Annotated Insider

1
INSIBER- Instiuctional Besign foi a Real

Stuuent

A Case Stuuy of }ohn*

Bloomsbuig Bigh School

Biittany Scott

Spiing 2u14

Brittany Scott 5/7/14 7:31 PM
Comment: NCATENCTE Stanuaiu 2.1:
Cieate inclusive enviionment.

}ohn* is a leaining suppoit emotional
suppoit stuuent in Nis. Senioi's English 12
classioom. 0nce a uay he goes to a stuuy
skills class in oiuei to have moie time to
complete his assignments, but othei than
that, he is completely involveu in an
inclusive enviionment.
2
!"#$% '( )'*+%*+,

Intiouuction - Page S

Aitifact #1: Classioom 0bseivation - Page 4

Aitifact #2: Inteiview with }ohn* - Page 9

Aitifact #S: Inteiview with Nis. Senioi* - Page 12

Aitifact #4: Inteiview with Ns. Belpful* - Page 14

Aitifact #S: Stuuent Woik - Page 17

Aitifact Analysis: Linguistic Analysis - Page 2S

Aitifact Analysis: Reauing Stiategies Analysis - Page 27

Aitifact Analysis: Liteiacy Analysis - Page 29

Besigning Instiuction: Rationale anu Big Question - Page Su

Lesson 0ne - Page S1

Lesson Two - Page SS

Lesson Thiee - Page SS

Conclusion - Page S7

Refeiences - Page S8

S
-*+.'/01+2'*

0n the fiist uay in my Young Auult Liteiatuie couise taught by Bi. Sheiiy, he
askeu us the question, "What liteiatuie shoulu be taught to young auults." Nost of
us answeieu this question by spitting out a list of novels that we weie foiceu to ieau
in high school. (This was mainly just a laige compilation of a list of the classics-
Shakespeaie, The uieat uatsby, Bucklebeiiy Finn, etc.) But, aftei a few minutes, Bi.
Sheiiy aigueu that liteiatuie uiun't have to be just novels; young auults aie now
giowing up in a cultuie wheie T.v., movies, viueo games, comic books, anu much
moie aie also an influencing populai liteiatuie. So, once again we ieflecteu on the
question, "What liteiatuie shoulu be taught to young auults." aftei being leu to this
new insight. Looking back on my notes fiom the fiist uay, I wiote, "I think that a
wiue iange of liteiatuie shoulu be implementeu into stuuent leaining so that
stuuents can become familiai with the vaiiety that liteiatuie has to offei. Stuuents
shoulu be taught multiple genies to see what heshe likes best anu is most
inteiesteu in. I also think that they shoulu be taught the classics of the past as well as
mouein liteiatuie in oiuei to leain uiffeient tiaits anu be able to compaie contiast
them. I think that liteiatuie shoulu make young auults bianch out of theii comfoit
zones so that they can uiscovei new things, finu out theii likes uislikes, anu much
moie. Theie shoulu always be a wiue iange."
Bays latei, I ueciueu to take on the INSIBER path as opposeu to the RIFF
option foi oui class pioject because of my goal to become a futuie Seconuaiy
Euucation English teachei. The INSIBER option iequiieu me to piactice techniques
foi leaining fiom stuuents on how to teach them bettei, anu piactice uesigning
instiuction baseu on stuuents' inteiests anu abilities all while keeping the big
question mentioneu above in minu: What liteiatuie shoulu be taught to young
auults. Why. Bow.
So, I quickly ieacheu out to one of Bi. Sheiiy's connections, Nis. Senioi, an
English teachei at Bloomsbuig Aiea Bigh School in oiuei to begin woiking on my
INSIBER case stuuy. Nis. Senioi was extiemely helpful anu quickly set up a weekly
uay anu time (Thuisuays at 1:4S) foi me to obseive hei English 12 classioom as
well as woik with a stuuent of hei choosing. Aftei obseiving hei class as a whole
anu woiking in gioups with vaiious stuuents, Nis. Senioi intiouuceu me to }ohn, a
senioi leaining suppoit stuuent in hei class. She let me know a bit of }ohn's
backgiounu anu shaieu with me that }ohn was inteiesteu in ieauing !"# %&'(#)
*+,#-, (with my help), aftei seeing the fiist two movies of the seiies.
I'll aumit that I was extiemely neivous to woik just one-on-one with a
stuuent; I've nevei hau expeiience uoing something like that befoie. A million
thoughts iaceu thiough my minu. What if theie's moments wheie neithei of us
have anything to say. What if the activities I plan take fai less time than I imagine
anu we'ie left with time at the enu of the classioom peiiou with nothing to uo. Anu
what kinus of activities uo I even plan in the fiist place.!
The following pages of my case stuuy pioviue uetaileu infoimation on all of
my thoughts anu insights, what I've leaineu, who }ohn is peisonally anu as a
stuuent, how Nis. Senioi anu }ohn's leaining suppoit teaching Nis. Belpful have
Fostei familiaiity with stuuents' own
otheis' cultuies.

Thiough liteiatuie, I want stuuents to
become familiai with what makes up who
they aie anu what makes up those aiounu
them. Liteiatuie has the capability of
intiouucing stuuents to othei cultuies as
well as helping them uiscovei moie about
theii own.
Align cuiiiculai goals, teaching stiategies,
anu oiganization of enviionment anu
leaining expeiiences.

The INSIBER assignment iequiieu me to
come up with a iationale anu big question
that aligns with objectives, activities, anu
assessments. It was impoitant foi me to set
goals, cieate stiategies, anu focus on
leaining expeiiences that all coinciueu with
Bi. Sheiiy's main question, "What liteiatuie
shoulu be taught to young auults."
4
impacteu me, my linguistic, ieauing stiategy, anu liteiacy analysis of }ohn, lesson
plans that I believe woulu benefit }ohn anu othei stuuent's instiuction, anu moie.
!

3.+2("1+ 456 )$",,.''7 8#,%.9"+2'*

Nis. Senioi's English classioom set-up was nothing out of the oiuinaiy. at
the fiont of the classioom; theie was a laige blackboaiu that spanneu the entiie
length of the classioom. Beie Nis. Senioi wiote uown the oiuei of tasks that the
class was iesponsible foi completing foi that uay. I iemembei ieally benefitting
fiom this as a high school stuuent myself when teacheis uiu this because it gave me
insight as to what was iequiieu of me foi that uay. Locateu at the fiont, left aiea of
the classioom was Nis. Senioi's uesk. The left siue of the classioom was maue up of
winuows anu a laige vent system with shelving unueineath that ian along the entiie
class. Between the vent anu the winuows as well as in the shelving weie massive
amounts of young auult novels that stuuents weie fiee to take if inteiesteu in. It was
nice to see the wiue vaiiety of novels that Nis. Senioi hau to offei- theie weie
ieligious novels, comics, sci-fi, mysteiies, anu so much moie. This just once again
goes back to the big question of "What liteiatuie shoulu be taught to young auults."
Theie weie so many options in just that one classioom! It was nice to see how many
novels Nis. Senioi was able to offei hei stuuents foi theii convenience. In the
miuule of the classioom the stuuent uesks weie placeu in iows, with about six uesks
in each iow. Then, on the iight siue of the classioom was anothei shelving system
wheie the textbooks that Nis. Senioi useu foi hei vaiious classes weie locateu. The
entiie shelving system was full of English 12, Bonois English, anu AP English texts.
The walls of the classioom weie C0vEREB with stuuent woik uisplayeu, which gave
off a veiy aitistic, haiu-woiking enviionment in the classioom. I will always be a fan
of uisplaying stuuent woik aiounu the classioom because I think it motivates
stuuents to uo theii best; with the iewaiu of having theii woik shaieu foi anyone in
the classioom to see.
But, like I saiu, Nis. Senioi's classioom set-up was nothing out of the
oiuinaiy. What was ieally inteiesting to me was WB0 was in hei classioom. I
obseiveu the same English 12 class eveiy Thuisuay at 1:4S, anu this class was maue
up of 12 boys anu 0NE giil. (Pooi Biooke!!!) I was extiemely inteiesteu to see
exactly how this classioom uynamic woulu pan out- woulu they be moie iowuy.
Woulu the class only uiscuss manly things anu put less emotion into the content
they weie leaining.
I obseiveu this class of stuuents on two uiffeient occasions: the fiist time was
when I went to Bloomsbuig Bigh School anu met Nis. Senioi foi the veiy fiist time,
anu then the seconu was my most iecent visit to the school on Apiil 1u
th
. 0n the fiist
uay, the class was paitaking in a .&/0 .1'+-21 aiticle analysis. Nis. Senioi uisplayeu
on the piojectoi thiee gioups anu what stuuent was in which gioup. As the stuuents
walkeu into the classioom, they weie tolu to look at what gioup they weie in, anu
then finu theii peeis who weie in the same gioup. Stuuents hau pieviously
S
completeu a woiksheet about Season 0ne of the show, calleu "Family Funny
Business," anu Nis. Senioi iotateu fiom uioup to uioup, staiting with uioup 0ne, in
oiuei to answei the woiksheet's questions. So, in gioups of foui, each gioup took
tuins tackling a question. Nis. Senioi also maue suie to call on each gioup membei
to give theii answei to ensuie that each gioup membei was on task anu
paiticipating. Aftei this gioup woik classioom uiscussion of the episoue analysis
questions, the stuuents ietuineu to theii seats. Nis. Senioi then gave each stuuent
foui uiffeient coloieu highlighteis to maik up things like statistics, steieotypes,
uiffeient people's comments, anu moie in a uQ Aiticle calleu, "What the Buck." Nis.
Senioi gave the stuuents 1u-1S minutes to ieau- anu I took note of how she blackeu
out matuie content, ieau the uiiections alouu to the classioom, askeu hei stuuents
to take maiginal notes anu she gave examples of hei notes to help stuuents get an
iuea, anu she also shaieu that she hau a lot of yellow highlighting- which symbolizeu
the authoi's peispective fiom uQ. This is wheie I think having a classioom full of
boys comes into play.. Nis. Senioi aumitteu to me piioi to the stuuents coming into
the classioom that foi hei class eailiei in the uay she uiun't have to black out foul
language useu in the aiticle, but foi this classioom full of boys, blacking out the
matuie content was a must. It was inteiesting to iealize that the same aiticle hau to
be auapteu uepenuing on the stuuents that woulu be ieauing it. She also tolu me
that it's easy foi the classioom of boys to get off tiack, so I think this is why it's
impoitant foi hei to ieau the uiiections alouu anu give the stuuents examples of hei
woik iathei than just letting them begin the task without any help oi uiiection.
Aftei 1u-1S minutes of inuiviuual ieauing, highlighting, anu note taking of the
aiticle, Nis. Senioi uisplayeu on the piojectoi S tasks that the stuuents weie
iesponsible foi completing in the same gioups as befoie. Task 1: Compaie youi
highlighting on the fiist 2-S pages. What weie the similaiities. What weie the
uiffeiences. Task 2: Biscuss youi maiginal notes. Task S: Begin biainstoiming foi
youi ieflection paiagiaphs. I was placeu in one of these gioups to uiscuss the aiticle,
anu I was suipiiseu at how much the boys enjoyeu it. Because they weie inteiesteu
in the show, it uiun't seem like woik to them! This biought me back to thinking that
T.v. shows ieally can be taught as liteiatuie to young auults. Buck Bynasty is
something that is populai in the meuia in touay's uay anu age, anu thus it can
uefinitely be ielevant in some ways in the classioom. Nis. Senioi useu Buck Bynasty
as a segway into a ieseaich papei on "Investigating Intoleiance anu Eliminating
Nisconceptions." Basically, within the next few weeks, stuuents weie iequiieu to
wiite a ieseaich papei on eithei iacism, lookism, sexism, ableism, ieligious
uisciimination, gay anu lesbian issues, oi a topic on uiveisity of theii choosing. I
loveu how Nis. Senioi was able to tie in a populai T.v. show foi teenageis into a
ieseaich papei that stuuents coulu not only leain a lot fiom in geneial in iegaius to
uiveisity, but also woik on anu impiove upon wiiting skills at the same time!

