Historical Fiction

   Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres to read. I love the learning experiences that I have had and the critique of themes by an author through the comparison of the past and present. I have found that most historical fiction texts within the genre are more appealing if they have a fantasy element to them. I loved reading novels such as Mark of the Thief by Jennifer E. Nielsen that are set in history but have a magical element to them. As a reader, I struggle to be drawn into novels that are strictly historical fiction with realistic elements. This is because I have a strong idea of my reading preferences and he availability of historical with realistic elements has a forceful approach toward those that read it. Historical fiction tends to impose change on the reader for the better of society and emphasizes the importance of not repeating the past. Sometimes I struggle with historical fiction for that reason, but I have a love for the sub genre of historical fantasy fiction. 

   In order to engage students with historical fiction I think that it is important to tie a specific book to connections in the real world. For example, if a social studies teacher is covering events such as the Holocaust in Germany then book talking historical fiction set in that time could encourage students to read the genre. It is also important to have conversations with students about the history presented in this work of fiction and how perspective is important when thinking about certain events. Sometimes students need to have a conversation about what they have read and I think that historical fiction is a genre that cannot be left to stand alone without meaningful conversation.

Pernille Ripp and Graphic Novels in the Classroom

     I am convinced that Pernille Ripp and I are book mates. I have an appreciation of  graphic novels that developed later in life. As a child, I preferred novels over graphic novels, comic books, and even cartoons. I dismissed books with pictures because I believed they were too "easy" and that I was far to superior in my reading skills to read a book with pictures. I did not pick up and read a graphic novel until my teaching reading course during undergrad. It was recommended that we read a young adult graphic novel named The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang. I was immediately drawn into the story by the artwork and how it brought to life elements of fiction in creative form. Upon reflection, I believe that I resisted against graphic novels as a young adult because I believed I was a strong reader. In reality it actually takes a skilled reader to actually appreciate reading a graphic novel  in the way that it should be read.
   We all have students that will resist or struggle with reading in any form.  For me it was a student named A and he literally missed two weeks of school to avoid reading an in class novel. As a student teacher, I felt hopeless in this situation. However, Pernille Ripp makes a point to demonstrate the benefit of having graphic novels as a buy in to reading for struggling or disinterested students. She states,"So it is time for us all to realize that while comic books, graphic novels, or any other medium that has pictures in it may seem “easy” at first glance, I think the word we are really looking for is enticing, not easy.  Is inviting, not fluff.  Gives courage, not a cop out of reading" (Ripp 2018).   Ripp emphasizes the importance of student engagement and graphic novels do this in a way that reaches students that are reluctant to read.

  For this reason, I have been buying graphic novels for students with a variety of interests. I now own around twenty five graphic novels that I cannot wait to put in the hands of my students. I have graphic novels such as Dog Man by Dav Pilkey, Smile, Sisters, and Drama by Reina Telegmeir. I have comic books and graphic novels that deal with sexual orientation. I have novels that deal with topics such as immigration and police brutality. My classroom library will feature a variety of graphic novels and pictures books, because I truly believe that they can be engaging for students like A.

References

Pernille Ripp. (2019, April 14). Why Graphic Novels Belong in All of Our Libraries.  Retrieved July 17, 2019

Ruth Graham Article Response

 I am well aware that readers have preferences. Some prefer to read specific genres and in different mediums and others do not read at all. However, Ruth Graham scrutinizes the reading of Young Adult literature by adults because she claims it is too juvenile for adult readers. That is her opinion but I believe that she neglects to think about adults, like teachers that read YA with a purpose in mind. 

 "But even the myriad defenders of YA fiction admit that the enjoyment of reading this stuff has to do with escapism, instant gratification, and nostalgia" (Graham 2014).

  I would have liked to see some evidence from the defenders of YA fiction, because her lack of it demerits her argument. On the other hand, I do agree with her that YA provides the opportunity for adults AND our STUDENTS to escape into other worlds. Isn't that the purpose of reading no matter the age? As an adult that reads YA I read in order to escape into the worlds of my students so that I can engage my students with deeper conversations about a text.

