Reading Update: Immigration Issues

Hola! I've been absent on the blog and you might think I've had a quiet couple months, but I have been caught up in a reading frenzy! This is somewhat like the Franzia Frenzies of yesteryear in the Greek system. You emerge with bleary eyes and a little confused about names.  Seriously. A book a day for a solid couple weeks. For the most part, it's been enjoyable. I might be the most frequent visitor to the public library's young adult literature section. I'm a little disappointed the librarian doesn't know me by name yet... but she definitely recognizes me, so that's got to count for something... and hopefully something good.

So what have I been reading, you ask. I'm adopting the Teachers College Units of Study created by Lucy Calkins and her team, and my reading workshop curriculum this year will focus on social issues, informational text, and realistic fiction. Realistic fiction is easy-peasy. I don't need to fret too much about compiling a list of recommended titles, but I got on it for the reading on social issues.

In the past, I've tended to be pretty loose about the titles on my classroom bookshelves. If the book was popular, I didn't get too picky about what was on the pages. I figured that head honcho librarians and educators who are much more in the know about YA titles than I am recommended the book, so I'll take the recommendation. I only got in a scrape once, and an irate mom wanted to know why a book on my classroom shelf (that her daughter opted to read) contained fellatio. I told her the honest truth, which is simply I didn't know I had that. I gladly removed the book, and life went on. I asked the girl if I had scarred her for life, and she looked at me and rolled her eyes, so I think we all survived the small fiasco.

However, I will say this scenario did make me pause and reflect. Not to sound stuffy, but there truly is an advantage to having some teaching experience. In my twenties, I didn't have a motherly stance toward my students. I was too young and self-centered. At times, I still feel too young and self-centered, but there have been a few times when I've asked myself, "Ok, if I had a middle school child, would I want him/her reading this?" This is maturity in the making.

That question paired with the fact that I'm teaching in a Catholic school next year has caused me to be more conservative in selecting which titles make it to my classroom bookshelves. Much more conservative. I'm slightly terrified by the wrath of parents paying to send their children to school where they are expected to learn strong values and morals. I think if the fellatio fiasco (alliteration at its finest and completely inappropriate for school) were to happen this year, things could get ugly. Really ugly. Therefore, I am reading everything that I put on my shelves and on my recommended reading list.

Thankfully, Teachers College provides a hefty list of recommended titles to use with each unit of study. As I said earlier, I've focused heavily on books that address immigration issues. If I can, I check out the book from the library, and if the book earns a passing grade, I buy it on Amazon. Greg will probably not read this blog, so I feel safe in confiding that I have spent more than $1,000 stocking my classroom library... and it's only June. 

For those of you considering the Teachers College Units of Study and the social issues reading unit, I'll share my take-aways. These will be most helpful if you are teaching in a conservative school like I am because there have been some powerful books that I've had to scratch off the list because of language, sex, and/or derogatory comments about faith.

1. A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
2. Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez: My only word of caution would be that this book is better suited for girls. Although it is a thin thread in the book, there is semi-frequent discussion of a girl entering puberty.
3. Refugee by Alan Gratz
4. Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez
5. Uprising by Margaret Peterson
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez: By page 8, I had flagged three places. The word motha***** appeared one too many times.

I have more reading to do, but I am grateful for any additional titles you might recommend that deal with immigration issues.

The First Goal of Writing Workshop

     In their book Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide, Ralph Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi provide caution teachers against using the first month of writing workshop on "trying to improve the quality of the writing, or getting students to make substantial revisions. These are appropriate long-term goals, but they will sink the workshop if they become the focal point too early in the year" (22). Instead, the authors suggest focusing on the following short-term goals:

• get students to love writing time
• establish a safe environment so that kids can take risks in their writing
• set up a workable management system to handle the flow of writing

Love and Safety

The first two goals go together hand-in-hand. If kids feel safe taking risks with their writing, chances are they're engaged and "lovin'" it. The authors remind us that the quickest way to engage students is to offer them choice. As writers, students can have choice in topic, length, audience, and pace. To encourage students to take risks, Fletcher and Portalupi suggest giving specific praise about each student's writing, reading aloud from powerful texts that serve as models of the kind of writing you hope they might do, and writing alongside of them. 

Management System

    Google Drive replaces the two-pocket folders and hanging files of yesteryear. I envision my students creating folders within their Writing folder, labeled Unfinished Writing Folder, Finished Writing Folder, and Reflection Folder. 

     The Unfinished Writing Folder will contain the student's work(s) in progress while the Finished Writing Folder will serve as a portfolio. Within the Finished Writing Folder, have all students make a copy of a shared Google Doc that will serve as a table of contents. In the table of contents, students will list the title of the finished piece, the date it was finished, and with whom the published writing was shared.

      It's imperative that students reflect upon their learning, and I will require that students complete a reflection form upon the completion of each published writing. Students will also conduct grander reflections at the end of each semester. 

     Students will also keep Writer's Notebooks which will serve as another component of the management system. I constantly change the sections of my students' notebooks, but I plan to use the following sections for the upcoming school year: (1) Grammar Minilessons, (2) Mechanics Minilessons, (3) Craft Minilessons, (4) Pre-Writing, (5) Revision/Editing. Students will keep a table of contents on the first two pages of each section to make the notes more user-friendly. 

Questions

• I'm still unsure how to provide students meaningful choice while still adhering to the Common Core State Standards. For example, if students need to show proficiency in argumentative writing, then should I ask them all to write a 5-paragraph argument yet choose their own topic? Or should I allow them to choose their own genres within the mode of argument/persuasion and apply the same rubric to all the different modes since all will be expected to consist of the elements of argument? The connection between writing workshop and standards-based assessment is still not clear to me.