Comment: NCATE NCTE Stanuaiu 4.4:
Piomote iespect suppoit foi uiffeiences.

By ieauing this aiticle anu having a specific
highlighting coloi baseu solely on
steieotypes, stuuents weie able to become
awaie of the haim anu inaccuiacy of
steieotyping. By pointing these statements
out, stuuents may begin to iespect anu
suppoit otheis, insteau of bashing the things
that make otheis uiffeient.
Fostei ciitical analysis of meuia & tech.

Nis. Senioi showeu me that not all
liteiatuie taught in the classioom has to
come fiom classic woiks like Shakespeaie.
Stuuents touay aie being influenceu by
meuia like "Buck Bynasty," so theie aie
ways foi stuuents to think ciitically about
the show anu actually take something out of
it when woiking with it in the classioom.
6
Then, in my most iecent obseivation of the classioom, Nis. Callahan planneu out a
lesson about inuooi tanning. Beie aie my obseivations of the activities that uay:

56:;<56;=6 Stuuents aie taking an inuiviuual tanning suivey

56;=<56;;6 The class went ovei the suivey, Nis. Senioi ieau each question off anu
stuuents iaiseu theii hanus to give theii answeis. She askeu at least two stuuents
foi each question to explain why they chose that answei. Nis. Senioi also shaieu hei
answeis to the suivey anu gave life examples to ielate (foi example hei husbanu's
family has a histoiy with skin cancei). She askeu questions like, "Bianuon, why uo
you think sunscieen is impoitant." anu then shaieu infoimation like, "Ny husbanu
uoesn't like to weai hats so I have to ieminu him, otheiwise his heau can get veiy
bauly sunbuineu." She then shaieu a time when he got an extiemely painful
sunbuin at a paiaue they went to once in Naich. She also saiu things like, "Keep
these statistics in minu, I'm going to show you a viueo clip latei about this topic." to
give stuuents insight as to what will follow the suivey activity. Aftei the suivey, she
tells stuuents that she will be showing a viueo clip calleu, "Beai 16-yeai-olu-me."
She asks stuuents to take notes by answeiing the two questions at the enu of the
suivey: 1) What weie the most poweiful iueas expiesseu in this viueo. 2) Bow
might this viueo impact youi futuie uecisions. She lets stuuents know that they will
ieceive cieuit foi answeiing these questions in oiuei to motivate them to uo theii
best woik.

56;;<>6==6 Nis. Senioi shows viueo clip "Beai 16-yeai-olu-me." I founu that the
viueo was extiemely iewaiuing because it isn't lectuiing at the stuuents, the people
aie simply ielating to them anu giving auvice to them.

>6==<>65=6 Buiing these ten minutes, stuuents aie answeiing the ieflective
questions to the viueo anu then uiscussing the questions anu answeis as a class. 1)
What weie the most poweiful iueas expiesseu in this viueo. Some stuuent
iesponses weie: it can show up anywheie, if you get a bau sunbuin befoie age 18
you can uouble youi chances of skin cancei, that it can be ueauly, anu that moles can
be a sign of skin cancei- the stuuent followeu this statement by saying, "I counteu
like Su on my aim!" 2) Bow might this viueo impact youi futuie uecisions. Stuuent
iesponses weie: weai sunscieen anu some saiu they feel comfoitable with the
uecisions they've maue when it comes to weaiing sunscieen anu piotecting
themselves fiom the sun. (I think that these iesponses may have been extiemely
uiffeient if the classioom was maue up of moie giils than boys. I think that giils
inuooi tan much moie than boys anu also woiiy about how tan they aie foi theii
appeaiance much moie than boys uo, so giils may have leaineu moie anu been
moie impacteu when it comes to this content). Nis. Senioi ielateu the viueo to the
novel !&#-3+1- 452" 67))5# by saying that we can use this viueo as a way to give
otheis auvice about the sun, sunscieen, skin cancei, etc.

>65=<>65;6 Nis. Senioi gave hei stuuents a mouel of stuuent woik about Inuooi
Tanning. She uiiecteu them, like she hau them uo on the fiist uay I obseiveu them,
Bemonstiate iole of aits humanities in
leaining.

Nis. Senioi chose to show stuuents an
extiemely moving viueo about Skin Cancei.
By uoing this, she uisplayeu the iuea that the
aits humanities can be a gieat way to
impact stuuents anu open theii eyes to
leaining in a new way.
7
to coloi coue with vaiious highlighteis the facts, statistics, expeit opinions anu
wiitei opinions. She tolu hei stuuents that she is showing off this papei as an
example to what theii ieseaich papeis (the papeis on uiveisity that I uiscusseu
above) shoulu be like- they must combine facts anu case stuuies in theii own way in
theii own papeis. Nis. Senioi then showeu hei stuuents hei own annotateu papei
so that they coulu get an iuea of what theii annotations shoulu look like. She also
askeu them to wiite uown at least ten maiginal notes.

>65;<>6>?6 Stuuents woikeu on highlighting anu annotating the stuuent woik on
inuooi tanning anu how it's haimful to the bouy.

>6>?<>6?=6 Stuuents weie put into gioups to uiscuss anu compaie theii highlighting
anu maiginal notes. They weie also askeu to ielate theii notes back to the suivey
anu viueo fiom eailiei. I woikeu with a gioup of thiee boys to uiscuss oui woik anu
I iemembei theie being quite a numbei of awkwaiu silences when it came to
uiscussing the papei. Like I saiu above, it was a veiy inteiesting lesson, but I uon't
think content on inuooi tanning ieally hits home to a gioup of boys- because none of
them paiticipate in this activity. They uiun't ieally have much to say on the topic.

8

Teachei's Besk Chalkboaiu

Laptop
Cait

Book-
Shelf
Co-0p Teachei's
Besk
Piojectoi Teachei
Stool

Text-
book
Shelf
Stuuent Besks
}ohn !
Stoiage Closet
9
3.+2("1+ 4>6 -*+%.92%@ @2+A B'A*

5C D'@ ".% E'0 %*F'E2*G A2GA ,1A''$H IA"+J, E'0. ("9'.2+% K".+ '. $%",+ ("9'.2+%
K".+ "#'0+ 2+H
Ny favoiite pait is being able to talk to eveiyone anu having time to hang out
with my fiienus. Ny least favoiite pait is getting up to go to school.

>C 3.% E'0 K$"**2*G '* "++%*/2*G 1'$$%G%H
I'm inteiesteu in joining the militaiy aftei I finish high school.

?C IA"+ "/F%1+29%, @'0$/ E'0 0,% +' /%,1.2#% E'0.,%$(H
Fiienuly

:C IA"+ /' E'0 $2L% +' /' 2* E'0. (.%% +27%H
Play Xbox, especially Call of Buty.

;C IA"+ 2, E'0. ("9'.2+% ,K'.+H
I uon't like to play spoits, but I uo like to watch college basketball. Ny favoiite
team is 0NC.

MC IA"+ 2, E'0. ("9'.2+% !CNC ,A'@H
Auventuie Time (A caitoon)

OC IA"+ 2, E'0. ("9'.2+% ,0#F%1+H 3*/ E'0. $%",+H
Ny favoiite is histoiy; least favoiite is math.

PC IA"+ /' E'0 (2*/ +A% 7',+ /2((210$+ "#'0+ Q.,C R%*2'.J, S*G$2,A 1$",,H
That eveiy assignment is woith a test giaue.

TC U' E'0 ,K%*/ " $'+ '( +27% /'2*G A'7%@'.L @A%* E'0 ".% *'+ 2* ,1A''$H
No.

5=C D'@ /' E'0 +A2*L E'0 $%".* #%,+H
uioup uiscussion

55C IA"+ /' E'0 $''L ('. 2* " +%"1A%.H
Someone who actually knows how to teach anu can have in-uepth conveisations
with theii stuuents. I hate when teacheis aie boiing anu only lectuie the entiie
class.

5>C IA"+ ".% E'0. ("9'.2+% L2*/, '( #''L, +' .%"/H
Anything by Steven King.

1u
5?C IA"+ /' E'0 (2*/ /2((210$+ +' .%"/H
Nothing ieally, maybe aiticles.

5:C IA"+ /' E'0 $2L% +A% 7',+ "#'0+ .%"/2*GH
The uiffeient wiiting styles anu novels that have suspense.

