Book Talk #2

Under the Feet of Jesus

Helena Maria Viramontes

OUTLINE:

Under the Feet of Jesus (1995) follows the lives of Latino migrant workers living and working in the California grape fields. At the beginning of the story, readers are introduced to the protagonist, thirteen-year-old Estrella. She has just arrived at a labor camp with her brothers and sisters, her mother Petra, and her mother’s lover Perfecto. It is at this labor camp that Estrella meets and falls in love with Alejo. Unfortunately, their happiness does not last long after Alejo falls ill with the daño of the fields, or pesticide poisoning. Although Estrella and her family barely have enough money for themselves, they decide to take him to a clinic where he can receive proper medical attention. However, the clinic only boasts one nurse that does not seem to care in the slightest about Alejo’s battle between life and death. Since Estrella and her family have no money left to purchase gas, Estrella attempts to barter Perfecto’s handyman skills in return for the clinic fee that she paid. When the nurse refuses, Estrella uses violence to force her to give the money back. Estrella eventually gets the money back and the family fills up on gas and leaves Alejo to his luck at the nearest hospital. The story ends with an optimistic Estrella perched on top of an old barn that is located near the labor camp where she and her family live and work.

BIOGRAPHY:

Helena Maria Viramontes is a Mexican-American writer best known for her portrayal of immigrants, women, and other marginalized groups. She was born in East Los Angeles to Mexican parents. After graduating from high school, she attended Immaculate Heart College before studying English and creative writing at the University of California, Irvine. The major themes of her stories are based on childhood experiences and the impact that Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers had on her and her family. Furthermore, her works often use stream-of- consciousness to move from one character to the next while highlighting different perspectives. Apart from writing Under the Feet of Jesus (1995), Viramontes has also written two short story collections and the novel Their Dogs Came With Them (2007). She is still working on her completing her third novel Cemetery Boys. Viramontes is currently a professor of English at Cornell University.

RATIONALE:

I first read this book during Spring Quarter 2015 in my Chicano History class and immediately felt a strong connection with Estrella. Her story resonated with me because I have grown up harvesting fruit like Estrella and her family. As far as I can remember, I have worked in the orchards with my family thinning, picking, and pruning apple and pear trees throughout the year. I know firsthand how hard and backbreaking this work can be from the long hours to the extreme conditions. Personally, I think that students will benefit from reading this book because they will gain an appreciation for the Latino culture by learning how hard Latinos work to have a better future for themselves and their families. This story will also serve to eliminate some of the stereotypes that are often associated with Latinos. In addition, I found it empowering that the protagonist of this story was a thirteen-year-old girl of color giving a voice to the silenced migrant laborers. There are not many books or authors taught in schools today that primarily focus on lifting women up, especially those of color. For students that are looking to read a text that is written by someone other than a white male author, this story of a teenage girl’s courage and faith will not disappoint.

AGE/ ABILITY: 7th to 8th grade

If I were to teach this book, I would teach it in the 7th or 8th grade because the Lexile score is right in between both of those grades. Also, students at this grade level would be more likely to relate to Estrella because they would be about the same age as her. Although they may not be able to understand her struggles in the labor camp, they would be able to connect with other aspects that teenagers face growing up.

TEACHING IDEAS:

1. Since this book is dedicated to the memory of Cesar Chavez, who led migrant workers to ask for better wages and conditions,students could conduct short research projects in which they investigate Cesar Chavez’s background and motives for leading labor strikes.After students have conducted their research, they can present their findings to the class. This teaching idea would be useful in understanding the background of the novel before reading it.
2. The language that Viramontes uses in this book is so vivid and powerful it begs for artistic interpretation. Students could easily use the imagery provided to create visual representations of their interpretations of the text. This teaching idea would give students an opportunity to be creative while also checking their understanding of what they have read.
3. The book uses stream-of-consciousness to move from one character’s thoughts to the next and it is often hard to determine which character is speaking and whether the story is in the past or the present. Students could explore ways in which we identify point-of-view (POV) - Is this first-person POV? Is this second-person POV? Is this third-person POV limited omniscient? This teaching idea could help students find a lens in which to read this book and perhaps eliminate some of the confusion that they are having.
4. There is a definite amount of symbols in this book that are just waiting to be discussed. Students could discuss the various symbols in lit circles. This teaching idea would allow students to listen and share their thoughts and ideas with their peers in small groups.

OBSTACLES:

A potential obstacle that students may have with this book is understanding the language because the book is written in both English and Spanish. Students that know little to no Spanish will have a hard time comprehending what is going on at some points of the novel and could even become disinterested in the novel altogether. Another obstacle that students may encounter would be the stream-of-consciousness technique that Viramontes uses because it is sometimes unclear which character is talking or if the story is in the past or present. Lastly, since this book is culturally based, I would be concerned that students would say something inappropriate that would offend another student. I would remind students to be considerate of their classmates before making a comment. As for parents, I could see the title being a problem because at first glance it appears that the book is about religion. For parents that do not share religious views or think that I am trying to push beliefs onto their child, I would inform parents that is not my intention and emphasize that there is more to the story than faith. Lastly, the potential areas of concern for administrators would be the scenes in which Alejo is poisoned by the pesticides and where Estrella uses a crowbar to force the nurse to give her the money back. These scenes could be concerning for administrators because Alejo’s poisoning is described in some detail which might be difficult for students to handle and students could get the impression that it is okay to use violence and force to get what they want like Estrella.

