Ideas and Elements for an IRW Course

I would want my IRW unit plan to focus on community building, identity and culture.   I would also like to introduce students to pre-writing, pre-reading and active reading activities in this unit.  These are of course just ideas and elements and I would remain flexible in removing or adding different elements.

The first day of class would begin with a student meet and greet activity like Bonding Bingo so they begin to get to know each other and get comfortable with their future reading audience.  I would assign students to begin a blog and their first assignment would be to reflect on how they feel about reading and writing.  The next class there would be a discussion on reading and writing. What students like to read and what types of reading they do.  I would also ask the students who likes to write in their free time or for classes. 

Next I would assign a literacy narrative on the blog. I would want there to be lots of discussion in this unit so I would let the students share some of their literacy experiences the next day in class.  I would begin to facilitate my students in pre-writing activities by having them practice heuristics like brainstorming, freewriting, looping, and clustering/webbing. 

The next blog prompt would be for students to write an autobiography using a few of the heuristics to get them started.  Then I would put students in groups of two and have them interview their partner and write a two to three page biography about the person they interviewed on the blog. 

I would then begin to introduce pre-reading activities such as reading the title of an essay, the author’s biography and the first and last paragraphs to help students choose what essays or articles they wish to read.  I would then give the students a choice among several identity/cultural essays like Judith Ortiz Cofer’s The Myth of a Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria or Leslie Marmon Silko’s Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit. The next class would involve group and whole class discussions about the essays they just read and then I would assign a low stakes freewriting activity based on their chosen reading.  A blog post would be due about which pre-writing heuristic worked best for them. 

Next I would have lessons on annotating a text and creating a thesis statement.  They would then be assigned to begin working on a rough draft for a short essay on the cultural essay they had chosen.  The students would then be assigned to read a play and we would have discussions and readings of it in class.  I would do a lecture on structuring their essay and the students would then bring in copies of their chosen identity/cultural essays and have peer reviews.  I would give a lesson on adding sources and ask them to incorporate one or two sources and revise their drafts.

  At this point the students should be getting an idea of how they write and what works and doesn’t work for them so I would do an in class activity where students draw their process.  This will help the students visualize what they do when they write.  They would then hand in their drafts and have a student teacher conference where they would get more suggestions on revision. I would give a lesson on writing a works citied page and their first paper would be due at the next class meeting. 

The students would then go and see the play they read about in class and begin writing a paper about it.  Again they would bring in rough drafts for peer editing and revise those.  Then once again have a student teacher conference and revise again.  I would then allow my students to choose between the two essays they had written and revise it again being sure to  include good structure, a thesis, two sources and a works cited page. 

The last assignment would be a blog reflecting on all the reading and writing they did in the unit. The students could compare it to their initial thoughts and feels about writing in their first reflection blog.  They could explain how they have grown as readers and writers and what they think will work well for them going forward in regards to having to write papers in other classes.       

McCormick’s Chapter 2 on the Three Reading Approaches

Several Take-aways:

The Cognitive Reading Approach

What I got from the reading on the cognitive approach was the importance of the reader taping into prior knowledge and experience to better understand what they are reading.  I found the experiment around the wrestling story most interesting because I have no background in that sport so I assumed like the music class that the protagonist of the story was in jail. But later analyzing the line “He was being ridden unmercifully” (21) clearly shows the story is about a wrestling match.  This example also illustrates one of McCormick’s arguments against the cognitive approach for not allowing readers to decipher their own meaning of the story after reading it and reflecting on it.  It also stifles critical thinking by not allowing discussion of different opinions of what the story is about. And I think the most important thing to take away from the cognitive reading approach is that there is hardly ever one specific meaning that a reader gets out of a text.  I had a literature professor during my undergrad that would give us quizzes with three questions on them.  He said if you got one answer correct you would get a C, if you got two answers correct you would get a B and if you got all three correct he stated, “You knocked it out of the park.”  This professor unfortunately never returned any of the quizzes so I had no idea where I stood in the class and it showed how he thought there was only one meaning behind all the readings and if you didn’t answer those three questions correctly you were wrong.  I would never want to teach reading like that and stifle my student’s imagination and critical thinking.  

