).
Like we have discussed several times in class, it is necessary and even essential to expose students to samples of literature, poetry, etc. before requiring them to prodcue their own. (I really love Dr. Frye’s term “marinating” them in the literature.) Students would certainly find it interesting (maybe even fun?!) to serach for new genres and come up with new ideas, ways to show their research creatively, but with purpose.
In terms of the assessment of an assignment such as a multi-genre project, I agree that it is necessary to review the whole process and not just a final product.
Having students study, review, and create products that demonstrate a great variety of genres also does fit the standards that the state sets for teachers of writing in some ways, as well. Now, I don’t think that what the state requires students to do on one day in a short period of time can really show students’ progress and assess their abilities that effectively in writing… But, since they are required to write in any one of several different genres on the NC State Writing Assessment, the multi-genre research idea fits into the standards they have set in several ways. In the 10th grade, they practice letters, speeches, articles, essays, etc., but the possible genres on teh actual test barely scratch the surface of what the multi-genre project can expose students to that will allow them to continually learn about the real world (and not just show what they can do on a 1 page, 1 hour essay…).
However, the generally dry topics and the aspects by which the papers are scored do not allow students to truly demonstrate their learning or their abilities. I personally think that portfolios are preferable because they allow for the assessment of the process of learning (which is what writing is and should be!) that students go through with regards to research and writing, the way the multi-genre project ideas presented in this book do.
I actually have used what would be considered a “multi-genre research project” in my classes before, but never quite to the extent or degree to which the ideas in this book take it. SO, I am therefore very excited about taking these ideas and using them to make the research in my classroom more effective and work better using a wide variety of genres and having students more formally evaluate their processes of learning, as well.
Persona/I Am Poems October 17, 2008
I forgot to post this a while ago… The first one is the one I originally wrote (from the perspective of a WWI soldier in All Quiet on the Western Front), but I decided that it didn’t quite work in enough factual information after we had talked about these in class. So, the second one is one that we wrote as a sample for my poetry lesson with my sophomores – trying to show them how to put a few more specific details from their research into it.
Poem 1:
I am a soldier
I wonder what’s happening at home…
I hear rapid-fire machine guns
I see bodies and corpse rats
I want to sleep without fear
I am a soldier in the Great War
I pretend this is a dream
I feel dirt under my fingernails from digging trenches
I touch the hospital bed where my friend’s leg once was
I worry about my mother, ill with cancer at home
I cry without knowing
I am a soldier in the War to End All Wars
I understand that life will never be the same now
I scream, “Stretcher-bearer!”
I dream of clean sheets
I try to rely on Chance and Luck
I hope my comrades can survive
I am a soldier
Poem 2:
I am poison gas during the Great War
I wonder if weather conditions will be favorable enough for my use today
I hear the military officers say that I may be too cruel to be used
I see the soldiers around me fall, clutching their chests
I want to do my part for the German army
I am poison gas
I pretend that nothing can stop me
I feel myself seep into the lungs of the French and British soldiers
I touch their souls and take their lives
I worry I will destroy my own men, as well, if the wind blows me backwards…
I fulfill my purpose as a mighty weapon
I am poison gas during World War One
I understand that men try to escape me, covering their mouths with socks soaked in bicarbonate of soda
I say, “You can run, but you can’t hide…”
I dream of bodies lying helpless, suffocating in their trenches
I try to spread myself as far as I can across No Man’s Land
I hpe I can help my army win this war
I am poison gas
Multigenre Project Topic? October 7, 2008
Very soon, I’m going to get to teach Sandra Cisneros’ novel The House on Mango Street, and I would really love to research background information on the author or her basic context/setting (mid-1900s, Latino section of Chicago) for the novel or something relating to the story, etc. for my multigenre project. Any suggestions on how to narrow my topic idea and relate it to background research on this author and/or novel? Thanks!
Moulton’s “Multigenre Paper” Article October 7, 2008
I really found Moulton’s article to be a very interesting study. I have never actually taught a formal research paper in the high school setting yet (I will be required to this spring…), but I certainly have opinions on traditional research papers and very strong memories of writing my own in high school. While researching is a valuable skill that students need to practice and know how to do well (not just google search…), the “cut and paste” (or “clip and stitch,” as Moulton calls it) way that research papers become is not the best way to learn through research or demonstrate one’s knowledge through research. That’s why I think this multigenre “paper” or project idea is so fascinating and invigorating. On page 529, Moulton says that this type of presentation “requires that the student think about what has been researched and interpret it from the subject’s point of view…” and also requires them to use creativity along with thought and “to use their knowledge of many different types of writing in terms of style, organization, and format.” I truly believe that these are some of the most important types of skills to be taught in a Language Arts/English classroom, and they should focused on more than just coming up with a long paper full of facts that is written in the correct format to fulfill a research paper assignment.
I love the creativity required for some of the genres of presentation that Moulton lists: sheet music, TV announcment, photo caption, birth certificate, envelope, greeting card, map, game, receipt, etc. The genres that the students chose were relevant to their individual topic, specifically, which really makes it more personal (and valuable) to them.
I think one of my favorite things about actually reading this article is that I felt the reality and truth in Moulton’s tone. I really felt that I was reading about an experiment because she was very honest about how haphazardly it started out and how the process came to work itself out along the way. She did what many teachers, professors, etc. fail to do on a regular basis – she involved her students in the learning process of even figuring out the assignment. They worked through many aspects as a class because she was experimenting with new ideas and needed to see what would work, what wouldn’t, etc. For some reason, this was very refreshing for me to read.
After reading this article, I’m very encouraged about trying this type of project in my classroom. It does seem that my process (as with any new type of assignment) will have to sort of work itself out as it progresses just like Moulton’s did, so I’m certainly seeing this as a future learning experience for me and for my students.
Romano’s multigenre project required students to “meld fact, interpretation, and imagination” – I absolutely love this! Not only does does this task require students to use higher-order thinking skills, it allows them to become creatively and personally involved in their own learning. – Not just taking notes from books and websites on notecards and throwing them up into an 8-10 page research paper…
