This is an interesting model of a successful tutoring center. I heard about it on NPR a while back. I wish it could happen here in Birmingham.

My favorite part: (Start around 14:50)

(He is talking about how they have groups of students write books. ) “The kids will work harder than they ever have in their lives if they know it is going to be permanent…If they know that nobody can diminish what they’ve thought and said…We give so much attention to their thoughts…five drafts, six drafts…and once they’ve reached that level, once they’ve written at that level, they can never go back.  It is absolutely transformative.“

To read more posts on this site about tag clouds, click here.

Here are some resources on the new generation of wordle-like website.  The difference is that many of these allow you to pick the shape (a person’s face, a heart, etc).

This list came from WhiteBoardBlog.com:

• http://www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm
• http://tagul.com/
• http://tagcrowd.com/
• http://worditout.com/
• http://www.imagechef.com/ic/word_mosaic/
• http://wordsift.com/

The following  info came from ClassroomNext

Tagxedo allows you to create custom pictures from words. The picture to the left is an image of Che Guevara and was created from the text of the Wikipedia article about him.

Go Check out the Tagxedo Gallery

Wordle is not affiliated with Tagxedo

THIS information came from Free4Teachers.com

Tagul is a free word cloud generator that offers one clear difference compared to other word cloud generators like Wordle. The difference between Wordle and Tagul is when you create a word cloud with Tagul, every word in your word cloud is linked to a Google search. Click on any word in your word cloud to be taken directly to a Google search results page for that word. Tagul creates a word cloud from text you copy into your Tagul account. Tagul will also generate a word cloud from any url you specify. Just as you can with other word cloud generators, Tagul allows you to specify words to ignore in creating your word clouds. Once your word cloud is created Tagul provides you with an embed code to put your cloud on your blog or website.

I have been thinking a lot about design as of late.  Being one of the newspaper sponsors at my school, I think about it often.  I have noticed a number of interesting infographics being published lately that consolidate research and statistics into a visual format.

Is teaching design is important for language arts.  I think it is.  Visualizations persuade.  We can convey so much with visual elements.  The lack of words can be powerful as well. (See the example below.)

There are obvious uses for teaching visual rhetoric via film studies (by that I mean filming techniques to foster visualization while reading). Infographics could be used to outline a research project or to be used in a speech.  Anyway, just thought I would share.

Created by Online Education

The conference was AMAZING!  We had just under 200 people. (Read below to learn why that is impressive.)  We have already discussed changes for next year’s conference.  We hope you will consider joining us.  Check RMWP.ORG for updates.

This conference schedule is a thing of great beauty.  You can now also download the conference program.

When I first started planning for this conference, I was told to expect around 30 people to show up.  As of today we have about 152 registered.  I am amazed at the support.  I have never done this before.  It has been eye-opening.If you are interested in hearing Kylene Beers and Bob Probst along with 12 other presenters speak, I would encourage you to come on down, over, or up to Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday (27 February 2010).Here is a link to the page where you can register: 21st Century Literacies Conference(I will remove the option to register at 11:59 p.m. the night before the conference.)

I purchased a copy of Janet Allen’s Inside Words this summer at a workshop. Among the AMAZING activities in the book I discovered the Frayer Method. (Click HERE to see a demonstration of the Frayer method with vocabulary).

When I saw it, I immediately thought of how useful it would be to use this to teach voice/style within your students’ writing. If you had them fill out a graphic organizer like the one used with vocabulary above, you could really get them thinking about their own writing.

Then I started thinking about how useful it would be in teaching the differences between the literary periods I teach (everything from romanticism to modernism). Because the influence of these period is often subtle and lacking a strict definition, this will certainly be useful for me next year.

Anyway…this post was more for me than my readers. Just thought I’d share, though.

Here are some PDF worksheets that feature the Frayer methods:

What is the Frayer method?

Frayer Vocabluary PDF

Next year I am going to read a book with my students without ever having read a word of it.

We will study and discuss it chapter by chapter together. Whenever I finish a chapter I will podcast my notes and thoughts.  That way I can show them how I think about literature as we progress through it.  I will have them do the same via their blogs (which I am requiring on their school-supply list for next year).

Doing this will give them a model of how I think about literature.  It will also show them how I make connections with other pieces of literature (text to world, text to text, and text to self).  I will also be modeling questioning progressive character analysis.  In the end we will look back at my “errors” (perhaps I should say misinterpretations) to see where I went astray.