The Expressive Model       

Where the cognitive approach to reading seemed rigid, the expressive model seems lax.  One would think the expressive model would be difficult to teach because the chapter didn’t give any practical examples.  I got the impression that this approach is highly focused on the reader and possibly gives too much freedom of thought without other viewpoints from fellow students or the instructor.  However, the approach does have some value in that it promotes intrinsic motivation in students and allows them to relate readings to their own experiences.

The Social-Cultural Model

This approach explains how reading is a social process and that students should read with critical literacy.  McCormick introduces new reading pedagogical practices and shows that reading can be taught differently than the other two reading approaches.  For example having students retell cultural narratives to experience reading from a different cultural perspective.  I look forward to discussing this approach in class tomorrow so I can get a better understanding of how it works.

  

     

The Blogging Process

A successful blog for me is one where I have truly expressed my thoughts.  I like to write anecdotes and practical examples so I can envision my ideas more clearly and reflect on how things would work in a teaching context.  I also feel I've had a good posting when I receive comments and questions from my peers.

As a reader I like a posting that is easy on the eyes with a bold title so I can begin thinking about what I'm going to read.  It also helps to see the persons picture on their blog so you can remember who did the writing.  I prefer to read a narrative blog with stories and practical examples rather than bullet points.

I like to receive comments on my blog that give me insight on how my ideas could be utilized as a teacher in the composition classroom.  I also like when people ask me questions about what I wrote because then I can think more deeply about the topic.  Sometimes answering a persons question on a blog I have written can be difficult, but it really helps me analyze and reflect on the topic at hand.  I would also like to highlight good teaching ideas made by my fellow bloggers and ask them questions that might help them produce even more ideas.

I like both the write to read and read to write processes so I think we should do both in our blogs each week.  I think the instructor should give us a prompt and questions on the topic of the week and allow us to write freely on our blogs about the subject.  Then we should also be assigned one reading to summarize and reflect on in a blog posting.  We should be asked to read our fellow classmates blogs and comment on at least two of them that sparked our interest or that we have questions about.  I would also like to get occasional comments from the instructor about my blog.  And as for the thorny question, I think the blogs should be counted as participation and graded as stated on the syllabus. 

What My Course for Under-Prepared Students Would Look Like

The course would start right away with a community building or meet and greet exercise so the students would start to get to know each other.  I would also use group work and whole class discussions throughout the class to assist students who feel more comfortable talking in small groups as well as those who like to speak to everyone.  This will help with generating ideas as well as critical thinking.  I would like to have students read and write cultural narrative/essays in the beginning of class because I think people like to explain their culture to others.  With a student population of international students, generation 1.5 and other diverse backgrounds this will also help community building.  The students could also revisit the cultural essays that they have written later in the semester and do revisions once they have developed more skills and understand their writing processes.

I would include pre-reading lessons like reading the title of an essay, author biography and first paragraph to help students make assumptions about what they are going to read.  As well as analyze any images that may accompany the text.  This will help the students pinpoint arguments and main points.  I would also want to facilitate active reading in my students by having a lesson on making annotations as they read in the margins of the text.  Reminding students to underline main points or what they feel is important, writing question marks on passages where they have questions and jotting down emotions or feelings they have as they read.  I would teach pre-writing heuristic techniques like brainstorming/listing, freewriting and clustering to help students get started with their writing.   I would also lecture on writing thesis statements and structuring essays.  

I would want to incorporate technology into the class by showing students how they can use their cell phones for brainstorming or to jot down ideas.  I would use blogs so students would be writing often.  I believe the more the student writes the easier it will be for them to get started.  I also liked an activity we did in English 700 where you draw your writing process.  I think this exercise helps the student visualize how they write and what works for them.  Of course I would not introduce this until later in the semester when students have a feeling of what writing processes are.

I like the idea of introducing students to different types of reading and writing so along with cultural narratives I would also have them read essays on controversial issues, magazine articles and short stories.  I would possibly even have the students write a movie review and if time is permitting I would have them tackle a short novel.  The goal being to introduce them to readings and writings similar to what they may experience in other courses.