  This article names a few of the YA books that have become block buster movies and tries to discredit the quality of writing. Graham states,"These are the books, like The Fault in Our Stars, that are about real teens doing real things, and that rise and fall not only on the strength of their stories but, theoretically, on the quality of their writing. These are the books that could plausibly be said to be replacing literary fiction in the lives of their adult readers. And that’s a shame" (Graham 2014). Although, I myself have not read The Fault in Our Stars I disagree with her argument that YA falls short in the quality of writing. Yes, the language and topics that are used in YA books is meant for young readers. However, if you are reading with purpose the complexity is still there. This reigns true in many of the current titles that are coming out today in the YA genre. For example, Buried Beneath the Baobob Tree by Vivianna Mazza is a text that deals with real world issues that are complex. The narrator is a young girl from Nigeria but her thoughts help us sympathize with the terrible situation that she is in and to understand that girls and WOMEN are experiencing horrific acts against humanity underneath the terrorist group Boko Haram. After I read this novel, I was not the same person and I believe that YA is doing the work of "adult" novels in a way that reaches more readers.

   "It’s not simply that YA readers are asked to immerse themselves in a character’s emotional life—that’s the trick of so much great fiction—but that they are asked to abandon the mature insights into that perspective that they (supposedly) have acquired as adults" (Graham 2014). 

   Again, if you are reading for a purpose then you should not be abandoning your mature insights into that perspective. I believe that YA asks adults to place yourself in the shoes of a young adult, but it also challenges you to think about how adult things and the world impact kids. And it is our job to help our students understand such complex topics such as terrorism in Buried Beneath the Baobob Tree or death in The Fault in Our Stars. 

 Although, Graham attempts to shame adult readers of YA fiction she failed to do so for me. I read YA with a purpose in mind and that is my students. Her argument was weak and she neglects to think of reading as a preference. Furthermore, I recognize that this article was written in 2014 but the YA novels that are coming out currently are pushing boundaries in a way like never before. That is important for adults and young people alike. 

References

Graham, R., & Graham, R. (2014, June 05). Yes, Adults Should Be Embarrassed to Read Young Adult Books. Retrieved July 10, 2019

#booksnap project

   I created this book snap using the digital tool Snap Chat. This book snap is created based off of the book Reflection by Elizabeth Lim. The novel is about Disney's Mulan and her journey to the underworld. I could see myself using this in my classroom as an engaging form of annotation for my students. You could take it a step further and have students share their book snaps on Instagram or Twitter with further analysis. They would be able to tag the author in their upload and I think that would be a great idea to give this activity an authentic audience. 

#BOOKSNAPS

Reflection of Zoom Discussion with Peers

Final post – In a stand-alone video post to your blog, reflect after the discussion

How did this task impact your reading? What did you learn about yourself as a reader? What could/would something like this look like in your classroom practice?

 Many of us agreed that teaching a series as a whole class text is unlikely due to curriculum requirements and accessibility. The main point raised was that reading a series as a whole class can be time consuming and also keep us from teaching a variety of different genres. Many series are written in a specific genre that transcends across the sequels and prequels. We discussed the impact that teaching a series as whole class texts could have on reader engagement and learning. As an avid reader, I have formed specific preferences around genre based on my reading experiences. Our students should be exposed to many different genres and by teaching series as whole class texts, students do not have the opportunity to explore different genres. For this reason, I believe that series do have a place in the English classroom as an independent reading novel. 

   We also talked about the strategies that are needed in order to support students in reading series. I am going to list below some of the strategies that were brought up in our discussion and some additional that I have since come up with. 

