Say/Do #3

Say/Do- Week 3

Formal Analysis

Robert Hand

EDSE 786

Styslinger

September 30th, 2012

Say/Do: Formal Analysis

Say:

In Readicide, Gallagher reminds us of an important component of reading instruction: the level of teacher involvement. When texts are “overtaught” or “undertaught”, students can fail connect to them. Some strategies that can help teachers to strike “the sweet spot” include framing, rereading, closely reading only specific portions of text, and fostering  an appropriate metacognitive awareness in students. Tovani shows the effectiveness of all of these strategies at various points.

In Bridging English, Milner and Milner provide the principles for using formal analysis in the classroom, as well as some tips for teaching formal analysis. I agree wholeheartedly with the authors when they state, “a technical reading alone… omit(s) the personal and communal steps that are essential for strong engagement with the text…” (143). Formal analysis should not constitute the entirety, or even the bulk of class instruction. Like personally responding to literature and interacting in an interpretive community, formal analysis is a tool to help students enrich their interpretation of a text.

             In Pathways to the Common Core, the authors also stress the importance formal analysis. They promote teaching students to read for meaning across stories. Furthermore, students should be taught to read text closely, and to make logical inferences. As the authors note, if a student is repeatedly shocked or confused by actions in a story, it is likely due to the fact that they do not have sufficient practice making inferences. Finally, as Milner and Milner also point out, the structure and craft of a story contribute to meaning. Students must understand this if they are to progress as readers.

             Beers focuses on before-, during-, and after-reading strategies for extending/expanding meaning from reading. Her suggestions echo the advice of Gallagher and Milner & Milner. In particular, she emphasizes the usefulness of rereading, cooperative reading, think-alouds, and annotating text.

             Ultimately, these texts form the message that formal analysis is a useful and necessary method of analyzing text, but it should not constitute the majority of class work. Furthermore, students should be taught how to properly interpret text before closely analyzing it.  Both the Pathways to the Common Core and  Readicide emphasize this importance of balancing formal analysis/close reading with informal reading, so that students are not overloaded. Milner & Milner, Beers, and Pathways... offer suggestions on how to help students interpret text, so that informed formal analysis becomes possible.

Do:

            For my “Do”, I practice Gallagher’s idea of a “Big Chunk/Little Chunk Philosophy”.  In the following lesson plan, I read through chapter 4 with students, sounding out my thinking as a model to students. For chapter 5, however, students will select particular passages that they believe are the most important. We will conduct formal analysis on these selections only. In this manner, I won’t overwhelm students with excessive formal analysis.

Lesson Plan

Instructor And Room #: Mrs. Lee Green Hall	Date & Length:  10/1 60 minutes	Subject and Block/Period: ELA 3 & 4 period	Topic: Bad Boy – Chapters 1-3
Student Objectives:        Students will -          Continue to talk about  issues that  raised in Bad Boy.. -          Read the memoir, making connections between Harlem as a setting and Myers’s experiences as a child/teen. -          Read for enjoyment.			Common Core -          RL.8.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analogies or allusions to other texts; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone. -          RI.8.2: Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it is conveyed through particular details; provide an accurate summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments. -          SL.8.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one and in groups) on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly
Items to Display as Agenda:  -          Admit Slip -          Argumentative Essay Introduction -          Read ch.4-6 of Bad Boy
Purpose: (same as previous) -          The purpose of this lesson will be to continue students’ understanding of setting, and how it influences character development. Students have gained some knowledge about Harlem, and now they will apply that knowledge to a longer text. This sort of interpretive work can help in the real-world, when assaying people. Furthermore, students will learn about issues of racial conflict, interracial unity, and self-perception vs. identity. There will be further discussion on ethics.
Lesson Procedures: -          Students will log on to Edmodo and access “Admit slip”. We will complete and discuss the questions (if necessary, students will complete reading of chapters 1-3 before doing this). -          I will then introduce the long-term project connected to this memoir (argumentative essay). -          We will read chapter 4 of Bad Boy. I will read the passage aloud, detailing my thinking as I read. -          On chapter 5 of Bad Boy, students will separate into groups of 3-4. Each group will be responsible for selecting what they consider to be the most important passage of the chapter (1-2 paragraphs). We will discuss their selections, and conduct formal analysis on these portions. I will ask them to consider the name of the chapter/book. Why is it called “Bad Boy”? -          Students will silent read chapter 6.
Assessments and Assignment: -          I will ask students to e-mail me their Admit Slips, and I will frequently make informal checks for student participation.