I would also have students do peer editing of each others papers, but I would do it a little different by allowing the students to take their partners papers home and work on it rather than having them feel rushed to read and review on the spot.  Then after they have had time they can come back and discuss their thoughts with their partner.

At the end of the class I would have the students write a reflection of the class. How do they feel they have improved in their reading and writing?  What do they feel they have learned? How are their thoughts and feelings about writing different then at the start of the course?  Do they feel more prepared for writing they will have to do in other classes? What else would they have like to get out of a reading and writing course like this one?    

Summary and reaction to Critiquing the Need to Eliminate Remediation: Lessons from San Francisco State by Sugie Goen-Salter

Sugie Goen-Salter covers a lot of the same ground that she did in her earlier article with Gillotte-Tropp, but goes a step further.  She argues for universities such as hers to be the place for incoming freshmen to learn integrated reading and writing skills so they can successfully transition into basic college level writing courses.  Goen-Salter goes even a step further by showing how her and her collogue Gillotte-Trapp have created a year long program to help prepare community college teachers to teach integrated reading and writing. 

I find this article very inspiring because Goen-Salter and Gillotte-Tropp’s IRW program offers a solution to remediation.  Goen-Salter shows that the first year of college is the place where students should learn basic reading and writing together in order to transition into academia.  Goen-Salter and Gillotte-Tropp’s teacher education program should also put a dent in the remediation problem by giving future community college composition professors the tools they need to teach integrated reading and writing.  Goen-Salter states, ‘To help prepare new faculty to teach integrated reading/writing, my colleague Hellen Gillotte-Tropp and I created a year-long graduate seminar (“Seminar in Teaching Integrated Reading and Writing”) as part of the San Francisco States MA and graduate teaching certificate program in post secondary reading and composition”(100). This may sound like a dumb question, but is this our class that she is referring to?  I guess I am confused by her saying it is a year-long graduate seminar while our class is one semester.    

 

Summary and reaction to Integrating Reading and Writing: A Response to the Basic Writing “Crisis” by Sugie Goen and Helen Gillotte-Tropp

In Sugie Goen and Helen Gillotte-Tropp’s Integrating Reading and Writing: A Response to the Basic Writing “Crisis” The authors discuss the need for remedial programs for college students that are not ready for the first year college level writing course.  The authors describe the diverse student population at San Francisco State University where they teach and argue that these students are not learning the skills they need to make the transition from high school to college.  Goen and Gillotte-Tropp go on to explain the implementation of the 1997 remedial policy that only allows students one year to get to college level reading and writing.  The policy also only allows 10% remedial courses.  Goen, Gillotte-Tropp and fellow faculty at San Francisco State University developed a remedial integrated reading and writing program in 2000 that links instruction in both the skills of reading and writing.  The program is also a year long as opposed to three semesters.  The authors then break down the program into six principles and objectives.  Then the article takes on a case study approach comparing the integrated reading and writing program with the conventional program.   

This seems like a great program for many reasons.  I like the fact that the student and teacher are able to stay together for the entire school year and that if the student passes the integrated program they have already completed the college level writing requirement.  Students are introduced to many different types of reading materials and this will help them read for different disciplines.  The program also gives those students who do not pass the integrated program another chance to take the college level writing course.  I also like how they have given the course unit credit so students will not feel like they are taking the class for nothing.  I am interested to know in more detail how the PPP and KWL+ skills are taught because I did not get a clear understanding from the reading.  I would also be interested in how one would teach collaborative and /co-authored projects.

The Reason They Are Here

In my first semester here at San Francisco State University I was interviewed by The Golden Gate Xpress about whether I as a student thought immigrants living in California should have access to financial aid.  I said, “I think if they’re here and they’re serious students they deserve an opportunity for an education.”  I feel the same about students who are not quite ready for college level work.  Most students come to college because they want to learn and they should not be left out.  Everyone should have access to an education and what better place is there to get the skills one needs then in college itself? 

