Classroom Personalities.

Classes have such different cultures. I think factors such as size, the people in the room, and the time of day play into it. I have classes as small as 12 students and as large as 23 students! I have 9th grade students and 10th grade students. Both groups in the morning and in the afternoon. Part of teaching well is to be able to work with the individual student personalities, as well as the personalities of the class as a whole.

I have a HUGE class of 10th graders, and they are full of personality. I’m trying to figure out how to best work with them and to get them to “get it.” A lot of their work will be independently driven, with ample time to work in class. However, it takes them a long time to settle down. They aren’t “bad” or disrespectful, but they have a ton of energy. My concern is that they’ll miss a lot of work time opportunities in class because they distract each other. Hopefully, once the class gets into full swing they’ll begin writing as soon as they walk in.

I began this blog with my larger class, using my personal blogging as an example for the students. I am not sure if what I had to say made an impression or if how I went about communicating in class did, but overall the class went better. The students, while it still took them a bit of time to get to work and quiet, were working diligently. Sure, I had a couple students who I had to take painful efforts to remind and remind and remind and remind that they needed to be working…but they eventually got to work. I think I’ve figured out how to work with this class’s personality!

Today we are continuing our discussion on descriptive writing. In preparing for the class, I printed out a list of the 100 best first lines of novels. A ton of the classics were listed, as well as some more contemporary works. However, it was the first line from one of the Chronicles of Narnia books, The Voyage of Dawn Treader that had my favorite line:

“There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.”

Wow, there’s so much in that line that’s told directly, yet so much that is simply eluded. What a great line. I keep going back to it on a list next to Tolstoy, Dickens, and Orwell. A text intended for children is listed among some of the greatest examples of American and World literature. Way to go C.S. Lewis.

First sentences are so important for any kind of written work. Whether it’s fiction or an essay or a dissertation, that first sentence sets the mood for the rest of that written work. One sentence in, and we already know that Eustace is a pain! We have an idea of who he is and the role that he’ll play in the story.

When I think about the importance of the first sentence, I think about my dissertation. What will my first sentence be? My first communication with the barrage of readers (snicker)–it needs to be good. I want my readers to be drawn into my research instantly, with a simple introduction to my research.  How will I communicate the importance of my work to my readers?

I learn the most about being a good writer by being a writing instructor. I don’t think that I am a stellar writer by any means–I can hold my own, but I wouldn’t describe myself as an awe-inspiring writer. However, each time I focus on teaching a writing lesson, I too am learning from it. Writing that first sentence for my dissertation (and first my comprehensive exams and my dissertation proposal) will be a focus of mine, and hopefully effective!

Hopefully, this begins to demonstrate to my students why their first sentence of their first writing project is worth 20% of the entire grade for the piece. First impressions are important.

The Kite Runner

I am reading The Kite Runner for the first time, with my 10th grade students. Well, I’m about 5 chapters ahead of the students, but for all intents and purposes, I am reading with them for the first time. I actually really enjoy reading the chapters once on my own and then reading them again, aloud, with my 10th graders. I have 2 sections of 10th grade English, so I end of reading the book 3 times. It allows me to think about and familiarize myself with the text. I feel like I know Amir and Hassan, as well as their fathers, and I am only 5 chapters into the book.

I am using the text to showcase literary devices, as well as to reinforce reading skills. I’ve been very impressed with the students so far. They are very observant, pulling details from the text that I didn’t expect them to right off the bat. One student commented that Ali was more of a father to Amir than his own father, citing examples as to why his father was an absentee father and why Ali was such a good father, both to his son and to Amir.

With my 9th grade students, we are reading Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. It’s easily one of the best books that I’ve read in years. It was made into a movie, but it didn’t do justice to the movie–like most book-to-movie adaptations. Like the 10th graders, I was impressed with the minute details that the students picked up on and the sophistication of student discussion. I have a hard time keeping my mouth closed, because the students have such thoughtful responses that I want to dialogue with them! I feel like reading Never Let me Go with the students is kind of like being an adult watching the magic of Christmas to a child. I know the surprise that’s to come to the readers….errrr, listeners….and waiting for the surprise to be exposed to them excites me. I anticipate a lot of conversation about this text.

Ch. 9- Moderns Among Masterpieces

When Rosenblatt talked of efferent and aesthetic stances being on a continuum, I think she may have been referring to experiences I had as I was reading the chapter. A collection of pieces from research journals, chronicling 50 + years of one’s research would most likely be read efferently. And I’ve been reading Rosenblatt’s book efferently, mostly. However, in this chapter I found myself sliding further and further away from efferent and into the aesthetic zone. This chapter actually inspired me, it made me want to do something. I created meaning as I read it.

