Creating Literacy Appreciation in At Risk Youth

Creating Literacy Appreciation in At Risk Youth

At Risk Students

 

Definition?

 

Students in danger of academic failure due to:

- Socio-economic status

-Single-parent family

-Ethnicity

-Learning disability

-IEP

-Culture

-Transient lifestyle

Spotting At Risk Students

 

-Sally comes from an supportive upper-class family. Popular at school, very involved within the school and community. An average C student.

 

-John is a First Nations student. Lives on reserve with his father and grandmother. Lots of friends. Has dyslexia and struggles with reading. Some absenteeism. A bright C- student.

 

-Bob comes from a middle-class family. His relocates often due to his father’s career. Easily makes friends at new schools. Some tardiness. He is very bright C+ student.

Broadened Definition

Any student who is at risk of academic failure due to disengagement in learning.

Disengagement can be evidenced in low grades, absenteeism, tardiness, and disruptive behaviour.

Solution Motivate!

 How?

At-Risk Students Need Risk Taking Teachers

“Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in” - Leonardo da Vinci

Student-driven learningBy Jennifer Harper & Kathryn O’Brien

Chapter 4 – Fueling the learning “spark”

Motivation

Student-centered

Interest inventory **SPARKS**

Extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation

Response-based instruction: At-Risk students engaging in literatureBy Jaqueline Parten Gerla

Problem classroom focus on “silence” and on one correct interpretation of a piece of literature

Struggling readers’ inability to engage actively in text

Non-engagement = huge stumbling block in learning to read and comprehend

1. reading choice

2. silent reading followed by response notebook

3. group discussions

4. student-teacher conferences

**Case studies showed significant improvement over the 8-week trial.

Project-based learning helps at-risk studentsBy Liana Heitin

Alternate school in Oregon, 100 students

New emphasis on beyond the classroom learning

Project-based learning with a sustainability theme

Energy, forestry, agriculture, etc.

All projects aimed at having “tangible positive effects on the community”

My question : How are they obtaining the state standards for education?

Attendance rate increased from 23% to 90% since this new style of learning. Drop out rates decreased. Now a registration waiting list.

At Risk Blog

http://atrisklife.blogspot.ca/- How can you foster this with your students? What does this look like in YOUR class?

Group 1:" ”Relevant learning”-  Try and teach the subject so that it will fit into the students everyday life. Keep the students moving and active unless it is something they find very interesting.

Group 2: “ “Motivate your students”-  ”Teacher is really open with the classroom and doesn't mind cracking some jokes or letting the students have some fun but to a certain point. Be flexible and help with learning needs and don’t be afraid to put some of your time to help me achieve the credit”.

Group 3: "Mutual Respect“- “That when I walk into the classroom I can say hey what's up Mr. or Mrs. whatever and its not all weird and awkward.”

Group 4: "Don't Stereotype".-  Give each and every student the right to learn freely and not shun them down because of past experiences or what you've you heard about the students.

Group 5: “Open Work Environment”- Be open to students getting up and stretching or talking to a friend for a minute or two then go back to work.

Activity

In your groups take a few minutes to discuss…

1. Discuss in your group what this would look like in your classroom? Represent what you see fit with a drawing, writing, or mind mapping on your grid paper, or acting out a quick skit.

According to the Partnership for 21st Century Schools, “todays eductation system faces irrelevance unless we bridge the gap between how students live and how they learn” (James, K. Dobson, T. Leggo, C. p90)

Social Media

Familiar context to most teenagers

Easy point of entry. (See notes_

Differentiated

Compels thoughtful reading for comprehension. (see notes)

Other ideas??? Blog to practice making arguments.

Add poetic text or narrative to pictures on Instagram, facebook.

Watch You Tube representions of literature.

Tweet about favorite books.

Learn a new jargon on the internet.