5;C U' E'0 $2L% +' @.2+%H
No.

5MC IA"+ ".% E'0 $''L2*G ('.@"./ +' "#'0+ !"# %&'(#) *+,#- './#0 1"+1 2300 4#
)#+56'( 761" 8.&9
The bubble in the aiena.

5OC -, +A%.% "*E+A2*G +A"+ E'0 A'K% +' 27K.'9% 0K'* +A"+ - 1"* A'K%(0$$E A%$K E'0
@2+AH
Sentence stiuctuie anu punctuation.

3*"$E,2,6 uoing into the inteiview, I hau ieally high hopes that }ohn woulu be
extiemely eneigetic anu enthusiastic, but I know that I must iealize that as a
teachei I will come acioss stuuents who aie not like the stuuent I was in high
school- I ieally likeu being theie, taking Bonois anu AP classes, anu leaining. I
have to unueistanu that some stuuents just ieally uo not like school, anu I will
still have to tailoi leaining to them anu inteiest them in some way. When I askeu
}ohn questions, he was extiemely shoit with me. You woulu think that maybe
he'u be shoit about things like school anu ieauing, but enjoy conveising about
his home life anu fiee time, but he was shoit with me just the same. It may help
to incluue heie that }ohn is a tiansfei stuuent fiom an Alteinative Bigh School, so
he hasn't quite maue a lot of fiienus at Bloomsbuig Bigh School, anu maybe
that's why he seemeu embaiiasseu to talk to me about what he uoes outsiue of
school. The only thing he ieally seemeu to light up about was when he tolu me he
loves to play X-Box, especially Call of Buty. viueo games aie of couise activities
that you can uo alone, so I kinu of got the vibe that he uoes not socialize a lot.
Then, when I askeu him questions about school, I felt like I was ieally botheiing
him. Be let me know that he NEvER uoes homewoik, anu that most of the time
he ieally hates school because he finus teacheis boiing anu he tenus to sleep
iight thiough theii lectuies. Even at the enu when I askeu him to ieau the fiist S
chapteis of 2"# %&'(#) *+,#- so that we coulu uiscuss it the following week, he
tolu me, "I'll see. I ieally hate the woiu motivation. 0sually I just lay in beu anu
know that I shoulu be uoing something but I uon't get up to uo it anyway." This
maue me neivous that he ieally uiun't want to woik with me, anu I stiesseu
walking into Bloomsbuig Bigh School the following week. But, to my suipiise, he
actually uiu enu up ieauing all of the chapteis anu he actively paiticipateu in a
uiscussion with me. Be seemeu to ieally have enjoyeu himself talking with me! I
now iealize that he tolu me in the inteiview that he leains best thiough gioup
uiscussion, anu I ieally uiu see him shine, giow, anu leain in that aiea. That week
I also founu a %&'(#) *+,#- viueo game available on computeis anu kinules, anu
Comment: NCATENCTE Stanuaiu 4.S:
Engage stuuents in meaningful uiscussions
of oial, wiitten, visual foims.

I leaineu extiemely eaily on that }ohn
leains best via uiscussion, so that is the
foimat foi teaching that I useu with him
extiemely often. }ohn loveu to engage in
meaningful uiscussions about the wiitten
text "The Bungei uames" because he
enjoyeu expiessing his thoughts anu I
thought it was helpful foi me to expiess my
thoughts anu opinions to help him fostei
new iueas about the text. Engaging him in
meaningful uiscussions tuineu out to be
extiemely iewaiuing foi him anu his
leaining.
11
that ieally inteiesteu }ohn. I playeu a bit of it to make suie it's appiopiiate, anu
founu it to be fun cieating my own chaiactei foi the game, uiessing it up to look
like me, anu then seeing how the viueo game poitiayeu uiffeient scenes fiom the
novel compaieu to what I saw in my own heau while ieauing. }ohn also
appieciateu this, anu I knew this especially because he ieally seemeu to be quite
passionate about playing X-Box while I was inteiviewing him. Looking back, I
finu that having an inteiview with }ohn befoie beginning to woik with him was
extiemely beneficial, anu I will absolutely be using some kinu of pie-assessment
like this foi my futuie stuuents in the classioom.

12
3.+2("1+ 4?6 -*+%.92%@ @2+A Q.,C R%*2'.

5C D'@ /' E'0 /2((%.%*+2"+% $%".*2*GH
Baseu on stuuent's ieauing levels, inteiest, leaining styles, .

>C IA"+ /' E'0 #%$2%9% 2, B'A*J, #2GG%,+ ,+.0GG$% 2* +A% 1$",,.''7H
Be lacks motivation anu has no vision foi his futuie.

?C D'@ /' E'0 7'+29"+% B'A* +' /' A2, #%,+ @'.LH
By chunking his tasks in smallei steps anu thiough positive encouiagement.

:C D'@ ".% E'0 "#$% +' +%$$ @A"+ " ,+0/%*+J, ,+.%*G+A, "*/ @%"L*%,,%, ".%V
"*/ @A"+ /' E'0 #%$2%9% ".% B'A*J,H
Stuuents' stiengths anu weaknesses aie ievealeu in theii foimative assessments as
well as in theii uaily class paiticipation. }ohn's stiengths incluue asking thoughtful
questions anu his ieauing compiehension. Bis weaknesses aie his lack of focus anu
his lack of motivation.

;C D'@ /' E'0 +A2*L B'A*J, .%"/2*G "*/ @.2+2*G ,L2$$, 1'7K".% +' +A',% '(
'+A%. ,+0/%*+, A2, "G%H
}ohn ieau at a 1u
th
giaue ieauing level. Bis wiiting skills aie aveiage - only because
he is unwilling to put effoit into uiafting anu ievising. Be has goou iueas.

MC IA"+ /' E'0 +A2*L 2+ 2, #%,+ +' /' @A%* E'0 ,%% +A"+ B'A* 2, ,+.0GG$2*GH
Be patient anu help him to complete tasks in manageable steps.

OC D'@ /' E'0 +A2*L B'A* 2*+%."1+, @2+A '+A%.,H D2, K%%.,H !%"1A%.,H
W"72$EH %+1C
}ohn woulu iathei joke aiounu anu socialize with his peeis than focus on acauemics.
Be came fiom an Alteinative euucation setting - so at times, he will test the youngei
teacheis. With me, he iealizes that he will not "get away" with misbehavioi, anu he
shows me iespect because I ie-uiiect his off-task behavioi quickly befoie it becomes
an issue.

PC D'@ /'%, B'A* #%2*G " $%".*2*G ,0KK'.+ ,+0/%*+ "((%1+ A27
"1"/%721"$$EH
Bis lack of focus inteifeies with his time management. Sometimes he makes up
assignments uuiing stuuy skills class.

Cieate inclusive enviionment.

Nis. Senioi is able to maintain an inclusive
classioom enviionment by uiffeientiating
leaining foi each stuuent so that each
stuuent has theii own way of leaining
successfully.
1S

TC IA"+ /' E'0 /' +' G%+ B'A* +' +0.* 2* A2, ",,2G*7%*+, '* +27%H
I make suie my expectations aie cleai, anu he has mouel he can use to evaluate his
piogiess.

5=C D'@ /' E'0 L*'@ @A%* +' 7"L% +27% "/F0,+7%*+, ('. A2, @'.L "*/
@A%* +' F0,+ *'+ "11%K+ 2+ #%1"0,% 2+J, +'' $"+%H
If he has been woiking uiligently in class, he can have extenueu time without losing
points. If we have moveu beyonu a piewiiting activity oi a homewoik activity that is
no longei ielevant, then he cannot tuin in late woik.

55C -, +A%.% "*E "/921% +A"+ E'0 1"* G29% +' 7% "#'0+ +%"1A2*G $%".*2*G
,0KK'.+ ,+0/%*+, '. %9%* S*G$2,A ,+0/%*+, 2* G%*%."$H
Reau aiticles on Best Piactices. 0bseive youi stuuents in hanus-on content aieas
like FCS, PE, anu ait. They will ieveal a uiffeient set of skills. Seek out mentoiing
ielationships with veteian teacheis. Nuch of theii expeiience cannot be captuieu in
a textbook oi a jouinal aiticle.

3*"$E,2,6 Inteiviewing Nis. Senioi was extiemely beyonu woius helpful; I
immeuiately lookeu up to hei foi how gieat of a teachei she cleaily is because she's
exactly wheie I want to be. It's ieally amazing to me how well she can aujust hei
teaching to tailoi it to the stuuents in hei classioom at the time. Foi example, she
uses laigei vocabulaiy anu toughei content foi hei AP anu Bonois Liteiatuie
classes, anu ielatable, engaging content towaius hei English 12 classes. 0n top of
this, she can even tailoi hei teaching to leaining suppoit anu emotional suppoit
stuuents, as well as stuuents with IEP's. I uon't want to use the woiu "uifficult," but
}ohn wasn't the easiest, most engageu stuuent I've encounteieu, so she gave me
gieat auvice on how to woik with him anu help him giow. I'm glau she let me know
in the inteiview how impoitant it was foi hei to chunk }ohn's woik into smallei
steps to pievent him fiom feeling oveiwhelmeu anu just ignoiing any woik in its
entiiety. By having him complete assignments little by little, he can stay focuseu anu
feel like he's accomplishing what she asks of him, without all of the piessuie. I useu
this tactic with }ohn as well- I tiieu not to assign him T00 much to ieau between oui
weekly meetings, yet still tiieu to make suie that it was challenging enough. I also
uiu this when we weie togethei; I'u have him complete assignments anu woiksheets
foi a bit, but when he seemeu to stait becoming a bit exhausteu, I'u shift geais
towaius uiscussion which he loveu spenuing time on because he feels he gets the
most out of it. I also founu it extiemely iewaiuing foi hei to let me in on the iuea
that }ohn neeus cleai expectations. Aftei she tolu me this, I sat uown with }ohn anu
askeu him exactly what he hopeu to take out of !"# %&'(#) *+,#- anu woiking with
me. Then, I cleaily laiu out what I expecteu fiom him in ietuin so that we coulu
successfully leain anu giow fiom each othei. I also like hei final woius to me, that
it's impoitant to establish ielationships with veteian teacheis because you can leain
14
a lot fiom them. In my opinion, I was able to establish that kinu of ielationship with
Nis. Senioi. She taught me an incieuible amount anu was such a gieat iole mouel to
look up to; I have high hopes foi myself that I will be in hei position one uay.

