Podcast – An Oxford Adventure and Literacy Lesson

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In the past, when I have worked with middle and high school students on writing, I have noticed that many of them write in the same manner that they speak. My intention for my podcast was to draw attention to the extra words that we use when talking that are not necessary in a piece of writing. In order to make this aural distinction, I told a story with my friend and occasionally interrupted the action to rephrase sentences that we had said.

I wanted the final product to be a mix of a literacy lesson and an excerpt from the radio show This American Life. However, once I embarked on this task I realized that I definitely am no Ira Glass and need to word on my sound editing skills. I think that the content and length of the story may have overpowered the conveyance of the literacy skills. Although this particular podcast may not adequately serve classroom needs, I think that grabbing the student’s attention with an entertaining podcast would be a quick and effective way of introducing a lesson.

An Oxford Adventure and Literacy Lesson

Cornmarket St, Oxford - where the story takes place.

 

Bringing prior knowledge to the table

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For me, one of the most compelling points in Spector and Jones article about Anne Frank and critical literacy was the idea that teachers should unpack what students already know (or think they know) before diving into a lesson. I think this is especially important when teaching about historical events or characters that fall under the realm of “common knowledge.” Spector and Jones suggest that teachers “ask students to discuss their knowledge of Anne Frank – and how they came to that knowledge” and to create posters depicting their idea of Anne Frank’s story. I think similar activities could be created for almost any historical event or character that students would have prior knowledge about. Inviting students to share what they know is important because it allows teachers to better understand what they need to teach, but also because it gives students the opportunity to think about the sources of information that shape their ideas about history.

While reading this article and thinking about student knowledge, I was reminded of a story that my friend told me. She is student teaching in New York City this year, and is currently working in a middle school social studies classroom. She’s been teaching lessons about Colonial America, and one day a student made a comment about Native Americans being “less civilized or less advanced” and that they needed the colonists to help them create a real society. She asked the student where he had come up with that idea, and he said “I don’t know I just heard it”(similar to the students studying Anne Frank!) When my friend asked the rest of the class what they thought, a great majority said they thought that too, they had heard that version of history as well. Knowing that many of her students were approaching the study of Colonial American from that perspective changed the way she thought about teaching them.

Podcast- Hurricane Dancers

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For my final project, I am designing a social studies unit that centers around the book Hurricane Dancers by Margarita Engle, and I thought it would be cool to include a podcast as a way of introducing the story. Hurricane Dancers is a work of historical fiction in the form of poetry that tells the story of a young boy named Quebrado who is traded from pirate ship to pirate ship, finally ending up on the ship of Bernardino de Talavera. Quebrado is very valuable to his captors because he know two languages- his mother’s Taino Indian language, and his father’s Spanish. Quebrado is used as a translator, bridging the gap between “worlds made of words.” But when a hurricane sinks the ship, Quebrado escapes to safety and learns to live on land with native people who treat him well. When his former captors turn up on the island too, Quebrado has the power to decide their fate because of the linguistic knowledge he possesses.

This story highlights a lot of major themes about colonization and resistance, making it a great gateway into historical discussion. Also, the poems are written from several different character’s perspectives, which offers a multi-layered view of the historical situation.

I created this podcast as a way of introducing the book- explaining the basic plot and historical setting, and including snippets from Quebrado’s poems that help to introduce his character and his story. I also included sounds of hurricanes and ocean to help transport listeners into the world of this story!

Emphasizing the fictional part of historical fiction

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In “Constructing Anne Frank” Spector and Jones argue that historical fiction, while engaging, threatens to distort students’ perception of real events. As an alternative, they suggest that teachers supplement interpretive works like the Goodrich and Hackett play, with primary sources and real life accounts of the historical events, so that students can recognize the optimistic slant of the play. I agree with the authors’ teaching tips, and think it’s a great way to teach students to critically analyze any movie, play, or book that claims to be “based on true events.” Rather than choosing to exclude these works of historical fiction, teachers should allow their students to confront these interpretations and learn to view them as inherently biased and one-sided. From Freedom Writers to Pearl Harbor, there is so much in the popular media that claims to depict real life events. If viewers are not taught to critically analyze the films as a works of art, they fall into the trap of forgetting that the work is an interpretation rather than a primary source.
As I was reading this piece, I was thinking that it might be interesting to ask students to write their own short plays that take on a particular slant and interpret the historical events in a way that promotes a narrow understanding. When students take on the roll playwright, they will discover the creative freedom that an artist has in creating a work of historical fiction. Because a play is technically artwork, there is no pressure to depict events exactly according to fact. I think such an assignment would help students view images, films, and plays in the popular media as interpretative works of art rather than historically accurate sources.

