The House You Pass Along the Way

The book The House You Pass Along the Way was interesting. It was definitely an easy read and I did enjoy reading it. I thought it was an interesting story that intertwined two very important and pertinent topics to many of today’s middle school students: sexuality and race. The idea of interracial marriage is an important one to discuss in my opinion too because I would like to hope that most people are ok with this idea, but I am not naive enough to believe that everyone loves it.

Another interesting thing about this book was the relationships between Staggerlee and her siblings. For the most part, I think that she felt compared to her siblings and felt it was not fair that they be expected to act the same way. This idea would definitely be important to middle school students. Even if they do not have siblings that they live with and deal with on a constant basis, students always have to go through some level of comparison. Staggerlee dealt with this well for the most part in my opinion and she made it apparent that regardless of what others thought of her, her family, her siblings, or their past, she was going to be her own person. This lesson is so vital for everyone to go through, and middle school students often are trying to understand themselves, their peers, and the relationships that go on between their peers.

Also, I loved how the house in the story was so vital to the characters. That Staggerlee’s father left for a while, but he eventually came back. It just reminded me a lot of how I feel about the house that I grew up in. It made me who I am. So much has happened in the house and I would love to come back to live in a house just like that when I grow up and have kids of my own. People get attached to places, and I love that this is so well represented in the book. Places are meaningful.

I loved the article, “Who Can Tell My Story,” because it discussed the nature of language as a mode to communicate and tell a story. Language has been a common theme in my life lately and the more I hear from people and classmates, the more it fascinates me. Language is so much more than talking. It is culture, it’s communication, it’s telling a story, and it’s about relating to others. I also loved that Woodson wrote this, and told more of her personal story in it. I was interested to learn more about her as an author and a person and I think that knowing that she had experienced so much hatred and judgment from others made her story behind Staggerlee and her family that much more real for me. Real life stories make an impact and when people can write from places of knowing feelings that characters feel, it is so meaningful. People everywhere can benefit from walking a mile in someone else’s shoes, and stories are one way to do just that. Jacqueline Woodson definitely accomplishes this feeling in her book The House You Pass Along the Way.

Woodson, Jacqueline. (1997). House You Pass on the Way. New York: Penguin

Group.

(2003). Who Can Tell My Story? In D. Fox & K. Short (Eds.), Stories Matter: The

Complexity of Cultural Authenticity in Children’s Literature (41-45). Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Before I started the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, I’m not going to lie, I was hesitant. I didn’t think that I would be able to relate to a main character who was high school freshman, living on a reservation, and who was a guy. And I’m not really sure if I could per say, relate to Junior, but I did almost immediately want him to succeed. As soon as Mr. P came to his house after he was in out of school suspension, and he warned him that his only hope was to get of the rez, I was hooked. I was unsure of how I was going to think about the rest of his journey, but as soon as he got to Rearden High School, I was rooting for him. I wanted him to make friends, get the girl (Penelope), and kill his old school in that basketball game. I wanted him to show his “friends” back home that you CAN succeed and do well if you decide to leave the reservation. I wanted him to know that he had made the right decision.

So much about the Native American culture shocked me in this book. I have never really learned a great deal about this culture before now, and the only things I really did understand seemed to be so far from what was represented in the book. This became especially true when I realized that Alexie was Native American. I was shocked to learn that most of the Native American literature in the past has been written by non-Native Americans (Reece 1997). I’m not really sure if I loved this book or not, but I’m thankful for it. Granted, I know that this is only one perspective on this giant culture that is vastly different for everyone that lives on a reservation, but I’m glad that this was presented to me.

I’m not totally sure if I would use this in a classroom or not. As a middle school teacher, there are some points in the book that I would be uncomfortable discussing in a classroom setting. I think as a high school teacher, this book would be great though. I liked how it kind of pushed the envelope a little (vulgarity in some parts) and basically survives because it portrays stereotypes. I think that for teaching irony, idea of friendships, going against the grain, standing up for what you believe in or culture I would take parts of this book and use it in class. I think that this could also be beneficial for students to see the use of stereotypes in literature. Thus, some of the issues of racism and stereotypes that Reece discussed in the article could be seen in this book and I think that students would appreciate seeing a different side of racism.

