As we've talked previously in class, and from my own teaching experience, one of the hardest things to accomplish is answering student questions such as: "Why is this important?" "How will this help me in my future?" "Why do I need to know this stuff?" "Why are we handwriting when we have computers (computers do everything for us)?" In essence the first goal of any English class should be to engage the students, nearly in any way possible. So with this, I would begin the semester with a series of guided free-writes leading to non-guided free-writes. This would allow students to simply write. I would start by giving a quote, a word, a picture, or any other type of text and ask the students to write their thoughts for 5-10 minutes. Just write, it doesn't matter how you write, what you write, or even if it makes sense, just simply write. Then we might share and discuss some of the students' writing. After a few sessions of this, once the students were used to the practice, I would then let them write on any topic they want. The purpose is to have students writing, in any manner, on any topic. This is to offer students the realization that they do actually have something to say, and that they can write for a purpose.
I would then use Op-Ed articles. I love these because it gets students interacting with each other rather than with me. I would have students respond, in writing to each piece, then they would share with the class. I would hold Socratic seminars using these Op-Ed pieces as our focus text to encourage students to not only think and engage critically with the texts at hand, but also to think and engage critically with their peers. One thing I've always really enjoyed about Op-Ed texts and socratic seminars is that it challenges the student to think, simmer, stew, brew over the text, then formulate a response. It allows students time to gather their thoughts coherently and write them down; but when doing socratic seminars, students have to think more quickly, and respond to their peers verbally, also, with coherence and clarity. If I was to take it a step further, I would have students respond in writing to their peers verbal question and then read their response aloud.
In essence, I really follow Bloom's (revised) Taxonomy:
Maybe it's just a high school teacher concept, but it's something that legitimately works. You can start from the bottom and work your way up, or you can mix and match. I prefer to mix and match in my lessons. I think 99% of our daily life comes from the understand and remembering category, but as you work your way up the pyramid it becomes more difficult. Applying these concepts to real life events (this is why I LOVE Op-Ed pieces), analyzing and evaluating the OP-Ed pieces, finding holes in the author's arguments, agreeing/disagree and explaining why, and then creating your own response to it, or even creating your own Op-Ed piece.
For a way to work this into literature, because I read short pieces of poetry, NF and F pieces in my 1302 course, I've found a Norton Anthology from 2010 that has some of the most beautiful poetry and short Fiction pieces in it. I've used this in my high school lesson plans, but they can easily be adapted for higher level thinking at the college level since that's what it was originally geared towards. For example, this is one of my favorite poems:
"From the Diary of an Almost Four-Year-Old" By Hanan Mikha'il 'Ashrawi
Tomorrow, the bandages
will come off. I wonder
will I see half an orange,
half an apple, half my
mother's face
with my one remaining eye?
will come off. I wonder
will I see half an orange,
half an apple, half my
mother's face
with my one remaining eye?
I did not see the bullet
but felt its pain
exploding in my head.
His image did not
vanish, the soldier
with a big gun, unsteady
hands, and a look in
his eyes
I could not understand.
If I can see him so clearly
with my eyes closed,
it could be that inside our heads
we each have one spare set
of eyes
to make up for the ones we lose.
Next month, on my birthday,
I'll have a brand new glass eye,
maybe things will look round
and fat in the middle ---
I've gazed through all my marbles,
they made the world look strange.
I hear a nine-month-old
has also lost an eye,
I wonder if my soldier
shot her too --- a soldier
looking for little girls who
look him in the eye ---
I'm old enough, almost four,
I've seen enough of life,
but she's just a baby
who didn't know any better.
We would read this poem and annotate, stanza by stanza, writing down our thoughts, feelings, and comments for each stanza. Then read it again. Then I might asks the following questions:
1. How was the speaker injured? (Understanding and Applying)
2. What words in this poem would not ordinarily be part of the vocabulary of an average four-year-old? Does the use of such language detract from the poem's impact? (Applying, Analyzing and Evaluating)
3. Discuss the effect of the words "a look in/ his eyes/ I could not understand" (II. 13-15) (Understanding, Analyzing, and Evaluating)
4. Discuss the various meanings of "look him in the eye" (I. 33). (Understanding, Analyzing, and Evaluating)
5. The speaker contrasts her almost four years of experience with the innocence of a nine-month-old baby. What impact does this have? (Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating)
Writing topic: Armed conflict creates "collateral damage." Define this term. Under what circumstances is such damage morally justified or plainly immoral? (Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and (most importantly) Creating)
'Ashrawi, Hanan Mikha'il. "From the Diary of an Almost Four-Year-Old." Literature: The Human Experience. 10th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. 163-64. Print.
Additionally, we can also do this for Non-Fiction and Fiction pieces.
My goal, ultimately, would be to have students engage with texts in a multitude of ways, from reading and writing about it, to talking about it, analyzing and evaluating it, to then creating their own piece of written work. I don't think there is any one specific task that precedes another, necessarily, and I don't think FYC should be taught just by doing one thing, or in a step-by-step process. I think each lesson should encourage reading, writing, thinking, talking, and creating. It's not just about working through a written text, it's about engaging and without sounding too much like John Lennon here, we should be involved with the text.
"This is to offer students the realization that they do actually have something to say, and that they can write for a purpose."
ReplyDeleteWhat a great purpose for free writing! I would add, as well, that the exercise could even involve encouragement to students to write for fun, outside of class, every day. I've read that advice from so many established writers: "Set aside time to write every day, even when you don't feel like it." Just the simple act of writing--getting the words out--increases confidence and "primes the pump" for serious writing. I wonder how much of a difference it would make in uncertain and/or basic writers if they were encouraged to free write regularly, without much concern for the quality of what results.
Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. Especially if students are already disinterested in writing, they may just roll their eyes and quietly scoff at such a ridiculous idea. However, freewriting does seem to help even those students, if you can get them to do it without a grade as incentive.
DeleteI really like how you would implement Bloom's (revised) Taxonomy. The idea of having students work together to fully understand the concepts you're teaching them. I agree that it's important to have students fully engage with the texts they are reading and a good way to do this is to have them complete multiple exercises, each focusing on a different important aspect of wiring, using those texts. I think I would not mind having you as my teacher.
ReplyDeleteGreat poem to include. Thinking about the use of poetry (Alexander Bain) in composition can be tricky, as it isn't a course in poetry. It is a course in composition, which does involve rhetorical analysis and making an argument for what the poem is attempting to do, etc. You should check out Stanley Fish's "Is there a Text in this Class?" So, writing, a lot, is critical to your teaching philosophy. I agree that FYC isn't a step by step for everyone; this is something Mike Rose tells us, for sure. Being INVOLVED with the text in some way is a good engagement strategy. Could be op-ed pieces in the local paper, could be something written regarding favorite/relevant topics, etc. Good thinking, Meghan.
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