REFERENCES:

http://www.gradesaver.com/under-the-feet-of-jesus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_Maria_Viramontes

Learning Letter

Dear Sean,

Out of all the quarters that I have attended Eastern Washington University, this was by far the busiest for me because I had a full course load and was spending more than 11 hours a week at my placement. However, I did enjoy English 493. The book talks were probably the best part about the class because I had the opportunity to share two of my favorite books with my peers and provide rationale for why they should be taught in the classroom. My first book talk was on Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh and it was towards the middle of the quarter. Although I received a good score on it, I felt that I could have done better. For example, I could have been more specific about the obstacles that students, parents, and administrators may have with the book. Since I wrote out my book talk the second week of the quarter, I did not look at it until I had to print it off. In the future, I would probably revise my book talk and make sure that I had included all the requirements before printing it off.  Despite not doing as well as I hoped on my first book talk, I took my feedback seriously and made sure that my second book talk on Under the Feet of Jesus by Helena Maria Viramontes was as polished as possible. I focused specifically on the teaching ideas and obstacles because those were the two areas where people kept on missing the most points. To my delight, my improvements paid off and I received a perfect scored on my second book talk.  In addition, the book talks also gave me an idea of the wide range of books that are out there. I had never heard of most of these books before learning about them from my classmates. Although I barely have any time to read for personal enjoyment, I plan on reading as many of these books when I get the chance. I also think that these books would be great recommendations for my students.    

 The unit plan was the most challenging project that I have ever worked on, but it was also the most rewarding. When I first heard about the unit plan, I panicked. I did not know how I was going to create a feasible three-week unit plan.  Nevertheless, I was able to complete my unit plan on Robert Fagles’ translation of the Odyssey. I found turning in drafts multiple times throughout the quarter helpful because I was able to receive feedback that I used to improve my unit plan.  I think that if I had not had deadlines to meet I would have ended up procrastinating and leaving everything for the end. If I could change anything about my unit plan or the process that I took to create it, I would probably consider choosing a book that is smaller or a graphic novel. Although I only chose selections from the Odyssey to teach and paired it with Gareth Hinds' graphic novel, I still felt that it was a lot of material to cover in three weeks. In addition, I would start working on my daily lesson plans earlier in the quarter to avoid cramming at the end. Despite turning in a lesson plan for my first draft, I did not really do anything with my lesson plans until the middle of the quarter which I regret. I think that I would slowly work on developing lesson plans throughout the quarter instead of doing them all at once.  I would also make sure to create them in order rather than jumping around and completing them at random. Overall, I think the fact that I completed this unit plan is a testament to my determination of wanting to become a teacher. 

Of the theories and discussions explored in class, the ones that stuck out to me the most were the ones on Stephen Brookfield's article "Discussion as a Way of Teaching" and Social Justice in the Classroom. These discussions stood out to me because two of the aspects that I want to focus on in my future classroom are discussions and social justice. I want to create a safe environment for my students where they can feel free to express their thoughts without being concerned about what others may think or say. I also want my students to have the necessary resources to succeed both inside and outside my classroom. 

Moreover, Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed was also an interesting read because it brought up many valid points such as the fact that the classroom needs to be more student-centered than teacher-centered. Even though teachers have good intentions about teaching students, they often lose sight of this when structuring their classrooms and expect students to listen attentively to them as they fill their brains with knowledge. I did not agree with this "banking concept" because I believe that students do not come to school with empty brains waiting to be filled. Instead, I believe that students come to school with some general knowledge of the world around them and teachers teach students how to process that information. After reading a section of this book, I am going to keep the "banking concept" in mind and try to avoid using it with my students.  I know that I was not always the most vocal individual during discussions, but I liked sitting around in a circle and listening to what other individuals had to say about a concept and every now and then voicing my own opinion. These discussions not only helped me strengthen my ideas about theories and concepts regarding teaching, but also taught me a lot about collaborating with my colleagues. As a future teacher, I will need to know how to collaborate with other teachers during staff meetings about a variety of topics. 

In large part due to this course, I now feel more prepared to become a teacher. Now that I have developed my own unit plan, I am honestly not afraid of what lies ahead. I think that this course provided me with a glimpse of what teachers experience on a daily basis. While creating one unit plan was hard enough, I cannot imagine how teachers create multiple unit plans throughout the school year. Additionally, the classroom discussions gave me an idea of how I am going to approach parents and administrators when dealing with difficult topics.  Furthermore, I learned that I am not going to be a perfect teacher. No matter how hard I try, there are always going to be things that I can improve. No matter how much I plan, there is always going to be something unexpected that comes up.  The best part is that I am okay knowing these things because that is part of the learning process.  I have to make mistakes and learn from them before I can truly experience success.

Sincerely,

Norma Ramos

Edgar Allan Poe Texts

Summary: This book contains the complete tales and poems of Edgar Allan Poe. At the beginning, readers will find an introduction that provides a biography about Poe and divides his works into four categories: poems, gothic stories, tales of ratiocination, and Poe as a critic. Overall, this book consists of 73 short stories ranging from "The Cask of Amontillado" to "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "Ligeia." In addition, it includes 49 poems such as "The Raven," "The Bells," and "Sonnet-To Science." My personal favorite Poe short story is "The Masque of the Red Death" because it serves as an allegory that death cannot be avoided no matter how hard people try. I also find it interesting that each of the seven rooms is painted a different color and that the last room in which Prince Prospero dies is black. In addition, it is rather ironic that his name is Prince Prospero when he ends up being anything but prosperous. Sure he is rich and can afford to throw lavish parties, but that does not prevent death from finding him. Another one of my favorite works by Poe is his essay titled "The Philosophy of Composition." In this essay, Poe describes the three elements of his works: length, method, and unity of effect. First of all, Poe believed that all literary works should be short so that they can be read in a single sitting. If they are longer, readers will lose interest and stop reading. Secondly, while some writers come up with ideas as they write, Poe did not agree with that method. He thought that all good writing was meticulous. Lastly, when Poe says "unity of effect," he means that the writer should only write a story once they have thought the ending out. After that, they can continue to work on other aspects of their story. I liked this particular essay because it explains the process that Poe used to write and explained how he came up with his best-known work "The Raven." This process can still be applied when writing today. As for poems, my favorite poem is "Sonnet-To Science" because it explains how science seeks to find an answer to everything and does not allow the poet to have an imagination.

