2 Websites 10/28

1)  A major part of the struggle to teach English to any age bracket is the fight to promote the final phase of writing, publication.  Scribd.com takes care of that, at least on an electronic front.  As a sort of "Facebook" for writers, the website functions as a publication blog for writers of any age.  The site is broken down into different genres and types of writing, while also offering writers/readers the ability to follow others, similar to blogging functionality.  One feature that distinguishes Scribd in my eyes is actually the deficit of a specific feature: it does not offer cash reparations for prospective authors on the site.  Therefore, the site could exist within the classroom without any threat of monetary influence.  I would use the site to promote flash-fiction writing on a weekly basis within an English classroom, using their weekly submissions as a gauge of sentence construction skills as well as a way for them to have their work privately critiqued (Scribd offers privacy settings and group controls so as to only allow certain readers to access materials).

(the New Yorker Fiction Podcast, 2009)

2)  The New Yorker Fiction Podcast offers a wealth of resources for teachers seeking ways to contextualize certain stories that may seem inaccessible to young writers.  While teaching American Literature, the website could be used to update students on contemporary meanings in something like John Updike's "A & P", read aloud on the podcast by Allegra Goodman.  Because the website is accessible to non-subscribers, the episodes could be used in the classroom or as an independent supplement (all of the readings contain about a 20-minute interview with the new writer about the classic story).  Diversity is an important facet of the modern literary classroom and it abounds in this podcast, as multinational writers and readers are encouraged.

Is Twilight really THAT bad? A look at "gateways" to literacy passions in teens.

Earlier this week I caught my fourteen-year-old sister doing something usually reserved for me: opening a book and devouring chapters quite efficiently.  The only problem, of course, is that she was reading Eclipse, the third title in the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer.  This marked a noted concern for me: is there a point where "schlock" might be good for a young reader?  Is reading anything better than nothing at all?  Most importantly, is there a way to parlay this sudden interest in bound pages to a new passion, a great new source of knowledge?

According to an article posted on the TES website, it would be wrong and foolhardy to not link reading and writing in any age group, especially teenagers.  The writer of said article, Alan Davies, states that "the writing attainment target is crucial to any assessment of the importance of teaching children about sounds in words, especially words created using an alphabetic script".  Davies goes further to emphasize various officials in his field stating that students who read, write.  The application of abilities such as phonological awareness leading to plausible spellings and various literacy skills is immeasurable, allowing any real kind of reading to inform and improve the writings of young people.  According to an extensive NEA essay about the decline of literacy and long-form reading in America, the percentage of young adults who read novels recreationally has slipped to 14% of all book sales, a disturbing figure when compared to to the overwhelming 44% of book sales, in print and digital formats.  From this block of information, one can infer that due to the rapidly dropping figures of teenage and young readers in general, and the direct links between reading and writing, that any kind of teenage consumption of literature, even that concerning the pulsing undead hearts of vampires, is a great thing.

2 Websites: TKaM Unit

1. The Student Survival Guide for To Kill a Mockingbird provides something absolutely wonderful: an almost line-for-line annotation of the text.  On the left margin of the site, chapters are broken down in chronological order as the site offers breakdowns of vocabulary for each chapter, as well as historical roots and contexts for the words themselves.  A list of allusions for each chapter is also included, lending a greater understanding to the text that many modern students may lack.
2. A Research Guide for Students is a site that contains exactly what its title would suggest.  As part of the unit on the novel, students will be required to construct a short research paper denoting the historical similarities and disparities between actual Jim Crow-era America and the events of the novel, including the ultimate fate of Tom Robinson.  This website contains guides to using correct in-text citations and works cited pages, as well as complete guides to finding sources for historical evidence.  Samples for every kind of citation and section of a traditional five-paragraph essay are included.

State of the Inquiry Group 10/1/2011

For the Inquiry Project, in the subject area of Teaching Writing to Teens, our group members will be going by the following subjects:

Christen:  Effective instructional techniques for components of poetry.

Joshua:  Effective motivational & management practices in a literacy-rich secondary English classroom.

Kelly:  Instruction on effectively, and objectively, critiquing prose and drama.