 I do not think I was exactly ready for college level work returning after a sixteen year absence, but through good teaching I developed my skills and learned how to be successful.  My return to school began at a city college and I am a whole hearted supporter of that system.  I am not saying that students must be sent to city college if they are not ready, but it is not a bad place for a student to take the time they need to develop their skills. However, I am also a believer in prerequisite classes and placement testing.  Students should also be able to take courses that require some writing so they can develop their skills. 

Instead of the California government making cuts in education they should be supporting programs beginning at the high school level.  The academic writing class has a much different face then it had twenty years ago.  No longer is the writing classroom all native born speakers of English.  We now have many international and generation 1.5 students.  Our institutions need more programs to meet the specific needs of this state’s diverse student population.  It is obvious that there are many students in university that are not up to speed and teachers and administrations have the difficult task of trying to meet these student’s needs. 

In regards to reading and writing, pre-reading and pre-writing skills are both essential to perform at the college level. Pre-reading helps students select the best sources for their academic papers and pre-writing helps them get started in the writing process.  There is also an academic register that students need to acquire so they can communicate effectively with their teachers and peers. Students also need to be introduced to different writing processes to see what works for them and what does not.  Another skill we have yet to discuss in class is critical thinking. Students need to be able to evaluate sources and pose arguments.  This leads to being able to write thesis statements and structure essays.  As future composition teachers our hands are full with trying to help students be prepared for academic level reading and writing, but if we put our hearts into creating courses that meet our student’s needs we may be able to help them with the reason they are here: to learn.             

Summary of Chosen Reading

A Historical Perspective on Reading Research and Practice by Patricia A. Alexander and Emily Fox is a focus on the historical transformation of the study of reading over a fifty year period. Alexander and Fox looked at particular eras and the main views and research of those times.  The researchers also looked at both sides of opposing theories of the time. They first looked at 1950-1965.  At that time the post war baby boom increased the number of students in schools and emphasized reading problems. The main research of this period focused on Skinners behaviorist theory and remediation was thought to be the solution to students reading difficulties. From my understanding of the reading phonics was used and the thought process was that students could be trained how to read.  The Gestalt theory opposed behaviorism with a linguistic stance.

Then Alexander and Fox looked at 1966-1975 where the field began to look at different disciplines in regards to reading. The researchers discuss Noam Chomsky and his theory of universal grammar. Chomsky’s idea is that every human being is hardwired with a system of grammar in their brains. Reading research took on a psycholinguistic stance that all human beings had the ability to read.  At the end of this period it was found that reading had to be looked at aside from speaking and acquiring language.

During the period of 1976-1985 the federal government began funding reading research and the fields of psychology, communications and English formed a community of research.  There was a focus on reader’s knowledge and how well that helped them read.

1986-1995 saw research in social and cultural anthropology.  This research focused on literacy and real world situations that took on a more social approach.

 Alexander and Fox label the current period “The Era of Engaged Literacy” (51) because readers are no longer reading in just the traditional ways. Hypermedia was introduced during this time and offered non linear texts.  Research was also done on motivation and student interest.  The researchers bring up the fact that young readers may develop their reading skills more quickly through technology, but they have never lived in a world without the World Wide Web and have to learn to evaluate where their sources are coming from.

In the end Alexander and Fox explain the importance of their historical perspective.  We can learn from reviewing the literature and research of the past and see how the field has transformed as well as look to what the future may hold in reading research.

 

 

Active Reading in the Classroom

To teach or convey the ideas in “Active Reading” to a developmental reading/writing class in regards to pre-writing I would distribute an essay of several pages to the students.  Then I would have them skim the text by having them read the title, biography of the author and the first and last paragraphs.  I would go through each item one by one and then have the students do a brainstorming activity by writing a list of ideas.  Then I would ask the students what they think the essay is about.  I would explain to the students that these pre-reading activities are good habits to get into before they begin reading an essay more actively.  I think by facilitating students in these processes it will help them make inferences about the texts before they read them more deeply and also help them in the selection process of future texts.