Berenstein Bears podcast

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My podcast pays homage to the late Jan Berenstein, who passed away at the end of February 2012. Jan co-authored and co-illustrated the Berenstein Bears series, which is a childhood favorite of mine. In this podcast, I highlight Jan and her work, and I discuss my favorite book in the series using dialogue clips and music from the animated TV show as well as a short interview with my Mom about using the books to teach her kids.

I was thinking this could be used in a high school English/Media class to discuss childhood books, films or TV shows. Not only would the project allow students to reflect on their childhood literary influences, but it would also challenge them to efficiently summarize using various types of media sources.

Warning: this podcast is REALLY cheesy. Also, I had to import it into Quicktime Video because the Audacity file was too big—so the sound quality was a little compromised.

Berenstein Bears podcast

Learning as Empowerment

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The readings for this week redefine what it means to learn something. Many teachers believe their job is to teach the students some kind of truth or lesson that conveys information. For example, the purpose of a lesson about the Diary of Anne Frank might be to convey the prepackaged idea that Anne is a symbol of optimism within a bad situation. However, the authors of both readings want to challenge the idea that the teacher’s role is to tell their students universal truths. Instead, teaching is about giving students the tools they need to analyze the world around them. Learning should not just be listening to a lecture where the teacher tells the students everything they need to know about Anne Frank. Learning should be encouraging the students to figure out information by themselves using different sources that might contradict each other. It is more useful for the students to be able to analyze these sources for their validity and their significance, rather than simply telling the students what is important. I loved the examples in both readings because the students were actively engaged in their learning. The authors value the students’ input and don’t just see students as empty vessels that need to be filled with information.

The readings reminded me that learning should be an empowering experience. As a student, I feel empowered when I am challenged to creatively analyze the course content in my own way. Teachers should be aware of how they view their students and how their assignments might be either empowering or disempowering to students. The readings for this week are also similar to the education as social justice readings we did before break because the students in these classrooms were expected to understand social inequity. I liked how Larry Steele ended his article by explaining that he doesn’t care what jobs his students will have in the future, but he hopes that they bring knowledge about social justice to whatever job they might work at. Teaching students to think analytically about social justice does not necessarily mean they will all end up working for non-profits or other like-minded organizations; it means that they will be prepared to consider social and environmental costs at any career they choose. They will be empowered to promote change in whatever area becomes their passion.

Challenging Preconceptions

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I think both of the readings for this week focus on the common thread of challenging students preconceptions through the use of multiple and multimedia texts.  Students do most of their learning outside of the classroom and thus bring with them to school a multitude of opinions about varying areas of academia.  It is much more important to confront and challenge these opinions than to allow them to sit untested.  This approach teaches students the valuing of challenging the status quo and questions what is accepted as truth within their communities.  This also carries school learning into the home and community, strengthening the bond between these areas of learning.

Having their opinions challenged can be a painful struggle for some students but the benefits they can potentially receive from this endeavor are far greater than any discomfort.  The classroom should be a safe place where a student can feel safely challenged.

Fiona and Emily: update

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We finally finished the first draft of our script! It is seven pages long and full of awesomeness. While we still need to edit and make some changes, we have decided to begin filming a few of the scenes over spring break. These are the scenes without any monologues or dialogues. The scenes are flashbacks, so we’ll film the action and then record the voiceovers once the script is edited. We’re both excited to begin filming. We know that the writing process is just the first out of many steps to making a movie, so we’re ready and eager to move on!