Say/Do #2

Robert Hand

EDSE 786

Styslinger

September 21st, 2012

Say/Do: Critical Theories

Say:

In some ways, Appleman's articles did not mesh well with my own beliefs about using critical theory in the classroom. Her statement that critical lenses can provide students with new ways to read the world is true; Marxism and Feminism, for example, can help students to see the lack of equity in society. However, the author’s strong emphasis on teaching critical theory is perhaps unwarranted. Using critical theories should be a component of any high school English classroom, but doing so should not be the central focus. In "Multiple Perspectives", she presents the idea of using multiple critical theories in a classroom setting as an alternative to using mostly reader-response or new criticism. However, being that the latter two theories are necessary for student engagement and formal analysis, I would argue that other critical perspectives should be less emphasized.

Appleman’s approach to teaching is highly pluralistic, but she places more emphasis on consistently exploring a range literary criticisms. There is a danger, as Milner & Milner point out, of straying towards eclecticism, rather than pluralism; if less time is spent adequately explaining each theory, and the purpose behind applying each theory is not evident, instruction can become fragmented. For this reason, I am an advocate of teaching critical theories, but only if two conditions are met: it must take place after students engage in reader-response, and only if knowledge of those theories is consistently reinforced (i.e. theories are not discarded from class discourse after being used once or twice).

            Reviewing Milner & Milner was beneficial to me. The authors’ suggestion of using “jigsaw groups” to teach how different literary criticisms apply to individual texts is helpful. I found myself looking for an appropriate text for such an activity, and I believe the following activity would be useful.

Do:

For teaching multiple critical theories, I am a fan of using the jigsaw activity to interpret a single piece of text through several theories. Assigning different critical theories to different groups of students, and then sharing interpretations of a text, provides each student with a glimpse into many new perspectives.

A good piece of literature for this activity would be “Bartleby, The Scrivener” by Herman Melville. The four critical theories I would have students apply to the work are Feminist Criticism, Marxist Criticism, Biographical Criticism, and Freudian Criticism.  The following link leads to an informative essay, detailing how rich each interpretation can be:

 http://www.lepetitpapillon.net/files/Bartleby_Critique22.pdf

            After briefing the class on the central focus of each perspective, I would distribute a handout to students, offering some guiding questions related to their assigned critical theory. I found these questions at:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu

Feminist Criticism Guiding Questions:

How is the relationship between men and women portrayed?

What are the power relationships between men and women (or characters assuming male/female roles)?

How are male and female roles defined?

What constitutes masculinity and femininity?

How do characters embody these traits?

Do characters take on traits from opposite genders? How so? How does this change others’ reactions to them?

What does the work reveal about the operations (economically, politically, socially, or psychologically) of patriarchy?

What does the work imply about the possibilities of sisterhood as a mode of resisting patriarchy?

What does the history of the work's reception by the public and by the critics tell us about the operation of patriarchy?

What role does the work play in terms of women's literary history and literary tradition?

Marxist Criticism Guiding Questions:

Whom does it benefit if the work or effort is accepted/successful/believed, etc.?

What is the social class of the author?

Which class does the work claim to represent?

What values does it reinforce?

What values does it subvert?

What conflict can be seen between the values the work champions and those it portrays?

What social classes do the characters represent?

How do characters from different classes interact or conflict?

Freudian Criticism Guiding Questions:

What connections can we make between elements of the text and the archetypes?

How do the characters in the text mirror the archetypal figures?

How does the text mirror the archetypal narrative patterns?

How symbolic is the imagery in the work?

How does the protagonist reflect the hero of myth?

Does the “hero” embark on a journey in either a physical or spiritual sense? Is there a journey to an underworld or land of the dead?

What trials or ordeals does the protagonist face? What is the reward for overcoming them?

Biographical Criticism Guiding Questions:

What language/characters/events present in the work reflect the current events of the author’s day?