This idea came to me when I saw my copy of the book that is pictured above on my bookshelf.  I would love to know if any of you have done anything like this.

Please leave a comment below.

I still have a few students who have a difficult time verbalizing deeper examples of symbolism. This pedagogical conundrum made me start thinking about levels of symbolic representation. If Bloom has levels of thinking, why can’t there be levels of symbolism.

I think pointing out examples of these levels may help some of the students understand how to explain them.

I realize that there is probably 982 (give or take a few) books already on this subject, but here is the list I came up with (the ones in BLUE were suggested by colleagues):

Types of Symbols

Aesthetic Symbolism- appearance of something contains symbolic qualities
Colors – Red for love
Yellow for decay or money
Green for money or jealousy
Texture- Sharpness of a thorn

Object Symbolism- an object is symbolic
The green light on Daisy’s dock serves as a beacon of hope just as with flame of the statue of Liberty.

Iconic-dealing with an icon
Cross, infinity symbol, a fist raised in the air, peace sign

Linguistic Symbolism- this involves the symbolism that innately occur in certain words. (Thanks, Candy)
NAMES- Dimsdale from The Scarlet Letter
DUPLICITY- “Put out the light, and then put out the light.” (Othello V, ii) (I know this last example is more metaphor than symbol, but they are kissing cousins)

Action/Event Symbolism- an action or event implies a subliminal symbolism
Tom’s violent/domineering personality is symbolized in the way he slams the windows in the first chapter of The Great Gatsby.
Starks will not let Janie let her hair down in public. This is symbolic of his control over her, which is fueled by his jealousy.

Cognitive Symbolism- thoughts that pop into the characters’ heads that represent internal struggle or emotional conflicts. (Thanks, Brigid)
Gatsby realizes that Daisy’s voice is full of money as he moves towards realizing that she picked Tom for reasons other than just a good option.

While looking for pictures to add to this post, I found the PDF of a list of color symbolism.

As always, please add any suggestions for this list in my comments.

I have been giving a lot of thought to my reading list for next year.  I know the major works I want to cover during the first semester, but I really want to add some amazing works to my list.  I would love any suggestions.  Also, I would love to know what YOU plan to teach next year.    Please leave any suggestions/lists in the comments below.

Here is my list thus far:                                            (p)= assigned paper
(I plan to teach the selections in this order.)
(I have listed some of the short stories I plan to teach, but I would love your suggestions from the American Lit 1900 to the present cannon.)

Winter Dreams
The Great Gatsby (P)
Of Mice and Men
Two Hurston short stories
Their Eyes were Watching God (P)
Wagner Matinee
Modernist Poetry
RESEARCH PAPER
Pinker’s The Language Instinct
The Things They Carried
A Raisin in the Sun
Sonny’s Blues
Catcher in the Rye
Big Fish

SUGGESTIONS FOR BOTH FICTION AND NONFICTION WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

I am sorry I have been gone so long.  Between preparing for the Red Mountain Writing Project and going to Washington D.C. for the NWP Spring meeting, I have been trying my best to make time for writing.

 I recently discovered a great blog for young adult literature.  It is called YA Lit- The Good, The Bad, The Ugly. The author, Sara, critiques young adult titles and offers opportunities for you to participate in polls.

The current poll is for the Printz Award winners.  And I am glad to see a writer from Birmingham, who jogs by my school each morning when he visits his family, is in the lead. That would be John Green for Looking for Alaska.

Anyway…I have added this blog to my blogroll and look forward to using it as a resource as I select next year’s books.

I discovered this list from the Santa Cruz Public Library.  I thought it might make for some interesting discussions in conjunction with literature.  Click the link above for the source.