Rationale: Poe's short stories and poems are frequently taught in English classes both at the secondary level and college level. There are already many lesson plans that exist today that can be used by teachers. I think that Poe needs to be taught in classrooms because his works ask students to use their critical thinking skills in order to understand them. There are many literary elements in his work that students can further explore.

Age/Ability Level: 6th-10th grade
The grade level depends entirely on the group of students and the works being discussed in class. For example, some of Poe's shorter poems can be discussed as early as 6th grade, but "The Raven" may be more appropriate for 8th grade and above because it is complex and full of symbolism.

Teaching Ideas:

1. Have students compare and contrast the female characters in selected works of Poe's. What do they look like? How are their names similar? It is believed that Poe based his female characters on his mother, do you agree or disagree with this statement?
2. Students can analyze how Poe's life influenced his writing by conducting a short research project. They can create a presentation and share what they found.
3. In "The Masque of The Red Death," students can analyze the short story for allegorical meaning.
4. Students can get creative and create their own masks for "'The Mask of the Red Death" and stage a Red Death masque to celebrate Poe's short story.
5. Students can rewrite "The Raven" using modern language and to better understand the famous poem.
6. In "Tell-Tale Heart," students could explore perspective, mood, and diction.

Obstacles: Although Poe's works are widely taught in schools across the country, there may still be some obstacles for students, parents, and administrators. I love Poe's unique writing style, but for some students it may be hard to understand and keep up with. As for parents, they may not want their children reading gothic stories that are full of dark and evil themes because they could be frightening. Additionally, Poe has a very mysterious background. He married his cousin when she was barely 13 years old and he was 27. There are also many speculations about how Poe died which could also be concerning for parents. Most administrators should not have a problem with Poe because as mentioned before, he is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism.  However, I would still be sure to let them know what I am teaching and why I am teaching it.

References:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe

Elie Wiesel's Night

Summary: Night recounts Elie Wiesel's memories of living and working in concentration camps during World War II. The story opens with Moishe the Beadle warning the Jews of Sighet  what he witnessed the Gestapo do to Jews and babies in the Galician forest. Unfortunately, nobody heeded his warning. On the contrary, they thought he was a mad man and ignored his pleas to leave their homes while they still could. When Wiesel and his family arrive at the first camp, they are divided by gender. This is the last time that he sees his mother and sisters. From time to time, Wiesel and his father are transferred to different camps such as Auschwitz and Buchenwald. The routine is always the same. They have to pass through the showers before they can be incorporated into work Kommandos. Every now and then they have a medical check-up. Those that do not pass the check-up are killed. The rations of food are small and consist mostly of bread and soup. If they do not do as they are told, they are hung in public to serve as examples of what happens to those that break the rules. While Wiesel is in these concentration camps, he begins to lose his faith. He cannot understand how his God would let something so terrible happen to all of these people. In addition, he watches men fight each other for a morsel of food and sons turn on their fathers. Although Wiesel is told to stop giving his rations to his father because he could be using those rations on himself, he does not listen. His father and him have been through too much together and now that they are so close to being free he cannot leave his father by himself.  At the end of the story, his father dies from a beating. In April 1945, Wiesel is liberated from Buchenwald by the United States Army.

Rationale: As Wiesel states in the preface of the book, he is telling his story because he wants to inform people of what happened to him so that nothing like it can ever happen again. I agree with him and believe that his story needs to be shared. There are still many individuals that think that the Holocaust is merely a myth even though there are plenty of facts to prove that it did occur. Additionally, this book is a quick read. Since it is approximately 100 pages long, students will be able to finish it in a couple of sittings depending on grade level and how often they pause to discuss it in class. Furthermore, Night could be used  across History and English curriculums.

Age/Ability Level: 10th-12th grade
Although there are some graphic scenes in the story, the language is not difficult to understand with the exception of some foreign words. Therefore, I believe that students as young as freshmen could read this story in a English classroom.

Teaching Ideas: 

1. When Elie and his family have to leave the ghetto they are only allowed to take a few items with them. Students could make a list of the things that they would take if they had to suddenly leave their homes and explain their rationale for choosing particular items. 
2. This book can be paired with other books about the Holocaust such as Number the Stars and The Diary of Anne Frank. Students can write an essay comparing/contrasting the protagonists and events that take place in each story.
3. Before reading this book, students could conduct short group research projects in which they learn about the Holocaust. This teaching idea would give students prior knowledge regarding the background of the story.
4. Students can create a timeline of Elie's life from the beginning of the story to the end. This will help students review their understanding of the story.
5. Throughout the story, Elie changed. Students can discuss how he changed and what led him to become a different person in a whole-class discussion.
6. Since the language is so vivid, students can create their own visual representations of scenes from the story. This activity will help students literally visualize what they are thinking.

Obstacles: I think that students, teachers, and administrators will have the same issues about reading and teaching this book. The main obstacles are the graphic depictions of death and everyday life in the concentration camps. Inmates were treated terribly by the Gestapo. They were barely given anything to eat and could be killed on the spot. I would probably send a letter home before teaching this book and make sure that my administration approved. For parents that do not want their child to read this book, I would have them look research the Holocaust or read a different book that dealt with the Holocaust. Although the events described in this book are horrible, they tell the truth of what happened to Jews. Wiesel's raw emotions cannot be replicated, so I would strongly encourage anyone that has not read it to do so. They will be forever changed.