Alexie, S. (2007). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Hachette Book Group USA.

Reese, D. (1997). Native Americans in Children's Literature . Using Multiethnic Literature in a K-8 Classroom, 156-184.

LGBTQ post

The novels The Misfits and Totally Joe were incredible! They were quick reads, entertaining, and the characters were very relatable. Even as a college graduate, I felt myself being taken back in time to South Forsyth Middle School. Joe, Bobby, Addie, Skeezie, Colin, Aunt Pam and even the notorious bully, Kevin, suddenly became members of my own language arts class. I think that this was the beauty of these books. I almost immediately connected with the characters. I was quickly reminded of how I was embarrassed by silly things, how important my friends were to me, how some teachers really did impact my self-esteem, and how fellow students had potential to make or break an entire year in middle school. Image was everything, and the need to belong somewhere was real.

One of the most impactful moments in these books for me was how Joe’s parents handled the news of him coming out. Granted, it wasn’t a shock, but still, they were supportive, respectful, and made sure that he knew that their love for him did not change. So often, the press, media, etc. tell stories of parents badly reacting to news like this, so it was refreshing to see a positive example of supportive parents. I also loved the relationship that Joe shared with his Aunt Pam. I hope that every student, regardless of sexual orientation, can have a caring understanding adult like that in his or her life. Of course, I am definitely not naive enough to think that this is a reality for even half of the population. But, I think that this is a reason why Joe was so sure of who he was.

Bullying was another big theme that I noticed again and again. I recently had a conversation with one of my best guy friends and he revealed how the bullying he had experienced as a seventh grader continues to affect him and the way that he sees himself. I love that in Totally Joe, bullying was combated so fiercely. I also appreciated that the book was not a “fairy-tale” ending so that their party won in the election. I think that this was more true to real life. It is not easy to fight for what you believe most of the time. But, that shouldn’t stop you from fighting. I think that a lot of middle schoolers would benefit from learning that.

As for the articles that we were supposed to read, I couldn’t help but get upset with some of the accusations that the authors were making. I hate that students have succumbed to society’s view of “heteronormativity” and that there are practices, which promote thinking like this, but I found some of the examples that were listed as a little much. The rock painting incident for example: the students SHOULD be punished for using language like that, but to say that this was “metaphorical rape” was a little much. And, to be honest, I was frustrated that they would insinuate something like this from school rivalries. As a future teacher, I know that I will definitely have a strict rule about using terminology such as “that’s so gay” just like I will not tolerate “that’s retarded” being mentioned in my classroom. I think that as teachers, we cannot combat all of the negativity that is in society, but of course, I will definitely fight for the freedom of ALL students to express themselves, LGBTQ students, and straight students. I also think that our culture has become MUCH more accepting in general. There will always be people who are “stuck in their ways” and who will disagree with everything, but there are also LOTS of students, teachers, and administrators who are fighting for equality. So, don’t assume that just because I am not LGBTQ myself, I don’t want to help end bullying, or inequalities within the school system and beyond.

Sorry, that was totally a rant.

I did however love the article about self-censorship. I think that it brought up a lot of interesting points. And I appreciated that it provided more literature opportunities for school libraries. Even if I personally won’t be teaching students about the different lifestyle choices that are around all the time, I want to be able to have resources for students who do have questions. And I’m glad that I have a place to start reading for myself (I wouldn’t ever refer a student to a book that I haven’t read myself). Students will have questions, and I want to do my best to provide them with a place to ask them. And I’m sure that I won’t have the answers that they are looking for, but I’d like to be able to point them in the right direction.

References:

Blackburn, M. V., & Smith, J. M. (2010). Moving Beyond the Inclusion of LGBT Themed Literature in English Language Arts Classrooms: Interrogating Heteronormativity and Exploring Intersectionality. Journal Of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(8), 625-634.

Howe, J. (2001). The misfits. New York, New York: Atheneum Books For Young Readers.

Howe, J. (2005). Totally Joe. New York, New York: Atheneum Books For Young Readers.