As the title of the chapter indicates, Rosenblatt is comparing the reading of modern literature and classics, or “masterpieces.” In typical Rosenblatt form, she acknowledges the importance of each of the types of literature. She praises the classics, arguing that there is some reason that they have stayed with us as a culture for as long as they have. She then goes on to describe how we in education can ruin the classics, or at the very least turn young readers away from them. We take something that a great many people have gotten joy from, an aesthetic reading experience, and we make it into an efferent reading experience. We poke and prod at the book, we introduce them to background knowledge, we force them to acknowledge the superiority and importantness of the literature. And then we expect them to enjoy it (with a test or essay afterwards).

As I was reading this text, I found myself thinking about my identity as a reader. I do not have much experience with classics. With the exception of one teacher, my English teachers did not do much to develop my literary palate. We watched the Wishbone the Dog version of Moby Dick. That same teacher told us to skip the boring chapters about bull fighting in The Sun Also Rises. And I knew nothing of British or American authors. I read what I found at the library. I only read The Catcher in the Rye a couple summers ago for the first time. Reading Rosenblatt speak of the magic of classic works inspired me. It made me want to read some of those texts. As a result of Ch. 9, I did several things: looked up Time Magazine\’s 100 Books to Read Before You Die list, ordered the first four book (in ABC order) from Amazon, and ordered the book 1001 Books to Read Before You Die. I am also online shopping for a new bookshelf.

 

Ch. 8- What Facts Does This Poem Teach You?

Those of you who have been following my blog have a pretty good idea what Louise Rosenblatt would have to say about that question. Not being one who enjoys poetry, I was interested to read what Rosenblatt had to say about the literary form. Essentially, Roseblatt compares poetry to other literary forms–that they can be read both aesthetically and efferently. However, the aesthetic form of the poem is more complex than other forms of writing, because not only is there the meaning involved, but also the placement of text on the page, the use of capital or lower-case letters, and the rhythm and rhyme of a poem.

“The parent’s and the teacher’s concern about helping the youngster to acquire the referential language code may contribute to a stifling or at least a weakening of the child’s initial awareness of the sensuous, affective, and associational aspects of the experience towards which words point,” (p. 101). This sentence sums up the meat of this chapter. Here Rosenblatt argues that adults, teachers and parent, place higher value on efferent reading. The result is something as seemingly aesthetic as poetry becomes an efferent exercise. Rosenblatt shares a classroom observation, where her eye catches a workbook page with a poem. She states that she was happy to see that students were reading poetry, until she stepped closer and saw the directions, “What facts does this poem teach you?” The entire assignment based on finding absolute truths in poetry.

Rosenblatt argues that teachers do not need to go back to school or to change their teaching techniques in order to be more inclusive of the aesthetic stance of reading. Instead, she suggests that adults, teachers and parents, keeping the following things in mind:

1. Do not generate an efferent stance when presenting texts as poems or stories or plays.

2. Do not use the texts being read aesthetically for the explicit teaching of reading skills.

3. Do not preface aesthetic reading with requests for information or analysis that require predominately efferent reading.

4. Do not hurry the young reader away from the lived-through aesthetic experience by too quickly demanding summaries, paraphrases, character analyses, or explanations of broad themes.

5. Do not hurry the young reader into substituting literary terminology or definitions for the lived through work.

As I type these suggestions, I flash back to my own teaching experiences. I have made many of these mistakes myself–requiring my students to read efferently when they should have been enjoying the aesthetic experience. It seems silly now that I made those mistakes. I am an avid reader, and I never do any of those things that I asked my students to do in the classroom!

 

See definition 2

 

 

Ch. 7 Literature–SOS!

In this short section, Rosenblatt discusses the possibility of reader-response researchers and practitioners being in danger of shooting themselves in the foot. At the time the piece was first published (1991), more and more research was being published about the importance of aesthetic reading and the appreciation of literature in English education. However, Rosenblatt cites one major problem: the words literature and aesthetic were not being defined in the research.

As most educators know, buzz words find a way of embedding themselves into education practice–best practices, student-centered, literature circles, and measurable learning outcomes are just a few of the many buzz words in education. These words represent something valuable in education, but just like a game of telephone, the meaning gets lost somewhere along the way.

The clearest example I have of this was during my teaching last year. I was very excited to introduce my students to literature circles in my classroom. After talking with a couple students, I learned that they had done literature circle in their class the previous year. Because of this, I decided to spend less time practicing the mechanics of the literature circles with my students. Later, I found out that the teacher had all the children reading the same book….in a circle. Not exactly what I pictured when I talk about literature circles. However,  I think it is the perfect example of how big ideas get watered down into buzz words. Teachers feel the pressure to adapt, without the support or the desire to research how to adapt, and we get kids reading in a circle. I believe this is what Rosenblatt was trying to get at with this piece–researchers and practitioners need to be explicit when explaining or using a particular technique, otherwise we are all reading the same book while sitting in a circle.

