Huck Finn

Tonight, there is a 60 Minutes on whether a new edited Huckleberry Finn should be published -- in case you can't see it, here's the link to a written article about the story.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/18/60minutes/main20044663.shtml?tag=contentMain;cbsCarousel

Chinese Born American - Post 3

          As I read the two articles assigned for this week, it got me thinking about what I want to do in my classroom in regards to graphic novels. In eighth grade, we were assigned to read Maus, and as far as what I can remember from that year, I really enjoyed the unit for this novel. I was not like a lot of my English major friends who tell stories of themselves reading all the time in middle and high school. But when I did find a book or novel that caught my attention, I literally read it until it was finished, unable to put it down. Starting American Born, I read the entire novel in one sitting. Sitting in the living room with my roommate, she kept looking at me with a crazy look because I was laughing out loud at certain panels and even got up to show her page 203 because of the Ricky Martin reference. Frey and Fisher discuss the progress the students in the remedial English class endure while using the graphic novels and stepping stones in sentence structure and understanding young adult literature. They address that “previous lessons had emphasized dialogue construction and the attendant punctuation difficulties. Frederico’s draft suggests that he had mastered the use of these meaning markers, even breaking a sentence in two” (20). I would like to see my students making growth in my classroom and to use novels such as American Born Chinese, Maus, and Persepolis to encourage their use of language and visual literature.

            As I observed in high school classrooms during winter break, I entered one class where technology trumped every lesson plan. The teacher went over different pieces of literature, but to assess the students, he would give an assignment to which they can use their imagination in expressing the literature’s meaning. For example, the students had finished Macbeth and were assigned to create an original song expressing the themes and plot of their chosen act and scene. The students' marking period assignment was to choose an inspirational artist – whether a painter, singer or actor – and compile an Apple IMovie-like presentation that included pictures, music, and their voice to show the class. Using these technological assignments allows the teacher to assess their understanding of the text and to examine how much time they put into their projects. One of the students chose Cher for her artist and although the projects were not due for a few weeks, upon request, she showed me what she had completed so far – and it was amazing. She had music, movie posters, hair styles, her influences and more just by using her MacBook in the classroom. I hope to have the knowledge surrounding this type of technology to use and to incorporate in lessons with graphic novels. 

Being the Book

As I read through the chapter in “You Gotta BE the Book” I loved that Jeffrey D. Whilhelm used his experiences and research to help other aspiring teachers, and those already in the professional field. That throughout his reflective novel, he is able to use actual student accounts and his attempted research to allow the reader to understand his motifs. To him, a teacher-researcher is “a teacher who is consciously questioning, observing, theorizing, testing, adapting, and learning something every day in the classroom” which I love! (9). He understands the challenges that students present daily and yearly. Students don’t always want to read, or enjoy reading, and it is our job as English and Language Arts teachers to inspire and motivate. I liked his social contract on page thirteen that describes what his students should expect out of him as a teacher. Also, I enjoyed reading about his method of using Marilyn Manson to include a student into the daily discussions and assignments. He acknowledges that with this student, he began to realize that there were others that he let slip through the years without engaging them in the lessons like he had her. When I read though this part of the chapter, I began relating the out-casted student to others I remember in high school. Bobby, reserved in the classroom and passionate about music, found delight in doing a project about chivalry. We were supposed to compile evidence that he does or does not exist in our culture today and he decided to put together a CD with songs that supported that it does exist. This project allowed him to express his knowledge of music, while learning the importance of chivalry in our Shakespearean lesson. Wilhem’s inclusion of student journals and input really makes me want to read more about his experiences and use his book as a “mentor” while learning about the teaching specifics.

Blog 1 - Literacy Profile

 

When I think of reading at a student in grade school, the first book and experience I specifically remember is Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. In sixth grade, we were presented with a table full of books and had to choose one in which we read and completed an assignment. As I read Bridge to Terabithia, I found that I did not want to put it down. It was the first book that I remember wanting to continually read whether it was during free time in class or at home before bed. While approaching the climax of the book, I sat on my floor in my room. When I finally figured out that Leslie had died, I started crying. It amazes me that I was so emotionally attached to the character that her death affected me and of course, my mom asked me what was wrong, and I had to tell her that I was crying because of my book. Before this, I hadn’t initially read on my own and I think this book sparked my curiosity in young adult literature. I remember wanting to go to the township library and sort through the books written by authors I had become familiar with. I try to remember the different novels, but I can only picture what the covers look like. I also remember that I started to listen to books on cassette and that I liked that I couldn’t really skip ahead because I would might miss out on important information related to the plot.

In school, I always pointed out how much I loved my eleventh grade English class with Mr. Shurtz. The way he presented short stories, song lyrics, poems, and novels amazed me. Specifically, I know I left the classroom after presented with the secrets from “A Rose from Emily” in awe. That a writer could mean so many different things and hide the actual actions, while do this all in different time segments – it was awesome to me. Now I read and I find myself underlining my favorite sentences.. and my roommates think I’m crazy. I want to inspire students and excite them in the classroom the way Mr. Shurtz did in his. That I wanted to read the stories because I knew what he would reveal and explain would be that much cooler because I actually knew what he was talking about and connecting his presentations to. I hope to motivate students to analyze outside the box and not take literature for the literal meaning every time, to use their imaginations.