Learning Letter

Dear Sean,

This quarter has been long and challenging to say the least.  However, I am not deterred from becoming a teacher.  The course overall gave me many different tasks to help me become more focused on my goal to become a teacher.

Through the work we’ve completed in class – the book talks, the mini-lesson, and the unit plans – I feel like I have more understanding of what it takes to become a teacher.  I’ll never be the perfect educator; however, I’ll continue to put one foot in front of the other and give it my best every day.  From the book talks, I do get now that you can’t just pluck any young adult novel off the shelf and expect that it is going to be teachable or appropriate for your class.  A teacher has to be knowledgeable about what he or she believe is going to be the beset novel to introduce to their class.  There may be some red tape for teachers to get through before being able to introduce books such as Symptoms of Being Human or The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian to their students.  But, the research put into looking for a quality book for students to read can add to your own personal library.

The mini-lesson was helped me gain an understanding on how to use time wisely.  Most of my peers in this class have had some high school teaching experience because of their majors as secondary educators.  However, I do not have that same experience with professional instruction.  The mini-lesson demonstrated that teaching students even for 20 minutes is not as easy as it seems.  The preparation it takes in order to lead instruction takes a while. Being able to research various methods of teaching and the pedagogy to back it up is also time consuming.  The time it took me to research the appropriate methods of teaching helped me to realize an important lesson about time management outside of the classroom, too.  Teachers need to set aside a good amount of time to set up their lesson plans in order to effectively present material to students.

The three week literature unit plan was the most challenging project I had to work on in this class.  This project only covers three weeks.  I've learned about how to set up a class and back up my lesson objectives with corresponding Common Core State Standards.  Being able to introduce material isn't anything that a teacher can pull out of their heads the night before.  It takes hours upon hours of work and dedication to create a successful unit.

From the books we’ve discussed and the lessons they contained, I’d have to say that my favourite two books would have to be Cris Tovani’s I Read It, But I Don’t Get It and Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of The Oppressed.  The knowledge in these books were incredible.  Freire’s Pedagogy helped me mold my teaching philosophy.  As a future educator, I plan to keep Freire’s book as a pedestal to help remind me that students are more than just canisters to be filled.  To treat students as such is an insult to both the students and to my own philosophy as a teacher that students should be part of an open atmosphere that encourages students to ask questions and really look into what they’re being taught.   

Overall, I really enjoyed this class and I look forward to putting what I’ve learned here into my future as a teacher.

Sherman Alexie "The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian" TPA

TPA Lesson Plan

1. Teacher Candidate	Arik Reyes	Date Taught	March 15th, 2017
Cooperating Teacher	Dr. Sean Agriss	School/District	EWU
2. Subject	English Language Arts	Field Supervisor	Dr. Sean Agriss
3. Lesson Title/Focus	The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian – Character Analysis	5. Length of Lesson	20 minutes
4. Grade Level	10th

6. Academic & Content Standards (Common Core/National)	CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
7. Learning Objective(s)	By the end of this lesson, students will be able to define a stereotype.  Students will also be able to know how stereotypes do not define a person’s identity.  Using Sherman Alexie’s Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian, students will be able to analyze how characters in the story develop over the course of the novel and connect their development to the theme of identity.  This learning objectives connects to Common Core State Standard… CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3 “Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.”
8. Academic Language demands (vocabulary, function, syntax, discourse)	Vocabulary: stereotype, identity. Function: Students will define and discuss the academic language used in this lesson in conjunction to character development in Sherman Alexie’s novel.

9. Assessment

Summative and formative assessment will be used to measure a student’s learning. Students will participate in the opening learning task.  The learning task will be part of student’s writer’s notebooks that will be turned in at the end of the unit.  The opening learning task will be graded as part of the student’s overall writer’s notebook.  The writer’s notebook is worth 20% of student’s final grade. Formative assessment will also be used in today’s lesson.  The assessment will measure how well a student participates and understand the lesson of the day.  Assessment will be measured on a 4 pt. scale based on each student’s participation.  (See attached assessment rubric) 4pt Student fully engages in group and class-wide discussion.  Student further contributes to class-wide discussions by asking questions related to lesson.  Student adds commentary within groups which challenges other students to engage in an exchange of ideas and inferences related to lesson. 3pt Student participates with both class and group discussion while maintaining moderate focus during lesson.  Student is noticeable but does not provoke further discussion. 2pt Student participates moderately throughout lesson.  Maintains minimal conversation with groups but does not fully contribute with class-wide discussion.  1pt Student puts forth minimal effort towards group and class discussion (requires teacher to call on student for participation in class). 0 Student does not participate in group or class discussions (ask/answer questions).  Student moves with the motions without being involved with the learning experience.  Refusal to participate/turn in in-class writing assignments along with not participating in class-wide or group discussions will also result in a 0 for daily participation.

