WPCTE Blog
Friday, November 1, 2024
“Who Killed Jay Gatsby?” Introducing Fitzgerald’s Classic Novel with a Murder Mystery By Abby Weller-Hall
“Who Killed Jay Gatsby?”
Tuesday, October 1, 2024
Embracing Linguistic Diversity in the English Classroom Part 2: “Advanced” (or “advancing”) Strategies to Go Deep By: Hannah Lewis
Embracing Linguistic Diversity in the English Classroom
Part 2: “Advanced” (or “advancing”) Strategies to Go Deep
By: Hannah Lewis
Since then, I’ve had numerous opportunities to center language, and I’m excited to share not only some other strategies I use in my classroom but also to talk about what I’ve seen from my students in the past month or so.
Some strategies from the first installment included introducing code-switching, elevating dialect-rich texts, and allowing students to teach you about their languages.
I want to start by sharing some additional techniques and invite you to find ways to build linguistic diversity into your classroom.
4. Invite your students to use their dialects and home languages in their writing as much as possible:
I believe that this is the most powerful and also the most challenging tool in our teaching toolbox. But how do we find the time to invite students to write in home languages or dialects when we haven’t yet guided them to mastery of the SAE we are required to teach? Honestly, it comes down to a question of priorities. For me, it is urgent for all of my students to understand that language diversity is a strength, not a weakness.
One example in which I was very proud of my students who skillfully expressed their linguistic diversity was the “Remember” poem exercise. I introduce students to Joy Harjo’s “Remember” and then invite them to “reflect back on [their] life, education, values, family, community, and goals. What do [they] want to remember as [they] move into adulthood in the coming years? What is important to [them] not to forget?”
The poems students generate are always very high-quality, since (I hope) the question is relevant to them as they prepare to conclude their junior year.
Read
The hospital records […]
“January 30, 2008: 20 lbs. 6 oz., [student full name], severe allergies to animal dander, chickpea,
dairy, gluten, sesame, shellfish, soy, tree nuts…”
Read
The last resort, a homeopathic regimen, a recommendation from a friend of a friend of a friend
(The Desi Way™)
"આસિનકમ આબમ: ખોરાક સાથે દરરોજ 3 વખત 3 ગોળઓ" (“Arsenicum album: 3 tablets 3x
daily w/ food”)
"કક રયા કાબિનકા: 5 ગોળઓ દરરોજ 2 વખત, સવાર અને રાે " (“Calcarea carbonica: 5 tablets
2x daily, morning & night”)
"નેમ ુરયાટકમ: 3 ગોળઓ દરરોજ 3 વખત ખોરાક સાથે" (“Natrum muriaticum: 3 tablets 3x
daily w/ food”)
5. Teach the history of linguistic erasure
This recommendation is short and sweet. Although I’m inviting readers to teach history, know that as English teachers, the history of English is a part of our curriculum, and English has a long history of swallowing up or stomping out other languages.
Teach students about how enslaved Africans were forced to learn English as a survival strategy, learning from enslavers and from their peers who spoke dozens of different African languages, and how they were denied the right to learn to read and write because reading and writing give people power.
Teach them how boarding schools in our own state housed abducted Indigenous children and enforced strict “English Only” policies that have decimated Indigenous generational language transmission.
Knowing the destructive power that requirements to speak a certain way can have can help students understand why honoring linguistic diversity is so vital to a fair and equitable society.
First, I’d invite you to ask yourself how you know. Even the most homogenous-seeming affluent, rural, or suburban schools can serve many minoritized communities, and those students may especially need safe spaces to express and explore aspects of their identities that their peers might not share or, worse, might criticize.
However, even if you feel quite sure that there is little linguistic diversity in your primarily-SAE-speaking district, consider this: Your students may need these lessons more than anyone else. Too often, I hear linguistically privileged adults–even teachers–lament students’ “terrible grammar” and “awful writing,” without realizing they are engaging in a form of prejudice. By exposing my students who grew up primarily speaking SAE and being rewarded for it to the beauty English has to offer outside the limitations within which how they speak it, my hope is that, in the future, they will recognize the legitimacy of the language others’ use, and they will be less inclined to judge someone’s intellect or education based on the way they speak.