Graphic novels in the classroom

From my own personal experience, graphic novels are a great resource to have in the classroom. For example, my students recently finished reading The Odyssey at the beginning of the year and they used a graphic novel to supplement Homer's translation. Fortunately, my classroom has a set of graphic novels, so each student had access to a copy. One student said that the graphic novel helped him visualize what the characters looked like. The combination of prose with pictures made it easier for him to stay engaged with the text. Another student told me that she loved the graphic novel because it summarized each chapter in a few pages. Before reading a chapter, she would often look through the graphic novel to gain a better understanding of what the chapter was going to be about. Although many students found the graphic novel to be helpful, some students did not because it left out details from the book.  While it did leave out details, I thought that it stayed true to the story and readers were still able to comprehend what was going on with the exclusion of a few minor points. Over the years, graphic novels have become increasingly popular. However, there is still debate surrounding whether they are educational and should be used in the classroom. In the article, "Bold Books for Innovative Teaching: Show, Don't Tell: Graphic Novels in the Classroom," Don Gallo and Stephen Weiner give their rationale for why graphic novels should be a part of every classroom.  First of all, graphic novels can serve as transitions into more intensive works. Teachers can utilize graphic novels before or during reading the actual book to make it appear less daunting. Secondly, graphic novels are a great tool not only for visual learners, but also for reluctant readers.  Students who have  a hard time reading or staying engaged will love graphic novels because they read like comic books and cut to the chase instead of taking four pages to get their point across. Lastly, graphic novels will be sure to leave a lasting impression for students. Even long after students have finished reading a story, they will remember it. They may not remember every scene or minor detail, but they will remember the illustrations. As I create my own unit plan for The Odyssey, I intend to  use the graphic novel in my lessons for the reasons mentioned above. I want to give my future students an opportunity to experience this story in a completely different light. I want them to be able to "see" what they are reading. Graphic novels have been around for some time, but before this past year I had never seen one before. I had no idea what I was missing out on. Graphic novels are amazing and I wish I had started using them sooner.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Summary: Arnold Spirit, better known as Junior, decides to leave the reservation that he grew up in and attend an all-white public school. While it is a difficult decision for Junior to make, he realizes that it is the right one. If he stays on the reservation, he will not have any hope for a better future. When Junior transfers to Reardan High School, everyone turns on him except his family. Even Rowdy, his best friend, wants nothing to do with him. As Junior embarks on a new adventure, he struggles to fit in. The fact that he is the only Indian makes him an easy target to pick on. Eventually, he begins to get accepted by the teachers and students. He even becomes the basketball hero and makes the varsity basketball team as a freshman. Even though Junior faces a lot of hardships along the way, he learns that he has to keep on moving just like life.

Age/Ability Level: This book is an easy read, but since it deals with many controversial topics I would teach it at the 11th-12th grade level in an Honors or AP class.

Rationale: "The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" is one of the best books that I have read in years.  It captivated me from the beginning with its raw emotions and characters.  Throughout the book, I felt all of the emotions that Sherman Alexie was trying to convey to me. Sometimes I laughed at the ridiculous things that Junior would say or do. Other times my heart would break for Junior when he was bullied because of his brain damage,  had to walk all 22 miles home, and experienced the death of loved ones. This book needs to be read in schools to teach students that  everyone is facing their own internal struggle. Moreover, I think that it would be a great book to teach Indian culture since there are many misconceptions. Lastly, it is incredible that this book is based on a true story and written by a local author. The names of characters are different, but Alexie actually experienced everything written in 230 pages.  Students will find this book relatable because it is based on a true story and they may be facing internal challenges of their own as growing teenagers.

Teaching Ideas:

1. Since there are numerous comics in the book, students could create their own comics detailing moments or experiences in their life. This activity would not only add an element of creativity, but also help them connect with the protagonist.
2. At the back of the book, there are discussion questions. Students could discuss these questions in a socratic seminar. This activity would ask students to analyze the book in further detail to better understand some of the main events and characters' motives.
3. Students could interview someone in their class or community and create a video about their history. This activity would allow students to take what they have learned inside the classroom and apply it outside if possible. 
4. Students could do a jigsaw and explore themes and motifs in the novel including race, bullying, friendship, family, basketball, alcohol abuse, etc.  Then, they could go back to their groups and share what they found. This activity would break up the work for students and ask them to focus on a specific theme or motif of the novel that they can become experts on and share with the rest of their classmates. 

Obstacles: There are many obstacles in teaching this book.  It has been banned in multiple schools across the country and received mixed reviews because of its controversial topics. Students who have been bullied or have brain damage may not want to read this book because it reminds them of past traumas that they have endured.  Both parents and administrators would probably be against students reading this novel because it contains cultural insensitivity, profanity, alcoholism, and sexual innuendos. The best solution to this problem would be offering an alternative book to read that deals with a coming of age story and allowing students to take a step outside of the classroom when necessary.

References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Absolutely_True_Diary_of_a_Part-Time_Indian#Reviews

The Education of Margot Sanchez by Lilliam Rivera

Summary: After stealing her father's credit card to splurge on a new wardrobe,  Margot must work at her family's grocery store during the summer to pay off the debt. When she meets Moises, a community activist working for the South Bronx Family Mission, he challenges her views on life. While Margot has had everything that she has ever wanted in life, he has lived a rough life surrounded by violence and drugs. It is not until Margot's life is turned upside down that she realizes that there are more important things in life than trying to fit in at Somerset Prep. As Margot deals with her parent's divorce and brother's drug problem, she begins to correct her mistakes and remember who she is.

Rationale: The first thing that struck me about this book was that it was written in both English and Spanish. I immediately felt immersed in the language and Margot's world. Even though it was hard to listen to Margot complain about every little thing, I could relate to her because I was once in her shoes. Similar to Margot, I wanted to fit in with the popular crowd back when I was in high school and felt overwhelmed with all of my parent's expectations.  Like me, students that read this book will  find it easy to relate to Margot because they are also facing pressures of their own such as keeping up their  grades to get into a good university or playing sports to receive a full-ride scholarship. I also think that this book would be beneficial for students to read because it deals with many teen issues including drug abuse, underage drinking, and teen pregnancy.   While these are tough topics to talk about, I think that they need to be addressed. Students need to be aware of the consequences that can result if they choose to participate in reckless behavior. Overall, this book is easy to read and it does not hold back. It presents readers with the challenges that many teens face and gives hope to overcoming them.


Grade Level/Ability: 11th or 12th Grade

Although this book is an easy read, the content is best suited for upperclassmen.