Ch. 5- The Literary Transaction: Evocation & Response

Sometimes you read an article, chapter, or section of a text and you fixate on a single statement. Reading Ch. 5 of Roseblatt’s Making Meaning With Texts, I had that experience. This section was a more practical (as opposed to theoretical) approach to Rosenblatt’s efferent and aesthetic reading stances. Rosenblatt surveys from birth through adulthood the role of language and reading in a person’s life. She explains that young children are much more inclined to engage in aesthetic reading, but that traditional reading instruction pushes more efferent reading.

While explaining reading transaction, Rosenblatt describes the different between efferent and aesthetic reading. She explains, “In efferent reading, the child must learn to focus on extracting the public meaning of the text,” (p. 77, my emphasis). I read that statement and it hit me like a ton of bricks. THE PUBLIC MEANING. That statement conjures up so many thoughts into my head, but most importantly it give me a clear example of what exactly efferent reading entails–“finding” the publicly accepted meaning of a text. After reading that sentence, I wondered if efferent is the public meaning, than would aesthetic be one’s private meaning? It makes sense, something private can be secret, or one’s own. When we read aesthetically, we are interacting with the text, finding and creating meaning.

However, I don’t think the private meaning of a text has to be secret. Book clubs offer the opportunity to read aesthetically and to share one’s private meaning with close friends or mutual readers of the text.

A second part of the chapter that drew my attention was the story about the little girl who learned the rhyme about Christopher Columbus. Her teacher taught her:

“In fourteen hundred and ninety-two

Columbus crossed the ocean blue.”

However, the next day the little girl came back singing her own version of the song, citing that she preferred her own rendition:

“In fourteen hundred and ninety-three

Columbus crossed the bright blue sea.”

When I worked at KIPP, one of the popular teaching tools (particularly for rote memorization tasks, such as naming the 50 states or multiplication tables) was the chant. Creative teachers would create or borrow chants relevant to classroom lessons to help students master material. Rosenblatt’s example begs the question, are the students learning the concept meant to be taught, or are they learning what they deem to be important (in this case the rhythm of the song).

In this video, you see the kids “rolling” their numbers, or as we old people call it…times tables. The kids do the 3, 6, and 8 tables. Rolling one’s numbers entails raising a finger each time you say a number….the idea being if the kid wants to figure out 3×3, they sing their song until their third finger-3, 6, 9. However, I observed students not concretely making the connection between their song and their fingers. Does taking an efferent task (times tables) and mixing in an aesthetic medium (singing) work, or will the students learn the “wrong” lesson?

Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob, Rosenblatt?

In the 5th chapter of Making Meaning With Texts: Selected Essays, Rosenblatt digs into the dynamics of teaching literature. True to her research, Roseblatt advocates for the importance of the relationship between the reader and the text, explaining that a “lifelong personal relationship between books and people,” (p. 63-64) is the goal of literature education. However, literature education often neglects developing the relationship between the reader and the book, instead focusing on the teaching of methods, background knowledge, and knowing about the text (as opposed to knowing it in a personal way). Rosenblatt cautions educators to not use substitutes for the actual texts, such as critiques, analytical pieces, background information on the author or setting, without actually exposing students to the real text.

As I was reading this chapter, I felt like Rosenblatt was a women woven from the same cloth as me. The relationship between the reader and the text has almost magical powers. Bringing to life characters from the page, visiting the places that those said characters visit, or sharing an emotional moment with the people of the text represent quality reading experiences. Rosenblatt explains that we create relationships with texts based on our own experiences and the ability to empathize with the characters. All that being said, I began thinking about myself as a reader. I tell my students what makes me a good English teacher is not my background and training in English (as there is none), but my identity as a reader. I love to read, and my reading palate is not what I would describe as refined. I will read it all (except Jane Austin, try as I may I cannot get into her). I imagine Rosenblatt respecting that.

Twilight is a text loved by pre-teen and teen girls all over the world. It’s also loved by grown women. The series receives a lot of criticism: it’s lack of a developed plot, gender roles in the text, etc. As a reader, I found it very enjoyable to read. In fact, I have read the whole series on multiple occasions. Since Rosenblatt focuses on the read connecting with the text, I can only imagine that she’d view the Twilight series and other popular contemporary works as a positive element in creating a relationship between the reader and the text. Team Edward vs. Team Jacob–announcing alliances for the two love interests, this division is a direct result of the text, but it is not part of the text. There were not characters announcing their support to one boy over the other. This phenomenon is a direct result of readers interacting with the text.