During reading I would ask students to draw stars next to passages that they think are important in the reading and ask them to take a minute to imagine a picture of the idea they just read in their mind.  I think this will help them remember important topics within the essay.  I would also ask students to try reading at different paces.  Reading a little faster through portions of the text that they feel are not as important and slowing down when they feel sections need more attention.  I would also ask them to stop and reflect on passages that they feel are of importance.

After reading I would have a whole class discussion on the reading.  I would follow that up by having students do a free writing exercise.      

                                 

Late Bloomer

I remember being in a reading class in elementary school.  That is the first thing that comes to mind when I think about being exposed to reading and writing.  I have to push my thoughts way back because I am an older returning student and it has been a very long time since I was in elementary school.  My teachers name was Mrs. Robin and she had us keep a journal.  We were allowed to write about anything we wanted to in our journals.  I can’t really remember anything specific that I wrote in my journal, but I do remember the feeling of freedom I had to say whatever I wanted when I was writing in that journal.

Reading at first did not give me that same joyous feeling.  I remember I wanted to see the movie Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in the worst way.  That was back in 1977 and I was nine years old.  My Father told me that he would not take me to see the movie unless I read the novel.  I remember this being horrible for me because I really struggled through the text.  As a nine year old I just wasn’t interested in reading what I thought was complicated science fiction.  I just wanted to see the cool images and characters on the big screen, but I did finish the book and got to see the movie.  Reading was a real struggle for me during my childhood.  I have always been a slow reader and my teachers held me back because of it.  They gave me the impression that I wasn’t a good reader and I guess I internalized what they told me.  It wasn’t until I read a book called The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis that I realized I could actually enjoy reading.  For the first time in my young life I couldn’t put down a book until I finished it.  From that moment on reading became more personal for me and I didn’t care what my teachers said.  I knew I could read.  Looking back on it now I see how being interested in what I was reading and being able to take the time to really delve into the text is what helped me become a better reader. 

I took a few community college classes after graduating high school, but always dropped out.  I really did not have the focus or interest back then.  It wasn’t until sixteen years after high school that I found myself back in community college again.  I went to Japan to visit a lady friend of mine and became enamored with her culture.  I went to my counselor and told her of my interest in earning the credits necessary to transfer to a four year university and major in Asian Studies.  All of a sudden I found myself reading and writing in school again.  Only this time the experience was different.  I was writing freely like I did in Mrs. Robins class and I was delving into the readings like I did with The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe because I was truly interested in what I was doing. 

When I reflect on these past reading and writing experiences I think they will help me be a better teacher because I understand that every student learns differently.  Some students may read slower than others and I as an educator will be mindful of that fact.  I also realize it is important to give positive reinforcement to students so they can recognize their reading and writing abilities sooner.  And most important I will try to appeal to my students interests so they become passionate about reading and writing.

A Little Bit About Me

My name is Michael Andrews and I feel fortunate to be a returning student at this stage of my life.  I received my A.A. degree from Pasadena City College in 2008, a B.A. in Asian Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2011 and I am now in the MA TESOL program here at SF State.  I guess you could say I have become an avid reader since returning to college.  I have read six short novels over this past summer.   I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima, The Key and Diary of a Mad Old Man by Junichiro Tanizaki, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto.   It is going to be hard to keep up this pace now that school has started again. 

Many years ago I worked as a bartender in a Cheers type bar in the suburbs of Philadelphia.  It was when I was promoted to bar manager that I realized I wanted to become a teacher.  I was responsible for hiring, training and firing of bar personnel.  I found my greatest strength in training employees.  I discovered that I have a great patience inside me and a desire to share my knowledge.  I took the passion for my craft and put everything I had into teaching it.

I had a similar experience during my undergrad working as a tutor at my universities campus learning assistance services.  Only this time instead of bartending I was helping students with their reading and writing.  I felt due to the education I received and my prior success in writing academic papers, I had developed a knack for explaining the processes involved in composition.  Then when I came here to San Francisco State I was excited to learn that the English department had a certificate in teaching composition.  It would be my dream to return to my Alma matter of Pasadena City College and teach where my path back to school began.