Are there words in the text that have changed their meaning from the time of the writing?

How are such events interpreted and presented?

How are events' interpretation and presentation a product of the culture of the author?

Does the work's presentation support or condemn the event?

Can it be seen to do both?

How does this portrayal criticize the leading political figures or movements of the day?

How does the literary text function as part of a continuum with other historical/cultural texts from the same period...?

How can we use a literary work to "map" the interplay of both traditional and subversive discourses circulating in the culture in which that work emerged and/or the cultures in which the work has been interpreted?

How does the work consider traditionally marginalized populations?

Say/Do #1

Robert Hand

EDSE 786

Styslinger

September 21st, 2012

Say/Do: Transacting with Literature

The unifying purpose behind each reading this week is to make literature accessible to students. In "Directing versus Exploring: How to Get Where You're Going without a Literacy Map", the author explains that students view most canonical texts as "confusing" and "boring". These texts are often not easily accessible to modern students. It is argued that canonical texts should be read on a transactional level, and that they can be paired with contemporary young adult literature in order to help students relate. 

Clearly, one way to make texts more accessible is to include young adult literature in the classroom. In "Making Magic with YAL", Mike Roberts advocates teaching young adult literature, due to the fact that it makes students enthusiastic about reading. He suggests a number of contemporary books as examples of quality YA literature. There can be no student engagement without enthusiasm from students. 

Of all the suggestions for increasing accessibility, however, I  am  most interested in the potential of using graphic texts in the classroom. On this subject, Mary Rice’s “Using Graphic Texts in Secondary Classrooms: A Tale of Endurance” is illuminating. Also, as with any literature, instructors must be careful when selecting which texts to introduce into their classrooms. With these considerations in mind, graphic texts can be a great teaching tool. Nevertheless, some opponents may argue that using graphic text is a “dumbing down” of academics. This is not the case.

            Graphic texts can help English language learners and lower-level students to participate in class. Visual literacy can help such students to engage graphic text with greater fluency than standard texts; these students use visual literacy to gain an understanding that reading is not insurmountable, and that it is not limited to textbooks and novels. Indeed, the ability to infer and examine messages within images is an important part of education for any student.

            As Rice suggests, I realized that students need to understand the importance of visual literacy before they delve into comics, graphic novels, or sequential art. I realized that, because I am in a middle school, students may not have be ready to tackle graphic novels quite yet. At the 8^th grade level, I realized that many students did not consciously realize that images, like text, can convey meaning. In response, I made an introductory mini-lesson on visual literacy (see below). Judging from the work I gave students feedback on, I feel like they have a greater understanding of this concept.

Daily Lesson Plan

Instructor And Room #: Mrs. Lee Green Hall	Date & Length:  9/11 25 minutes	Subject and Block/Period: ELA 2 & 3 period		Topic: Alphabet City and City By Numbers by Stephen T. Johnson
Student Objectives:        Students will -          Learn and practice visual literacy -          Express themselves through images.			Common Core RL.8.2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text. SL.8.2. Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats.
Items to Display as Agenda:  -          Admit question: Can you “read” images? How? -          Class reading -          Discussion -          “Initials” activity
Purpose: -          This lesson will serve as an introduction to the concept of visual literacy. The use of letters in images allows students to literally “read” images. This concept will be elaborated on in order to give a proper understanding of visual literacy. In the class activities, students will be given an opportunity to practice visual literacy through creative expression. Visual literacy is an important real-world skill, because it helps students to determine messages and bias in advertisements, logos, photographs, and art.
Lesson Procedures: -          Write admit question on board. Give students approx. 5 min to write down thoughts. -          Show students Alphabet City, allow students to see pages. -          Move on to City by Numbers. As this one is shown to class, discuss admit question/concept of visual literacy. -          A couple students may be able to present their work to the class, if time permits. -          Analyze projected photographs together as a class -          Begin activity
Assessments and Assignment: -          Initials activity: Students will creatively express themselves by writing their initials, decorated with images and symbols that represent their interests, hobbies, family, or background.

The below is an example of a 3^rd period student’s “initials project”. 2^nd period (Honors) did not engage in this activity. I instead gave them a larger selection of harder-to-interpret images.

These are two of the images I projected for analysis.