Teaching Ideas:

1. Students could write about a time that they were grounded or forced to do a job that they did not want to do. This activity asks students to put themselves in Margot's shoes. Perhaps making connections with Margot will make reading this book easier for students.
2. Students could make a morality spectrum in which they evaluate each character's morality based on their actions throughout the novel. This activity would give students an opportunity to explore the characters in depth. 
3. Students could discuss how Margot changed throughout the story in small groups and then share with the class. What events or what individuals made her change?

Obstacles: This book deals with a lot of heavy topics such a sex, drug abuse, and  underage drinking that both parents and administrators will definitely find inappropriate. Additionally, parents could have a hard time allowing their children to read a book in which the protagonist often lies and steals to get what she wants. They could think that she is setting a bad example for their children to follow. As for students, the language could be hard for them to understand because part of the book is written in Spanish. Moreover, the topics of divorce and rehab could be hard for some students to read about and discuss, especially if their parents are divorced or if they personally know someone that went to rehab. If I were to teach this book, I would allow students to step outside the classroom or talk to the school counselor.

Readicide by Kelly Gallagher

 I remember that I used to love reading when I was younger. My elementary teachers would do a popcorn style reading and students would take turns reading and calling on each other. Even though I was shy, I always wanted to be called on to read a sentence or a paragraph. When I reached middle school, the amount of testing increased, and I noticed my eagerness to read decreased in the process. While I would still open up books and read them, I did not feel interested in the pages in front of me. If I read it was not for personal enjoyment, but rather to finish an assignment. All of the testing (whether it was on a paper or a computer) had taken the fun of reading for me. It was not until I my sophomore year of high school that reading reignited a spark in me. Mrs. Colbert, my English teacher, reserved the first 15 minutes of every class period for Sustained Silent Reading (SSR). In the beginning, I was not a fan of starting class with SSR, but over time I found myself wishing we had even more time devoted solely to reading. I started reading for pleasure outside of school like I had when I was in elementary school. This trend continued in high school and into college. Ultimately, it was the reason that I chose to become an English teacher. Similar to how Mrs. Colbert had reignited my passion for reading, I wanted to help students find joy in reading .

In Readicide, Gallagher focuses primarily on what is killing reading in classrooms and what teachers can do to avoid this epidemic better known as readicide. According to Gallagher, readicide is "the systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools" (2). Although this definition sounds extreme, it perfectly explains the ongoing problem in schools around the country. As mentioned above in my  personal reading experience, testing is taking out the fun of reading. Nowadays, most teachers teach to the test and value being a good test- taker over being a good reader. I understand that teachers and schools feel pressured to have their students perform well on state exams, but at what cost? Is it worth sacrificing students' love of reading to keep receiving funding and continue this endless cycle? I think that students need a break from testing. They already have enough problems to worry about in school and at home. There is a purpose for testing, but it needs to be reduced. Otherwise, students are being trained to be robots that memorize facts instead of humans that appreciate and value learning. 

Despite readicide being a huge problem, there are some potential solutions. First of all, SSR is actually more important than teachers or administrators can even fathom. From experience, I know how much it helped me regain my love for reading. The more often that I did it, the less of a routine it became. Eventually, it was just something that I did even outside of school. Giving students time to read not only forces them to read, but also provides them with an opportunity to clear their minds from the long school day. Secondly, asking students to annotate keeps them engaged in the text that they are reading. It requires students to pause and actually think about what they have read before moving on. The importance of annotating is also highlighted in Tovani's I Read It, But I Don't Get It.  This reading strategy helps students find a purpose and reminds them of areas of the text that are struggling with and areas that they understand. Lastly, promoting summer reading can be beneficial. Most students do not read over the summer and as a result they forget good reading strategies at the beginning of the school year and have to teach themselves to read again. Readicide will not be solved overnight, but taking an initiative and using these potential solutions is a great start to helping students reclaim their enthusiasm for reading.

edTPA Making Good Choices

The first time that I learned about the edTPA I panicked. I had no idea how I was going to fill out all 15 boxes and keep my lessons aligned. However, the more I practiced designing lesson plans, the less scary they became. While I do feel more confident about lesson planning, there are still a few areas that I need to improve on. For example, my assessment plan could improve and so could my parent/community connections. Even though my assessments do align with the learning objectives, I always tend to forget about the rubric unless I am asked to provide one. I know that there will not be a rubric for every lesson, but I still need to be thinking about how students are going to receive feedback from me. Then, for parent/community connections I tend to focus more on the parents than the community. I usually send out a letter at the beginning of a unit and emails when necessary. Lately, I have been considering creating a blog where parents/guardians can view what I am doing in class and give me feedback on how I am doing or what they would like to see done in class. Additionally, I plan to include a brief explanation of how skills being taught in class can be used in the community.

I know that all of my lesson planning practice will culminate with the edTPA. Although I have known about it for some time and have been preparing for it, it remains daunting. When I created my first lesson plan it was short, but now most of my lesson plans are at least five to six pages not including supplemental material. I hope that I can stay within the page limit for the edTPA. Another thing that worries me is recording myself teaching. Just the thought of that makes me cringe. I hate going back and watching myself do anything because I usually focus on what I did wrong instead of what I did well. This quarter I will be recording myself teach, so hopefully I can practice taking out the important details and putting them in a short video clip. Despite being nervous about the edTPA and having to record myself, I am happy that I know what I will be expected to do and still have time to prepare. Until then, I am going to work on polishing my lesson plans and getting comfortable in front of the camera.

Tovani's I Read It, But I Don't Get It

 When I was younger, I thought speed was more important than comprehension. My teachers would tell me to read a passage and I would read as fast as I could. I had no idea what I was reading. I just knew that I had to keep moving until I reached the end. After I finished reading, my teachers would ask me comprehension questions that I never quite knew the answer to. I would sit there and try to think back to the passage hoping that the answer would come to me. Long story short, it never did.  To this day, I still remember feeling frustrated. How could I not remember what I had just read a few seconds ago? Was I really that dumb? It wasn't until one of my teachers told me to slow down that I actually began to comprehend what I was reading. I began to concentrate on the overall message instead of simply reciting the words before me.

