Mary Lou L. Narowski
The strategies in this unit are designed to help my students as they become more fluent and successful writers. The learning strategies included address such areas as time management, behavior, speaking, listening, reading, writing, grammar, and vocabulary building. These strategies are intertwined on all levels. They focus on the variety of learning styles in my classroom as well. Analytic learners will be comfortable with the step-by-step time table presented at the beginning of the unit in which goals are set and explained. They will also find pleasure in the various activities that require them to consider, investigate, and evaluate certain photographs and art pieces. Auditory learners will benefit from the discussions about the 9/11 snap shots and the investigative reporters sections. Kinesthetic learners will enjoy the opportunities to set up an art gallery and a bulletin board of people lost in the World Trade Center after 9/11. Tactile learners will appreciate the rendering of a cityscape after our discussion of the elements and principles of drawing and design, and visual learners will treasure the entire experience since our focus is directed at all things visual.
Time Management Strategy
My students are typical adolescents. They march to their own drum, and it often does not include education in its beat. Nonetheless, they must be in school. As a strategy, I always provide my students with a monthly coursework sheet outlining all assignments, both written and oral, homework, due dates, and the point value of everything listed on the sheet. Each exercise or requirement is explained in as much detail as possible, but allowances are always made for changing school circumstances such as unexpected meetings or school closing during winter months. My email address appears at the top of each sheet so students can reach and question me when they are at home. A requirement for my class is to place this sheet in their English binder. This strategy provides a sense of security to some students who need it, and it also provides parents of interested students an opportunity to get more involved in their children's education. Parents can view what and when assignments are due and often email me with questions or inquiries about the progress of their child. I also provide the students with a blank monthly calendar so they can place their assignments on it and use it to keep track of other class assignments as well. My homework board reinforces these strategies and is updated daily.
Behavioral Strategy
Classroom management is paramount in the education. Knowing that my students come to school with behavioral issues mentioned in my rationale, my lessons need excitement, high interest, and dramatic subject matter using hands-on activities. This focus needs to be sustained throughout the unit. As an educator, I teach Socratically, challenging my students to get them to answer their own questions by making them think and drawing out the answer from them. This rapid and repeated questioning plays into their hyper-attentive, high-tech world. Yet, in my classroom, my students aren't always willing to stay focused on the topic at hand and respond to the questions being asked. They would rather be socializing or drawing, and they hate being called out for these behaviors. Thinking it over, I needed a strategy that got their heads "back in class" without calling them out. My approach is simple. I encourage on-task behavior by repeating the last student's answer as I continue questioning. "Jose just said….Do you agree with his statement, Larissa?" This is a very valuable method of instruction to remember and employ as I begin this unit. It does not embarrass the student who has not been listening, restates the ideas that he or she need to consider to get back on task. Giving students these avenues of redirection and thought encourages the low-threat, high-challenge environment that is sorely needed by my students. They have quietly and without fanfare been given the ideas to think and write about, thus removing the deer-in-the-headlights look so many students have when asked to reflect on a certain topic when their attention has been waning.
Speaking and Listening Strategies
Adolescents like to talk, a lot. Most teachers do not have problems getting them to engage in this type of activity but often take issue with off-task talking in the classroom. The fact is that students are not given enough time to voice their opinions on anything. Part of the problem is that teachers do not set up rules for discussion so the classroom quickly turns into a cacophony of noise in which no one hears anything anyone is saying and the activity ends in failure. Students need to hear language spoken correctly in order to become effective speakers and writers. Yet some teachers of middle school give up far too easily after a few sessions like the one just mentioned. There are several ways around this. One idea that works is giving the student who has the floor a soft object of some kind. The object is passed to the next speaker when he or she is finished. Another way that is effective is to insist that the current speaker repeat the main idea of the last speaker before he or she begins his thought. A third strategy is to have small groups discuss the issue then report back as a whole. In this way, the somewhat expected, off-task behavior is not offensive to the teacher. The old-fashioned raising-of-the-hands strategy also works wonders if established from day one in the classroom. It is important to take the time necessary to establish these behaviors at the beginning of the year as students need and want to understand the boundaries and expectations of the classroom.
On the part of the teacher, it is fundamental that correct syntax be reinforced. When a student uses language correctly, it should be repeated and reinforced by the teacher. If, on the other hand, a student uses incorrect sentence structure, a teacher should repeat the idea of the student using the correct pronunciation and grammar. A teacher must provide incentive for listening and speaking. Having students listening for specific information as an answer to some fundamental questions, keeps students focused. These questions should appear in print either on the board, on an overhead projector, or on paper, so students can refer to them from time to time.
There is another issue in this mix - participation in discussion. Simply put, teachers need to choose topics that the students will want to discuss. Designing discussions around exciting topics will ensure that students pay attention. Allowing plenty of time for the discussion will signal to students that their voices and opinions are valued and respected. Their input also signals the recognition of the diversity of the opinions held by every student in the class. When possible, students should have the opportunity to choose their own topics. Having students understand that participation in discussion is an integral part of their grade might attract those reluctant students who seem to remain invisible in the classroom. My unit is crafted to include these ideas in the many opportunities to speak and listen that it offers.
Writing and Grammar Strategies
The Spanish language is different in form from English. This holds true for both thinking and speaking. Since writing comes from thought, my students' writing takes on the "Spanish" form. Writing with an accent results in syntactical errors and misuse of vocabulary, though not through any fault of the writer. Bilingual and ESL students are simply following the Spanish patterns of writing. In Spanish, for example, adjectives are placed after nouns as a general rule. As with any language, there are a few exceptions. In English adjectives describe nouns and generally precede them. Spanish verbs change their form in each tense in agreement with the subject. There are several areas where my students seem to commit errors in syntax, verb issues being the most predominant: singular/plural verb forms, verb tenses, verbs followed by gerunds/infinitives, verbs and prepositions, passive voice, articles, and adjectives. If these patterns are allowed to set in, my students' writing and speaking language habits will become ingrained and resistant to change. The activities in my unit provide direct help through recognition on graphic organizers of some of these issues. There are many writing exercises and partner editing opportunities that will further their skills in these areas.