3.+2("1+ 4:6 -*+%.92%@ @2+A Q,C D%$K(0$

5C U2/ E'0 K$"* '* +%"1A2*G $%".*2*G ,0KK'.+ ,+0/%*+, K.2'. +' #%1'72*G "
+%"1A%.H

No, I ieceiveu my unueigiauuate uegiee in Communications at Bloomsbuig
0niveisity. I then became a Teaching Assistant in the aiea anu became incieuibly
inteiesteu in Aspeigeis Synuiome when woiking with stuuents with this synuiome.
I then went back to Bloomsbuig foi uiauuate School anu ieceiveu a Nasteis in
Special Euucation. It's now my sixth yeai as an emotional suppoit anu leaining
suppoit teachei at Bloomsbuig Bigh School. I've also completeu numeious behavioi
plans uistiict wiue.

>C D'@ 2, +%"1A2*G $%".*2*G ,0KK'.+ ,+0/%*+, /2((%.%*+ (.'7 +A',% @A' /' *'+
*%%/ $%".*2*G ,0KK'.+H

Leaining suppoit stuuents neeu to take pait in stuuy skills classes, which aie two
pull out classes each uay to go ovei iemeuial English.

?C IA"+ /' E'0 +A2*L 2, +A% 7',+ *%1%,,".E +."2+ +A"+ +%"1A%., *%%/ 2* './%. +' #%
,011%,,(0$ @A%* @'.L2*G @2+A $%".*2*G ,0KK'.+ ,+0/%*+,H

It's extiemely impoitant to have a goou ielationship with the stuuents you woik
with because you woik in small gioups often. You have to be able to expiess a level
of concein foi them. I feel as if I'm 7S% counseloi anu only 2S% teachei because
school is a safe haven foi leaining suppoit stuuents anu I finu it extiemely
impoitant to help them establish a peisonal ielationship with me.

:C IA"+ /' E'0 (2*/ @'.L, #%,+ @A%* +A%,% ,+0/%*+, #%1'7% /2,1'0."G%/ +'
$%".* ('. "*E .%",'*H

Telling them that it's okay; it's haiu foi them to keep up, so it's ieally just impoitant
to auapt things foi them- change things so that the content is put to theii
instiuctional level. I like to ieau with them so that I can be theie to help explain anu
claiify content.

;C U' E'0 K.%(%. 1'<+%"1A2*G '. +%"1A2*G #E E'0.,%$(H

Co-teaching gives leaining suppoit stuuents the same cuiiiculum as eveiyone else,
which is nice because they'ie mainstieameu into the iegulai euucation classioom
Comment: NCATENCTE Stanuaiu 2.S:
Bemonstiate ieflective piactice,
piofessional involvement, collaboiation.

I founu it to be EXTRENELY iewaiuing to
collaboiate with }ohn's leaining suppoit
teachei in auuition to his English 12 teachei.
She gave me insight into what it's like to
woik with leaining suppoit anu emotional
suppoit stuuents, which helpeu me come up
with new iueas on how to woik with }ohn.
The collaboiation pait of the INSIBER
assignment was something I founu to be
extiemely favoiable, which makes me
exciteu about the iuea that I will be woiking
with a Co-0p teachei in the Fall when I
stuuent teach.
1S
anu this helps leaining suppoit stuuents become moie accepteu. But, co-teaching is
what you make of it. I've been lucky enough to have ieally gieat co-ops .. the
haiuest pait foi me was leaining all of the content anu the cuiiiculum foi each class.
Foi example, I haven't taken a math class in yeais, anu it's impoitant foi me to know
the answeis to questions about math that my stuuents uon't unueistanu! I basically
hau to ie-teach myself the content foi each class.

MC IA"+ ".% +A% #%*%(2+, '( 1'<+%"1A2*GH

It helpeu me giow into a bettei teachei because it foiceu me to leain how to woik
with a paitnei teachei anu it foiceu me to leain many contents anu cuiiicula.

OC IA"+ /' E'0 (2*/ +' #% +A% 7',+ +27% 1'*,072*G K".+ '( E'0. F'#H

}ust the uull papei woik- specifically IEP's.

PC U' E'0 (2*/ 2+ .%@"./2*G +' 0,% " .%2*('.1%7%*+ ,E,+%7 2* E'0. 1$",,.''7H

I useu ieinfoicement only when the class giew laige because then it was easy foi
stuuents to get uistiacteu. As a class we woulu come up with a token iewaiu system
wheie we maue up iules togethei. What I likeu the most was using S papeiclips - I
woulu give stuuents each S papeiclips anu if iules weie bioken I woulu take one
away. When the thiiu one was taken, the stuuent woulu ieceive uetention anu a
phone call home. This coulu be useu uaily oi even weekly, wheie stuuents can
ieceive up to ten points a uay oi a week that can be uonateu to a classioom piize
box to ieceive things like a movie uay oi a fielu tiip.

TC IA%* @'.L2*G @2+A B'A*V /' E'0 (2*/ 2+ /2((210$+ "+ +27%, +' L%%K A27 K',2+29%V
('10,%/V "*/ 7'+29"+%/H IA"+ /' E'0 /' +' 1A"*G% A2, "++2+0/%H D'@ /' E'0
K%.,'*"$2X% $%".*2*G +' U"$+'* ,' +A"+ A% %*F'E, @A"+ A%J, /'2*G 2* +A%
1$",,.''7 "*/ @2$$ @2$$2*G$E $%".* +A% 1'*+%*+H

}ohn is a uifficult case because he went back anu foith fiom high school to
alteinative euucation. With him, you can only tiy so much. I tiy to let him think he's
in contiol, I uon't piess him oi talk at him, I let him uo what he's inteiesteu in. I like
to woik with him one-on-one anu help him finu things that he can ielate to. What
I've leaineu about Balton is that he's not veiy fiienuly with otheis, but he loves one-
on-one attention as long as he's not lectuieu.

5=C IA"+ /' E'0 +A2*L 2, +A% #2GG%,+ #%*%(2+ @A%* 2+ 1'7%, +' @'.L2*G @2+A
$%".*2*G ,0KK'.+ ,+0/%*+,Y B'A* ,K%12(21"$$EH

I know it's clich, but it's extiemely iewaiuing to builu ielationships with these
stuuents anu actually help them, make a uiffeience, oi impact them in some way.

16

3*"$E,2,6 I founu talking with Ns. Belpful to be EXTRENELY iewaiuing, she ieally
maue me so exciteu to get out in the fielu anu become a teachei. Ns. Belpful was so
young anu eneigetic, that when I was uone inteiviewing hei anu I left hei
classioom, all I coulu think about was how much I wanteu to be like hei. It was the
enu of the uay when I inteivieweu hei, but at least five stuuents came into hei
classioom while speaking with me just to see hei, use items of heis like hei
computei piintei, oi ietiieve theii spoits bags that she let them keep in hei
classioom. I coulu veiy easily tell that hei stuuents felt extiemely close anu
comfoitable to hei, anu she was able to joke aiounu with all of the stuuents that
came in. It was so exciting to see the ielationships that she built with these stuuents-
anu that's what maue me look foiwaiu to becoming a teachei myself the most. I also
founu it ouu that aftei I inteivieweu Ns. Belpful, I founu myself wanting to go to
uiauuate School, maybe even in Special Euucation. I tolu hei that I uefinitely lack the
patience foi taking a Special Euucation path, anu she was like "Bon't even get me
staiteu with patience! I uon't have any at all! When stuuents aie annoying me oi
theii peeis, I let them know what they'ie uoing!" I can't even explain it, but she was
just so stiaight-foiwaiu anu so cool anu comfoitable that it was extiemely inspiiing.
I can't stiess enough how much I ieally likeu seeing the ielationships she built with
hei stuuents- anu she tolu me that she was able to uo this because she woiks with
the same leaining suppoit stuuents thioughout theii high school caieeis. I suppose
this is what inteiesteu me about hei piofession the most- because as a Bigh School
English teachei I will see classes of stuuents come anu go, but it woulu be nice to
have some stuuents that I ieally click with foi a continuous foui yeais.
It was also ieally gieat to talk to Ns. Belpful about }ohn, because I can tell
that he's a gieat kiu veiy easily, but I finu it uifficult to get him to open up anu want
to talk to me. Be even tolu me the veiy fiist uay that he has no motivation anu he
uoesn't see himself continuing anything that has to uo with school aftei giauuation
in }une. I leaineu ovei the couise of the weeks that }ohn benefits the most when we
simply uiscuss content fiom !"# %&'(#) *+,#-, as opposeu to moie foimal leaining
oi teuious woiksheets. I also maue some lee-way when I ielateu the content to him-
foi instance, when I hau }ohn play a %&'(#) *+,#- online game, he ieacteu ieally
positively because he tolu me pieviously that he loves viueo games. Be also tolu me
when we fiist met that he likes histoiy, so I tiy to ielate events that happen in the
!"# %&'(#) *+,#- to iealistic events that have happeneu in the woilu's histoiy. Be
ieally likeu heaiing about how Bistiict 12 is a lot like the coal uistiict locateu heie in
Bloomsbuig.

17

3.+2("1+ 4;6 R+0/%*+ I'.L

18

Belp stuuents make meaning thiough
peisonal iesponses.

}ohn hau an extieme hatieu foi wiiting anu
became easily uiscouiageu when he hau to
wiite iesponses to "The Bungei uames," but
heie, I helpeu him come up with a iesponse
that was moie peisonal. I finu that it's
easiest to wiite about what you know, anu
what uo we know bettei than ouiselves.! I
think it ieally helpeu }ohn to ielate to
Katniss anu cieate a peisonal iesponse to
the theme of hunting that's founu in the
novel.
19

Comment: NCATE NCTE Stanuaiu S.6:
Know piint non-piint meuia & tech.