As I was reading this book, I thought back to moments like this. It still amazes me that I once struggled to read. Most people would never guess that I struggled with reading because I excelled in all of my English courses from elementary to college. However, I did struggle and because of those setbacks I want to help other students who are in the same position that I was once in to comprehend what they are reading. They don't have to fall in love with literature, but they should learn how to read. Reading is a lifelong skill that students will use well beyond school. They will find themselves reading something at least once a day.

Although I already knew or had heard of most of the comprehension strategies that Tovani mentions, it was refreshing to hear how she used these strategies in her class. I loved hearing about her personal teaching experiences and how students reacted to them. The two comprehension strategies that stuck with me were finding a purpose for reading and figuring out how to get unstuck.  First of all, I read the passage titled "The House" in an education class last quarter. My professor asked the class to complete the same activity. In the beginning, I had no idea what to do. I could tell that  my classmates didn't either because everyone was looking around the classroom confused. I needed instructions. I needed my professor to tell me why we were reading this passage. After the activity was over, I understood why we had done it. She wanted us to think through different lenses. Once we had a lens to think through, we had a purpose for reading and it was much easier to complete the activity. Secondly, the highlighting activity was completely new to me. Sure, I sometimes highlight or annotate when I read, but I had never actually done this particular activity. I found it useful because not only did it ask students to pay close attention to what they were reading, but also provided them with an idea of what they did or didn't understand. Students could refer back to this information when attempting to get "unstuck."

Along with these activities, I liked how Tovani mentioned that all subjects are connected. Students do not just go from one class to the next and forget what they have previously learned. Even though it may seem that students only use math in Algebra or Geometry classes, they also use math in science to solve problems. Likewise, students read in other classes apart from English. Therefore, all teachers need to teach reading and aid students in making connections from one subject to the next. I know that teachers are busy and have a gazillion things to do, but if students can't read how can they be expected to complete most work in any given class?

Overall, this book was very insightful and easy to read. It was hard to put down. The comprehension strategies that I mentioned above will definitely be used in my future classroom to assist students in becoming better readers. 

What is social justice? Why is it important for our classrooms?

For this particular post, I had to find an article about social justice and why it is important in classrooms. The article that I found was "Texts, Talk...and Fear?" by Delane Bender-Slack.  Since the definition of social justice varies, Bender-Slack decided to conduct a study consisting of 22  ELA teachers in 15 different public and private schools to discover how they defined social justice, why they taught it, and what texts they used to teach it. Her results revealed similar interpretations ranging from "Doing what's fair" to "Inclusion for everyone" (Bender-Slack 185). The definition that I think best sums up social justice is a combination of both interpretations mentioned above. Social justice is all about treating students fairly and embracing differences. It's about teaching students that they can still get along with each other even if they have differing viewpoints. 

There are many reasons why social justice may be taught in the classroom, but the main reason is to promote awareness and teach students about becoming good citizens.  As students go out into the real world, teachers want to prepare them for some of the things they might experience. They want students to be equipped with knowledge regarding their surroundings and ensure that they treat others the same way that they want to be treated.

While the article provided multiple ways in which social justice can be taught, I think that there is no correct way. It ultimately depends on the students and the location of the school. Some of the teachers in the article had great ideas about how to teach social justice, but I disagreed with them that students  were not in a position to act and that girls were incapable of changing the world. I think that in order to teach social justice, teachers need to believe in it themselves. There is absolutely no point in teaching it if teachers don't practice what they preach.  If I was to teach social justice I would keep students informed on current events and have them come up with solutions to social issues. Even though it may appear that students can't do anything about a social injustice, chances are that they probably can and we do not give them enough credit.

Critical Pedagogy in an Urban High School English Classroom

My three takeaways after reading this article were students need to understand texts before they can be expected to do anything else with them, pedagogy must be centered around the exchange of ideas between students and teachers, and the purpose of interacting with literary texts is to make connections to the outside world. First of all, students need to grasp the main concepts of a text before they can attempt to critique it. Otherwise, they will appear misinformed and their argument will lose validity. Secondly, the student-teacher relationship is crucial for learning. Instead of using the "banking metaphor" that Freire strongly opposes in his book, The Pedagogy of the Oppressed, teachers must realize that they can learn just as much from students and allow them to take control of their own learning.

In my last post, I mentioned that  teachers should provide students with information and guide them when necessary, but they should not make decisions for them. Once teachers begin to make decisions for students,  students lose the power to think for themselves. Lastly, while it is important for students to be able to analyze and critique literary texts that is not the main goal. The main goal  is for students to connect what they are reading to their own lives or popular culture. If students notice why literary texts are relevant to their learning, they are more likely to stay engaged.

The idea that I would like to try in my own classroom is using hip-hop music and culture to teach poetry. Not only would a unit built around hip-hop be fun to teach, but it would also  help demonstrate the similarities in music and poetry. In addition, students would be surprised to learn how relevant popular culture is to their education. They do not have to solely rely on literary texts to find information or learn about their surroundings because there are other resources available to them.

Paulo Freire: Chapter 2 Pedagogy of the Oppressed

This excerpt from Paulo Freire's book was both an insightful and challenging read. I completely agree with Freire that students are being oppressed when teachers impose their thoughts on them. Teachers should not tell students what to believe. Instead, they should provide students with valuable information and let students decide for themselves what they want to believe. As the old saying goes, "you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink." Similarly, teachers can provide students with all of the necessary resources and tools, but they cannot control how students interact with them. Instead of serving as drill sergeants, teachers need to be guides for their students and realize that teaching is not a one-sided affair. It involves both the teacher and the student. If the  relationship between teacher and student is strong, then the teaching taking place in the classroom is more likely to be effective.

