Sally Roongo

TE 802
Literacy Inquiry Project
September 14, 2007

Part 1 – “The Lived Curriculum”

Narrative

After sitting through two of my mentor’s honors English 9 classes, I was anxious to meet
the students in my regular English 9 focus class. The two honors classes consisted of eighteen
and twenty-four students with a female majority in each (14 girls versus 4 boys in one hour and
18 girls versus 6 boys in the other.) My regular English 9 class, however, had thirty-one
students, twenty male and eleven female. Compared to the honors classes, my ninth graders were
slightly more quiet and reserved. Whereas the students in the honors classes were outgoing and
talkative for the most part, my regular English 9 class was not as anxious to speak. The room
felt very crowded. While the honors classes had a bit of space to work with, my ninth grade
class required every desk in the classroom to be used. This did not allow for much creativity in
terms of seating arrangements. A U-shaped or circular seating plan was out of the question;
there was not enough room. To avoid the monotony of rows, I arranged the desks to be
staggered. One the sides of the room, desk were put on a diagonal line facing the front of the
room. Although it was probably not evident to students, I also placed desks closer to one another
in groups of four (and one group of three). I thought this would make it easier to form groups
later in the trimester when partaking in group work and small group discussions. Comment [1]: Smart thinking!

In the future, I hope I can refrain from comparing the regular English 9 students with the
honors English 9 students (as the courses are set-up with varied curriculum). However, with the
year just beginning, the differences are quite telling. Whereas the honors students spent most of
the first class period discussion a range of fiction that they had read over the summer, very few
regular English 9 students had read anything at all. For one thing, the honors students were
required to read Night by Elie Wiesel, Anthem by Ayn Rand, and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray
Bradbury over the summer. The regular English class, however, had no required summer
reading. While the honors classes could begin the first week with lively discussion about the
three novels they had read, the regular class needed to jump right into the first trimester
curriculum.
Before beginning a short story unit, I had my regular English 9 students fill out a short
survey with questions that included: (1) What middle school did you go to?, (2) What was the
last book you read because you had to?, (3) What was the last book you read because you wanted
to?, (4) What is your favorite book or author?, (5) What is your favorite TV show?, (6) Do you
like to write? If so, what?, and (6) What is one thing you really hope to learn in this course?
Some students were more open than others. Some students left questions blank, and it was
obvious that some students even misread questions based on their given responses.
Some commonalities that I noticed were that many of the students enjoyed The Outsiders
as a book they read in the eighth grade. Several of the female students have read the Gossip Girl
series for fun, and five students cited the Harry Potter series as their favorite. Other frequently
mentioned books were With Every Drop of Blood and Go Ask Alice. It was encouraging that
only one of thirty-one students did not list a book title on their survey. As for the television
shows they watched, many students’ favorite shows were either featured on MTV of VH1. I was
surprised, when several students noted that they did not watch much TV. I did not include a
question about internet use on the entrance survey; however, I am going to assume that almost all
of my students are computer literate based on the culture and affluence of the school community. Comment [2]: Probably true, but be careful about
making this kind of assumption about individuals
The one thing I thought was most encouraging about these entrance surveys was that based on the community.

eleven of thirty-one students wanted to learn to be a better writer in response to the question:
“What is one thing you really hope to learn in this course?” With over one-third of the class
having this goal, I am more confident bringing writing activities into the classroom.
My focus class is full of athletes, musicians, and eccentrics personalities. I already have
a student coming up to me once a day with a poem he has written based on the short story we
read for that day. With such different students in such a crowded classroom, I really want to give Comment [3]: What a compliment!

my students the opportunity to be creative, to be active, and to learn from one another.