• Theme anchor charts
• Highlighting through discussion that plot elements such as characters, conflict, and setting are going to be reintroduced in the reading of series.
• Character maps 
• Open response diaries (this method is also a strategy that is used in the practitioner text A Whole Novels for the Whole Class by Ariel Sacks)
• Review of annotations before reading the additional books in the series
• Supplemental texts to support major themes presented in series texts (newspapers, short stories, pictures, art, media clips, etc.)
• Create a space for students to discuss major themes in series novels
• Literature circles
• Writing prompts that challenge students to write in the genre that a series is written in
• Use sequels to differentiate for students that are advanced readers if only teaching the first book of a series to whole class

   This task challenged me to think about the strategies that are needed to support students in navigating series. I think that series are a challenge for me because I tend to be drawn to a certain type of genre. For example, I find that I will only read a series if its science fiction. I have read The Hunger Games and the Divergent Series but I have a serious gap with other genres. I chose to read Mark of the Thief by Jennifer Neim to expand my reading preferences with my students in mind. Mark of the Thief is a historical and speculative fiction series. Going out of my comfort zone helped me slow down and really pay attention to the elements that make a series engaging. It also helped me understand what my students may need or want from the reading of a series. 

Response to Ariel Sacks

Wow! Ariel Sacks' Whole Novels for the Whole Class has truly inspired me. I have underlined and bookmarked countless passages and strategies that I want to bring into my reading curriculum. Although, this novel focuses mainly on the strategies that can be used for a whole class novel I found some answers to many of my questions about tracking independent reading and holding students accountable. I also found the student-centered approach to reading whole class novels to be practical in the context of my own classroom.
Last year, I struggled to teach my students how to truly analyze a text. Despite the modeling and think clouds that I conducted  I would become frustrated when time after time I received summary responses. Sacks talks about this in her text and I realize now that I neglected to teach my students how to "distinguish their own literal, inferential, and critical responses to a story" (Sacks, 2014, p.70).  Sacks provides lesson plans that demonstrate how to teach students this skill through modeling with a n oral story then, students practice this throughout the course of the year with sticky note annotations. I have been struggling with ways to hold my students accountable for their reading and this strategy does this for students in an effective way. Sacks describes the types of annotations that she expects of her students when they read and provides detailed instructions for each type. I love the idea of using this to track my students understanding of a text while also holding students accountable for reading outside of class. Sacks emphasizes the importance of setting high expectations for students by setting a reading schedule, daily page minimums, and daily homework sticky notes. This framework has helped guide my thinking as I move forward in finding ways to hold my students accountable for independent reading outside of class and ways in which I can make reading a priority in a restrictive environment.
One of my favorite strategies that Sacks uses to increase student buy in of a whole class novel is a novel ritual. She states, "By personally handing out a book bag to each student, I send a message that I believe each of them can do this and that I'm interested and invested in each one of their journeys" (Sacks, 2014, p.181). I think that this idea is brilliant and a great way to set expectations for the whole class novel for both students and their parents. Sacks lays out 5 dimensions for selecting a whole class novel that meets the needs of all students, but in the context of my school the book room is very limited in terms of young adult texts. However, she has challenged me to get into the practice of  analyzing a text using the five dimensions in order to best support my students reading.

References

Sacks, A. (2014). Whole novels for the whole class: A student-centered approach. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Response to Pernille Ripp