Moreover, I do not agree that students come to school with an empty brain waiting to be filled with knowledge. The mere thought of that is absurd. Students often know more than what teachers give them credit for. They pick up information outside of school such as at home and online and have a general understanding of the world around them. I have always believed that teachers learn more from students than students do from teachers because lessons do not always go as planned.  In other words, students may interpret the lesson differently than the way it was intended to be interpreted.  For example, a student might mention something in a discussion that no one has even considered and that could lead to the teacher backtracking or explaining additional material.

As much as I disagree with  including the "banking concept" in instruction, I believe that each bullet point listed below it is 100%  of what a lot of teachers expect to either see or do in their classrooms.  They expect students to listen diligently while they lecture or they are under the impression that they should be the only individuals that make decisions regarding their classroom.  However, this is not the case in real life.  There are always going to be those students that are off-task and need to be redirected.  Furthermore, students should be allowed to create some of the classroom rules so that they feel part of a learning community and have a sense of responsibility.

I know that there are teachers with good intentions that end up oppressing their students in some way, shape, or form and I sincerely hope that I do not become one of those teachers. To avoid this, I plan on keeping students engaged during lessons and letting  them know that the classroom is not my classroom, but rather our classroom.

Assessing and Evaluating Students' Learning

There is no "one size fits all" approach to assessing student's learning. It varies based on the teacher, subject, and students. I have always believed that asking students to regurgitate what they have learned in class onto an exam is not beneficial to them or to the teacher. First of all, do students actually know the information or have they simply memorized it for a particular exam? Secondly, how do teachers know that students actually know the material? What if a student understands the material  but is a horrible test taker? How does a teachers evaluate what that student actually knows?

While every teacher has a different idea about how best to assess and evaluate students' learning, I believe that it should be varied. Students should not only take multiple-choice tests after each unit. There should be other forms of assessment such as journals, portfolios,projects, essays, or presentations. Moreover, these assessments need to focus on "knowing how" instead of "knowing what." In other words, students may be able to perfectly recite the definition of a verb, but not be able to provide an example. Additionally, not all assessments need to be graded based on right and wrong answers. I think that grading students on completeness instead of correctness will prove to have better results. Students often feel pressured when they know an assignment is worth x amount of points. In contrast, if students are asked to complete the assignment they feel more at ease. For example, knowing that I am only being graded on whether I complete this blog post on time instead of grammar, punctuation, and spelling allows me to breathe a sigh of relief and type my thoughts freely.

Teachers need to provide a rubric so that students know what they are being assessed on. This rubric should only assess students on material and content that has been covered in class. It should not be full of surprises. After students turn in an assessment, they must receive feedback as soon as possible. I cannot count how many times teachers and professors have simply taken away points without giving me a clear explanation. How can students be expected to improve when they have no idea what they did wrong in the first place? I know that teachers already have a lot of responsibilities and they cannot be expected to write detailed comments on each assessment, but  giving a short explanation should not be too much to ask for. Similar to how teachers expect students to turn in their work on time, teachers need to give feedback promptly.

California State Universities Reading and Writing Course Assignment Template

After reading the assignment template, I was surprised by how much reading and writing tasks I already do subconsciously. For example, before I start reading a piece of text , I tap into my prior knowledge. What do I already know about the text? Am I familiar with the author or authors? Is there a historical event that the book is based on? While I read, I constantly make inferences and predictions about what is going to happen to the characters or how the plot is going to unfold. In addition, I also look up the meanings of words that I do not know and highlight important quotes that I might want to review later.  By taking all of these steps before, during, and after reading, I am able to think critically about what I have just read and retain new information for a longer period of time.

As a future teacher, I think it is crucial for all students to know how to become not only critical readers, but also critical thinkers. These skills go hand and hand because students need to learn how to think critically about what they have just read.  Being able to think critically is a skill that will be valuable in school and  beyond. It is a skill that students will use in every day life such as debating whether a post on social media is real news or fake news or whether they should reply to a text while driving. 

The students that I work with at my placement are sophomores and throughout the year they have learned how to become critical readers and thinkers. Through practice and reinforcement, students automatically begin to annotate a piece of text when it is given to them. Some students get a dictionary to define words. Once students have finished annotating a piece of text, they share with a partner and then discuss with the entire class. These whole class discussions have proven to be extremely beneficial because they provide students with clarity about questions and even lead to a deeper dissection of the text. I am still working on asking more thought-provoking  questions to students, but I feel fairly confident about how much their critical reading and thinking skills have developed from the beginning of the school year to now.

Book Talk #1

Harriet the Spy

Louise Fitzhugh

Outline

Harriet the Spy is a children's novel published in 1964. The protagonist, eleven-year-old Harriet M. Welsch, is an aspiring writer living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with her family and nanny, Ole Golly. Harriet hopes to become a successful novelist one day, so her nanny encourages her to keep a daily journal. In this journal, she writes down brutally honest observations that she notices on her personal spy route. She also writes rude comments regarding her classmates and best friends Sport and Janie.

The climax of the story takes place when Harriet loses her journal during a game of tag. As a result, her classmates discover what she really thinks of them and form a Spy Catcher Club to make her life miserable. This antagonistic club is led by Marion, the editor of the class newspaper and a girl that Harriet strongly dislikes. Although Harriet realizes that she has hurt multiple people with her words, she continues to plan how she will punish each member of the club. After skipping school and not doing her homework for many days, Harriet's grades begin to suffer. To make matters worse, she has no one that she can talk to. Both Sport and Janie still have not forgiven her and Ole Golly has recently moved away after getting married. 

Harriet's parents begin to worry about their daughter's mental health, so they take away her journal. When that does not work they send her to a psychiatrist who suggests that she write to Ole Golly. Harriet writes to her former nanny and receives two pieces of advice. Ole Golly tells Harriet that if people ever read her journal she needs to apologize and then lie. Otherwise, she is going to lose friends. At the end of the story, the Spy Catcher Club dissolves and Harriet is appointed the new editor of the class newspaper. She uses the paper as an opportunity to retract observations that she wrote about in her journal and eventually earns the forgiveness of Sport and Janie. The paper goes on to become a success and features stories about people on Harriet's spy route.