Stewing, J. (1994). Self-Censorship of Picture Books about Gay and Lesbian Families. New Advocate, 7(3), 184-92.

I'm taking the challenge.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma was incredible! I loved reading it, and it has honestly challenged the way that I have previously thought about food, purchasing food, and what is happening in American culture in general. I would be lying if I said that I haven’t been presented with this information before, and I’m not sure why I was so impacted by Michael Pollan’s words. My younger sister is a vegetarian, and has been for the past 6 years. I have always admired her ability to fight for something that she believed in, but I have written excuses off in the past. Now, I’m not planning on giving up meat entirely, or even going cold turkey on fast food (hello, I am a college student with very little money!) but I will definitely reconsider some purchases in the future.

One of the reasons that I loved this book so much was all of the extra side bars in it. For whatever reason, I never felt like this book was too long or difficult to get through, even though it is a longer book. The sidebars presented a lot of information that was important to the overall thought processes behind the book, and they challenged me to think deeper about my own life, how I was raised, and eventually how I want to present the idea of food to my children and students. I never felt condemned by any means while reading it; I just really believed that Pollan wanted us to become more aware of what is happening in America. And I think that it is for this reason that I will make my students read this, or at least part of it. Awareness. Had I been aware of the information that was presented in this book, then I think my lifestyle would look a little differently now.

Another part of this book that I loved was presented at the very end. The afterword will DEFINITELY become a part of my curriculum. It was empowering. Even as a middle school student, I think that every single person that read this would feel as if they had could make a difference. And I really do believe that middle school students are searching for places to make a difference, to matter, and to fight for something that is important to them. So, this book lends itself very well to letting students become passionate for a good cause. If anything, I feel like it was a call-to-action to make better decisions with the new awareness that he presented.

I was interested by the chapter that discussed childhood obesity, and calorie intake. I would love to present this information to my students in a way that is non-confrontational, and for the most part I think that Pollan did an excellent job. I also feel like I would be a little uncomfortable tackling this issue when it could so directly be affecting the students who are sitting in my classroom. I would never want to alienate students, but I do think that this topic is one that they should know about—whether or not they are dealing with childhood obesity.

After reading this, I had a discussion with one of my roommates about the high fructose corn syrup commercials that have been on television during the past couple of years, both the anti and pro usage of the media. I found myself becoming frustrated with people who are fighting to tell people that the corn syrup isn’t bad. I understand that your body does treat it similarly to sugar, but I feel like the underlying message behind some of those commercials was that people need to continue to eat food with corn syrup in it. There was one commercial that I remember coming to mind with a woman walking in a corn field. Ha!

Simply to make my students aware of what they are actually eating, the significance of what they are eating and where all of it comes from, I am definitely going to use this in my classroom someday. And in the meantime, I’m planning on taking advantage of the resources that are available to me while I’m living in Athens. What a great place to start making healthy, local, and organic decisions. Thanks Pollan, for challenging the way that I think about food.

the history of science

I was hesitant to start A Really Short History of Nearly Everything because it does look so much like a textbook, and the last thing I want to do in my spare time is read another textbook. But, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was easy to read, and I could read it in small chunks. Because there was no plot to the book, rather it was a collection of small “vignettes” and it did read like a slightly more entertaining textbook, I ended up reading it in five minute intervals throughout the week. I definitely appreciated this because I could read an entire “story” in the book while I was waiting on a bus or something like that.

My two areas of specialization in the program are science and social studies, so this book was a perfect mixture for me. It told “stories”/ the history of how scientists and researchers came to the conclusions they did. I also liked that in many of the stories, it discussed the implications of their findings on the rest of the world. The history side of me was fascinated by the background given and the science side of me loved reading how everything worked. The book itself was also entertaining to look at because of all of the illustrations. It was much less intimidating to pick this book up because I knew that it wasn’t just text, but I could get through it so quickly.

I also couldn’t help but put my “teacher hat” on while reading through this book. I’m genuinely excited to have added this book to my personal and someday classroom library. It is a great supplemental text and the ideas are explained in simple enough terms that students could use it as a quick review over the subject matter we are learning about. Like I said, it would also be less intimidating for them to have to read over a couple of pages in this book rather than reading a chapter out of a regular textbook when it comes down to reviewing.

