Final Presentation Adolescent Literacy and Young Adult Literature

7/30/2019 Final Presentation Adolescent Literacy and Young Adult Literature

1/39


2/39

What is Reading?Reading is a process of

comprehendingof constructingmeaning. Rather than absorbing

meaning from the text, the reader,

using his/her own experiences, creates

meaning (Goodman, 1996). In doing

so, transactions occur between the

readers mind and the language of the

written text(Cole, 2009, p. 43).


3/39

What is ReadersResponse Theory?

According to Cole (2009), reader-

response theory...focuses on theprocess ofreading a text. Unlike New Criticism

theorists, who assert the meaning of the

text resides in the words and structures of

the text alone, reader-response

theorists...argue that the meaning of thetext is createdby the reader(p. 145).


4/39

How can we find ways to guide

students to connect with thematerials they are reading in class?

As a literature teacher, my

goal is to have studentsconnect with what they are

reading. They should be

asking questions, making

predictions, and reacting

to what they are reading intheir literary analysis of a

text.


5/39

Student-text disconnect

inhibits learning potential

Students need to be shown

the ways in which they

have an active role in theirown reading in order to

stay connected.

Knowing that they can use

their own thoughts andideas can ignite interest in

students.


6/39

Students need to know that it is okay todisagree with or dislike things they read.

Students need to beencouraged:

To Ask Questions.To Challenge.

To Make Connections.To Wonder.To Disagree.

It shows them they have avoice.

Good! Why?


7/39

Reading Journals

Journaling is a powerful venuefor personal meaning-making andreflection and provides students

with an opportunity to practicereading and writing skills (e.g.,summarizing, making inferencesand predictions, questioning andclarifying, evaluating andgeneralizing). The success ofjournaling depends on good

teacher guidance in developing,nurturing, and monitoring goodjournaling skills(Cole, 2009, p.151).


8/39

With Readers Response Journals, wecan empower students by showing

them we value their ideas

With readers responsejournals, we are askingstudents to take an active

investment in what they arereading.

We are asking them toconsider why they react the

way they do.

Often, we learn a bit aboutourselves and about our

classmates in this process.


9/39

Many students do not feel comfortable withexpressing their own ideas in class because they have

not been guided in how to challenge convention

Perhaps we need to step back and take a closer look at theways in which we are teaching students to read for

understanding.


10/39

Students need help to challenge textsand formulate their own opinions.

Regardless of reading

ability, all teens needinstruction that moves

them to deeperunderstanding of

texts and increasestheir ability to

generate questions

and ideas (Cole, 2009,p. 42).


11/39

How do I ask questions

while I read?

On page 150, our text presents Myerss 20 Reader Response

Questions. This is a good place to start.

What character was your favorite? Why?

What characters did you dislike? Why?

Does anyone in this work remind you of anyone you know?Explain.

I shared these questions with my students.


12/39


while I read?

Are you like any character in this work? Explain.

If you could be any character in this work, who would you be?Explain.

What quality(ies) of which character strike you as a good characteristic

to develop within yourself over the years? Why? How does the characterdemonstrate this quality?


13/39


while I read?

Overall, what kind of feeling did you have after reading a fewparagraphs of this work? Midway? After finishing the work?

Do any incidents, ideas, or actions in this work remind you of yourown life or something that happened to you? Explain.

Do you like this piece of work? Why or why not?


14/39


while I read?

Are there any parts of this work that were confusing to you? If so,which parts? Why do you think you got confused?

Do you feel there is an opinion expressed by the author through thiswork? What is it? How do you know this? Do you agree? Why or whynot?

Do you think the title of this work is appropriate? Is it significant?Explain. What do you think the title means?


15/39


while I read?

Would you change the ending of the story in any way? If so, tellyour ending. Why would you change it?

What kind of person do you feel the author is? What makes you feelthis way?

How did this work make you feel? Explain.


16/39


while I read?

Do you share any of the feelings of the characters in this work? Explain.

Sometimes works leave you with a feeling that there is more to tell.Did this work do this? What do you think might happen?

Would you like to read something else by this author? Why or whynot?


17/39


while I read?

What do you feel is the most important word, phrase, passage orparagraph in this work? Explain why it is important.

If you were an English teacher, would you want to share this work

with your students? Why or why not?


18/39

The importance of writing

to become a stronger reader

Returning to the idea of a reading to writing connection,teachers can best help students grow as writers by providing

them with experiences in which they not only make meaningof their reading but also make meaning in their own lives.Writing can serve as the perfect tool for this task provided theprocess includes inquiry, discovery and meaning-making. Thebest books for facilitating this process will be those that provide

young readers and writers with the material to make meaningin their own lives as they relate to their reading(Cole, 2009, p.609).


19/39

What text did I use with mystudents to connect their reading

with their writing?My eighth grade students havejust completedNight, by ElieWiesel.

This is, in my opinion, one ofthe most important texts everwritten.