Beie I hau Balton compile a list of woiks
that uisplay violence in the meuia. Be was
able to come up with ieality T.v. shows,
viueo games, anu movies. Then, we
uiscusseu this meuia anu technology anu
whethei oi not theii violence causes those
who watch it to become moie violent in the
ieal woilu. It was veiy beneficial to uiscuss
liteiatuie heie outsiue of novels; because
T.v., viueo games, anu movies, all have an
impact on its vieweis just as novels uo on its
ieaueis.
2u

21

22

2S

24

2S
3.+2("1+ 3*"$E,2,6 Z2*G02,+21 3*"$E,2,

This is the haiuest analysis to uo when it comes to }ohn, because honestly he
uoes veiy little speaking. Thioughout the entiie INSIBER piocess of mine at
Bloomsbuig Bigh School, not once uiu }ohn speak oi tiy to paiticipate in class.
Someone ieauing this may think, "Bmm. well maybe Balton just isn't veiy
inteiesteu in English oi isn't the biggest fan of school." But, he's just as quiet with his
peeis. }ust like paiticipating in class, not once uiu I see }ohn speak to a peei oi fiienu
about anything at all. But, I iealizeu that }ohn is an extiemely quiet inuiviuual the
moment I met him. When I inteivieweu him, I hau the haiuest time getting moie
than two woius out of him foi each question, anu on multiple occasions he just saiu,
"I uon't know" to something I askeu. Even thioughout the vaiious weeks of woiking
with him, I feel as if he only spoke to me when he BAB to. Nis. Senioi waineu me on
the veiy fiist uay that }ohn lacks any fiienus oi ambition at all. Even on his best uay,
}ohn just sits in the class anu uoes little to nothing at all. I will nevei foiget that
uuiing my fiist conveisation evei with }ohn, when I askeu him if he coulu ieau the
fiist thiee chapteis of !"# %&'(#) *+,#- foi homewoik, he tolu me, "I mean I'll tiy,
but I hate the woiu motivation. A lot of times when I'm at home I know that I shoulu
be uoing something, but insteau I just lay in beu anu just tiy to foiget about it." Bis
woius piove to me just how little uiive the boy has. Be's absolutely capable of uoing
the woik eithei Nis. Senioi oi I give him, but I feel like he uoesn't think he gets
anything out of uoing woik, so he'u iathei not uo it at all.
Nis. Senioi also waineu me on the fiist uay of meeting hei of anothei
instance when }ohn was fiustiateu with all of the questions Nis. Senioi was asking
him, so he yelleu back at hei, "What's youi malfunction." }ohn has nevei spoken to
me in this mannei, but this cleaily shows how easily }ohn can become fiustiateu
when he feels oveiwhelmeu with a woikloau.
In teims of coue-switching, the only instance wheie I saw a uiffeient siue of
}ohn was when I spoke to him about his inteiests (which weie also veiy minimal-
they basically just incluueu viueo games, histoiy, anu hunting). Not that he became
supei exciteu oi began to talk moie oi anything, but I was able to tell that I was
bieaking thiough to him anu that he actually wanteu to holu a conveisation when I
askeu him about these topics. 0ne example that sticks out in my minu is when I
woulu talk to him about the contioveisial topic of whethei oi not ieality Tv anu
violent viueo games actually make people misbehave anu become violent. This was
the 0NLY topic that }ohn actually got fiieu up with when talking to me. Be tolu me
that his fostei paients ban ceitain viueo games fiom him anu that his favoiite T.v.
show is a little bit vulgai so he's not alloweu to watch it when his youngei biothei is
aiounu. When I askeu him how he felt about this, he woulu just yell at me, "It's so
stupiu! viueo games anu television shows can't influence people TBAT much to
become violent themselves! They must be able to uistinguish the uiffeience between
what's ieal anu what's fake!" Be aigueu that just because he plays violent viueo
games anu watches shows with cuise woius in it, uoesn't make him act that way in
the ieal woilu. I ieally likeu talking to }ohn about this topic because he became so
Comment: NCATENCTE Stanuaiu S.1:
Know skills of English language.

Beie I was able to compaie }ohn's skills of
the English language baseu on how he
linguistically spoke alouu in uiffeient
situations.
26
passionate about it, anu it's ieally the only time that I evei saw him talk with so
much emotion about something. Evei since then, I tiieu to ielate !"# %&'(#) *+,#-
content to things that inteiesteu him in oiuei to tiy to make some soit of bieak-
thiough oi at least have him paiticipate in an enjoyable conveisation with me.

27
3.+2("1+ 3*"$E,2,6 [%"/2*G R+."+%G2%, 3*"$E,2,

I founu out on the veiy fiist uay fiom inteiviewing }ohn that he only enjoys
ieauing Stephen King novels. Be was suie to let me know iight away that he cannot
stanu ieauing text books oi classic novels that he's foiceu to ieau. Luckily foi me,
Nis. Senioi alloweu }ohn to choose the novel that he wanteu to ieau anu woik on
with me so at least he hau an inteiest in !"# %&'(#) *+,#-. It also woikeu in my
favoi that }ohn hau seen the fiist two movies maue aftei the novels so that he hau a
goou iuea of what he woulu be ieauing anu what big events woulu happen
thioughout his ieauing piocess. }ohn was the one to choose the novel that we
woikeu with, but even if the choice was unuei my contiol, I think that I woulu have
went in the same uiiection because I can tell that he becomes extiemely
uiscouiageu when he gets confuseu, loses his place, oi uoesn't know how to
continue on woiking. Even though I tiuly believe }ohn is capable, I uon't think it
woulu be the absolute best uecision to have him go into a novel blinu, so having seen
the movies, }ohn was able to go in with insight as to what woulu happen. I think this
maue him moie comfoitable anu willing to take challenges latei when paiticipating
in uiscussions with me.
When it comes to }ohn's expeiience of ieauing, as I stateu eailiei, I leaineu
fiom inteiviewing him that he is a big fan of Stephen King. I peisonally haven't ieau
any woiks by this authoi, but I uiu know that he is known foi his hoiioi anu
suspense novels. So, when he tolu me about his appieciation foi Stephen King, I
askeu him fuithei what he likeu about his woiks. }ohn then tolu me that he enjoys
ieauing things that have out of the oiuinaiy wiiting styles as well as novels that
have gieat suspense. I coulu tell fiom woiking with him foi the past few months that
it's veiy easy foi }ohn to lose inteiest in things, so it makes sense to me that he finus
suspense novels the most enjoyable since these kinus of wiitten woiks keep ieaueis
at the euge of theii seats, ciaving new infoimation about what is going on.
I also askeu }ohn veiy eaily on if he evei finus it uifficult to ieau, but he
quickly ieassuieu me that this was not the case. }ohn is a veiy smait young man,
smaitei than he lets on to be anu even smaitei than he thinks of himself, anu I can
easily tell that he has no pioblem ieauing. 0nce again, the issue in his case is only
that he has tiouble sustaining inteiest in what he ieaus, not that he has tiouble
ieauing the content. So, when he uoesn't ieau the aiticles that he has to foi class, it's
simply because he uoesn't WANT to, not that they pose as too uifficult of a challenge
foi him.
When it comes to stiategies, I unfoitunately think that if }ohn thinks
something he's ieauing is too uifficult oi too uull, he most likely just gives up. Be's
aumitteu to me that he often fails to tuin in ieauing assignments because he just
uoesn't have the uiive to uo them. So, when I fiist began woiking with him anu
askeu him to ieau the fiist thiee chapteis foi the next time we'u meet, I'u be lying if
I saiu I wasn't extiemely neivous that he woulun't uo this. Befoie meeting with him
again, I founu an extiemely uetaileu lesson plan on !"# %&'(#) *+,#- that went
chaptei by chaptei with summaiies, woiksheets, quizzes, etc. anu I was piepaieu to
Comment: NCATENCTE Stanuaiu S.S:
Know ieauing piocesses.

Beie I analyzeu }ohn's expeiience of
ieauing.
28
have to ieau him the fiist thiee chaptei summaiies because he haun't ieau, but he
pleasantly suipiiseu me. When I next met }ohn, he ieau a chaptei oi two even
fuithei than I hau askeu him to, anu he saiu that he founu the novel veiy enjoyable
so fai. I was ieally piouu of him when he tolu me this, anu I was glau that he was
enjoying the novel because that woulu make it easiei foi him to ieau anu sustain
inteiest in. Even still, my stiategies with him weie to tailoi oui uiscussions anu
activities to what I knew his inteiests weie. Foi example, I knew that }ohn ieally
enjoys leaining about histoiy anu he's ieally inteiesteu in watching histoiical
uocumentaiies, so I often hau him complete activities wheie he woulu compaie oui
goveinment to the goveinment in !"# %&'(#) *+,#- uystopian society. Also, in
oiuei to iewaiu him foi getting so much ieauing uone, at the enu of one of oui
lessons, I let }ohn play foi a few minutes a Bungei uames viueo game that I founu
online wheie you can cieate a chaiactei anu follow along with Katniss on hei
auventuies. I thought this was a gieat way to iewaiu }ohn foi his haiu woik because
I know he ieally enjoys playing viueo games, but it also gave him the oppoitunity to
see how someone else poitiays the uiffeient settings in the novel. Afteiwaius, I was
able to ask him what the similaiities anu uiffeiences weie between how he saw
things like Bistiict 12 anu the aiena in his minu as opposeu to how they weie shown
in the game.
I think that I will continue to tiy to taiget stuuent's inteiests when it comes
to ieauing in the futuie when I teach. I think that stuuents leain best when they aie
inteiesteu in what they aie ieauing anu when they can actually ielate to the content,
because then they think that they aie getting something out of it. But, I uo iealize
that not eveiything can be inteiesting to all stuuents, so I have to motivate stuuents
to stick thiough the uifficult mateiial in oiuei to become bettei ieaueis by the enu
of it. Aftei looking at the piece 8"#' 953- :+';2 <#+3= 8"+2 !#+/"#)- :+' .7, by
Beeis, I iealize that it's impoitant foi teacheis to constantly be checking in with
stuuents to ensuie that they cleaily compiehenu exactly what they aie ieauing-
whethei it be vocabulaiy, fluency, woiu iecognition, oi moie. I fully believe that
1uu% of the time I will be uoing my best to motivate stuuents to WANT to ieau what
I have given them, anu I will constantly be giving them ieasons as to why it is only
beneficial to uo theii best to ieau a vaiiety of woiks, whethei it comes easily oi
uifficult to them. I'm a tiue believei of the iuea that stuuents become bettei ieaueis
anu wiiteis by continually ieauing anu wiiting, so I will absolutely incluue a vaiiety
of ieauing anu wiiting activities in my plans as a teachei in oiuei to help my
stuuents leain anu giow.