All of that being said, I don’t think that I’m going to run home every day from school to open this book up, but I am really excited to own such a valuable resource that I can bring into my classroom someday. This book is a great example of why I was originally excited about this literacy across curriculum class. I wanted practical resources and example activities for my future classroom. While I absolutely LOVED The City of Ember, The People of Sparks (I recommended them to everyone I know) and I greatly appreciate Charles and Emma for what it made me re-think through, I don’t think that I would use these books in my classroom curriculum because I’m not sure of how I can use my time effectively enough to have book discussions in a science classroom while also trying to cover all the material/ standards I can. This book however, will absolutely stay with me in the classroom!

Neither a Hero Nor a Villain.

Evolution is a tricky subject that many people are still trying to figure out for themselves. As a graduate student, I am still not sure where I stand on the spectrum of evolutionary thought. I would consider myself a Christian, and I have grown up with the label of “Jesus freak” through all of high school and undergrad. I still wear that title proudly. That being said, I have never even given a second thought to evolution, and Darwin in general until this year. To be honest, the only reason that I have thought more about these topics this year is that I know as a future science teacher, I know that I will have to have some sort of opinion, and I need to understand how to be unbiased in my presentation of the Theory of Evolution. I know that I want my students to be able to form their own opinions, and I want to display many different sides to the evolution debate. I want my students to know that it does not have to be a battle of science vs. religion. So, Darwin has never been a person that I thought much about. I have had a picture in my head of what he was like: a cranky old man who had bad experiences with religion and was nothing more than bitter towards the church. In the novel Charles and Emma my preconceived notion was proven wrong.

As the book portrayed Charles Darwin as a devoted husband, loving father, and avid scholar, I could not help but have respect for him. In a time of raising children to be a job of the nanny and housekeeper, I love that Charles and Emma raised their children on their own and it was evident throughout the book how much they dearly loved their children. How much of this was true to his personality, and how much was added to this biography for the sake of literature? One very small part of the book that really struck me was that Charles Darwin answered every letter he got about The Origin of Species. The book states that he “took each letter seriously” including the letters he received from critics (195). My respect for Darwin has definitely increased after reading all of this. He was much kinder than I had ever pictured him being.

While I am glad that I did read this book because it opened my mind to the idea of Charles Darwin in general, I did not like the book at all. I thought it was uninteresting and extremely slow. I can appreciate what the author has done with it, and I see the purpose of the book, but I can honestly say that I would not have wanted to read this as a middle school student in the least. I think that I will remember this book to tell students about in the future so that if they are questioning similar things that I struggled with (thinking that Darwin was a horribly bitter man…) then I would advise them to read this in order to gain a fresher opinion of him, but I would never ask students to read this book for a class. Had I not had to think about this topic just last semester, I would have been frustrated to read this book. I think that the topic of evolution is a touchy one and a difficult one to comprehend. So, I think that students should not have to read this unless they are seeking the information on their own.

I appreciate this book for many reasons. One of these reasons is that in the book, there are multiple excerpts from Darwin’s journals and notes. From a scientific mindset, it is interesting to see how Charles Darwin took notes and observed things even from his own children. Even if people do not agree with Darwin’s thoughts, it is undeniable that he has contributed so much to science and was good at what he did. I also like that Emma played such a strong role in the book. I cannot even begin to imagine how difficult it would have been for her to love someone who had opposing views to hers about religion, and I have a very high respect for her. In the past, Charles Darwin has been represented either as a hero (to the scientific community) or as a villain (to the religious world) and I liked how this book made him a person. Nothing more, nothing less. Just a mad who had thoughts, made observations, fell in love, and had connections within the scientific community.

As a reader, there were many points in the book that I struggled through. As a historian, I appreciated the references to everyday life, living with the reality of illness, and even historical events and people such as Jane Austen, the craze of séances, and Lyell. And as a future science teacher, I very much appreciate the book Charles and Emma.

Reference:

Heiligman, Deborah. (2009). Charles and Emma The Darwins’ Leap of Faith. New York:

Square Fish.