I believe everyone should readit at least once in their lifetime.

I wanted to see my studentsmaking connections to this textin their writing.


20/39

Is Night Young Adult?

According to page 49 of our text, the characteristics for a YA text are as follows:

The protagonist is a teenager.

Events revolve around the protagonist and his/her struggle to resolve conflict.

The story is told from the viewpoint and in the voice of a young adult.

The genre is written by and for young adults. (Maybe not)

The genre is marketed to the young adult audience. (Maybe not, but this is a text often taught in middle school).

Stories dont have storybook or happily-ever-after endingsa characteristic of childrens books.

Parents are noticeably absent or at odds with young adults.

The genre addresses coming of age issues.

Books contain under 300 pages, closer to 200.


21/39

For the entirety of the text, and as aculminating project, we worked on

readers response journals


22/39

Goals for Readers Response

Journals and this unit Students will be able to make connections with a text and focus on their own

reactions and responses.

Students will use a variety of reading and writing strategies to analyze a

nonfiction text.

Students will use information provided to deepen their understanding of life in

concentration camps during WWII.

Students will be able to develop and consider their interpretations ofNight.

Students will be able to demonstrate comprehension and understanding ofNight.

Students will be able to recognize the strength of their own ideas and reactions to

a text.


23/39

Essential Concepts

The inherent violence of war

WWII and the Holocaust

Involuntary physiological reactions to stress

Desensitization to violence and death

Humanity and the absence of humanity

Kindness and cruelty

Crisis of faith


24/39

General Procedures Throughout our reading of this text, the main focus for students will be on their responses to the materials and

ideas presented. Night is Elie Wiesels story, a young adult who lived through the atrocities of the Holocaust. Asstudents read, they will consider the way they would feel if presented with the same challenges. They will be

encouraged to ask questions, and make predictions. They will be asked to place themselves in Elies position, andto consider how they would face the same conflicts. They will select excerpts from the text and respond in writing

to the words they have chosen.

For each selection, students will incorporate a piece of art. In can be a pencil sketch, a collage, a painting, a seriesof photographs, or another form of art that stems from their own inspiration. Students will be advised to avoidthe use of clip artI want to see what they are able to come up with.

Each entry, either the art or the journal, needs to include at least one quote.

Throughout this unit students will be guided to peer-edit, and to revisit and revise their work. Students will beguided to use Myerss Questions for readers response journals, and to make notes in the text as they read.

Students will be asked to create thoughtful responses to their reading, and to react, in writing to the storypresented inNight. Students will be encouraged to use rhetorical questions, to challenge the text, to make

comments about the author, the events and the experiences presented in the text. Students will create artwork toaccompany their journal entries, and will bind all of the entries together to create a book as a culminatingproject.


25/39

How does this project align with Core ContentWriting standards?

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1a Introduce claim

(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim

(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and

organize the reasons and evidence

logically.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1b Support claim

(s) with logical reasoning and relevant

evidence, using accurate, credible sourcesand demonstrating an understanding of the

topic or text.

Written Arguments

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.2b Develop the

topic with relevant, well-chosen facts,

definitions, concrete details, quotations,

or other information and examples.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.2c Use

appropriate and varied transitions to

create cohesion and clarify therelationships among ideas and concepts.

Writing Explanatory Texts Writing NarrativesCCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.3a Engage

and orient the reader by establishing a

context and point of view and

introducing a narrator and/or

characters; organize an event

sequence that unfolds naturally and

logically.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.3b Use

narrative techniques, such as dialogue,pacing, description, and reflection, to

develop experiences, events, and/or

characters.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.3c Use a

variety of transition words, phrases,

and clauses to convey sequence,

signal shifts from one time frame or

setting to another, and show the

relationships among experiences and

events.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.3d Use

precise words and phrases, relevant

descriptive details, and sensory

language to capture the action and

convey experiences and events.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.3e Provide a

conclusion that follows from and

reflects on the narrated experiences or

events.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.4 Produce clear and coherent

writing in which the development, organization, and style

are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-

specific expectations for writing types are defined instandards 13 above.)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.5 With some guidance and support

from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as

needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a

new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience

have been addressed.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.9 Draw evidence from literary or

informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and

research.

Production, Editing and Research

CCSS.ELA-

Literacy.W.8.10 Write

routinely over

extended time frames

(time for research,

reflection, and

revision) and shorter

time frames (a single

sitting or a day or

two).

Writing Range


26/39

How does this project align with Core ContentReading standards?

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.1 Cite the textual

evidence that most strongly supports ananalysis of what the text says explicitly as

well as inferences drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.2 Determine a

theme or central idea of a text and analyze

its development over the course of the text,

including its relationship to the characters,

setting, and plot; provide an objective

summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.3 Analyze how

particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a

story or drama propel the action, revealaspects of a character, or provoke a

decision.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.10 By the end of

the year, read and comprehend literature,

including stories, dramas, and poems, at

the high end of grades 68 text complexity

band independently and proficiently.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.4 Determine the

meaning of words and phrases as they are

used in a text, including figurative and

connotative meanings; analyze the impact

of specific word choices on meaning andtone, including analogies or allusions to

other texts.

