the freedom to choose in mixed-ability classrooms vate annual conference roanoke, va

Katie Dredger ~ [email protected]

1

The Freedom to Choose in Mixed-

Ability Classrooms

VATE Annual Conference Roanoke, VAOctober 24, 2008

Katie Dredger, Doctoral StudentVirginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA

2

Who am I?English Teacher9th , 10th, 11th, 12th General – AP English, SAT Verbal PreparationClass Sponsor, Project Graduation, Prom CoordinatorTuesday Tutoring for At Risk Youth9th , 10th, 12th English, Cheerleading, Tennis Coach, SGA Sponsor

Middle School Teacher, Student Learning SpecialistData MentorFacilitator of At-Risk Reading ProgramsStaff Developer7th, 8th Reading / Language Arts, Drama Production Sponsor

English Department Chair / AP-SAT Teacher ConsultantAP English Literature and Composition teacherStandard 10 HSA English teacherAP English Language and Composition teacher 2003-2004Remediation CoordinatorYearbook Sponsor 2004

Katie Dredger ~ www.thewelcomingclassroom.pbwiki.com


3

Who am I?

I am a teacher.I am a student.I am an optimist.I am a writer.I am a passionate advocate for

children.I am a wife, a daughter, a sister, a

mother.I am a Virginian on my mother’s side.

"TO BE A VIRGINIAN, by Birth, Marriage, Adoption, or even on one's mother's side, is an Introduction to any State in the Union, a Passport to any Foreign Country, and a Benediction from the Almighty God.“ – Thomas Jefferson

4

"Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free . . ."

Why I Choose to Welcome

- Caleb- Nancy- Selena- Kiki- Nina- Latisha


5

When teachers drop entrance criteria to advanced classes . . . Progression

• Discuss with department, supervisor, administrator

• Winter registration, spring: invite students

• Summer: Reflect on summer reading• Fall: Reflect on assessment of

summer reading• Fall, Winter, Spring, 24/7:

Teach who you get• Fall, Winter, Spring, 24/7:

Collaborate• Fall, Winter, Spring, 24/7:

Reflect


6

What you believe about inclusion will be transparent in your summer reading assignment.

Summer Reading

• Motivate kids to read by offering a carrot instead of a stick.

• Assess summer reading fairly.

• Give them choices.• If they already know it all,

why do they need to take your class?


7

. . . teachers can retain rigorous instruction for all . . . The 3 R’s

Relationships

Relevance

Rigor


8

. . . by guiding student choices of content, product, process, and affect. Differentiation

(Teachers need differentiation too!)

• Content• Product• Process• Affect

You can not do this without knowing your students’ abilities, motivations, goals, thinking styles, and previous learning experiences.


9

Not only are formerly marginalized students welcome . . .

Tried-and-True Journals

•timeline of your reading life (xtimeline.com)•personal time allocation (Excel)•comfort with technology•books really read / liked•perception of self as a reader / writer •a day in your life•comfort with literary analysis•being a a stranger in a strange land


10

. . . they find success in the autonomy that is inherent in a classroom that values their decisions.

Shakespeare ProjectsBefore I taught in a welcoming classroom, we marched through:•Beowulf•The Canterbury Tales•Hard Times•Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth•Pride & Prejudice•Tess of the D’Urbervilles •Invisible Man (I can explain.)•Blake, Browning, Keats, Donne . . . .•etc., etc. etc., etc. . . . NOW, I let them choose.


11

Shakespeare CHOICES

Mondays –the sage on the stageTuesdays – Othello

dramatic interpretations, seminars, film, art, danceWednesdays – Hamlet

film, internet sites, paraphrasing games, mock Dr. Phil character analysis, dramatic monologueThursdays – King Lear

digital stories, musical interpretation, graphic novel, soliloquy, international filmFridays – Time to write


“I will not choose what many men desire, because I will not jump with common spirits ...” William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

12

“Literature provides the reader with a ... door to walk through forever changed….” There isn’t one text “that does this for every member of every class at the same time.” –Fisher & Ivey

Start small,but please, consider letting go of some of your favorites.

Teaching English is a constant tension between the content/skills of the discipline and the student.

I choose to err on the side of the student.


13

ReferencesAllington, Richard L. “Effective Teachers, Effective Instruction.” Adolescent Literacy: Turning Promise into

Practice. Eds. Kylene Beers, Linda Reif, and Robert Probst. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2007. Alvermann, Donna E. and D. Moore. “Secondary School Reading.” Handbook of Reading Research. Eds. R. Barr,

et al. Vol. 2. New York: Longman, 1991. 951-83.Dredger, Katie. “Incorporating Student Choice: Effective Practice and the Courage to Change.” English Journal

98.1 (2008):29-41.Guthrie, John T. and A. Wigfield. “Engagement and Motivation in Reading.” Handbook of Reading Research Eds.

M.L. Kamil, et al. Vol. III. Mahawah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2000. 403-22.Fisher, Douglas, and Gay Ivey. “Farewell to A Farewell to Arms: Deemphasizing the Whole Class Novel.” Phi

Delta Kappan 88.7 (2007): 494-97.Kajder, Sara. “Teaching Struggling Readers: Helping Adolescents when the Text Is Rough.” Session delivered with

Kylene Beers and Robert Probst. NCTE Annual Convention. New Your. Nov. 2007.Kohn, Alfie. “Choices for Children: Why and How to Let Students Decide. (Cover Story). Phi Delta Kappan 75.1

(1993): 8.Kozol, Jonathan. The Shame of a Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America. New York: Crown,

2005.Marvel, J., Lyter, D.M., Strizek, G.A., and B.A. Morton. “Teacher Attrition and Mobility: 2004-2005 Teacher

Follow-up Survey.” American Institutes for Research. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2007.

Pirie, Bruce. Reshaping High School English. Urbana: NCTE, 1997.Tomlinson, Carol. “Deciding to Teach Them All.” Educational Leadership 61.2 (2003): 6-11.Wheelock, A. Crossing the Tracks: How “Untracking” Can Save America’s Schools. New York: New Press, 1992.Yonezawa, Susan, and Makeba Jones. “Students Perspectives on Tracking and Detracking.” Theory Into Practice

45.1 (2006): 8.


14

Contact information:

[email protected]

www.thewelcomingclassroom.pbwiki.com


mailto:[email protected]

the freedom to choose in mixed-ability classrooms vate annual conference roanoke, va

Documents

english teacher9th

general ap english

new middle school

high school

new school culture

new understanding of

va1katie dredger

required classroom