While we may not all always be able to leverage students’ linguistic diversity to expose their peers to brilliant, interesting, and relatable people who speak differently than they do, we still have the opportunity to be thoughtful about the texts we teach, the media we share, and the way we talk about writing and speaking outside of SAE conventions.
Further Reading:
For those who have not yet read Gloria Anzaldúa’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” I highly suggest that, as a teacher of the English language, you try to find the time to read it. Anzaldúa does an incredible job of explaining the impact of her Englishes on her identity. I’ve used it in the past with my A.P. Language and Composition students. For younger students or those whose reading skills need developing, Julia Alvarez’s “Names/Nombres” is another great choice.
Call to Action: Maybe you haven’t given much thought to the tensions between building up students and their communities on one hand and insisting on a single, correct version of Standard American English in your classroom. Now that you know, what will you do to ensure that you leverage your classroom to uplift linguistically diverse students and their communities?
Appendix: Want to see how my pedagogy for linguistic equity is playing out in my classroom so far? I’ll attach an appendix with some artifacts from this school year that have really helped me to feel like I’m getting my students to think critically about the role of language in their lives and in the lives of others. Find the appendix here.
Sunday, September 1, 2024
Embracing Linguistic Diversity in the English Classroom Part 1: The Groundwork by Hannah Lewis
Embracing Linguistic Diversity in the English Classroom
Part 1: The Groundwork
by Hannah Lewis
Our Reality
1. Introducing the concept of “code-switching” early and often:
2. Elevating works that make stylistic choices that prioritize dialect or language play:
3. Let your multilingual or multi-dialectical students teach you about language:
Saturday, June 1, 2024
Movement as Motivation in Middle Level ELA By Mrs. Jessica Hill and Mrs. Abby Beukema
Movement as Motivation in Middle-Level ELA
By Mrs. Jessica Hill and Mrs. Abby Beukema
As teachers, we are up against seemingly insurmountable odds: capture short attention spans, prepare students for standardized tests, manage classroom behaviors, ensure all minds are engaged by appealing to a variety of modalities, and the list goes on and on. At Beaver Area Middle School, we have been focusing on adding a certain element to as many lessons and classroom routines as possible – movement. From what we have observed, movement increases interest, aids retention, and enhances classroom culture. Admittedly, increasing the amount of movement in our class periods was daunting at first, but the pay-off seems to be worth it.
The following are two ideas we have tried and found helpful in beating the aforementioned odds with our seventh and eighth grade learners:
Get Students Up and Moving with Vertical Features
Our ELA classes use a twist on one of Peter Liljedahl’s practices for what he calls a “thinking classroom.” We use vertical, non-permanent features such as whiteboards or interchangeable daily questions mounted around the room. Students meet in small groups to discuss questions, tasks, or images at these spaces to start the class period. Students typically return to their seats after this time more engaged and ready to learn.
Some logistics that have made this work for us:
- Many worksheets can be converted into questions hanging around the room. The students are given a paper on which they record answers. Typically, it is a template that has boxes indicating each station, additional prompts, and/or directions. Hanging on the wall is the question or additional information that they would need in order to complete the task on their paper.
- Flexible stations. 6 Stations hanging on the wall around the room may easily be converted to 3. Divide the room in half. The students on the right half of the room circulate through 3 stations on the right, and students on the left half of the room circulate through 3 stations on the left.
- Clipboards! Students put their papers on a clipboard to work as they move around the room.
- Adding whiteboards to your classroom decor can prove helpful in creating this up-and-moving collaborative learning environment. 6-10 whiteboards strategically positioned around the room allows students to answer questions, solve problems, and brainstorm ideas. The added bonus here is that an easily-erasable surface encourages students to make mistakes and revise as they discuss. While this tends to be a practice used in math classes, it is great for working with mentor sentences, prewriting, anticipation questions, and more. It is also a great classroom management tool! While a teacher takes attendance and prepares for class, students are moving and collaborating on something that helps hone their focus for the lesson to come.