Additionally, since exposure and usage of evolving language increase vocabulary and more complex sentence structures, the more my students use language, the better they will be able to handle its nuances. Through the use of more complex, motivating and appealing topics and texts, they will experience language configurations using graphic organizers that I hope my students will also begin using in their writing. It is then that my students might feel comfortable enough to make meaningful inferences and connections as they explore topics in writing.
But herein lies the problem. My students are doubtful of their writing ability. They are not comfortable or secure about it. They feel they need a security blanket. A simple example of this problem involves the persuasive essay. When they address a persuasive writing assignment, they want to remain within the comfort zone of the "formula writing" referred to as the five-paragraph essay. This form of writing was introduced to my students in the lower grades. It was a very effective, introductory writing tool. As the result of continuous practice using this method, my students can develop a reasonable essay staying within the confines of the formula. But it is a formula. Not that this is a negative in writing. It certainly addresses the idea of defining three reasons in defense of an argument and their sequencing, but it is an immature writing form when considering what will be expected of them in years to come. In essence, this form becomes a crutch. Each writing piece looks just like the last. Students become prisoners to this form and become unaware of what an argument looks like in academic writing. Without reading, they are not exposed to more complex language proficiencies, so this writing form becomes their consistent and steadfast model. Because they are held prisoner to this writing form, they do not come into their own voices, and they continue to use the same format over and over. It becomes formulaic, in essence, comfortable, and safe. It is a fill-in-the-blank writing structure, and it represses their voices.
A practice that I've found useful as a method for developing appropriate uses of language is writing a school newspaper. The skills involved in putting together a newspaper are the same skills I will employ in my unit as we prepare for the opening of our art gallery. The idea is to put into practice "on the job" training. Verbal interaction with peers displays more frequent use of language because students are able to generate meaning out of their own experience as editors, writers, reporters, and artists. The interpersonal collaboration necessary to develop a framework for a newspaper or, in this case, an art gallery, requires an extensive use of vocabulary in a situation controlled by them. From the start, my students are heavily involved in the "process" of creating this gallery; from the ideas for the art work, to the assignments in defense of their piece of art, to the actual set up of the gallery. These literacy-based activities encourage the use of correct English because each student understands that opening an art gallery requires many eyes before it becomes a reality.
Vocabulary Building Strategy
Effective writing has as a fundamental component expanded vocabulary. At every opportunity, I will present my students with its advantages. From the opening lesson when they are asked to describe what they see in photographs of 9/11, to the introduction and/or refresher of terms used in art, to the research they will pursue in an attempt to persuade their fellow classmates that their art piece is the best one included, I will encourage the use of increased vocabulary. Dictionaries are always on hand in my classroom. Websites with the definitions of art terms will be provided. Word walls that list and sometimes define our current words are constantly updated. Requiring students to incorporate words from these sources in their written assignments will, hopefully, imbed them into their vocabulary.
Using Art as a Strategy
Initially, I asked myself what authentic, hands-on activity involves a low threat with high expectations, provides concrete experiences and active processing, all while getting my Spanish-thinking teenagers to critically think, then to write English more effectively and correctly. For my students, art seemed to hold the key. Most of my students truly enjoy art. They do not feel cornered or trapped by art. It's just fun. They feel comfortable exploring the different media as well as discussing what they see in an art piece. They feel free to comment on whether they like it or not. Although Martinez is not an art magnet school, with an extensive art focus, our art teacher does a great job introducing the understandings of art. This information is key to the success of my unit.
The next question, then, was, "How can I successfully use works of art to teach language and writing to urban youth?" As the old saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words." Responding to art will be very stimulating and agreeable because it is not a direct frontal attack using written language as the centerpiece. There is a picture to act as a buffer. And there is no reading of words in text. The picture is the great equalizer. Yet the picture must be read. Richard Estes, in an article entitled "Visualizing Composition: Close Reading" encourages students to make "observation about the details in the text(image) that you find engaging and memorable, and then draw reasonable inferences from those observations… . It is the basis for analyzing a text, for figuring out exactly why and how it works."a3a
This skill encourages focused seeing: what you see is what you learn. Emphasis will, initially, be put on oral fluency, expressing what students see visually. Later, when asked to respond in writing, they will find that the exercise will not be focused on grammatical correctness but on clearly expressing thoughts and ideas using effective and clear language, a seeming shift away from mechanics to content. In other words, writing becomes clearer and more effective when there is understanding behind it.
Because my students are not often hyper-attention learners, they are initially going to need highly specific guidance when it comes to observing the images in this unit. Their seeing is related to what they believe and what they already know. They will need the practical skills of observation and inference, the language of description and narration, and finally the application of exposition and argumentation. But I cannot see or think for them. Keeping them on task will be a high priority. Structured activities need a clear learning objective and expected outcome. Commenting on a particular piece of art enhances the art of writing opinions, for example, and it can also be used to build vocabulary, both in terms of art but also in terms of general knowledge. Knowing that attacking syntax head on could bore students and turn them off at the same time, teachers can use art to teach language rules by asking that students suggest the dialogue they imagine a subject in the piece might be using or listing adjectives and adverbs that best describe the piece. Presenting segments of language in this manner is likely to be beneficial for my Spanish learners since it may enhance comprehension, retention, and cultural awareness.