Drama Usage

While reading chapter four in "You Gotta BE the Book" I really connected with the section on reluctant readers. My first years of high school, I was a slow reader, had not much interest in reading, and did not connect reading to myself as a reader. I saw reading as something required. This section talks about students alike how I was. Using drama helps a reader to connect the dots in reading.

I became more interested in reading when I class I took used a LOT of drama. We read everything out loud and acted them all out. I began to understand what was happening in the plays and could connect it to myself as the reader. Because of this, I began to be able to think about my reading more creatively rather than just reading when it was assigned.

This section talks about how drama is used to build relationships with characters, taking other perspectives, and thinking about the setting and world of the story- basically engaging students in the story. It really helps lower level students, like myself, to succeed and get something out of the reading for themselves.

Another section also discusses passive reading, which ties in directly with this idea. Wilhelm states that "students' past reading experiences and schooling appear to have given them a reductionist, information-transmission view of reading." Incorporating drama with these students helped them see that the book has a message for each individual and gave them a better experience with reading overall.

Wilhelm gives many examples of drama he used in the classroom- I am putting a few here to reference at a later time and to show what he experimented with :)

1. Revolving Role Drama: take on role of a character; switching roles with a partner
2. Dramatic Play: use a prompt from the story, enact what would happen
3. Guided Imagery: imagine scenes and write about them as they mentally picture them (with guide of visual description/musical accompaniment)
4. To Tell the Truth Game: students play character roles and are interrogated by "judges" about their character lives; who becomes the most convincing character? they win!
5. Missing Scene Scripts: identify what is missing from the story and have students elaborate on what could be happening in these gaps

Here's a cool LINK of why we should use drama texts in the classroom (so we can exercise the creative side of the brain!)

Comparing Author to Reader

In the same chapter as my post before, one specific section really struck me. Comparing and evaluating yourself as a reader and the author.

The students were asked to do this as their last step. Ron saw that when his thoughts on reading differed from others, he could see a whole new way of the reading. When he thought the same as someone else, it was like "being fans of the same winning team." Due to this self evaluation, he could see how to collaborate with others. He stated that how people read books shows what we care and think about.

That statement is very accurate- most students (or teachers) do not realize this... People do not take away the same things from reading, nor should they have to. It is about self-discovery, which Ron did a lot of here.

Joanne wrote about the author in her journal, mostly questions. She starts to question the author and where she comes from, comparing her thoughts and feelings for and against what the author believes. Many students do not read their assignment and start thinking "is the author wrong?" like Joanne did in her journal. We do not give students a reason to do so because they are just reading for information on our quizzes and tests. Isn't seeing these journal entries much more rewarding to us then marking a 10/10 on a quiz with 10 questions and 10 correct answers?

This really amazed me as I read; the steps he had to take in order to get the students to this place of self-discovery and gave them a voice. How can we do this? It will be a process but we need to start changing the teaching and evaluating of reading one teacher at a time. If we as teachers begin to give students a voice and take away what is important to them, we will be producing smarter, happier kids. (proof that they will be happier is in this LINK)

Research & Connect

Wilhelm really knows what he's doing... Well, he probably didn't feel that way in the beginning. We all start somewhere. As I continued to read his book, many things popped out at me. Here's a big one:

His "Think-Aloud Protocols" really interested me. Having students talk about what they were reading helps students to express themselves and what they take from their own reading. He discovered that you had to prompt the students to stop and talk at certain parts of the reading in order to get better responses.

These were the dimensions he named as he worked with students and connecting them with literature:

1. Entering the story world
2. Showing interest in the story
3. Relating to the characters
4. Seeing the story world
5. Elaborating on the story world
6. Connecting literature to life
7. Considering significance
8. Recognizing literary conventions
9. Recognizing reading as a transaction
10. Evaluating an author, and the self as reader

It is very intriguing to me that he named these specific steps and categorized them into evocative, connective, and reflective- the process of students' thinking. These 10 steps can be used to make assignments (I'm definitely stealing some ideas). They had commentary as they began the first two steps, engaging them in the story. I feel that this is a fair way to evaluate reading... Their own thoughts and feelings about what they decide is important to them. I do not feel as if the stages were rushed either, but they had space to choose their own pace. This whole project is basically a prompted journal, and he received very intellectual responses- ending with an evaluation of their own self

More importantly, I feel that I learned more about how to connect with students... As he studied his students he became more aware of how to work with them. They began to exceed his expectations and connect with him. When you take the time to study your students as you teach them, you are able to discover who they are as a person and not just a face in your classroom. I know I cannot take the time to do such an extensive process with all of my students, but I can definitely use some of the ideas. Here is a LINK of other ideas to connect with your students: my favorite is the "first five minutes"!

Validity of Reading

In "You Gotta BE the Book" Wilhem makes us think about how reading can be valid. He states how reading can "lead to self-discovery and learning." Is this what makes reading valid? I think that if students read and get something good for themselves out of it, it is very valid. Not everyone will get the same piece of information out of a reading as the student next to them.

I think the harder question is how do we get students to the point where they will do the reading for themselves? According to Hobson in THIS ARTICLE, only 70% of students in college will not do the assigned readings. If more of these students had been taught that all reading can apply to them in some way, I'm sure that percentage would be more like 50%.