The City of Ember and The People of Sparks by: Jeanne DuPrau

I’m really surprised that I hadn’t ever read these novels before. I love reading books about dystopian futures, and I thought that I had read as many of the young adult literature I could find on them. My sister and I have been on the lookout for a new series once we finished The Hunger Games, and The Maze Runner. So, I was surprised to know that this series had been out for a while. (Ironically enough, my younger sister had already read them and forgot to tell me about them).

Overall, I really enjoyed the books. They were really entertaining and I think that lots of middle school students could relate to the characters in many ways. From Lina’s desire for adventure, or Doon’s search for importance in society, middle school students seem to crave these feelings as well. I really liked how they shared the “protagonist” role within the storyline because it serves to not alienate a gender. Both male and female students can find someone to relate to. I think it was also crucial that at different points during the book, both characters had feelings of being useless and felt as if they were not listened to: either as Lina told the guards about what the mayor was really up to, or Doon trying to convince the people of Sparks that he did not ruin all of the tomatoes. As a future teacher, I really want to make a point to let my students know that they are heard and their opinions are important. I never want my students to feel powerless, or that they don’t have potential.

This book could also be a quality tool for encouraging students to build friendships. Not only do Doon and Lina build a friendship, but because of this relationship, they save their entire town twice during these two novels. It is definitely a story of how important those relationships are. There is a strong need of cooperation and a sense that everyone has a purpose. Another interesting theme that I picked out of it was that everyone has a talent. Throughout both books, it seemed that every character either found something that they enjoyed doing/ were talented at, or it stated it very clearly. For example, Doon discussed how much he loved bugs and looking at the microscopic world. Mrs. Murdo discovered that she wanted to help with Doctor Hester because she enjoyed learning from her throughout People of Sparks. Lina loved to run and explore new places; she loved her family (Poppy and Mrs. Murdo); and she enjoyed drawing and being creative. Even the librarian, Edward Pocket, had a place in the city of Sparks.

I think that I would like for my students to read these novels in my classroom someday, but I don’t really know how I could best do that in a science classroom. One idea could be to have them read these books while we begin studying electricity and they could construct a similar project that Doon puts together at the end of People of Sparks. But, I’d definitely recommend these books to people to read. I really enjoyed them!

I'm a digital native.

I had actually seen the first video that we watched in class before. Surprisingly, I was more upset by the information that was portrayed this time than I was the first time. As a high school graduate in 2007, I felt like I connected quite a bit with some of the people who were interviewed during the video, in particular, Cam Skinner. I am the oldest of four kids, with parents who have always been incredibly supportive and involved in my life. As a high school student, I was able to navigate my way around the internet safely, but my parents had no idea that I had a separate email address than the one they knew about, nor did they know that I was on AIM for every second that I was on the computer (my dad tends to resist technology at every chance he can get... I didn't have texting until I was a freshman in college, and he's still refusing to buy and iPhone). My dad had told me multiple times that "the internet could be very dangerous" so that was why we weren't allowed to have screen names. I took it personally and thought he didn't trust me. So, naturally, I hid that entire part of my life. If I didn't have AIM, then I would have missed out on so much socialization, and information from people in my class. Socialization and information that impacted my high school career. It was definitely frustrating at the time, and I do understand that my parents were trying to look out for me. But, I stand by my thought process at the time. I was, and am fully capable of knowing what is safe on the internet, and what is not. Of course, safety should still be taught to students, but because kids are growing up with it now, I do agree with the video that it has become second nature. There is no need to freak out and interfere with everyone's life like Cam's mom did in the video. I am a digital native, and I think its important that we trust other digital natives (our students) with the internet as well.

Technology Within the Classroom

References:

Moyer, Jessica E. (November 2011). What Does it Really Mean to “Read” a Text? Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 55, 253-256.

O'Brien, D., & Scharber, C. (2008). Digital literacies go to school: Potholes and possibilities. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(1), 66-68.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants part ii: Do they really think differently? On the Horizon, 9(6), 1-9.