After reading a text, students are asked to demonstrate their understanding by designing with 3D materials such as playdoh, foil, Legos, etc. For example, students could design something that represents the main conflict of a story. For more advanced students (or for a longer challenge), students could design a product that a character in the story could use to solve a problem.
Some logistics that have made design challenges work for us:
- Run timers for the 3 main segments of the design challenge:
1) Plan2) Build3) Share.During the “share” segment, students do a “gallery walk” to observe others’ designs and ideas.
- Give students a paper template to fill in while they plan their design. For example:
We designed ____. This represents the theme of the story because ___.This paper can become the placard displayed with their 3D model when it is time for the gallery walk.
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
"Won't You Be My Neighbor?": Fostering Connection through Mister Rogers' Legacy By: Sarah Wilt
"Won't You Be My Neighbor?"
Fostering Connection through Mister Rogers' Legacy
By: Sarah Wilt
Monday, April 1, 2024
Guide Your Students in Writing a Personal Statement Essay for College Admission and Self-Reflection By: Alyx Matchett
Guide Your Students in Writing a Personal Statement Essay for College Admission and Self-Reflection
By: Alyx Matchett
The college essay or personal statement, akin to a semi-formal rite of passage, has become a valuable tool in self-discovery for my students, even for those who choose not to apply to college during 12th grade. No matter their post-secondary pathway, we must empower students with the skills they need to navigate uncertainty, make informed decisions, and contribute meaningfully to their communities. It’s not just about crafting a compelling essay or choosing a major; it’s about the transformative impact of providing students the time and space to reflect on what they care about and why it matters.
Just as classroom teachers strive to understand and connect with each student in their classroom, colleges aim to uncover the essence of their applicants through this critical piece of writing. While transcripts, test scores, recommendations, and activity lists present a snapshot of academic merit and focus, this essay serves as a beacon for colleges and universities, especially the highly selective ones. With an approximate length of 650 words, the personal statement is more than just a piece of writing; it's an introduction to the experiences, moments, and insights that have shaped the students into the individuals they are today.
Before we delve into guiding your students through the essential elements of their personal statements, let's clarify a few things the essay is not, courtesy of College Essay Guy:
- It's not a typical five-paragraph English class essay with an introduction, argumentative thesis, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
- It's not a mere recitation of their resumes.
- It's more than a journal entry, although some structural elements might share similarities.
- And most importantly, it's not an academic essay where students shy away from the personal pronoun "I."
Now that we've established the significance of the personal statement, let's dive into the intricacies of what to include. In guiding your students, it is important for them to understand how this essay showcases the skills, qualities, values, and interests that they will bring to a college campus (and the world at large!). This can be achieved through recounting moments, sharing stories, and reflecting on experiences that have shaped their values, with the exercises linked below.
Step 1: Brainstorming through Identifying Values and Relatable Experiences
Despite students having the benefit of writing about themselves, students will struggle without guidance. Since the goal is to reflect on one’s personal values, I suggest students begin with the Values Exercise.
Once values are identified, students need some self-discovery to determine how those values were formed. Here is a list of activities that help students find key moments in their lives that students can then connect to their identified values:
- Essence Objects Exercise: Encourage students to brainstorm around objects that hold significance in their lives. These objects can serve as tangible representations of their values, providing material for a compelling story.
- 21 Details Exercise: Guide students to list 21 specific details about themselves. This exercise prompts them to delve into both significant and seemingly trivial aspects of their lives, fostering a rich pool of potential content for their essays.
- 7 Short Brainstorming Exercises: If my students are struggling to find a topic, I will often direct them to this video with 7 more exercises to do on their own. These exercises cover everything from identity to careers to interests to extracurricular activities.
The goal of this step is to encourage reflection on personal experiences, values, and aspirations, ensuring that their essays are not only compelling but also authentic expressions of who they are. Students may want to include career or academic goals, or conversely, be worried about their uncertainty in this regard. When addressing academic and career goals with my students, I clarify that including these goals are optional and colleges recognize students may still be exploring their paths.