Alone.

by Wulfie

Alone. The word circulated around his head, and above all else, seemed to stick there. He suddenly felt it hit him like a sack of bricks; the loneliness, the pain, the fear. Oh, God, especially the fear. It gnawed at his inside like a caged beast, just waiting to be set free.There was simply nothing more he could do, but wait to be killed. It was obvious the creature wouldn't die - not without an army to kill it - and he had no way to contact anyone. Even if he did, the minute they stepped foot on the island, they'd be killed. He had no idea, why he himself was saved until now. He felt like a mouse, being toyed with before it was eaten.

The steps outside creaked under something's heavy weight, and his heart started to race. He had no idea it was possible to feel this much terror, but it seemed like in another second his heart would stop from it. He shut his eyes as the door swung open, slowly, and waited until the last second.

Shuffling footsteps could be heard, getting louder as they got closer. The anticipation was killing him, and he opened his eyes, immediately wishing he had't. A sight so horrendous stood before him that his heart was seized in horror. The last thing he ever saw was a gaping mouth, rows of jagged teeth filling the inside. Then, a horrible pain, and after that....nothing.

http://www.creative-writing-now.com/her-flight-was-brief-and-other-short-stories.html

* Post a Facebook status for: a) the protagonist of Alone b) the antagonist of Alone

OR

* Write about the plot of Alone. -Where do you think this story is set? -What is occurring in the story? -What clues help you reach your conclusions?

eLiterature

- “works with important literary aspects that take advantage of the capabilities and contexts provided by the stand alone or networked computer.” (ELO, 2006,n.p.)

* hypertext fiction * reactive poetry * blog novels * flash poetry (samples below) * generative art (in conjunction with words)

Cruising

Roulette

For more information / samples of e Literature see: http://collection.eliterature.org/

http://eliterature.org/

Benefits of e-Literature & mixed media:

Youth think technology is “cool”, thus it stimulates interest.

Demands a different form of critical viewing or reading.

Involves literary engagement described by some scholars as “expressive enactment”.

Combines literacy and visual arts.

Prevents boredom and addresses different learning styles, as it adds to the variety of instruction.

Point of entry into the life and experience of youth, which affords new opportunities for creative expression and communication.

Offers youth the potential to create products and/or content in areas they perceive as relevant.

Other Mixed Media & Routes of Engagement

Trendy topics (literature and informational text regarding topics of student interest)

Art & Film ( book vs movie )

Games / Activities (ie. Poem sort )

Interactive computer games (imagine Lord of the Flies game)

Slam Poetry & Rap

Music

Photography (build portfolio of photographs to represent)

Digital video and web programming (express through video and share)

Theatre (write and perform their own plays)

Just for fun….mixed media…old school!

So_I_marriedanaxemurder_WomanPoem.xspf

Harriot_Poem_Mike_Myers_SoIMarriedAnAxeMurderer.xspf

Sources: (Other links posted on preceeding slides)

Schonert-Reichl, Kimberly. Pan-Canadian Education Research Agend"“Children and Youth At Risk,”." a Symposium. UBC. Statistics Canada, Ottawa. 6 Apr. 2000. Lecture

Dobson, T. M. (2012). How Must Our Approach to Teaching Adolescent Literature Change in Order to Engage the Complex Needs of At-Risk Students?. English in Middle and Secondary Classrooms: Creative and Critical Advice from Canada's Teacher Educators (pp. 89-93). Toronto: Pearson.

Mackey, Margaret. (2012). How Can Teachers Best Make Use of Students' Out-of-School Exposure to Multiple Kinds of Texts?. (pp. 94-97). Toronto: Pearson. English in Middle and Secondary Classrooms: Creative and Critical Advice from Canada's Teacher Educators

Dobson, T. M. (2012). How Might Reading Emergent Genres Such as Electronic Literature Benefit Secondary and Middle School Students?. English in Middle and Secondary Classrooms: Creative and Critical Advice from Canada's Teacher Educators (pp. 98-104). Toronto: Pearson.