Teaching Today
A blog following teacher Aaron Jura as he plans engaging, yet relevant English Language Arts content for High School students in New Orleans, LA.
Planning is never easy I always start with a few good books on the topic I am looking to have students work on. For this particular unit., I selected the following books for my self-study prior to selecting a graphic novel to use or buying any materials:
Scholarly Research I also typically peruse a good number of scholarly research articles and pedagogical articles to ensure that I am covering (or not missing out on) all the relevant standards and skills that can be mastered using, in this case, graphic novels and comics. For this unit I used several great scholarly articles. My favorites are:
How Could It Go Wrong?
Where I am right now At this moment, I am in the beginning stages of the planning process. While I have reviewed and determined there is a BIG reason why I should use the graphic novel to teach I have not determined exactly what will be emphasized. I think that the basic elements of a story are always important to discuss with the class, the deep themes in V for Vendetta along with the overview of dystopian societies would be good enough to me to warrant an exploration of this engaging storytelling medium. I also hope to explore how characters are developed in visual form to setup the class for future film study/screen writing units or simply to inform their narrative writing in general. Remember: Teaching is the Art of Assisting in Discovery If you always fall back on the fact that, as a teacher, it is your job to assist students in doing the heavy lifting you can not go wrong. Comics and Graphic Novels are engaging, but the questioning and rigor in the classroom should not be compromised for any reason. When I launch this unit I will be sure to update you all with the materials and insights I learned from going high engagement in our classroom readings.
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Every year I try to set myself a BIG goal. I am held accountable for the goal through our Professional Growth Plans and always want to see success. This year, my goal is to modernize the English I curriculum. You might be saying to yourself, "What does it mean to modernize the curriculum?" Believe me... I asked myself that same question about 1,000 ways and what I came up with was that the curriculum is not engaging because it is not relevant to students today. I can't really say what modernizing IS, but I can tell you what it's NOT. Modernizing does not mean eliminating classics. In fact, to modernize doesn't require elimination at all -- it requires a better mastery over classroom time and tightening routines to make the needed adjustments to enrich the curriculum with engaging and relevant content. For example, where the curriculum says we need to do Homer's Odyssey or Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet it does not say how this should be done. That's where the modernization comes in. This entire past month I have been added a unit in -- prior to engaging in our reading of The Odyssey -- on Greek Mythology and myth in general. Students have been very engaged in the mythological stories and beginning next week we will work through a group presentation project -- Mythological Reality TV where students will "pitch" a reality TV concept based upon a researched myth (from a culture other than Greek/Roman.) These types of engaging extensions help to modernize the curriculum by encouraging students to get engaged in their readings. If students are able to understand the Cyclops' mentality based upon Greek mythological representations won't they get to a deeper level of critical analysis when they encounter Polyphemus in the Odyssey? As for Romeo and Juliet, why not read it through the use of graphic novels? Why not act out scenes in a tableau form? Why not modernize the language and have students write Shakespearean insults? These are all highly engaging activities for the modern student that still allow us English teachers to cover the content we want the students to know and engage with. Finally, thanks to a generous grant from Jamba Juice we will be adding in a unit on graphic novels and comic books. I am going to use this moment to teach about transition -- and the use of art in relationship. I can't wait to get started. For anyone interested in using comics in class, I highly recommend picking up a copy of the book Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud and also taking the FREE course at the California College of the Arts (online) called Comics: Art in Relationship. I am also going to start incessantly bothering author Ta Nehisi Coates to see about getting a SKYPE call to the classroom about his work on Marvel comic's Black Panther series. :-)
Just another day in the life of a high school teacher. Whew! I just pulled myself out of a hole -- caught up on grading (it's a constant battle.) I also drank a pot of coffee at 10PM and now I am wide awake at 1AM! I'm updating you on what I have been up to and some general classroom strategies I am working on. Accountability I've noticed a lot of late work lately, which is putting students behind. This is problematic because it hinders the progress of a unit when you have to pause to give students additional time to catch up. The part that irks every teacher is that it doesn't seem to be pacing related and instead seems to be grit related. I am implementing 2 new strategies to help with this: 1) Pink Slips: When students are deficient on an assignment I am printing out a pink slip for them that sets an expectation that the item is made up within a certain period of time. Time consuming? YES!!! But needed until students are more organized. 2) Student Performance Contract: Students who have a C or lower are going to have weekly 1 on 1's and a student performance contract. We will work together (tutoring M, T, Thurs after school) to ensure success. If student breaks the contract by not turning in work they will be required to attend Saturday intervention to complete missing work. As for me, I have started doing after school tutoring M, T, Th until 5:30 PM. Wednesday's I am working with the National Archives as a member of the Virtual Foreign Service as an Assistant Curator for the Today's Document project. And, I just started teaching at Dillard University on Saturday's. Oh yea, plus my typical schedule of audited courses, American History courses, and grant writing work.
I guess I should try to get to bed... Greek and Roman mythology is all around us and is heavily represented thematically and symbolically in literature. I have always enjoyed teaching mythology because I find that it ignites a sense of wonder in often even the most reluctant learner. Simply the gore element alone in Greek myth will hook some students. I am using this year's unit as a bridge into our study of Homer's epic The Odyssey. In planning the unit, I couldn't visualize how students would be able to fully contextually understand the work without a general working knowledge of the stories of Greek mythology. Of the resources I have found I am most happy with the content in this resource and this resource. I also must say that the Coursera Greek and Roman Mythology course and Edith Hamilton's Mythology book. I'm excited to get started. This week we will begin with cultural references and a jigsaw activity on creation mythology. Then we will move into the Greek stories of creation with the story of Uranus and Gaia. Students will take notes on the types of mythos and also on the variety of interpretations of myth. At the end of the week, we will work in groups to design paper mache masks of a variety of the creatures from Greek and Roman mythology. So, the beginning of the year is upon most of us. I have already lived through my first week back. I must say, I love the first week back at school. I really do enjoy meeting all the new faces and getting to know them on a deeper level. This deep level of engagement is key to success later on -- especially once some form of fatigue starts setting in. Over the summer, as I have previously posted, I was fortunate enough to attend an NEH seminar on Appalachian Literature at Shepherd University in WV. One activity (of many) I have adapted to my first week lesson was George Ella Lyon's Where I'm From poem. I not only provided students with Lyon's version, but also with a template so that they could create their own. The level of work and creative writing I got back was breathtaking -- nearly publishable. Check out the poem and template here. |
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Mr. J is a high school teacher in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mr. J believes in the power of educators to help children and families achieve. Follow his blog for tips and techniques to keep engagement high and student achievement at the forefront. Archives
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