29
3.+2("1+ 3*"$E,2,6 Z2+%."1E 3*"$E,2,

Analyzing }ohn's liteiacy is an extiemely uifficult task, because fiom my
unueistanuing he uoes veiy little ieauing anu absolutely no wiiting outsiue of
school. As I've mentioneu, }ohn has shaieu the infoimation with me that he loves
Stephen King novels, anu I iealize this is because it's haiu foi him to iemain focuseu
on content, anu these novels aie full of suspense that keep him hookeu as a ieauei.
}ohn uoes no wiiting unless foiceu to, anu I iealize that this is what makes it so
uifficult foi him to wiite. I coulu always tell that }ohn hau no tiouble ieauing the
chapteis of "The Bungei uames" that I assigneu, but when we weie togethei anu I
askeu him to complete woiksheets oi complete an Acceleiateu Reaueis Log on the
chapteis, he became EXTRENELY fiustiateu; he's even yelleu, "I hate wiiting!" anu
"This is stupiu!" fiom time to time. Nis. Senioi iequiieu }ohn to wiite at least eight
Acceleiateu Reaueis Log entiies, only a page each, that foice him to become
engageu in the text by connecting elements of the novel to his piioi expeiiences, but
when I askeu him within the last few weeks of my obseivations if he hau completeu
any, he hau not. I think that because }ohn has no piactice with wiiting, he stiuggles a
lot with it anu it is a veiy time consuming piocess foi him. I hate to see how uown
on himself he gets when he becomes stuck anu uoesn't know what to wiite next,
because when he uoes wiite it's always gieat iueas. Be just has to iemain patient
with himself!
Ny biggest suggestion foi }ohn anu stuuents like him woulu be to continue
ieauing outsiue of school anu piactice wiiting whenevei possible! Even if it's not
schoolwoik, just wiiting in a jouinal can help }ohn foimulate iueas anu become
familiai with the wiiting piocess. I woulu also suggest foi him to become moie
involveu, maybe join a club at school oi some othei gioup oi community that woulu
get him to ieau anu wiite in some way. I fully believe that if he just hau moie
piactice, he woulun't give up on himself so easily; that it woulu become easiei ovei
time. With moie piactice anu involvement, maybe }ohn woulun't have to be
REQ0IREB to paiticipate in liteiacy ielateu activities both in anu out of the
classioom, he might just uo them on his own.

Comment: NCATENCTE Stanuaiu S.2:
Know oial, visual, wiitten liteiacy piactices.

Beie I founu out what iesouices foi
meaning making }ohn biings to the ELA
classioom.
Su
U%,2G*2*G -*,+.01+2'*

["+2'*"$%6 As a futuie high school euucatoi, I iealize that I will be woiking with a
veiy special age gioup: young auults. At that point in theii lives, many of my
stuuents will be awkwaiuly tiansitioning fiom chiluhoou to auulthoou, anu this
tiansition is often full of many tiials anu tiibulations. At this time, I'm suie that
many of my stuuents will be giowing physically, mentally, anu emotionally, anu
eveiy uay will biing them tasks that will help them uiscovei who they ieally aie as
people. Noie than evei, young auulthoou gives people the oppoitunity to giow anu
expeiiment in oiuei to finu out things like what you tiuly believe in, what you value,
what you like anu uislike, anu so much moie. As an euucatoi uuiing this point in my
stuuents lives, I only want to help them giow into successful inuiviuuals, anu I want
the liteiatuie that I iequiie them to ieau to only help them with this. Foi my
following unit plan, I chose to focus on the novels, "The Bungei uames," "Biveigent,"
anu "Natcheu," because I finu all of these novels to poitiay gieat messages to
ieaueis about the impoitance of finuing youiself anu sticking to what you believe in,
uespite the thoughts of otheis.

\2G ]0%,+2'*6 As a young auult, uo you neeu to confoim to what eveiyone else is
uoing, oi is it moie giatifying to be tiue to youiself uespite the iepeicussions.

Comment: I finu this iationale anu it's big
question to be extiemely beneficial to young
auults, with especially }ohn in minu because
I uon't believe that }ohn is fully awaie of
who he is yet. Be is extiemely capable of
becoming a successful inuiviuual, but he has
no uiive to get to that point. With these
lessons, I woulu hope that }ohn coulu
become enlighteneu to the gieat things
about himself. If he finus out how much
goou is in him anu how much he is capable
of, I woulu hope that he coulu catch the
inspiiation to follow his uieams- oi even set
a few uieams oi goals foi himself!

NCATENCTE Stanuaiu 2.S: Connect to
sociocultuial euucational uevelopments.
Comment: I ieally uiu woik thiough "The
Bungei uames" with }ohn, anu I think that
he founu the novel to be extiemely
beneficial. Be was inteiesteu in it because of
its gieat suspense, action, anu uetail, but I
also helpeu him connect with it in vaiious
ways too. Be likeu compaiing the uystopian
Capitol goveinment to oui own goveinment,
he likeu how Katniss hunteu because that is
a peisonal favoiite activity of his, anu he
also likeu compaiing the coal mines of
Bistiict 12 to the coal iegion that we live in
in Bloomsbuig.

NCATENCTE Stanuaiu 4.8: Belp stuuents
make meaning thiough peisonal iesponses.
S1
Z%,,'* 8*%6 Bo you let youi clique uefine you, oi uo Y00 uefine you.

Q'+29"+2'*"$ U%921%6 Touay I will have an inuex caiu on each stuuent's uesk that is
placeu face uown. When all of the stuuents have aiiiveu, I will tell them that on the
opposite siue of each inuex caiu, I have wiitten uown the name of a common high
school clique. Foi example: the populai "in ciowu", athletes, banu geeks, EN0's,
uiuggies, neius, etc. Foi the iemainuei of the classioom peiiou, stuuents will only
be alloweu to act anu talk the way that they peiceive that this clique woulu behave
like. At fiist, stuuents will walk aiounu the ioom paiticipating in any kinu of
classioom oi peei uiscussion, making suie that they act anu talk the way that they
peiceive theii clique to be. Latei, I will bieak stuuents into gioups wheie each
stuuent iepiesents a uiffeient clique anu ask them contioveisial questions to see if
the clique on theii caiu affects theii iesponses, oi if the stuuents let theii tiue
peisonalities shine thiough.

R+"*/"./,6
CC.1.1: Founuational Skills: Stuuents gain a woiking knowleuge of concepts of
piint, alphabetic piinciple, anu othei basic conventions.
CC.1.S: Reauing Liteiatuie: Stuuents ieau anu iesponu to woiks of liteiatuie - with
emphasis on compiehension, making connections among iueas anu between texts
with focus on textual eviuence.
CC.1.S: Speaking anu Listening: Stuuents piesent appiopiiately in foimal speaking
situations, listen ciitically, anu iesponu intelligently as inuiviuuals oi in gioup
uiscussions.

8#F%1+29%,6
1) At the enu of the classioom peiiou, stuuents will be able to wiite a S-1u sentence
paiagiaph ieflection compaiing how they talkeu anu acteu in oiuei to poitiay theii
clique as opposeu to how they woulu talk anu act if they weie being themselves
thioughout the uuiation of the class. By uoing this, stuuents will be able to ieflect
upon the question, "Bo you let youi clique uefine you, oi uo Y00 youiself uefine
you."
2) Stuuents will be able to paiticipate in a classioom uiscussion by each shaiing at
least one peisonal thought alouu as to how we juuge those aiounu us anu how those
juugments can limit oui ability of becoming awaie of who oui peeis ieally aie anu
all of the potential that they have outsiue of a clique's steieotypes.
S) Stuuents will be able to once again shaie alouu in class uiscussion at least one
peiiou of time thioughout the class activity wheie the clique they weie given eithei
helpeu them oi hinueieu them fiom saying what they ieally wanteu to say acting
how they ieally wanteu to act. By uoing this, stuuents will be able to answei
whethei it is moie impoitant to them to confoim anu "fit in" oi be tiue to youiself
anu "stanu out".

31+292+2%,6 Stuuents will fiist simply walk aiounu the classioom behaving the way
that they believe the clique given to them on theii inuex caiu woulu behave. Will
they go up to theii peeis asking what clique they weie given anu eithei talk to them
Comment: I think that this will foice }ohn
to get up, move aiounu the classioom, anu
inteiact with his peeis. Be is so
unbelievably quiet anu shut off fiom
eveiyone else that I nevei get to see him
communicate with otheis. I woulu also love
to see him have to leave his comfoit zone
anu act a ceitain way that a clique woulu
because he seems to be too quiet anu shy to
become a pait of a clique himself. I think it
woulu be iewaiuing foi him to expeiiment
with uiffeient thoughts anu actions that aie
unlike his own. It can always bioauen his
hoiizons!
Comment: The only time that }ohn ieally
became 'fiieu up' with me was when I askeu
him the contioveisial question, "Bo you
think violence in viueo games, Tv shows, oi
movies make people become violent in ieal
life.' Be loveu aiguing against this case, that
he plays viueo games wheie he kills people
all the time, yet he woulu nevei think to
haim anothei in ieal life, so I woulu love the
oppoitunity to ask him moie contioveisial
questions. I woulu love foi }ohn to open up
anu aigue foi oi against issues with his
peeis anu actually have to think about what
he believes in. I woulu be extiemely cuiious
to see if he is capable of expiessing such
poweiful emotion- I'u be happy with
whichevei he comes up with, an enactment
of the clique he ieceiveu, oi his own
peisonal thoughts. I think }ohn stiuggles
with expiessing himself, anu he neeus to
become moie in tune with what he thinks
anu values! Naybe this activity woulu help
him bianch out.
Comment: This will foice }ohn to piactice
anu builu upon his wiiting skills.
Comment: This will foice }ohn to ieflect
inwaiuly about himself. Be neeus to take
time to consiuei who he is anu maybe this is
the fiist push he neeus to uo so. Be cannot
iemain in limbo about how he feels anu
what he wants to uo with his life foievei.
S2
oi quickly move away. Will they finu it easy to talk anu act the way that theii
believe theii clique woulu. What uo these behaviois show us about the juugments
anu steieotypes of otheis. Aftei S-1u minutes of simple ioaming aiounu anu
uiscussion with peeis with no uiiection oi limitation, I will bieak stuuents up into
gioups with a iepiesentative fiom each clique. I will then pioviue them with a
questionnaiie to uiscuss amongst each othei that will challenge them to think
outsiue of the box. These questions will be extiemely piovocative in oiuei to make it
challenging foi the stuuents to stick to one siue- they must eithei confoim to how
theii clique woulu act in iegaius to the question, oi be tiue to themselves anu
answei the question baseu on how they woulu peisonally ieact. I will then enu the
class peiiou with a classioom uiscussion in which each stuuent will neeu to
paiticipate at least once. Buiing this uiscussion, I will simply ask stuuents foi theii
ieactions to this assignment. Was it uifficult to behave the way they thought theii
clique woulu. Why uiu they believe theii clique woulu act this way. Biu they finu
theii juugments anu the steieotypes of this clique to be limiting. Woulu it be easiei
to simply give up anu go back to being themselves. What uiu they leain fiom this
activity.