Step 2: Choose a Text Structure and Start Drafting
In structuring the personal statement essay, I will suggest two main types: montage and narrative structure.
Montage Structure is a series of experiences and insights connected by a thematic thread. Through this model, you might encourage students to consider exploring different facets of their identity through this approach, such as recounting experiences from various "homes" that reveal different sides of who they are.
Montage Draft Outline Checklist
Does my montage outline include:
- A topic or theme that is clear? Or is it kind of vague?
- Specific examples in each paragraph? Do they clearly connect to the topic?
- Values?
- Insights (aka “so what” moments)?
Narrative Structure, similar to classic Western story structure, with a focus on Challenges Faced, Actions Taken, and Lessons Learned. If a student is considering discussing challenges that they have faced, this shows a chronological retelling of how they resolved a problem in their lives.
Narrative Draft Outline Checklist
Does my narrative outline include:
- The challenges you faced?
- The effects of the challenges were on you?
- What you did to overcome your challenges?
- What you learned through these experiences?
These are the most common text structures used in college admissions essays. Students could certainly get creative in their structure by combining montage & narrative, or by using a different approach entirely.
Step 3: Offer Feedback like a College Admissions Advisor
Focus on the importance of college-level writing skills such as clear articulation of ideas, strong text organization, adherence to the 650-word limit, and proofreading once the drafting is done.
Ask questions that help students showcase their core values. The finished piece should show the reader what kind of person they are. Encourage students to seek feedback from peers, other teachers, and/or counselors.
The college admissions essay process is a journey of self-discovery and expression, offering students the opportunity to reflect on their past, present, and future aspirations. By guiding them through each step with patience, encouragement, and strategic support, English teachers play a pivotal role in empowering students to articulate their stories authentically and compellingly. As they embark on this transformative endeavor, remind them that their voices matter, and their narratives have the power to resonate profoundly with admissions committees. With diligence, reflection, and resilience, students can craft personal statements that not only stand out amidst the sea of applications but also illuminate their unique identities and potential for academic and personal growth.
Here are a few more resources that may help you along the way:
- College Application Resource Hub
- Personal Statement Examples
- The Great College Essay Test
- Revising Your College Essay in 5 Simple Steps
- How to Brainstorm 7 Different Personal Statement Ideas
- Podcast Episode: A Crash Course on the Personal Statement
- Why You Don’t Have to Write about Trauma in Your College Essay to Stand Out—and What You Can Do Instead
- Is It “Okay” to Talk About Race in Your College Application and Essays—And If So, How Should You Do It
Friday, March 1, 2024
"Embracing the Legacy of Mister Rogers: Fostering Kindness in the Classroom" by Dr. Jennifer L. Toney & Ms. Tracy L. Andrews
"Embracing the Legacy of Mister Rogers: Fostering Kindness in the Classroom"
By: Dr. Jennifer L. Toney & Ms. Tracy L. Andrews
In 2022, we had the privilege of meeting Gregg Behr, co-author, along with Ryan Rydzewski, of When You Wonder, You’re Learning, during his keynote address at the Pennsylvania Educational Technology Expo and Conference (PETE&C). His words ignited a spark within us, prompting a deeper dive into Fred Rogers' renowned learning principles. Recognizing the profound intentionality behind Mister Rogers’ work, we felt compelled to integrate the Fred Method into our educational practices.
As we further explored Fred's legacy, his gentle demeanor and profound insights on kindness resonated deeply with us. As elementary educators dedicated to nurturing kindness and empathy in our students, we embraced the opportunity to reflect on Mister Rogers' enduring influence and its impact on our teaching philosophies. In this blog post, we are excited to share insights, activities, and resources that have played a pivotal role in fostering kindness within our classrooms and communities.