If the students ARE reading but still not getting anything from it, is it valid? My thoughts on this are maybe too simple... You have to get something, just SOMETHING out of it to be considered valid. If they realize this at a younger age, they will be more likely to want to read what is assigned. Here are some of my ideas:

Take away reading quizzes; start a journal of application; talk about things important to the students; let them read on more of their own schedule- due dates have to keep a class together, but not a chapter per day; talk about how the readings make the students feel

The article I mentioned above talks about teaching in college, but has some good ideas you could apply in high school as well. One idea being that you make sure texts are being used how they were intended- this is important if you are using curriculum from another teacher. Another good point is that not every class needs a textbook- teachers need to think out of the box to engage the students. Maybe choose smaller texts instead- typically speaking, it is easier to connect to a novel or article than a huge textbook with small writing.

Encouraging students to apply reading to their own life will be the challenge I take out of this. Maybe not get so frustrated with a student who said they didn't have time to read, but encourage them to catch up and work with them so that they do not get discouraged and give up. I want to remember this especially when I am first starting a class; it starts with the first impression you make with a class.

Let Them Read

As I started to read "You Gotta BE the Book" what really struck me was aesthetic reading. Here he talked about how he had not realized that students were just reading for information. This is how students become bored of the reading. We have been brought through high school skimming for useless information and not really required to read the actual story. It shocked me that teachers would not realize that is why students are not interested in reading on their own.

I did not enjoy reading because we had to read books that were just to get the information for filling out packets or basic questions. He journaled about one student who read for fun at home, experiencing the aesthetic side of reading. This is when they get to live through their reading and the stories. I wish that I had been taught in a different way to engage in the stories, much like young kids do. We grow up loving books and wanting to read more...maybe just to avoid going to bed, but even the girl he read to knew the story as if she was actually part of it... Then we stop doing this, and do more searching for information.

He then talks about how Rosenblatt never said specifically what strategies to use in engaging students with the reading. This has been a struggle for me as I read through books like this. They tell you what not to do, but not specifically what TO do. I share this frustration with him a lot! You go on to learning what works best for others and yourself in your own classroom. I plan to use his two big points: teaching with clarity of purpose and being more social in the classroom. They are vague, but reminds you that the students need to know what to get out of the reading and why they are doing it. It also helps them to engage with each other, giving them time to experience the reading with others and connecting to it. This way students can get much more out of the reading, "a need to learn relationally from characters, author, and experts through their transactions with various texts."

Here is a LINK that talks about why students are bored in class... This can connect with reading as well. It talks about sitting too long and the teacher talking too much- this can be avoided by using more social work in the classroom. It also talks about directing too much, and observing too little. This can also be a factor of why students aren't living through their reading- because teachers aren't giving them the space to be their own person and think their own thoughts.

In Clearing the Way,  this quote really captured my attention. "As English teachers our major responsibility is to enfranchise student in our classes to such a degree that they think of themselves as writers, as those who use written language to both discover thinking and communicate thought, who boldly try varied forms of writing, using them to meet their needs." I thought that it was a little overwhelming... Like who am I to influence students in a way that makes them want to think of themselves as writers. What if I fail and turn students away from reading and writing. What if I don't equip my students with these 'varied forms of writing' in order to make each of them successful?
As I continued to read, these thoughts calmed. Romano gives plenty of ideas to begin to give these varied forms of writing... He says we are responsible to allow the students to engage their creative side throughout their writing processes. The many ways he discusses need to be incorporated in lesson plans about the reading you are working with. He talks about how writing about a dramatic encounter leads students to creative and realistic thinking. Prose is also another way, which takes many forms such as journal entries, profile of a character, editorials, prequels or sequels. Songs can be written to be more engaging and fun. Poetry gives students a chance to write in a way that they may want to- many poetic forms. This LINK shows many possibilities for poetry writing, and some books that you could use while teaching poetry.

I realized that there are endless possibilities when it comes to writing; I will just have to learn as I progress with each student. Using a variety of writing styles aside from essays will help to engage students in their work and make them excited to do more. You just have to keep them on the edge of their seat!

Conferencing

After I read Clearing the Way chapter 7- "The Crucial Role of Conferencing," I realized how much conferencing mattered in my own development as a reader. 

How to conference: sit down next to your student (not in front of, to avoid eyes on the student), talk about how their writing is going, read through it, do not correct the grammar or spelling, work on pointing out what is powerful and what they can focus on in a positive way, be available to talk to the students about their writing when they need it.

This LINK talks about the process of conferencing. At the end it also has sheets attached to use in order to keep track of the conferences you have with each student. (Great idea for younger kids.)
Romano works with one specific student on a poem she is trying to write throughout her entire process. Due to how he pointed out the strong points of her poem, good work choices, and gave feedback in a constructive way, she continued to come to him to seek advice for her writing until it was a finished piece. When you do conferencing this way, it encourages students and makes them feel good about what they are writing.

In my AP English class, I was first exposed to this conferencing. I had never met with any teacher to go over my writing; I just wrote, turned it in, and got a grade. When I was able to meet with my AP English teacher, I started to improve my writing skills. I learned how to pick out the strengths of my writing and how to bring them out. Conferencing definitely is something that I want to include in my teaching career.