Memoir is one of the genres that students will explore. The memoir is a genre in which students can explore their problems, fears and concerns with their lives and the world around them. Many adolescents have fears and problems in their daily lives that they must cope with. They need an outlet that allows them to voice their concerns without judgment or consequences. They can write about what they want to as opposed to having a specific topic or subject that the teacher has chosen. In order to create a student-centered classroom, it is important to as often as possible give students choice in what they read and write about. Student choice gives them an investment in their education. Student choice also empowers students which is important for many students who feel helpless in their lives. They will most likely be engaged in what they are doing if they have chosen the topic. Students will be given time in class to think, write and share their writing and receive feedback to the text we work with.
Memoir allows the reader to share in an event in the life of the writer at a memorable moment. It is different from the autobiography because it doesn't retell the writer's entire life, but merely a glimpse. "Memoir isn't the summary of a life; it's a window into a life, very much like a photograph in its selective composition." (Zinsser 136). Photographs might assist with this lesson by demonstrating observation and voice through photos. Students must become familiar with the format of the memoir by experiencing through an example model. This model will have many details and sensory language which is necessary for an effective memoir. For many of the students that I teach, they are second language learners. These students can use the memoir to discuss cultural differences between America and their country of origin. Students might begin this process by comparing and contrasting their native country to the United States. After, they can brainstorm one of the issues or topics that they provided in the graphic organizer to begin drafting a story. English Language Learners can utilize this medium to discuss frustrations, fears and obstacles in the new culture.
To incorporate multiple intelligences I would like the students to create a photograph documentary. A photo documentary is a creative twist to the memoir project. Although the unit emphasizes finding voice through writing students can certainly express their voice through photographs. To preface this lesson, I will bring in various pictures for the students to analyze. Students will share their thoughts and reactions to the pictures through in class journaling. Another pre-activity to this lesson demonstrates multiple interpretations to a photograph. Each student will get a piece of a photograph. Prior to this lesson, I will take five or six photographs and cut them into four to five pieces. Each student will tape their photograph to a sheet of construction paper. They can tape the photograph wherever they choose; that is, in the center, the bottom corner, the top, etc. Where they choose to tape the photograph alters the picture according to their own perspective. Someone else might choose to position the photograph in a different place and hence their interpretation of that same picture would change. After, students are asked to complete the missing pieces of the picture. I will ask the students how they imagine the rest of the picture to look with only one piece in front of them. Students will finish the background to complete the picture. After, students will share their pictures and I will show them what the original pictures looks like. A discussion will follow in which I debrief the activity and get feedback from the students about various interpretations. This discussion will segwey into how even when you read literature one person might have an alternative interpretation than another to the same text. For the photo documentary students will each receive a disposable camera to take home with them. Over the course of a few days, I will ask the students to introduce me to their family, neighborhood, friends, community and city by snapping photos of their choice of the world around them. The photographs will tell a story using a visual representation. The photo documentary will allow the viewer to see the world through the eyes of the student or the world in which the photographer wants to share with the audience. This project will allow students to formulate interpretations of their own world and allow the audience to generate interpretations about the world from the photographs presented. Visual images are powerful illustrations that written documentaries could possibly ignore. Also, this project will allow the class to begin discussion of visualization and just like we can see what the artist is experiencing through photos we can also visualize in a text. During this session, we might continue to discuss how the writer paints a picture in the head of the reader to visualize the characters, setting, actions, etc. Also, when students are writing they need to be conscience of painting a picture for their readers. A model of a text that is a good example of visualization would be effective, some text that demonstrates the five senses.
Poetry is a genre that is good for discussing voice. I chose to use African American poets to explore the different voices: Nikki Giovanni's, "All Eyez on U", Langston Hughes', "Theme from English B" and Maya Angelou's, "Alone". In All Eyez on U, Giovanni discusses the death of rap icon, Tupac Shakur. This poem is easily comprehensible for many of students who listen to hip-hop and rap music. He is a familiar figure and students can connect with a lot of the issues in his lyrics. In this particular poem, Giovanni questions the untimely death of a man that she compares to other famous black figures such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. and Emmett Till who were killed through violence.
But he will not go away
As Malcolm did not go away
As Emmett Till did not go away
Your shooting him will not take him from us
His spirit will fill our hearts
Giovanni raises many issues in this poem that can be questioned and analyzed by students. This poem is another example of a living author speaking for a life lost and the injustice that results from the death. Angelou's, "Alone" discusses community and family ties that influence and shape who we become as individuals. In our quest for independence and our own identity, we need to remember the people in our lives.
Now if you listen closely
I'll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
The first line of this poem specifically connects to the topic of voice because it recognizes that if you listen to a person they usually have a message that they are trying to convey. Everyone has their own unique outlook on their life and the world around them if we take the time to listen to what they have to say. It also raises the issue that often people don't listen when others speak thereby ignoring and losing the voice of that person. By denying validation of these voices we do not get the whole picture only parts that we allow to let in. This idea connects to those students who feel invisible or like their voice doesn't matter because they don't have anything to say or no one is listening. This is probably a good opportunity to talk about how I organize my classroom as far as respecting students' ideas and listening to each other speak. I spend a great deal of time in the beginning of the year discussing respect in the classroom building a community of learners. I ask the students to think about what respect looks like and sounds like. It looks like you are maintaining eye contact with the speaker and not reading a book or drawing on your folder. It sounds like one person speaking at a time without side conversations. When students are engaged in a discussion I facilitate by asking one person to begin and then others raise their hands and when the speaker is finished he will call on another student to answer next. This type of organization allows the students to make decisions as opposed to the teacher designating who speaks and who doesn't.
In Hughes', Theme from English B he talks about feeling other attending a white only school and is quest for identity in a world that doesn't accept him because of the color of his skin.
So will my page be colored that I write? Being me, it will not be white. But it will be a part of you, instructor. You are white--- yet a part of me, as I am a part of you. That's American.
Using well know authors in the classroom is beneficial for the students because it allows them to borrow from the professionals. From the authors, students learn new words, technique and can imitate the voice of someone who is established. Allowing students to imitate from other writers encourages them to find their own voice in the process. I would like to use a specific poem entitled "A Poem for Jajuana Cole" featured in the New Haven Advocate last summer. This poem talks about a young girl who was shot and killed last summer in New Haven. It conveys a touching message about the voice of violence and youth and how it affects the members of a community. Poetry is also a great genre to use with English Language Learners because of its compact format which makes it more comprehensible. The resource the
Bronx Masquerade
by Nikki Grimes is a story told through a collection of poems written by inner city high school students. The novel is comprised of a chapter about each student in the class and a student written poem. I would be interested in using this resource to encourage students to write their own poetry expressing their voice about the world around them and how they respond and interact with their world. I would ask the students to create a book much like the Bronx Masquerade in which each student writes a chapter describing themselves along with an original poem. For the chapter, I would ask the students to introduce me to themselves, their family, school, neighborhood and describe the way they view the world. I will ask the ELL students to discuss the differences between their native county and the United States. Also, the classroom set that I have of this novel is a modified format containing key vocabulary throughout that helps English Language Learners to comprehend the text.