 

Team Edward vs. Team Jacob

 

 

Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob, Rosenblatt?

Literature Circles & “Fix-It” Strategies

In today’s education climate, I do not think it is uncommon for teachers to be focused on the question, “How do I assess that?” Accountability, high-stakes testing, academic emergency, and NCLB are all terms that describe our current focus in education: testing. As a teacher, I believe it is important to have an accurate account of how my students are doing. However, I do no think that the account has to be quantitative. Standardized testing, even those that diversify from multiple choice questioning alone, takes something large and complex, student learning over the course of a year, and crunches it down to a simple test score. Sure, this type of assessment can be important (it’s something the students will see for temporary driver’s license applications and for college entrance, but it cannot be the only form of assessment being used, nor is it the only form of assessment of value. Literature circle offer plenty of time for assessment, but a time of assessment that the power that be seem to forget–teacher observation over an extended period of time.

I was quite impressed with myself, or I should say my former self, because a lot of what I did in my first years of literature circles is what Daniels suggests in his text. I used a simple rubric to gather a daily “assessment,” I collected notes on happenings within the group, and I sat down and both participated or simply observed. The idea of focusing on two “standards,” one social and one academic during literature circles is wonderful. I think it brings focus to the activity for both the students and the teacher, without taking away freedom in instruction.

Last year when I did literature circles is when I had the most trouble. It was completely my fault. My students told me that they had previously done literature circles (while I later learned was literature circles in name only). Because I believed they had the background, I spent less time building a literature circles community, a structure, or an organization. My students read at their own speeds, I gave them no direction or suggestion for focusing, and I did a poor job of being a participant and an observer. As a result, my literature circles became very task-like. In this case, my “fix-it” strategy would be to ensure that literature circles have a place in the classroom, with a defined structure and system of support. Most importantly, set cycles for reading a text, so my students do end up in la-la land reading a 150 page book over the course of 6 weeks.

Literature Circles Reflection

I began using literature circles during my very first year of teaching. I continued to use them for the next couple years, until I began working on my PhD full-time. Reading about literature circles without the pressure of doing literature circles in a classroom has given me the time to reflect on my past experiences, as well as to imagine how I would do it differently in the future. 

In some ways, I feel a little like Goldilocks when I reflect on my literature circles experience. During the first couple years I had too much structure, leaning heavily on roles, worksheets, and after-reading activities. In my last couple years of teaching, I neglected to put a strong enough structure in place to support my students during their literature circles experience. If I were to do it again, I am confident that I could create a structure that would be just right.

One of the biggest mistakes I made with literature circles was pacing. In my early years, I designated reading assignments for my students, and in the latter years I let my student groups select their own reading assignment, but without putting a firm end to the experience. The result was having students drag 200 page novels over the course of a month or more. As suggested in the literature circles text, I would limit a novel cycle to around 3 weeks.

In addition, I liked how literature circles were fit into an entire year’s curriculum. During my first year of teaching, I learned about literature circles and added it to my class organization (or lack thereof, I was a first year teacher after all!). Last year, literature circles were a regular part of my classroom organization, but in structure only. While literature circles are designed to be an efferent reading experience, I also think it can be used tactically to address teaching standards (for example exposing students to particular themes or genres). Using literature circles as a big-picture, balanced curriculum activity really made me want to jump back into the classroom.

Also, I would definitely restructure my literature circles training. I liked how real texts were used to demonstrate how to complete a literature circles. As stated above, with my first couple groups, I over-taught and over-controlled the format and teaching of literature circle structure, and in the latter years, I totally under-taught the structure.

What I really enjoy about this text is that Harvey Daniels emphasizes that teachers can make literature circle their own, adding or subtracting elements as they see fit. Reading examples of literature circles and comparing how they are implemented differently makes the task of creating them in the classroom much easier and less stressful.

My perfect literature circles situation would begin with the planning out of my curriculum the summer before the school year starts. It would be a regular part of the curriculum, with a break between cycles to put extra emphasis on independent reading (though independent reading would still be a vital part of the classroom during a literature circles cycle). I would select a bank of texts for the first couple cycles, based on thematic issues or genre. After the first couple cycles, I would present the next genre/thematic issue and ask students to research possible appropriate texts, to create a bank for proceeding cycles. Beginning my literature circles, I would spend a couple class periods working students into the literature circles frame of mind, which would include mini-lessons, examples, and practice. After the students have gotten the structure, we would go to meeting weekly for an entire class period.

This activity makes me yearn for the classroom….