Fostering Kindness in Third Grade: Jen's Insights, Activities, and Resources
Fred Rogers famously said, "There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind." The message Fred conveyed remains as relevant today as when he first spoke those words. As educators, we bear the responsibility not only to prepare our learners academically but also to help them develop strong character. At Sharpsville Area Elementary School, our schoolwide positive behavior program offers a framework that fosters and rewards acts of kindness among students and staff. I draw on these school community goals as I engage with my third-grade writers daily and use them as a springboard to model and promote kindness in our classroom community. I prioritize community building at the onset and throughout the school year, recognizing that it's the personal connections and interactions that truly underpin a thriving classroom community.
To foster kindness and connection, I kick off the school year with a collaborative project called the Curation Quest. This project was inspired by William Kist’s book, Curating a Literacy Life: Student-Centered Learning with Digital Media. We gather various multimodal artifacts, including books, films, songs, quotes, artworks, and hands-on experiences, all centered around a specific theme. This year, we focused on developing a growth mindset, setting the stage for exploring kindness, courage, and gratitude throughout the year. Together, we explored and discussed meaningful artifacts, getting to know each other better in the process. We then used our findings to create a remix poster and reflections that highlighted the impact of our quest. Afterward, students embark on their kindness quests, seeking out acts of kindness in their daily lives. They compiled their findings into colorful posters, which we proudly displayed on a kindness wall. It was heartwarming to see their excitement as they shared their discoveries and the impact they have had on the world around them.
Kindness Remix Poster Example
Nurturing Kindness in First Grade: Tracy’s Insights, Activities, and Resources
At the start of every year, I imagine my classroom transformed into a Neighborhood of Make-Believe, buzzing with kindness inspired by Fred Rogers. To achieve this I must be intentional in my actions. Every interaction with my students becomes a chance to practice his philosophy, embodied in the quote, "Treat our neighbor as we would hope to be treated." Instead of harsh corrections, mistakes become opportunities for empathy and learning. When a student struggles, I kneel, hoping to mirror Mister Rogers' gentle eye contact, and ask, "How can I help you today?" As a result, mistakes don't define our classroom – instead, they spark a desire to help one another.
By encouraging "helpers" in the classroom, students learn about the joy of helping others. Group projects unfold with modeling of "I like what you're thinking" affirmations, turning competition into collaboration. Celebrating individual differences happens daily, fostering acceptance and belonging. By reading books like How Full is Your Bucket, The Color of US, My Mouth is A Volcano, We’re All Wonders, Leo the Late Bloomer, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Unicorns Don’t Love Rainbows, and many more that honor our individuality, I hope that my students internalize the message of kindness and acceptance, carrying it beyond the classroom walls. Remember, Mister Rogers didn't just talk about kindness; he lived it. His methods invite all educators to do the same – to create a space where kindness flourishes, one neighborly act at a time. Striving to be an example of the kindness he taught is the best way I know to teach my students to do the same.
Fred Rogers has left an enduring legacy of kindness on the world. His intentional work has inspired us, along with many others to invite his blueprint into our classrooms and communities. If you are interested in learning more about Fred and his legacy, we invite you to attend the 2nd annual frED camp on Saturday, March 23, 2024, at Ehrman Crest Elementary School in the Seneca Valley School District. It’s a special opportunity for educators to not only earn free Act 48 or PQAS credits, but also a chance to connect with all sorts of local professional learning opportunities, and ground their work in the lessons left to us by Western PA’s own Mister Rogers. Register today at: bit.ly/frEDcamp24. We hope you can join us for a beautiful day in the neighborhood!
Biographies:
Tracy (left) and Jen (right) presenting their poster session “Teach Like Fred” at the Pennsylvania Educational Technology Expo & Conference (PETE&C) last month.
Jen is an eighteen-year veteran elementary educator and currently teaches third graders in a departmentalized ELA classroom at the Sharpsville Area School District in Sharpsville, PA.
Tracy has been working with children from birth to 6th grade for more than 35 years. Currently, she is teaching first grade at the Wilmington Area School District in New Wilmington, PA.
“Who Killed Jay Gatsby?” Introducing Fitzgerald’s Classic Novel with a Murder Mystery By Abby Weller-Hall
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