Catherine D. Yates
Writing using myths, folktales, stories and mythical spaces as the place for building a text rich environment organically introduces students to rigorous but also imaginative conversations and prompts to consider how language works to make their school lives meaningful. The power of storylines that resonate with the deepest wisdom they preserve then give students a template for finding the basis of their own confidence Writing within a classroom learning space that values student voice, the big mythic picture of the incredible consequences of being educated and present to listen to each other, to read and to understand the visions of our young people who dream of the true future, emphasizes the joy and the potential of classroom teaching. Without being connected to a genuine power of writing, one developed from deep conversing, listening, reading and writing is a skill which might be both forgotten and misunderstood. Cultivation of the value of writing by investing in literacy skills is a profound effort of cultural and personal value.
Adam Gopnik writes in his review of Charles Taylor’s book Cosmic Connections: Poetry in the Age of Disenchantment that ‘communities of meaning that are drawn together by interspace and enchantment’ and they are ‘communities of practice.’ Interspace taken in the context of teaching reading/writing in a mythical space, feels like a place where we can bring the powerful history and incantation of language into an auspicious but also intentional learning environment. Answering essential questions which help break down and record stories is interspace: a powerful locator between standards and community values. Camille T. Dungy writes in her epic memoir Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden, ‘We talked about the narratives we hadn’t seen published out of the American West. Books we longed for The Black pastoral. The Black garden book. The Black mother finding peace in the wider-than-human world’ calling us to record and investigate this beautiful interspace neglected, and underrecognized in schools and communities. Another example of valuable interspace comes from the work of Connie Voisine’s volume of poem Psalm to Whomever is Responsible in which she writes mythical interspace this way, ‘[y]our mouth is everything, a wedding cake with tiers of flowers’ where we see our bodies as sacred space
L.11-12.3 Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to understand more fully when reading or listening.
L.11-12.3(a) Vary syntax for effect, consulting references (e.g., Tufte’s Artful Sentences) for guidance as needed; apply an understanding of syntax to the study of complex texts when reading.
L.11-12.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
L.11-12.5 (a) Interpret figures of speech (e.g., hyperbole, paradox) in context and analyze their role in the text.
L.11-12.5(b) Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations.
RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
RL.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)
RL.11-12.6 Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
RL.11-12.7 Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist.)
W.11-12.7
Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
W.11-12.10
Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