Visual Representation / Metaphor

The following series of pictures is what I think this year will bring. When I look at the
literacy practices of my students, I see many strengths and interests that I could work off of to
engage them in an English language arts classroom. But I see a great deal of hard work ahead.
Based on what I have seen in my classroom thus far, I am confident that my students are ready to
learn. Even though they may not be “the honors kids,” I see a great deal of potential in them.
For one thing, I noticed almost a 50% participation increase from the first day of instruction to
the second day of instruction. Although I cannot expect to have such positive outcomes all the
time, I hope that everything we do will build on itself. We might face difficulties, but we will
face them together. And so, this brings me to my visual representation and what it stands for…
In this initial stage of my internship, I look at my students as people who are about to
embark on a journey. They are about to “set sail,” metaphorically speaking. They have brought Comment [4]: Sally, this reminds me of your
Mapquest metaphor—a wonderful connection!
prior knowledge and interests with them, but they have no idea what the future is going to bring.
As ninth graders, their high school career has just begun. We are going to have to “weather the
storm” together, but I will be there to guide them every step of the way. Some tasks may seem
daunting and unachievable. My students may not have the motivation or the confidence. But
eventually the storm will cease and the sun will find its way through the clouds. Students will
gain confidence and find more strength(s). Our journey concludes with a final difficult task [the
research paper]. But we will work together. We will support one another. Eventually, we will
succeed. And at the end of it all, I hope we can look back at our achievement and enjoy the
view.
Seating Arrangement w/ Demographic Breakdown

KEY
 Female student desk
 Male student desk
 Likes to write songs
 Likes to write stories
 Likes to write poetry
 Wants to be a better writer
 Read Harry Potter for fun

Comment [5]: This is an interesting map of

attributes and interests, especially in light of your
introduction about seating. Does this reflect your
attempts to group students based on your
observations and other data?
 




 



  
 


 
 


FRONT OF ROOM
Part 2 – “The Delivered Curriculum”

Based on the curriculum map I was given and conversations I have had with various
teachers in the English department at North PA High School, I have already been able to plan a
great deal for my focus class. My English 9 class will have two 12 week trimesters over the Comment [6]: Is what follows mandated? Your
own invention? A combination of the two?
course of the year (with 70 minute class periods); they are divided into English 9A and English
9B. The anchor texts for English 9A are Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Romeo and Juliet,
and a short story unit with stories from Saki, O. Henry, and Shirley Jackson. The anchor texts
for English 9B are Night by Elie Wiesel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, and another short
story unit with a focus on Edgar Allen Poe. English 9B also spends a significant amount of time
teaching the ominous research paper.
Over the course of both English 9A and B, vocabulary must be integrated into the units.
In English 9A, literary terms and devices need to be reviewed and solidified. Students must also
develop their analysis and compare/contrast skills. Some “big questions” students are going to
be asked are: “How do I learn best?,” “Who am I?, ” “How do I say what I need to say?,” “What
are good choices?,” and “How can writing help me understand and communicate what I’m
thinking? In English 9B, students are going to continue to become comfortable with literary
language like theme, imagery, symbolism, and allusion. In addition to completing a research
paper, students are going to be asked: “What are my strengths?”, “Do I have the courage to do
what is right?”, and “How do the circumstances found in society affect my ‘Coming of Age’?”
Teachers are given quite a bit of flexibility in terms of the assessments they choose to
give. Writing is, of course, always encouraged. But I have freedom when it comes to generating
tests, quizzes, and graded assignments. Due to a shortage in books, every student taking English
9 will not be reading the same thing at the same time. For instance, one class may start with Of
Mice and Men while another might start with Night. When it comes to the short story units, Comment [7]: This makes for an interesting
challenge compared to the usual working-through-a-
teachers also have freedom in regards to the short stories they choose to cover, but some of the novel unit: how will you help students converse
together about the similarities/differences between
these diverse texts?
short stories have been divided between A and B to make sure a student is not re-taught the same
short story in the event that they switch teachers.
Having only 12 weeks per trimester, 24 weeks in total, to cover all this material is going
to be challenging. Teachers are going to have to make sure students are handing their work in on
time. With such a short amount of time in each trimester, students are not going to be able to
bring up a suffering grade as easily. And the administration has this in mind. They are already
contacting teachers about students, particularly ninth graders, who are at risk of failing based on
previous years’ grades. Especially with ninth graders, administration wants to get them on the
right track right away.
I have many goals that I hope to accomplish over the course of this year. Particularly
with my focus class, I hope to engage students even if they are not particularly fond of English,
literature, reading, or writing. This is more of a personal goal than one that is ELA motivated.
But if I can achieve this goal, I’m sure my class can accomplish our other goals as well. In
general, I want students to develop a more critical eye when it comes to reading, viewing, and Comment [8]: Can you elaborate? What does
critical mean to you?
listening. So often, students just look at the words without putting any meaning behind them.
When students leave my classroom, I want them to be fully prepared for the years to come. I do
not want their tenth grade teacher to be disappointed in the fact that I did not adequately prepare
them. I want them to be ready. In order to do this, I want to improve their writing on both the
creative and expository spectrums. As high school progresses, I feel that much more emphasis is
put on writing. However, we cannot expect writing to improve unless we provide constant
practice. Lastly, I hope my students will gain the strategies that are necessary to be successful in Comment [9]: As with other activities, the nature
of the practice also makes a difference: how might
an education environment. We do not all learn the same way, but I hope my students will begin you use Hillocks’ task analysis to break down and
sequence the writing you will teach to your students?
to develop an understanding of and an appreciation for how they acquire knowledge.