10. Lesson Connections

Johannessen, Larry R. “Enhancing Response to Literature through Character Analysis.” The Clearing House, vol. 74, no. 3, 2001, pp. 145–150., www.jstor.org/stable/30190047. This Article by Larry R. Johannessen focuses on how students learn about character development through in-depth analysis and in-class group work after reading a text.  The article focuses on how students can better respond to more in-depth topics within a text by identifying character traits. This lesson builds on prior knowledge and instruction of literary elements such as plot development and character development.  The requisite skills students need to access the lesson is in-class participation.  So long as the student is not absent then the student will have full access to the lesson.  This content builds on what students already know about character development and plot from the ninth grade.

11. Instructional Strategies/Learning Tasks to Support Learning
Learning Tasks and Strategies The learning target in this lesson will help students understand the difference between stereotypes and identity. Sequenced Instruction Opening learning task—2 minutes Open class discussion—5 minutes Group work—5 minutes Identity discussion—5 minutes
Teacher’s Role Teacher will greet the students. Teacher will write define stereotype on projector. Teacher will have class work on two-part entry task. Teacher hold open-class discussion about stereotypes in Sherman Alexie novel. Teacher will ask “Do these stereotypes define who they are?” Teacher will pass out character worksheet. Teacher will divide class into four groups. Teacher will assign each group one character from the text. Teacher will give students five minutes to complete the worksheet. Teacher will walk around and listen to each group’s thought process. Teacher will gather groups together again as a whole class. Teacher will ask for volunteers from each group to identify characteristics of their characters. Teacher will hold open-class discussion about identity: “Part-time indian…why?” Teacher will have students participate in exit task.  “What they learned about identity/stereotypes/character development/etc.”	Students’ Role Students will participate in entry task. Students will participate in open-class discussion about stereotypes in characters of Alexie’s novel. Students will move into their assigned groups. Students will work together in their groups to fill out their worksheet. Students will volunteer from each group to define characteristics and qualities they found in their characters. Students will participate in the in-class discussion about identity. Students will participate in exit task.
Student Voice to Gather There are several ways that the teacher will gather student voice.  Participation in the entry task requires students to identify stereotypes.  The entry task is required to be part of student’s writer’s notebook that will be collected at the end of the unit.  Student voice will also be gathered in the open-class discussion.  Participation in the open-class discussion will be gathered in the formative assessment. Student voice will also be gathered at the end of the lesson by student participation in the exit task.  The exit task will not be part of the student’s writer’s notebook; however, it will be collected at the end of the lesson.

12. Differentiated Instruction

Plan This lesson uses the amount of time we have in class (20 minutes) to successfully complete the lesson for students to be able to learn about stereotypes, identity, and character development in Sherman Alexie’s novel.  I will be using the overhead projector to help students who have trouble seeing the white board when I define stereotype and when I introduce the entry and exit task.

13. Resources and Materials

Plan Johannessen, Larry R. “Enhancing Response to Literature through Character Analysis.” The Clearing House, vol. 74, no. 3, 2001, pp. 145–150., www.jstor.org/stable/30190047. Character Analysis worksheet --see attached The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Overhead projector Additional paper for students who do not have their writer’s notebook.

14. Management and Safety Issues

Plan In a class with 18 students, I will be assigning dividing the class into 4 groups for the class activity.  There will be three groups of 4 and one group of two.  Because the three groups are larger, there may be some issue with classroom management.  The larger groups may become too loud or disruptive to the other groups.  By monitoring each group as I walk around, if I find that some students are off task or discussing something unrelated to the activity, I will ask students to get back on task.

15. Parent & Community Connections

Plan Today, there are various issues regarding race and racism.  Looking at how pop culture appropriates or misappropriates stereotypes (i.e. music that uses derogatory slang or TV shows that attempt to bridge the gap between races in high school age characters [Degrassi]), some stereotypes are more harmful to others.  By the end of this lesson, my hope is that students will be able to understand that stereotypes can often be misplaced and that those stereotypes do not define a person’s character or identity.  Outside the classroom, the community connection I’m hoping students will take away from this is to cut down on stereotypes; whether it involves race, religion, social hierarchy, or even the social hierarchy in high school (athletes instead of jocks, etc.).

Name: _________________________ Date: ___________
 

Describing Characters Analysis Worksheet
 

Directions: Write the name of the character and a description of that character in the provided box.
 

1. Major / Main Character: __________________________________________
2. Minor Character: __________________________________________
3. Minor Character: __________________________________________
4. Minor Character: __________________________________________

"Night" by Elie Wiesel

          Night is a very strong and engaging book that shares the story of a Jewish prisoner in a concentration camp.  While the story is very graphic, the themes and values which breakthrough have a very real impact on its readers.  The Holocaust seemed to happen so long ago that many high school students would have only studied it through Anne Frank’s diary; possibly in middle school.   Night provides teachers with an opportunity to teach a bit of history along with English reading and composition.

            What John Boyne’s book does is also open the eyes of its audience to compare what happened to the Jews during the Holocaust to what is happening to refugees today also.  What can be learned from this book and what connections can be drawn from today’s world events are a prime example of how one would be able to teach this book.  Night would offer a chance to transfer our student’s concern from a text in the classroom to real world issues outside the classroom.  Boyne’s book offers teachers the chance to educate students on the questionable morality of human nature, the Holocaust, how dictators come into power, what values do we care for, and how our actions impact the world around us.