Key Ideas and Details

Craft and Structure

Text Complexity


27/39

What do you want from

me!?Since my eighth graders werebrand new to this process, therewere many moments of

frustration along the way.

At first, most of them reliedheavily on summary.

They were confused to learn that

this is not what the assignmentwas asking for. They had neverbeen asked to write about whatthey thought before.


28/39

Guided practice led to

improvement

Some students began with simple, summary-heavy responses likethis one, by my student Paula:

In the bookNight, Chapter One Elie is introducing himself to thereaders. He was a Jewish and very religious 12 years old boy. He isso religious that he already wanted to start learning Kabbalah buthis father didnt let him because he was to young. He dint payattention to his father so a guy name Moishe the Beadle that knows

everything about Kabbalah decided to teach Elie, but one dayMoishe the Beadle disappears but everyone seems to forget abouthim.


29/39


30/39

Index Card Reminders

I was hearing a lot of students sayingIm stuck, or I dont know what towrite. I had them take an index cardor a thicker piece of paper and createa bookmark with trigger questions.

I adapted Linda Bergers questionsfrom page 613 of our text changingthe wordyou toI, to keep it active formy students.

I also encouraged them to use MyerssReader Response Questions that Idistributed to students.


31/39

Having questions easily

accessible seemed to help

With guided questions, the entries became a bit more considerate,like this example from my student, Eduardo:

I can not even imagine the panic and fear that all these people had, facing how they must die or theymust work. The crematorium was like the door to hell. How could the Nazis kill all of these people likeif they were trash, like if they were worth nothing? If Elie doesnt realize it yet, I think the personthat told them to change their ages was an angel. In this situation, they were all going to die and somerandom person tells them to change their ages so they are not sent to the crematorium, I do not think itis a coincidence


32/39

Once students began to understandthat their opinions were what

mattered most, they relaxed.

Without too much direction from me,

students began working together and

discussing ideas to help clarify their own

opinions and reactions. They found that

they were seeking deeper meaning withouthaving to be told. Students came into class

and shared facts they learned about Elie

Wiesel from the internet. They wanted me

to teach them more about Judaism, and

about the structure of the Nazi government.

Students were writing, speaking, listening,

reading and responding. They begansharing their journals with one another and

talking.

They all wanted to know how Hitler could

do this to an entire group of people.


33/39


34/39

Readers Response Journals helpedbuild active class discussions.

When students went homeand actively considered their

ideas about the reading, itbrought them to class withmore to talk about. Somesought clarification, otherswanted to share the

conclusions they had drawn.It gave them a greater senseof investment in the reading.


35/39

With practice, the responses became more sophisticated andthoughtful. Here is an example from Peter about the final chapter:

I find it disturbing how by the end of the book, they simply do not care what happened to the Germans.

I mean, yes, they are happy to be liberated, but not a single moment do they think about revenge or

about the people who they lost. They only think about food and sleep. And it makes me wonder, would I

be any different? A horrible thing happened to the Jewish people; Elie lost his mother and sister, his

father, his innocence, his faith, and his will to live, and yet not once throughout the book does he think

about revenge. He never feels hatred, and he never loses his faith in humanity. I think that that makes

him an amazing person, and someone I can really admire. He is also so humble about what he lived through,

not once does he ever say, I survived the Holocaust with a sense of arrogance. He causally says, I

shouldnt of survived, why me? I was the wrong person, which is an actually quote from him talking to

Oprah. I dont know if I could do the same thing. Also, there is something I have been wanting to talk

about but couldnt until the end of the book, and that is, that Elie never lost his humanity like most ofthe inmates did. Most inmates began to beat up lower rank Jews, forced the weak to give up their soup,

others began to abandon their fathers, and basically abuse as whatever power (however small) is given to

them. Elie does think about ditching his father, but he is instantly ashamed, and even gives up his food

for his near dead father... to me, this is a perfect example of how humans should be.


36/39

Here are

some of

theProject

covers.


37/39

And

samplesof the

art

inside


38/39

Student Feedback

I like it because it helps me organize my ideas.

I like it because we right our own opinion about each chapter.

I dont like it because it is a lot of work.

I would prefer this if it were oral.

-Bruno I like the response journals because itwas fun doing the drawings to show myideas. It helped me to understand

better the story and what people couldfeel in the time of the Holocaust.

-Iliana

I think writing responses offers agood challenge. It helped me to

understand the reading better, andfocus on summarizing in order toorganize my thoughts.

- ose Andres


39/39

Thanks for listening and for a great course!

Documents

Final Presentation Adolescent Literacy and Young Adult Literature