Literature Groups...Finally

For a long time, I've wanted to explore the world of literature groups (or cirlces. It sounds more grown up as groups to me). I decided to take the plunge with our American drama.

My mentor Kristy Louden and I decided that we would go out on a limb and teach A Streetcar Named Desire this year. Kristy had never taught it before, so we decided to try it out together.

As we began discussing how we wanted to go about teaching the play, one of the most important things that we wanted to do was to create a standout unit, one that is very different from anything either of us had ever really done. And, maybe more importantly, different from anything any other 11th grade teachers were doing. If we were going to go out on a limb and break away from the norm, we wanted to do it the right way.

When we dug into the play a bit deeper, we saw the many different views or lenses that we could teach through. And we thought. And couldn't decide. And made lists. And scratched things off. And finally, we decided that, well, we just couldn't pick one lens.

Finally, it hit Kristy, and our focus literature groups were born.

There are many differnt avenues that we could have gone through with these literature focus groups, but we decided on the 6 that we viewed as the most prominant in the play: feminism, patriarchy, symbolism, language, historical/cultural influences and contexts, and conflict. All of these focuses ease into each other eventually, and they seemed to make a lot of sense based on what would interest our students and what their greatest struggles are.

I created the unit based on lessons from Kelly Gallagher's Deeper Reading, my teaching bible. Each group had four activities, with each activity (minus the fourth) being different than the other groups' activities. Basically, there were 19 activities to create for the groups. I wanted the activites to hone in on the focus of each group and build upon one another. The most difficult part was the placement. Each activity could be so deep that it became difficult to decide which would be the earlier and therefore more superficial of the group's activites. Overall, though, it worked out extremely well.

My students were more drawn into the play than they have been with anything else that they've read this year. I've seen grades improve dramatically. The responsibility factor is really affecting them too. Students feel a connection with their group members -- there are relationships forming that haven't bloomeed all year! -- and they feel responsible for seeig their group members succeed.

I won't say that it's because the unit was well-written (although I am proud of it). A Streetcar Named Desire is a fanstastic play that speaks to all ages, races, and cultures. It's a soap opra drama that students eat up like nothing I have ever seen. Sure, there are some that weren't drawn in, but watching the hands shoot up to read aloud is enough for me.

I'm thrilled that I decided to try literature groups, and I'm so proud of my students for responding in a positive manner. I'm proud of their maturity with each other and the subject matter and their ever-growing responsibility.

Without a doubt, Streetcar has made it into my "keep pile" for the year.

I'm considering putting up the unit on TpT, so keep an eye out if you're interested!

Keep on reading,

Ms. Z

TEDxBirmingham

Last Saturday, I attended TEDxBirmingham, which I can say, without a doubt, was one of the most inspiring, transformational experiences of my life.

I was first introduced to TED talks in my college linguistics class. In an instant, I was hooked. I have spent many hours, shamelessly, learning from these speakers and connecting with their words. As an English teacher, I love words. Spoken or written, words are my passion, and TED talks brought out that passion in a new and exciting way.

TED talks are based on the idea of inspiration, and that's what I love most about them. Their topics range from science to education, activism to anthropology. There is a TED talk out there for everyone, and I highly recommend finding one that speaks to you.

One of the assistant principals at HHS, Jennifer Hogan (@jennifer_hogan), sent out the information about TEDxBirmingham late in 2013 to the faculty and staff, and I jumped at the opportunity to attend. Because this was the first TEDxBirmingham, seats were limited, and applications were required to get a ticket. Mrs. Hogan pointed out in her email that there was an opportunity to apply for a scholarship. This scholarship was given to educators and was labeled as applying for an Educator Fellow. Only 20 applications were accepted and asked to attend TEDxBirmingham for free.

I applied. I was accepted. I was thrilled.

I'm glad to say that the K-12 Relations Coordinator, Dylan Ferniary, came to find each of us during the conference and helped us meet each other. It was a rich experience to meet all of these fellow educators and to share this conference with them. It is Dylan's hope that we, as educators, can begin to network more in-person. We will continue to stay in touch and experience TED events together.

TEDxBirmingham had wonderful speakers in many different subject areas. Each TEDxBirmingham speaker was fantastic, but there were a few that stand out to me and spoke to me, personally.

Malik Kofi is a 12-year-old prodigy on the cello, but he is also so much more than that. Malik let each of us know what we can inspire, not matter our circumstances or age.

Victoria Hollis works with the students of Birmingham City. She brought the audience to their feet with her inspirational plea to remove the descriptors for students and view them all as equal and as children.

Glenny Brock has dedicated many years to restoring the Lyric theater in downtown Birmginham. Remember your city, she urged us, and make it the best that it can be.

Jen Barnett, a once-business owner, reminded us to never quit. Even in times that Jen couldn't see the light, she was able to laugh it off and push herself harder than she imagined possible. Her bravery, she says, is her best quality and what makes her special and a standout.

Pat Hymel reminded each and every one of us to revel in admitting failures and errors - not matter how great the consequence of our action. Admitting our mistakes leads others to do the same.

I highly recommend attending a TED or TEDx conference. I walked out of the conference a person different than the one who had entered that morning. As educators, it's extremely important that we continue to push ourselves for our schools, ourselves, and our students. Even though I am a brand new teacher and I may not be quite as jaded or uninspired as some, I am and will forever push myself and my bounds.

At the end of the day, I walked out of the TEDxBirmingham conference asking myself, "What would my TED Talk attempt to inspire?" I'm still not sure, and right now, I don't have to know. But I'd like to know that, one day, I might inspire somebody the way that each speaker at TEDxBirmingham inspired me.

http://new.livestream.com/tedx/TEDxBirmingham2014
Link to Livestream above.

Sometimes, all it takes is a little inspiration.

Ms. Z