Digital literacy. Honestly, it seems like some people who are “digital immigrants” seem to be trying to find any and every argument against using computers, blogs, and other forms of digital literacy within the classroom. I got a little frustrated when reading “Digital Literacies Go to School: Potholes and Possibilities” at the very end of the article when it mentioned how the “divide” has been used against using technology within the classroom. If students who live in rural and urban areas do not have access to computers or other means of acquiring digital literacy at home, then how on earth would it be a wise decision to not introduce them to it at all? Whether you want to believe it or not, digital literacy is around for the long haul; and those who think it using technology in a classroom environment is a disservice to students who do not have access at home to a computer, have got to be kidding themselves.

Interestingly enough, I had an experience this week with a fourth grader who has been fighting the idea of reading for as long as his parents can remember. It isn’t that he is bad at it, it’s just that he doesn’t seem to like it. But, for Christmas, his parents got him a Kindle Fire hoping to spark some more desire to read. It worked. Now, he can’t get enough of reading. I think this is an example of a digital native at its finest. He’ll choose to read on his own now without his parents having to bother him into reading only what he has to for school. I was interested that some people didn’t think of e-readers as “reading” according to Moyer. I think it is crucial that schools start keeping “up to date” with the newest types of technology, especially if they can increase students’ desires to read. With the introduction of technology, I think that teachers are only given more opportunities. New ways of presenting information are readily at your fingertips, along with ample opportunities for your students to choose for themselves what they want to learn about. I think that professional development in the areas of technology is absolutely worth the time, money and effort.

I found it intriguing that in the Prensky article part 2, it discusses that students who are digital natives have brains that are programmed to crave interactivity. Thankfully, I was a student who craved the same thing, and I have wanted to organize my own classroom in this manner for years. I want my students to have an active role within the classroom, so they can not only feel responsible for something, but also so that they can keep their brains (and bodies) moving. Who says that they can’t be learning while being actively moving? I can’t say that I think that video games are the best way for Digital natives to learn, but I don’t see a problem in using this as a tool within the classroom. I do think that students need to have a sense of awareness that there will be time to sit still and do your work, but I think it would be counterproductive to try and make middle school students sit still for 30 hours a week.

classroom pop culture & music

Its been said that music makes the world go round. Music is universal. It wasn’t until my eighth grade year that I began to understand music as poetry. And as a sophomore in high school, I studied Spanish in the form of music lyrics. We listened to a song, and tried to fill in a worksheet with the missing lyrics. So, we had to listen intently to understand what they were trying to sing, as well as try and understand what they were singing, to see if what we heard would grammatically work in the lyrics. I will unashamedly admit that it was because of the exercise that my high school Spanish teacher introduced to us that I decided to major in Spanish in college. I knew that I wanted to use music within my classroom, because I realized how “cool” it was that I understood another language’s music. Culture was mentioned in classrooms all the time, but I had been immersed into another culture, and language and I couldn’t get enough. Who knew that it was content literacy!? I went home that day and bought 2 Spanish CD’s and looked up the lyrics, so that I could sing along. And I really do believe that it greatly improved my Spanish skills. I absolutely loved the article, “Watch and Learn” that we read for class because it made me remember why I fell in love with that teaching strategy in high school. At the time, I would not have recognized it as a literacy technique, but after reading the article, I definitely see it because of the effects that it has had on India as a whole.

I was amazed at how many people used the music videos as a resource for learning how to read, or simply improving literacy skills. But, I’m not sure how I feel about the idea of making it a requirement for television shows. I do agree with the feelings represented in the article, that if it became mandatory, then people would shy away from using television as the valuable resource that it could be, and has become in India. As teachers, I think that music can become a big part of classroom instruction time and we could captivate students with what we place before them. From a literacy standpoint, I totally see the draw to using music to entice students into learning more about their reading skills. From my experience in the classroom last semester, many students hated the idea of reading a textbook, or reading for homework, but I think that if students showed up to class and I had music lyrics on their desks, they would volunteer to read those, and probably spark great conversations about the topic at hand.