            The scene of news traveling to Eleizer’s community via radio of Hitler’s rise to power was an interesting part for me to analyze.  Everyone questioned it, asking how one man could “wipe out an entire people[? ]” To which Moishe says, “The Germans were already in town, the Fascists were already in power, the verdict was already out and the Jews of Sighet were still smiling.”  Today, people might be able to notice significant changes in our own country and students may draw similarities between one dictator and another.

I would recommend this novel to be read by juniors or seniors; however, because of the graphic descriptions of what happened in the various concentration camps it might be able to be taught to sophomores.  The detail would attract the attention of some reluctant readers.

"The Graphic Cannon" Response

          I’ve been reading comic books and graphic novels for many years now and feel as if my reading abilities have benefited greatly from reading them.  I am able to match words spoken with actions used while reading along a great story line.  After reading The Graphic Cannon Vol. 1-3 I can see myself using them as teaching tools in my classroom.  While graphic novels may not always be the best material to use when teaching a class full of seniors, to a class of freshmen or sophomores who are still reluctant readers The Graphic Cannon might be able to pull students into literature while providing literary sustenance to their education. 

            What I enjoyed about the Graphic Cannon was the wide-range of stories, novels, and poems it had to choose from for students to read.  The graphic novels were divided into volumes; each pertaining stories from various eras of cultural literature.  What I also enjoyed was how the book separated and that most of it summarizes what the stories are about (in terms of plot development) without losing too much of their ‘meat’ – that is to say what makes the story worth reading. 

            While the Graphic Cannon is a helpful tool to use in the classroom, it doesn’t come without its shortcomings.  I mentioned earlier how the stories are shorter without losing too much of its sustenance; however, it doesn’t necessarily mean the whole heart of the story with themes and more rounded characters are still found in the Graphic Cannon.  Suppose I wanted to do a character analysis on several characters from a single story from the Cannon such as Moby Dick.  Due to the brief illustrated version of the original text, I might not be able to teach the class about the dimensions of characters such as Ishmael, Captain Ahab, or Starbuck.  The Graphic Cannon sacrifices some of the story’s ‘meat’ for illustrations. 

To recap, while I feel the importance and satisfaction of including graphic novels in the classroom it doesn’t quite make up for what some of the stories lack in terms of their depth and character development.

Edgar Allan Poe

         Edgar Allan Poe is an author that I believe every high school student should be introduced to.  Poe’s works are incredible literary works of art that are fundamental to a scholarly education in English Language Arts.  Poe’s genre boarders on the grotesque and Poe himself has been noted to be one of the first American authors to introduce horror as a genre.  From his short stories to his poems, Edgar Allan Poe is truly one of my favourite authors that I feel privileged to be able to teach someday.

The Haunted Palace is shockingly one of the few poems that I was not familiar with.  Poe paints a vivid picture of a castle with golden-yellow banners, green grass, and beautiful empty windows.  Upon further inspection of the appearance of the palace, I found that the image I was looking at resembled the image of the women that Poe is famous for using as subjects in his poems and short stories.

The Black Cat, although horrible in terms of how anyone could wall in a cat with a corpse, details poetic justice being delivered onto a murderer.  An obsession over a cat and its incessant meowing occupies the psyche of the story’s narrator.  An act of rage compels the narrator to kill his wife and wall her dead body in the basement along with the cat that has invaded his every thought.  The aforementioned justice takes place as police investigate a strange odor that neighbors say is like horrid rotting meat.  Just before the police leave, the cat meows and cries out for help.  The police break the wall open to find the cat still alive and the wife’s body.  How quickly we forget that animals are sometimes more determined to live than we humans.

Poe really shows off how much he loves the idea of walling someone in to die.  In The Cask of Amontillado, Poe’s story details a man walling in Fortunado after Fortunado had “wronged” him in some unknown way.  Perhaps by denying his invitation to drink with him.  Either way, the narrator, Montresor, gets Fortunado drunk and places him in the wall of a basement and begins sealing him in.  Half-way through, Fortunado wakes up and screams in horror.  Montresor joins Fortunado in screaming; however, it is not out of fear.  Montresor is proving a point to Fortunado.  No matter how much either of them screams, no one will be able to hear them.  This point leaves Fortunado speechless and he is doomed to his fate.

Fall of The House of Usher is probably one of my absolute favourite stories that Poe has written.  The narrator visits the home of his friend and his sister: the Ushers.  Cut to the sister “dying” and once again, Poe chooses to have his character bury her in a room of the house.  Essentially walling her in.  Just like the cat and the wife in The Black Cat and Fortunado in The Cask of Amontillado.  The climax comes as the brother becomes nervous and the more time they both spend in the house the more unnerved he becomes.  Finally, his sister bursts through the door covered in her own blood.  Unbeknownst to the narrator (however, possibly not to the brother), they buried her alive.  She throws herself on her brother and they both collapse.  As the narrator storms out of the house in fear, the house collapses on itself.  In the end, The Fall of The House of Usher was both literal and symbolic as the brother and sister were also the last of their family and they died with no heirs to give their name to.