3,,%,,7%*+6 Thioughout the classioom peiiou, I will walk aiounu anu obseive how
my stuuents act. I'll be veiy inteiesteu to see how they act anu talk the way that they
uo, anu then latei be able to ask them why they uiu so. I will obseive the stuuents in
oiuei to make suie that they aie all engageu anu fully committing to the iisk of
leaving themselves in oiuei to confoim to the clique on theii caiu. I will also iequiie
each stuuent to contiibute at least one thought oi insight that they came acioss
uuiing this activity at the enu when the class foims a ciicle anu engages in a
classioom uiscussion.

D'7%@'.L6 Stuuents will ieau the fiist 1Su pages of .5>#)(#'2 in oiuei to be
intiouuceu to the five factions that Roth cieateu in hei novel. Then, stuuents will
wiite a S-1u sentence paiagiaph explaining which faction they seem themselves
belonging to anu why. I will also ask stuuents to explain whethei they founu
choosing just one faction to belong to a uifficult task, why oi why not. Stuuents must
also explain whethei they think that confoiming themselves to one faction is
limiting, woulu they iathei be able to just be themselves.

Comment: I woulu L0vE to see how }ohn
hanules this activity. I'm afiaiu that he isn't
veiy in tune with who he is as a peison, anu
he uoesn't seem to have many fiienus in
school, so exactly how will he ieact to 'giay
aiea' questions. Can he become enlighteneu
to how he feels about things ueep uown anu
let himself show. 0i can he put on an act
anu exemplify a clique that he is most likely
unfamiliai with.
Comment: }ohn isn't much of a chatteibox
to his teacheis oi his peeis, so it woiiies me
that I will be assessing stuuents only on how
well they paiticipate alouu thioughout the
uuiation of the class. Foi }ohn, it's a
possibility that I can cieate an alteinative
assessment wheie I have him piactice
wiiting anu WRITE about his expeiiences
thoughts with this activity as opposeu to
shaiing them alouu in fiont of the entiie
class - that way he isn't foiceu to speak to a
laige ciowu if that will make him feel
uncomfoitable.

NCATENCTE Stanuaiu 4.1u: Integiate
foimal infoimal assessment into
instiuction anu inteipiet communicate
iesults.
Comment: This will once again ask }ohn to
piactice his ciitical ieauing anu wiiting
skills.
Comment: This is a gieat way foi }ohn to
ieflect on his peisonality tiaits to finu out
just what makes him who he is.
SS
Z%,,'* !@'6 Tiaits that you value

Q'+29"+2'*"$ U%921%6 Show stuuents YouTube viueo "Time Nagazine unveils 1uu
most influential people 2u1S."
http:www.youtube.comwatch.v=kWXSRqBeuBu
Ask stuuents if theie was anyone mentioneu that suipiiseu them anu why. Also ask
stuuents why they think Time Nagazine finus it impoitant to iepiesent multiple
categoiies in teims of 'influential people'.

R+"*/"./,6
uiscussions.

8#F%1+29%,6
1) Stuuents will cieate eithei a photo collage oi woiu collage exemplifying tiaits
that he she values in anothei peison oi in himself oi heiself in oiuei to uiscovei
what they peisonally believe makes up a peison that otheis shoulu value.
2) Stuuents will be able to wiite a one-page ieflection baseu on theii collages on
what kinus of tiaits they value in a peison anu if they have those values themselves.
This will help stuuents take steps towaius finuing themselves anu becoming a kinu
of peison that they will be piouu of.
S) Stuuents will be able to paiticipate in a classioom uiscussion that questions if the
tiaits that we value in people aie moie easily obtaineu via confoiming to otheis 0R
by being tiue to oneself uespite the thoughts of otheis.

31+292+2%,6 Stuuents will fiist watch the YouTube clip anu paiticipate in the follow-
up questions stateu unuei the motivational uevice. Afteiwaius, stuuents will be
given access to newspapeis, magazines, etc. in oiuei to cut out pictuies anuoi
woius to complete a cieative collage that iesembles tiaits that they peisonally value
in otheis. To align with the collage, stuuents will then complete a one-page
ieflection as to why they chose the woius pictuies that they uiu. What uiu they
uiscovei weie the tiaits that they peisonally valueu in otheis. Bo they believe to
have those values themselves. Why oi why not. Bow can stuuents take steps
towaius obtaining these valueu tiaits if they uo not yet peisonally have them. 0pon
completion of the collage anu ieflection, we will as a class get in a big ciicle anu
shaie the woik we've uone. Each stuuent will be iequiieu to shaie at least one tiait
that they've poitiayeu as something they value anu why.

3,,%,,7%*+6 Stuuents will be assesseu by infoimal obseivation as to if they aie
completing theii collage anu ieflection oi not. I will walk aiounu the ioom to see
Comment: }ohn tolu me anu I quickly
leaineu fiom woiking with him that he
leains best fiom uiscussion. Be finus it veiy
iewaiuing anu enjoyable to talk to otheis
about novels that he's ieauing, so we often
simply talkeu about what was going on in
!"# %&'(#) *+,#-. This stanuaiu allows foi
}ohn to communicate with otheis about the
uiffeient content leaineu in class, which I
believe will help him get moie out of it.

NCATENCTE Stanuaiu 4.S: Engage
stuuents in meaningful uiscussions of oial,
wiitten, visual foims.
Comment: }ohn neeus something to jump
stait his motivation foi the futuie, anu this
can be a gieat place to stait. If he's awaie of
what aie valuable tiaits in someone, maybe
he can begin to become awaie of the gieat
things he has going foi him anu the things
that he can woik on in oiuei to achieve a
biight futuie!
Comment: 0ne again this will ask }ohn to
piactice his wiiting skills, anu this
assignment is only a ieflection so it's an
easy way to fieely expiess himself anu
piactice getting his thoughts on papei.
Comment: }ust what }ohn neeus!
Comment: This will help }ohn begin to set
goals, which in tuin can possibly help get
him motivateu towaius achieving
something that he wants.
S4
how each stuuent chooses to compile theii collage, anu peisonally ask them quietly
why they chose the woiu oi pictuie that they uiu. Stuuents will be assesseu upon
completion of the collage anu ieflection. Lastly, stuuents will be assesseu when in
classioom uiscussion by having each stuuent shaie one tiait that they value to see if
they have been actively engageu in the activity thioughout the uuiation of the class.

D'7%@'.L6 Stuuents will ieau the fiist five chapteis of !"# %&'(#) *+,#- anu
wiite uown a few notes of whethei oi not they see any chaiacteis poitiaying any of
the tiaits that they founu that they value in class touay. Foi instance, uoes Katniss uo
anything to make ieaueis value hei. What makes some chaiacteis influential as
opposeu to otheis.

Comment: This can help the teachei builu
ielationships with hishei stuuents by
finuing out moie about them. In }ohn's case,
the teachei can get insight into what he
values, anu take steps towaius helping him
iealize that he has those tiaits himself!
Positive talk anu encouiagement will help
}ohn blossom.

NCATENCTE Stanuaiu 2.S: Bemonstiate
ieflective piactice, piofessional
involvement, collaboiation.
Comment: This will help }ohn go fuithei
than just ieauing the content; heie he will
piactice ieflective ieauing wheie he can
ielate what he ieau to something peisonal.
This iequiies moie thought fiom him to go
into the woik that he completes.

NCATENCTE Stanuaiu 4.8: Belp stuuents
make meaning thiough peisonal iesponses.
SS
Z%,,'* !A.%%6 Boes society make us confoim baseu on oui genuei. 0i aie theie
things we inuiviuually uo to beat the confoimity.

Q'+29"+2'*"$ U%921%6 The novels that we have been ieauing ovei the couise of this
unit, "The Bungei uames," "Biveigent," anu "Natcheu" all have stiong female main
chaiacteis who uisplay a iange of chaiacteiistics that uo not always confoim to the
steieotypes of being male oi female. Foi example, in "The Bungei uames" Katniss is
a female main chaiactei who poitiays stiength, intelligence, anu confiuence. 0n the
othei hanu, Peeta is hei equivalent male main chaiactei who can be seen as
physically stiong yet incieuibly emotional. Bo theii peisonality tiaits push the
bounuaiy lines between what it means to be male oi female. The Bungei uames aie
set up to choose one male anu one female to entei the ieaping, so uoes Suzanne
Collins put males anu females on an equal playing fielu to fight foi suivival. Katniss
anu Peeta piove to ieaueis that it's okay to be youi tiue self in a woilu that
piessuies us to confoim to oui set genuei ioles. Can anyone think of theii own
peisonality chaiacteiistics that exceeu the limitations set by genuei steieotypes.

R+"*/"./,6
uiscussions.

