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.