Pamela M. Fowler
The following curriculum unit is shaped for a seventh grade self-contained special education class. The average reading level of the class is fourth grade with an oral language level of third grade and a written language level of second grade. It is my desire to bring each student to a sixth grade reading level, a sixth grade oral language level and a sixth grade written language level. Overall I would like to achieve my goal of increasing their overall functional level of 30 percent upon the completion of the unit.
“From Comics to Classics” has been designed to include three quarters of an academic year’s work in Reading, Writing, and English. Each component has been designed to be taught separately if that is the desire of the teacher.
There are 3 components to this unit. Each has been planned for a full eight weeks or academic quarter. They are as follows:
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Quarter 2—A. Reading the comic classics and written activities
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Quarter 3—B. Reading of short stories and written activities.
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Quarter 4—C. Writing of the comic strip narrative as the final project for the year.
Introduction
Reading and writing serve a greater purpose in acquiring good grades, good jobs, and are necessary for maintaining competency in the work place and in the community. Thirteen percent of the adults in the United States are illiterate; that is, having little or no education, being unable to read or write and/or showing a lack of familiarity with language and literature or with the fundamentals of a particular field of knowledge.
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Still another thirteen percent, as determined by the United States Census Bureau, are identified as functional illiterates, or people who are able to function in society but cannot show a level of competency in Reading, Writing, Language Arts, or Mathematics, and each year these figures increase rather than decrease.
Why is this so? Are we misplacing our priorities? Are our values diminishing? Is respect for the use and structure of the English language gone? Have we lowered our standards in regards to reading and writing for pleasure? Do we really need to depend on the written word as a source of information and knowledge any longer?
I believe so. If the answer to all of these questions is no, then how is it that the results of proficiency testing completed here in the City of New Haven have listed our children as being below the state average in Reading, Writing, Language Arts and Mathematics?
There has been a continual decline in our students reading ability since 1983. Local performance on these tests range anywhere from 1.2 points to 7 points below the state average.
Many students are easily bored or lose their interest when reading and writing have to play a part in their day. Functional skills, Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, are competing with the many visual aids available to children recently, such as movies, television, movie videos and music videos.
How is the educational system to compete with these things that do not require use of any part of the brain’s functions other than to merely register the volume level or paint a picture?
How do we compete? We don’t. We simply use these sources as our resources, turning our enemies into our allies. Use passive defense to defeat our opponent.
My proposal encompasses increased vocabulary skills, creative thinking, writing development and word usage skills by invoking mediums which are fun and exciting, as well as challenging.
“From Comics to Classics” utilizes comic books ranging from
Superman
to
Ben Hur
to Shakespeare’s
Twelfth Night
, developing and molding the child’s creative mind.
In order to write well the student must be able to read and to know and identify that there is a direct relationship between the reading and writing processes. Through this comic strip narrative I intend to show the student that what he writes is intended to be read by someone else.
Before one can write well and while learning to write one must care about what is being written. Many students never improve their writing because they do not care enough about what they are writing, nor do they see the relevance to the workplace or within the community to take the time to learn and write correctly. Through “From Comics to Classics” the students will utilize mechanical skills while creating their series to be completed and read.
The reading selections used range from a third grade reading level to a twelfth grade reading level. Although I have focused on the less academically talented student, this unit may be incorporated into any curriculum by appropriating the readings by interest level and ability. The students will direct the unit from there.
In addition to increasing and developing academic skills, as they will be listed in the following pages, a behavioral change will take place. There really will be no need to incorporate a behavioral management system because the students will learn to carry out self-control and discipline themselves.
The students will find that there are no restrictions. Although there are requirements for them to meet in order to be successful, no one is telling them that, “No, you can’t do that”, “No, don’t use that word”, “No, that does not belong”. They have total freedom where their ideas and creations are concerned. The book that they are creating belongs to them; it is a part of their being and they will protect it, criticize it and try very hard to perfect it.
I have found that through trial lessons, which I have previously conducted in my classroom, numerous things take place during the writing sessions. The students want to write, they ask for help when they need it and admire their work so much that they opt to work on their writings during free periods.
Once the ideas begin to flow they are hard to stop, and my students have learned to pick up from where they left off the day before and continue with minimal frustration.
Format
Each day will follow roughly the same format. The class will be introduced to the unit. Each segment/ component of the unit will be explained and demonstrated prior to beginning. The teacher will arrange his/her schedule so that each student has an opportunity to have a scheduled conference to discuss his/her writings.
The students will earn points for the completion of a comic strip narrative upon which the majority of their final grade is determined.
Each activity begins with a choral reading (or group reading) and/or discussion period of the work which was previously completed or the work that is to begin. The students are then assigned their individual writings and the writing session begins.
Folders
Each student will have a folder in which all work is to be kept. The teacher is responsible for maintaining the folders and adding comments on the students’ work and progress.
Grading
All work for the comic strip narrative has been assigned a point value. Upon completion of each segment the student has the opportunity to earn the maximum total of points. Upon completion of the narrative the points are then added together and a letter grade is then determined for the course.
Point Values for the Narrative
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Activity
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Points
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Class development of hero/heroine
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25
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Class development of hero/heroine’s setting
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20
|
|
Individual development of villain/monster
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25
|
Individual development of special vocabulary
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and dialogue
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20
|
|
Development of action
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25
|
|
Rough draft #1
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10
|
|
Rough draft #2
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10
|
|
Final written draft
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20
|
|
Illustrations
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10
|
|
Final draft of pictures and story
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25
|
|
Completed book—from cover to cover
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30
|
|
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200 total
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Letter grade distribution
151-200 = A
131-150 = B
122-130 = C
99-121 = D
0-99 = WELLLL—F
Objectives, Strategies and Lessons
It is my desire that through the curriculum unit “From Comics to Classics” and the various multisensory methods, the functional level of the student will increase by at least 30 percent.
I intend to accomplish all of the following objectives in regards to the student’s competencies. Each objective will appear in sequence with the appropriate strategy and lesson plan.