8#F%1+29%,6
1) Stuuents will be able to cieate theii own imaginaiy chaiactei who exemplifies
both female anu male chaiacteiistics in oiuei to iecognize that it's okay to be
youiself even if it uoesn't go along with the noim oi steieotypes of otheis.
2) Stuuents will be able to iuentify the effects of genuei steieotypes; that it limits
inuiviuuals to giow into theii tiue selves anu ieach theii full potential.
S) Stuuents will be able to shaie theii chaiacteis alouu to the class anu what tiaits
make theii chaiacteis unique inuiviuuals who go against confoimity. Foi an extia
bonus point, stuuents can also shaie a tiait they believe to exhibit themselves that
make them tiue, unique inuiviuuals.

31+292+2%,6 Stuuents will paiticipate in a class uiscussion that will give them insight
about how the chaiacteis that we've ieau in the novels in this unit fight against
confoimity. uenuei is something that is socially constiucteu, but as a young auult,
it's impoitant to iealize that you aie fiee to expiess youi tiue self anu that you
shoulu at all times in oiuei to giow into youi own happy anu healthy peison. Aftei a
uiscussion on chaiactei peisonality tiaits that beat the ouus of confoimity anu
steieotypes, stuuents will cieate theii own chaiactei out of vaiious aits anu ciafts
that uisplay tiaits that exemplify both male anu female chaiacteiistics. Aftei
Comment: This ieminueu me of }ohn iight
away aftei I ieau an essay of his that
showeu a caiing, emotional siue to him
about how he caies foi his cats. 0n the
outsiue, }ohn seems incieuibly closeu off,
anu he's tolu me numeious times that he
likes violent viueo games, Tv shows, anu
movies, so it was iefieshing to also ieau
about a uiffeient siue of him. I want }ohn
heie to iealize that it's gieat that he puts
such caie anu love into his cats, anu that he
shoulun't hiue this siue of him in feai that
it's feminine.

NCATENCTE Stanuaiu 4.S: Integiate
inteiuisciplinaiy teaching.

NCATENCTE Stanuaiu 4.4: Piomote
iespect suppoit foi uiffeiences.
Comment: This once again asks foi }ohn to
go fuithei than just ieauing the novel, it
asks him to ciitically woik with it anu be
able to iesponu to it.

NCATENCTE Stanuaiu 2.4: Fostei ciitical
thinking.
Comment: This is a gieat way foi }ohn to
iealize that he's such a well-iounueu
inuiviuual anu that he's someone incieuibly
special. Be neeus to get in touch with who
he is anu what he has going foi him in oiuei
to builu upon them anu cieate a successful
futuie foi himself.
Comment: Again this will be extiemely
favoiable foi }ohn, he leains best fiom
uiscussion anu this will help engage him
iathei than just lectuiing at him.

NCATENCTE Stanuaiu 4.S: Engage
stuuents in meaningful uiscussions of oial,
wiitten, visual foims.
S6
cieating a chaiactei that's visually stimulating, stuuents will then wiite a one page,
uouble-spaceu uesciiption of this chaiactei. Stuuents can incluue things like the
chaiactei's name, age, family backgiounu, wheie heshe lives, what heshe is like,
what heshe uoes foi fun, what you value in youi chaiactei, what youi chaiactei
wants, loves, feais, keeps hiuuen, what you anu youi chaiactei have in common, etc.
Aftei this uesciiption, stuuents will wiite a few sentences ieflecting on theii own
chaiactei tiaits. Is theie anything about themselves that uefies the lines of genuei
confoimity. Aie they piouu of these tiaits oi uo they tiy to keep them hiuuen.
Lastly, stuuents will shaie the chaiacteis they've cieateu alouu to the class. In a few
sentences, they can shaie any tiaits about theii chaiacteis, both goou anu bau, anu
foi an extia cieuit point, stuuents can also shaie one tiait about themselves that is
not necessaiily male oi female.

3,,%,,7%*+6 Thioughout the entiie class I will be using an ongoing assessment to
ensuie that stuuents aie engageu anu paying attention to the uiscussion that we aie
having at hanu. Ny main goal is simply to teach my stuuents that it's okay to be
themselves anu that they shoulu be piouu of who they aie! I want stuuents at the
enu of this lesson to just be awaie that it's 0KAY to stanu out iathei than confoim to
those aiounu us, anu that the tiaits they have that aien't common aie the ones that
aie ieally the most valueu. I will continuously be walking aiounu the ioom to make
suie stuuents aie uoing theii best aitistic woik to cieate visual chaiacteis, as well as
uoing theii best to uesciibe these chaiacteis anu ieflect on theii own peisonal
tiaits. At the enu of the class, I will collect the stuuent's woik so that I can hang it up
on uisplay aiounu the classioom. I want to celebiate how haiu my stuuents woik
anu have it be a constant ieminuei to them that who they tiuly aie is something
incieuibly special.

D'7%@'.L6 Foi homewoik, I'u like stuuents to cieate a comic of at least six sliues,
uepicting theii chaiactei 0R themselves in a scenaiio wheie they neeu to make a
uecision between confoiming to otheis oi stanuing out anu sticking up foi what
heshe tiuly believes in. Foi example, if you see someone getting bullieu, what
woulu you oi youi chaiactei uo. }oin in on the bullying. }ust walk away. uo get
help. Stanu up to the bullies anu tell them that what they'ie uoing is wiong. Bo the
best you can to uiaw the scene out with a sentence oi two unuei each sliue if
neeueu!

Comment: I think that }ohn will finu this
activity to be extiemely enjoyable because I
know that on many viueo games, you can
builu youi own chaiactei. Beie, I'll tiy to
ieminu him that this is just like that! But, it
secietly asks him to giasp uiffeient iueas of
socially constiucteu genuei anu what
sounus familiai that makes him who he is as
well.

NCATENCTE Stanuaiu 4.S: Integiate
inteiuisciplinaiy teaching.
Comment: Noie piactice wiiting! Piactice,
piactice, piactice. }ohn neeus it.
Comment: Bopefully heie }ohn will
bianch out of his shell anu shaie something
that he's inwaiuly leaineu about himself! If
he uoes, his teachei shoulu especially
iewaiu him foi taking a leap out of his
comfoit zone. A peisonalizeu encouiaging
statement at the enu of class coulu ieally
woik wonueis on }ohn.
Comment: This is gieat because if
stuuents aie pooi aitists, they can show off
theii skills by wiiting uesciiptions. 0n the
othei hanu, if stuuents aien't gieat at
wiiting, they can put gieat woik into theii
chaiactei visually! It still iequiies stuuents
to piactice both tasks even though they may
be moie talenteu in one aiea than anothei.

NCATENCTE Stanuaiu 4.1u: Integiate
foimalinfoimal assessment into instiuction
anu inteipiet communicate iesults.
Comment: This will help motivate
stuuents to uo theii best woik. No mattei
how }ohn's comes out, I woulu uisplay his
woik to show him that he IS capable of
piouucing gieat piojects anu that he shoulu
continue to woik haiu because he is
someone who can be lookeu up to foi it.
Comment: Beie once again stuuents can
piactice wiiting as well as uiawing. This
assignment also iequiies stuuents to look
within anu ueteimine who they aie anu how
they woulu ieact in a uifficult sitiuation.
S7
)'*1$0,2'*

"What liteiatuie shoulu be taught to young auults." Well hmm. maybe
theie's no iight answei. Reauei, what uo you believe. I'm staiting to think that
eveiyone's answeis may be uiffeient, but that's okay, as long as you can justify what
you suppoit. Peisonally, I want to teach my young auult stuuents liteiatuie that will
help them giow into happy, healthy, successful, anu unique inuiviuuals. I uon't want
to see my stuuents fall into the uepths of confoimity when it goes against who they
tiuly aie. Liteiatuie holus within itself such gieat powei to impact anu change lives,
anu I want the woius that my stuuents ieau to suppoit them anu teach them lessons
that will only biing them highei. In teims of woiking with }ohn, Nis. Senioi, anu Ns.
Belpful, I've leaineu an incieuibly amount. This is the fiist time I've evei hau the
pleasuie of woiking with a leaining suppoit stuuent, anu I hope that I've maue as
much of an impact on }ohn that he's maue on me. Be's taught me how to be patient,
unueistanuing, anu how impoitant it is to tailoi content to stuuent inteiests so that
they can ielate anu get something out of the lesson. Nis. Senioi pusheu me to leave
my comfoit zone anu join stuuent gioups uuiing classioom lessons so that I coulu
inteiact with stuuents anu help give them insight baseu on my English expeiiences
anu knowleuge. Ns. Belpful taught me that it's extiemely iewaiuing anu impoitant
to foim ielationships with youi stuuents, anu it was inspiiing to see someone so
young anu passionate woiking with stuuents, she's exactly wheie I want to be anu
she quickly became a iole mouel to me.
This INSIBER pioject itself taught me so much as well, I founu it extiemely
iewaiuing to communicate with so many people fiom all aieas- a stuuent with a
tough backgiounu, a teachei that's heau of the English uepaitment in hei school,
anu a leaining suppoit co-op teachei. I also founu it extiemely iewaiuing to analyze
a specific stuuent via linguistics, ieauing stiategies, anu liteiacy to see exactly why
the stuuent woiks, talks, behaves, etc. the way he uoes. In auuition, cieating lesson
plans, especially that all align to fit into one "big question" in uiffeient ways is
always gieat piactice because it's what I plan to uo foi the iest of my life.

S8
[%(%.%*1%,

}ohn Boe*, A Bloomsbuig Bigh School Senioi

Robin Callahan, an English teachei, specifically }ohn's heau of the English
uepaitment at Bloomsbuig Bigh School

Ns. Knupp, a Leaining Suppoit Teachei, specifically }ohn's, at Bloomsbuig Bigh
School

Nichael Sheiiy anu his 'Big Question' that he pioposes to his Young Auult Liteiatuie
couise stuuents, "What liteiatuie shoulu be taught to young auults. Why.
Bow.

Collins, S., & Falco, P. (2uu8). !"# %&'(#) *+,#-. New Yoik: Scholastic Piess.

"SAS - Pennsylvania Department of Education Standards Aligned System." SAS
Pennsylvania Department of Education Standards Aligned System. N.p., n.d.
Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://pdesas.org/>.

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INSIBER- Instiuctional Besign foi a Real

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