The Search for Self: Voices of Adolescence in Literature
Sean Griffin
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Utilizing literature of adolescent search for self, my unit will be designed to not only understand the characters' struggles, but to allow students to examine their own struggles, to open up to each other and more importantly, to themselves. How many issues do students feel they need to discuss with their peers? I believe today's students struggle with many of the same issues that characters have struggled with in literature for centuries. Friendships, search for identity, loss of life or school issues. How many students have lost parents or loved ones and not had a chance to speak to anyone about it? How many students are bullied or hurt on a daily basis at school or at home and are ashamed to talk about it? I believe that through examination of literature, writing poetry, and keeping personal journals, students will be able to get in touch with themselves and begin to work out the problems that are buried inside of them. I want our students to realize that writing is a vehicle that they can utilize to help themselves find their way. I hope to help students to understand the power of writing and poetry.
My unit is meant to allow students to understand that writing and literature can be another form of communication. Middle school students today have surely latched onto the importance of communication. There is nothing my eighth graders like better to do than communicate. Whether it is in the classroom, at home on the telephone, through e-mail, or text messaging, communicating seems to be everything to this generation. But are students making discoveries as they text message to their classmates? Are they being honest? Are their communications leading them to understand themselves better? Creative writing is actually a much more personal experience that students can engage in that helps them to communicate and be honest with themselves and work on issues that they themselves can benefit from. Writing is, after all, simply communicating on paper.
Students will be introduced to the Harlem Renaissance in this unit. The connection to the Harlem Renaissance comes from the use of
Bronx Masquerade
in our study of adolescent voice. In Nikki Grimes' book, students stumble onto the "Open mic Friday" through the study of the Harlem Renaissance and one student's poem dedicated to Langston Hughes. I find that the study of the Harlem Renaissance is a nice addition to the search because students are able to see that the movement was almost a collective "search for self" as African American artists gathered in Harlem to create one massive, glorious voice. Several projects to extend the students exploration of the Harlem Renaissance will be suggested at the end of the unit.
Students will participate in "Open Mic Fridays" throughout the unit. This will allow students to share their work and enjoy each other's thoughts in an open, friendly setting. This is where we hear students' voices, not just through the microphone, but through their writing and thoughts. Students open up and share during the open mic sessions. The sessions really tie the journey together for students. Students who have started out in simple discussion of their thoughts, begin to feel more comfortable in writing down their ideas. Sharing in front of the class (with a microphone) cements the experience, by allowing students to see and hear the concerns of their classmates. I find that the more students begin to share in an open mike session, the more ideas they have to write, and the more they want to discuss their ideas as a class. As more and more students are willing to share their ideas and concerns, to communicate with each other in their own specific style, the sessions become more active, taking on a momentum of their own. Students keep their work in journals so that they will be able to create a class poetry book of their own in which their most meaningful and intriguing poems will be bound in an anthology.
Once again, the real purpose, the main goal of this unit is one that winds its way throughout all of the school year, helping the students to grow up, to find their way, to give them some support to make it through this confusing and difficult journey.