 This week I listened to the practitioner text Passionate Readers The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child by Pernille Ripp. I resonated with this text because Ripp addresses independent reading in its challenges as she has experienced it in her teaching career. She offers her own insight as to how even in the strictest of environments, we can still make independent reading a priority. This practitioner text complements the work that Buehler wrote and is deeply based in the research of many well known educators such as Penny Kittle, Donalyn Miller, Kylene Beers, and more. While listening to this text I was challenged to think about my first year of teaching and I was reminded by Pernille Ripp that the creation of YA pedagogy is a self reflective ever-changing process. I approached this reading in the way that Ripp wants readers to by thinking about the challenges of time and purchased curriculums and what I can do to uphold my belief of independent reading in my classroom.
Ripp describes the importance of being a “Reading Role Model” for our students in order to inspire reading outside of the classroom (Pernelle, 2018, p.25). This means thinking and having a rationale prepared for a conversation with my colleagues and maybe even administration about making time for independent reading. As a first year teacher, this will look like asking for ten minutes of silent and sustained reading to take place on Fridays. I am going to start off small in the hopes of building up to five days a week with ten minutes dedicated to independent reading.
One of the most interesting aspects of Ripp’s book was the section about physical space. I think about my favorite reading spot on my front porch and how it feels to be completely lost in a book, because I feel comfortable and immersed in a book. I want to create an environment in my own classroom that welcomes reading. Ripp talks about the ways that she created a choice seating environment by allowing students to read wherever they felt comfortable. Whether that was on the floor, beanbags, yoga balls, or the hallway. I plan to implement this in my own classroom by having a reading nook with comfortable bean bag chairs, a rug, and fluffy pillows.
Finally, I considered my classroom library and how I will go about using an organization system this coming year. Ripp talks about her own experiences with a classroom organization system and through trial and error how she has created one that gives students agency in the reading community. She talks about an organization system that is sorted in plastic bins based on labels that her students come up with based on genre, sub genres, and author names. I love the idea of incorporating my students into the organization of the classroom library and I think that it is a great way to engage students with the reading community. Ripp talks a little about digital organization systems, but she highlights the fact that every teacher and classroom is different. In my own classroom, I plan to use an old IPhone and have students check out YA novels from the app Classroom Organizer. This will be tedious on my end but I like the idea of having my students interact with technology. It may be a segway into using other apps such as Good Reads :D




References
Ripp, P., & Miller, D. (2018). Passionate readers: The art of reaching and engaging every child. New York, NY: Routledge.

Response to Beuhler

Jennifer Beuhler’s Teaching Reading With YA Literature has challenged me to think about not only the accessibility that YA lit has for our students, but the responsibility that teachers have in constructing meaning from it. During my undergrad experience I read a practitioner text by Donalyn Miller titled Reading in the Wild, a text that is filled with strategies to support and build life-long readers. The reality is that although young adult literature is engaging for our students, it is still reading and there is work to be done in teaching our students the habits and skills it takes to be a good reader. Donalyn Miller and Jennifer Beuhler have similar thoughts about being a teacher of readers and the importance of creating a reading community.

I really enjoyed reading about the four qualities that Beuhler outlines for a successful reading community, but I felt that my classroom context is vastly different than that of those that were depicted in these chapters. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, my school does not embrace young adult literature into the curriculum. While reading I challenged myself to think about the ways in which I could incorporate these qualities in my own classroom in the fall. The first quality that Beuhler explains is that students need to believe that their work with YA literature is just as important as the classics. In my own classroom, this may look like frequent discussions about the YA literature that they are reading outside of school in the topics that we are talking about in class. That may look like connections they make to a whole class text with their YA independent reading novel. It may also look like making a time and  before or after school for students to “share experiences with books and construct meaning together” (Beuhler, 2016, p. 53). This is an important aspect of YA literature that I feel is important enough to make space for in my classroom despite the challenges that I face in the context of my school. The second quality that Beuhler talks about is blending analysis with personal meaning making. Beuhler states, “analysis is not merely an exercise and is done in context. By bringing up literary concepts in the course of discussion, he helps students deepen their knowledge of how texts work” (Beuhler, 2016, p.53). This quality was a challenge for me to place in my own classroom, because my students will not have the opportunity to read YA aloud in class. If I were able to incorporate this strategy I would do something like YA lit circles.

