The following two quotes are on the 12th grade Common Core Colorado Academic Standards document for Reading, Writing, and Communicating:
I have spoken with several English teachers in the past who are adamant about having their students read several novels throughout the year and write essays regularly. Is this a must? This is a great way to assess and develop writing skills, critical thinking skills, etc., but is this really engaging and relevant for our students. I used to be that traditional English teacher who was very adamant about writing essays and reading novels. These days, with my alternative school students, my methods are different. In my classes, students write one essay a term that they improve on throughout that term; and they read one novel of their choosing. Don't get me wrong, my students still read and write every day, but I try to find other forms of assessment to strengthen their skills, that they can then apply to their writing and elsewhere, that is more engaging, relevant, and often times even more rigorous. In my critical theory class, for example, we tend to do more analysis through poetry, song lyrics, television shows, movies, and other forms of media. I find that the students are far more engaged by the discussions we have surrounding these texts/media as opposed to novels and such; often times disappointing my students because I have to cut the discussions off in order to move on and complete other tasks in time. We dig deep into what we are analyzing, elevating critical thinking and reasoning, discussing various perspectives, comparing and contrasting, and reflecting on our thinking and others' thinking regularly. A lot of what my students do for assessment purposes, rather than essays, are individual, partner, or group projects, enhancing valuable communication and collaboration skills. Currently, I have some students creating murals to elevate social issues that exist in our society from their perspectives as well as others, striving to inspire change. I have other students doing the same thing through the creation of escape rooms, board games, video games, children's books, clothing designs, etc. Their critical thinking, arguing and reasoning, information gathering, and writing and reading techniques all still apply. Let's be honest, how many people have to write essays after they graduate from high school or college? We definitely still have to teach students all the skills of writing, as well as different applications, but do we have to constantly require essays as assessments to develop these skills? Some might still strongly believe this is necessary, and I respect that; but there truly are so many more options to teach the same concepts that might actually reach more students and enhance more of those essential reading, writing, speaking, listening, and work readiness skills. I would love to hear your thoughts and more ideas that I might be able to use in my classroom.
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Angelina Valvona-Herndon: a high school teacher, blessed to work with at-risk students striving to succeed in academia and the real world. Archives
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