Biography

Louise Fitzhugh (1928-1974) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books in the 1960s and is often credited with introducing a new realism in children's fiction. Her characters were popular with girls that did not conform to female stereotypes. While she wrote two sequels to Harriet the Spy (1964), titled the Long Secret (1965) and Sport (1979, published posthumously) they received mixed reviews from the public and never gained much popularity. Apart from the Harriet the Spy series, Fitzhugh also wrote the novel Nobody's Family Is Going To Change (1974), the play Bang, Bang, You're Dead (1969), and illustrated multiple children's books.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee to wealthy parents, Fitzhugh was raised by her father after her parents divorced when she was an infant. She attended three universities and lived in Washington D.C., France, and Italy.  Fitzhugh died from a brain aneurysm at the age of 46 in 1974. 

Rationale

I first read this book when I was in the fourth grade and I remember wanting to be exactly like Harriet. She is an easy character to relate to because she writes the things that we have all thought of at some point in time. Moreover, Harriet shows readers that material objects are not the stuff that happiness is made of. These aspects make her story as relevant today as it was when it was first written. This is the perfect book to read at the middle school level because it is set in the sixth grade and covers issues that students may encounter such as loneliness, depression, bullying, and other challenges of growing up.

Teaching Ideas

·         Students could keep a journal of observations for an allotted time. These journals should be factual instead of insulting. After the allotted time, students can share their journal entries and compare their observations to their peers. What did they observe? Who included the most detail in their observations? Keeping a journal could also help students improve their writing. 

·         Since there is a movie version of Harriet the Spy, students can compare the book with the movie and list similarities and differences. Did they like the book or movie better?

·         There are many lessons that Harriet learns throughout the course of this novel. Perhaps students could explore theme by compiling a list of all the lessons that Harriet learned.

·          Harriet is brutally honest (and very detailed) in her descriptions of people. Students can practice characterization by giving people physical and personality traits.

Obstacles

Despite its popularity, Harriet the Spy has been banned from some schools and libraries because it is said to set a bad example for students. Critics believe that it teaches children to lie, spy, back-talk, and curse. Another potential problem that people may have with the book is that the characters depart from the gender norms. For example, Harriet dresses like a boy and Sport takes on the roles of cooking and cleaning in his household.

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_the_Spy

http://www.gradesaver.com/author/louise-fitzhugh

English Language Arts Common Core State Standards

When I first heard about the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) I had mixed emotions. On one hand, I was happy that I had some sort of standards to guide my lessons.  On the other hand, I felt overwhelmed. I had no idea how I was going to teach all of the given standards in an entire school year. After reading an article on the origins, goals, and challenges of the CCSS, I was relieved to learn that they do not specify how or what I teach. It is up to me, my colleagues, and the school district to develop the curriculum. In my opinion, this is the way that it should be. The people that should be allowed to determine what is taught in classrooms should be educators---individuals that work closely with students and know their needs and interests best.

Although simply looking at the CCSS can give you a headache, it is amazing how practically every lesson ever taught can tie back to at least one standard in some way, shape, or form. For example, the students in my practicum recently finished reading The Odyssey. At one point in time, I had them compare Helen in the book to Helen in the poem, "Helen" by Hilda Doolittle. The standard that I based my entire lesson on was "Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person's life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account" (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.7). While I had them compare/contrast how Helen was portrayed in the book and in the poem by using a Venn diagram and then writing a short statement, there are various activities that I could have asked them to do. Despite the fact that the CCSS appear daunting, there is  actually a lot of freedom when it comes to teaching the standards. As I have discovered,  the best lessons are usually the ones that are closely aligned with the CCSS.

While it is great that there are standards to guide teachers in creating lessons and developing curriculum, I agree that the CCSS are by no means perfect.  It is a difficult to expect students to meet the standards if they face economic problems or do not even speak English.  These kind of students will need a lot of assistance in reaching the standards. Otherwise, they will continue to fall behind their peers and the achievement gap will get even wider. 

Discussion as a Way of Teaching

As a student, I have witnessed and been a part of many discussions. While some of these discussions have been rewarding, others have been downright horrible. To ensure that discussions are successful, there have to be rules in place and everyone partaking in the discussion must be aware of these rules beforehand. In his article "Discussion as a Way of Teaching," Stephen Brookfield offers a variety of techniques that are often helpful in generating satisfying discussions. 

The two techniques that stood out to me are Circle of Voices on page six and Hatful of Quotes on page ten. First of all, what I liked most about Circle of Voices is that everyone gets the opportunity to speak. The fact that groups are fairly small in size makes it easier for introverted students to want to share their ideas. Although there are two options when it comes to sharing, I prefer having students share in a circle rather than having them volunteer. My rationale for this is that everyone will have to eventually share and perhaps knowing when  may help reduce their anxiety about public speaking.  Moreover, I like how during the discussion students are only allowed to react to their peers' ideas. Not only does this force students to listen carefully to what their peers are saying, but it also prevents students from getting off topic.

Secondly,  Hatful of Quotes is a discussion technique that I am already familiar with from high school. My Honors 11 English teacher, Mrs. Colbert, once asked my classmates and I to draw quotes from a cup. After everyone had shared their interpretations,  Mrs. Colbert hung up the best ones. When my teacher did this activity in class all of the quotes were completely different. Although I see the potential aspect in having multiple students discuss the same quote, I also see the negative value in allowing students to not think for themselves and merely repeat what a classmate said earlier. Instead of having a group of students explain the meaning of a single quote, I believe that each student should select his or her own quote and if they need help interpreting it other students can offer their opinions. 

By implementing these discussion techniques into my future classroom, my hope would be that discussions would be more authentic and students would feel comfortable contributing their ideas.