Again, I am
so preoccupied with surviving on a day-by-day basis that I don’t put nearly
enough time and energy into connecting area content to my students’ lives. (I
am also of the opinion that writing and reading are relevant to their lives no
matter what, even if they have no real interest in my subject.) I will do
little things, like assign journal prompts to get the kids thinking and writing about
themselves. Or ask discussion questions that require them to relate a text
to their lives. I also try to diversify the texts I present to my students,
meaning that the authors are racially (and socio-economically?) diverse. In the
future, I want to include even more diversity in my texts beyond just white and
African American writers. (I would love to have my kids read more female
writers, as well as other ethnicities, such as Asian, Hispanic, Native American, etc.)
The lessons
my students relate to and interact with the best are my current events lessons.
(I have dropped the ball on these in recent weeks as I have my English III and
English IV students working on extended texts.) I use Newsela to select the
article because I can adjust lexile level. Although, I only do this
when the students read independently, which is a rarity. I try to pick articles
that relate to my students interests, such as the Black Lives Matter movement
(and civil rights issues) or the upcoming presidential election. I also pair a video with
the lesson to engage students at the beginning of the period and to incorporate
different types of news media. My students enjoy having a chance to discuss the
article and share their opinions on what is happening in the country or the world. I have had no problems with disrespectful/inappropriate language or behavior (so far) during these discussions, so that’s
another bonus.
At this point in time, I select the articles and develop the discussion questions. I want to allow my students to have more choice in both. The solution to the latter is to let students ask their own questions about the article, much like the literary discussions we have had in the past. The easiest way to let students choose their own articles is to direct them to the Newsela website and let them work independently. However, current events is best as a class activity and allowing for choice takes away the discussion element. My next best idea is to allow the students to vote on the general topic of the article, such as sports, law, history, art, and so on. To prevent a repeat of general topics, I would make a rule that the same topic could not be chosen two weeks in a row. I could take that a step further and require that they would have to go through each category once before the options reset so that they are discussing a wider variety of topics.
I think my students latch onto current events day because it feels more relevant to their everyday lives. They aren’t interested in grammar lessons, literary analyses, or taking/preparing for the ACT. Could I be doing more to engage my students in the curriculum? Yes. Could my students be making more of an effort to participate in their education? Also yes. (I think people try to make teaching all about extremes, that if you aren’t bending over backwards to do everything you can for every single student, then you aren’t doing your job well. I think, as with many things and not just education, there’s an in-between where teachers, students, and administrators meet each other halfway. I am not sure what the point of this tangent was, but if there is one take away, extremes are exhausting for everyone and benefit only a few.) Schoolwork is schoolwork and sometimes, the students connect with the material and sometimes, they don’t. Teaching is as much of a learning process for teachers as it is for students, so my lessons' connectedness to students’ lives can only improve. (Or that’s the hope.)
At this point in time, I select the articles and develop the discussion questions. I want to allow my students to have more choice in both. The solution to the latter is to let students ask their own questions about the article, much like the literary discussions we have had in the past. The easiest way to let students choose their own articles is to direct them to the Newsela website and let them work independently. However, current events is best as a class activity and allowing for choice takes away the discussion element. My next best idea is to allow the students to vote on the general topic of the article, such as sports, law, history, art, and so on. To prevent a repeat of general topics, I would make a rule that the same topic could not be chosen two weeks in a row. I could take that a step further and require that they would have to go through each category once before the options reset so that they are discussing a wider variety of topics.
I think my students latch onto current events day because it feels more relevant to their everyday lives. They aren’t interested in grammar lessons, literary analyses, or taking/preparing for the ACT. Could I be doing more to engage my students in the curriculum? Yes. Could my students be making more of an effort to participate in their education? Also yes. (I think people try to make teaching all about extremes, that if you aren’t bending over backwards to do everything you can for every single student, then you aren’t doing your job well. I think, as with many things and not just education, there’s an in-between where teachers, students, and administrators meet each other halfway. I am not sure what the point of this tangent was, but if there is one take away, extremes are exhausting for everyone and benefit only a few.) Schoolwork is schoolwork and sometimes, the students connect with the material and sometimes, they don’t. Teaching is as much of a learning process for teachers as it is for students, so my lessons' connectedness to students’ lives can only improve. (Or that’s the hope.)
Below, I am including the links and slides for a Donald Trump current events lesson I did with my English IV students yesterday. (I liked how well the video and article went together in this lesson. The discussion would have been better if more students were in-class on Thursday and I didn't have to model reciprocal reading for a visitor in first period.)
Kids React to Donald Trump:
Video Discussion Questions:
 |
| Students respond to the video discussion questions by raising their hand. They are meant to be a quick way to review and react to what is seen in the video. The video and the short discussion that follows act as the opening set of my current events lessons. |
Newsela Article:
Article Discussion Questions:
 |
| Students respond to the article discussion questions using Think, Pair, Share. I give them more time to think about and develop their responses for these questions so that we can have a deeper discussion about the text. |
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