• Amaranth - Immortality
• Anemone - Anticipation, Frailty
• Apple Blossom - Admiration
• Aspen Leaf - Fear
• Asphodel - Death, Memorial sorrow
• Bay - The poet’s crown
• Begonia - Dark thoughts.
• Blue violet - Faithfulness
• Buttercup - Wealth
• Calla - Magnificent beauty, pride
• Camelia, White - Innate worth
• Candytuft - Indifference
• Cardinal Flower - Distinction
• Chrysanthemum - Cheerfulness and optimism.
• Cornflower - Delicacy
• Cowslip - Youthful Beauty
• Crocus - Good cheer
• Cyclamen - Diffidence
• Cypress - Mourning
• Daffodil - Unrequited love
• Daisy - Fidelity and innocence; simplicity
• Dandelion - multiple meanings: grief and bitterness; symbol of the sun; symbol of coquetry; used by Flemish and German painters to symbolize the suffering of Christ.
• Everlastings - Unfading love
• Fern - Sincerity
• Fir Tree - Time
• Forget-me-not - True love; Friendship and fidelity as well as remembrance.
• Four-leafed Clover - Good luck
• Foxglove - Insincerity
• Gentian - Virgin pride
• Geranium - Gentility
• Goldenrod - Encouragement
• Heather - Loneliness
• Heather, White - Good fortune
• Heliotrope - Devotion
• Hepatica - Anger
• Hollyhock - Ambition
• Honeysuckle - Friendship
• Hyacinth - Sorrow
• Ivy - Truthfulness, Wedded love
• Larkspur - Lightness, laughter
• Laurel - Fame
• Lavender - Purity; Silence
• Lilac - Fastidiousness
• Lily, White - Purity
• Lotus - Forgetfulness, estranged love
• Lunaria - Prosperity, honesty
• Marigolds - Happiness
• Marjoram and Lily of the valley - Love; purity;happiness
• Morning Glory - Symbol of the transience of man’s life.
• Myrtle - Beauty’s crown, wedded love
• Narcissus - Vanity
• Oak Leaf - Patriotism, Hospitality
• Olive Branch - Peace
• Orange Blossom - Marriage
• Oxalis - Pangs of regret
• Palm Leaf - Victory
• Pansy - Symbol of the loved one, memories, loving thoughts and souvenirs.
• Phlox - Symbol of sweet dreams and implies a proposal of marriage.
• Pink Carnation - I’ll never forget you.
• Poppy, White - Oblivion
• Primrose - Youth
• Red Carnation - I’m carrying a torch for you.
• Rose - Love
• Rosebuds - Pure and lovely
• Rosemary - Rememberance
• Sage - Domestic bliss
• Shamrock - Loyalty
• Snowdrop - Friend in Need
• Sting Nettle - Slander
• Sweet William - Gallantry
• Thyme - Courage, energy
• Tulip - in Persia the tulip is the symbol of love
• Violet - Modesty
• Water Lily - Purity of heart

Here are my worksheets for quote IDs on The Great Gatsby. I hope find them useful. I used the same method as described in THIS post.

 

Chapters 3-6 Get your own - Open publication Chapter 7 Get your own - Open publication Chapters 8-9 Get your own - Open publication

This sample of my handout for The Great Gatsby was designed for students at level 5, so they no longer need the scaffolding that is described below. To view the handout, just CLICK the picture.

Get your own - Open publication

I have been working on responding to quote IDs. Initially I found that they were leaving out important aspects of the selected passages, like the speaker or literary devices. So I decided to try to come up with an acronym to help them remember what all then needed in their responses.

Then, I found that, though the acronym was helping them to remember to touch on more of the aspects of the quotes, over 50% of them were overlooking the more inferential aspects of the passages. THEREFORE, I had to backtrack. Now I have learned that the following steps must be followed in order to make sure students are writing at the optimal level:

1. Teach them the following acronym to help them to learn what is involved in a complete quote ID.

Speaker- tell the speaker of the quote or passage
Event- tell what is going on where that quote occurs in the literature
Language & literary devices
Explain your examples from the text
Context- relate this passage to other parts of the piece or other pieces of literature.
Themes- relate this passage to the themes within the novel.

2. I do, we do, you do.

Show them how one is written. Allow them to construct a few with you. Then, let them try it on their own.

3. Then have the students respond to a list of passages in which you underline the parts you expect them to include in the responses.

4. Now, instead of underlining all of the important parts, put a number next to each passage showing how many important aspects they need to discuss.

Instead of writing a single number, you might want to write two numbers, such as 4 to 5. This will cut down on the number of students who approach you saying, “I cannot find five of them. Could you tell the last one?” It is one of those little psychological tricks that saves you time because they will try to find five, but they will settle for four if the bell rings.

5. The last step will have no training wheels. They will just get the passages along with your high standards. Because they have had a lot of practice, they will be well prepared.

As you progress through these steps, may also want to consider either raising the point value of the assignment or count off more for information that is left out of the students’ responses.