Clearly, students have to have academic texts included in the curriculum because pop culture may be everywhere, but it cannot be the sole source of literacy for students. So, I think that using music, and pop culture are vital to middle school students (because connecting with them on their level is crucial if you’re going to make any sort of impact on them—be that academic or otherwise). As teachers, we can’t ignore that they are living in a pop culture world, with information and technology at their fingertips, but we also can’t ignore that they have to be introduced to academic life and literacy. So, keeping discussion open to pop culture is going to be important, as long as we are aware that literacy cannot be confined to that. The article “How Popular Culture Texts Inform and Shape Students Discussions of Social Studies Texts” was dead on in my opinion. We have to be aware of pop culture, and use that often in a classroom environment, while at the same time managing a classroom environment that is academic and our students leave with knowledge of something other than Lady Gaga, and the latest movies. It was interesting to me that students used pop culture as an additional point in debates with each other. Without a doubt though, pop culture can be a useful tool in aiding literacy and showing our students how important literacy is in the world. And it is just that, a tool for guiding literacy opportunities within a middle school classroom.

References:

Hall, Leigh A. (2011). How Popular Culture Texts Inform and Shape Students’ Discussions of Social Studies Texts. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy,55(4), 296-305.

Shah, R. (2010, September 19). Watch and learn: How music videos are triggering a literacy boom. The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/09/19/watch_and_learn/?page=full.

back to the basics

Reading is one of the most basic, and most important skills that we can teach our students. In many ways, I would agree with the article "Middle School Students Need More Opportunities to Read Across the Curriculum," that schools and teachers have begun to move toward teaching to the high-stakes tests, but reading and literacy is so much more valuable. If I could, I would love to allow my students an entire class period to read about what they would like to within my subject area, but to be honest, I don't think it is practical. As a middle schooler, I would hate the idea that I had to sit and read for an entire class period. I understand that these skills are necessary, but can't we instill the love of reading in another way that is not quietly reading to yourself for forty minutes at a time? And not to mention, I love to read, but I know that for studying, I learn best by writing things down and taking notes. So, is the practice/idea of quietly reading and "working the room" really the best idea? I definitely see the need for reading across the curriculum, and introducing students to new types of materials that they could use in the future, but I think that this could be accomplished without a set aside time for doing nothing but reading silently.

Within this same article was the discussion on word mapping and vocabulary building. I love the idea of concept mapping for words, especially in a science classroom (which is where I would like to be one day). Before beginning a new unit, or lesson, I like the idea of having students do a "chalk-talk" to guess what they think a word means, or what we will be studying about the topic at hand. I want my students to be open to new ideas, but also be able to ask questions if they don't understand something. And, vocabulary/ understanding terms is vital in a science classroom, so clearly, this exercise lends itself well to a science room. Just like the teacher in the article "One Teacher's Journey" came to believe, I think that all students are capable of learning, and for many students, it is a matter of finding what works for them. Her "basic" class was looking for a new opportunity to be challenged, even if they couldn't ask for that by name. I was frustrated with the author's outlook at the beginning of the article, as a teacher, how can you not help but question your methods if students aren't wanting to apply themselves in any of your "activities" or in her case, taking notes, and cookie-cutter labs. As a middle schooler, I had teachers who did this, and I can honestly say that I don't remember much from their class. And I want to be a teacher who demonstrates not only a love of my content, but a passion for learning.

The "HEART" method was a particularly interesting part of the article "The Challenge of Content Area Literacy: A Middle School Case Study" because, once again, this study hint would be perfect for a science classroom. After reading a part of the textbook, or a supplemental text, students could complete this activity and have prepared a study guide without even knowing it. I think that this would be perfect for additional readings more specifically because the students could use their previous knowledge of what we had covered in class to have a full-picture of a large unit. For example, if we were studying biomes and I found a great article about a specific plant in the rainforest, it would be a perfect time to include information like the climate of the rainforest, or how this plant would relate to its environment. Overall, the entire RCA idea seemed to be a good one. I would be interested to know how students felt about this new curriculum, and if this was fruitful for the teachers, students and administrators involved. The idea of incorporating reading into the classroom and within our content areas is exciting to me. I love reading, and I think that is partially because I had parents and teachers who passed their passion on to me. So, I'm all for any ideas which can be helpful to students--whether they are avid readers or students who see no need to pick up a book.