As a teacher whom values YA lit as a way of guiding students to a novel that may move them in some way, Beuhler brings to light an important responsibility that teachers of readers have. She states, “We must choose books that we can stand behind as both engaging and challenging-titles that are compelling for teens to read but also suitable to the kind of work we expect students to do in middle and high school English classes. We need books that will hold up under scrutiny from officials in the curriculum office, accreditors of the state and parents” (Beuhler, 2016, 73). More importantly, I appreciated the fact that Beuhler addresses the importance of having a rationale the YA novels that we choose for our students. A huge concern for me is that while I feel that certain students may be ready for novels that deal with controversial topics such as drug abuse, sexual assault, suicide, etc. How do you censor these novels for those that maybe are not ready or their parents are against it. I appreciated that Beuhler addressed this concern for me in chapter five and provided many resources for teachers on the topic of censorship.

This reading challenged me to think beyond the surface of YA literature, and how I may go about creating a community of readers in my classroom. This reading inspires hope and makes way to a future that may support a rationale for my own incorporation of YA in my classroom.

References

Buehler, J. (2016). Teaching reading with YA literature: Complex texts, complex lives. Urbana, IL: NCTE, National Council of Teachers of English.

Pride:a relevant retelling of Pride and Prejudice

This week I read Pride by Ibi Zaboi, a modern retelling of the canonical text by Jane Austen. This novel checks all the boxes when it comes to diversity all the while still staying true to the themes and major plot points of the canonical text. I think that this text brings to the surface two important points to think about as I look to incorporate this text in my classroom. This diverse modern retelling has a space in the English classroom as a replacement to the canonical text because it is relevant to the issues that our students are going through currently.

A concern was raised during our Flip Grid discussion posts that I resonated with and I felt needed space to air out on my blog. The point being raised was about monitoring the conversations that come out of this text about minorities. Pride centers around an afro-latinx family living in a “hood” in New York. The protagonist Zuri is proud of her hood and the community that surrounds her, but with gentrification moving in on her neighborhood her home seems to be disappearing right in front of her. As Zuri states in the novel, “It’s a TRUTH universally acknowledged that when rich people move into the hood, where it’s a little bit broken and a little bit forgotten, the first thing they want to do is clean it up” (Zaboi 6). The class systems in this setting are highlighted here through the experiences that Zuri has in her neighborhood and the encounters that she has with Darius. The inequality of the class systems are highlighted in this novel in the same way that they are in the canonical text, but with it being a modern retelling the framing is far less removed for our students. The issues of stereotypes and assumptions come into play and could be difficult to navigate. I think that this text is a great learning tool to have difficult discussions with about assumptions because Zuri is often quick to judge.

While reading this novel I felt that teaching this as a whole class text in place of the canonical would be incredibly beneficial. Reading Pride and Prejudice in high school was extremely difficult because it felt so far removed from what I was experiencing in my own life. This text is far more engaging for young adults all the while still upholding the same themes of the canonical novel. This novel was easy for me to picture particular students in mind to pair with this text. I would recommend this novel for a student that loves to write poetry, create songs, or is going through a change. I will be teaching eighth graders next year and I think that many students would be able to resonate with the overall theme of coming to terms with a change.

Questions for the course and goals.

In the fall, I will begin my first year as a teacher of middle schoolers.  Over the last two years I have been building a classroom library for students that I have not yet met. Through the characters, experiences, and themes of each novel in my library I think about the type of student(s) this book could move in some way. Whether that may be a fantasy world that they can be transported to or a character that they can identify with. I will be teaching in a school that expects students to independently read outside of class. I am under the impression that I cannot give daily class time to reading independently. This is something that is disheartening to me as a teacher, because I had hoped that I could make a space for independent reading on a daily basis. Given that independent reading will not able to have a designated space in my instruction, my goals for this course and myself have adapted.

Questions:

1. How can I promote a love for independent reading in a restrictive environment?
2. How can I determine a student’s lexile level and track progression over time?
3. What determines a text’s ability to be used as a whole class novel or individual text?
4. When should a text be censored for independent reading?

Goals:

1. Find ways to incorporate book talks, book love corners, and other reading strategies into my instruction.
2. Think about what makes a novel great for a particular student and why.
3. Create independent reading mentor texts for projects.