Part 3 – Comparing the Two

Based on the surveys I gave in class and based on what I have already come to know
about my students’ personalities, I think I can use my students’ literacy practices to create a
unique learning environment. Since the day I decided to become a teacher, I knew that I did not
want to work in a teacher-centered classroom. I believe students work best when they are
working with one another towards a common goal. Especially with my large class of 31
students, I think it is really important to give them independence and responsibility. It would be
so easy, but yet so pointless, to stand in front of my class and talk every day. I’ve said it more
than once, and I’ll say it again. Students are not a blank slate. They are smart and have so much
potential. It is not my intention to just fill them with information and have them regurgitate it.
Rather, I want my students to be creative and do something entirely original. The assignments I
have developed so far intend to give my students freedom. I don’t necessarily want them to
show me what they’ve learned. I want them to teach me something in return. Comment [10]: What a powerful statement! I
remember hearing this from a veteran teacher on the
My students hope to improve their writing, and I intend to give them ample opportunities day of her retirement—congratulations on this
mature understanding!
to do so. In addition to expository writing, I am going to integrate creative writing assignments
into the class as well. With the class starting a short story and radio play unit, I have decided I
am going have students either adapt or create a radio play which they will perform in groups for
the class. Surprisingly, a student wrote on their entrance survey that they wanted to learn how to Comment [11]: And I saw that you acted on this!

write a play.
Some of my students are not particularly fond of reading, so I have made the decision to
start every class with a student presented book talk. In an attempt to expose them to more books,
everyone in the class will have an opportunity over the course of the trimester to informally
present a book to the class. This may be a book they read recently or one of their favorites. I
even gave them the option of bringing in picture books. I just want them to be thinking about
books in general. Even if they don’t like the books we read in school, maybe books presented by
their peers will seem more appealing. Ultimately, I intend to present ELA material in an Comment [12]: Smart! I like the way you used
this for classroom management as well!
interesting way and hardly ever the same way twice. As an intern, I am still discovering what
works and what does not. But I think giving unique assignments is a good way to get students
involved in the classroom. As counterproductive as it may sound, I almost want to trick my
students into learning. I want them to learn without even realizing it. And if they’re having fun,
if they’re enjoying themselves, I think I can accomplish that goal. Comment [13]: You’ve mentioned writing
practice above—I’d like to know more about your
plans for this goal based on what you’ve learned
about students.