Longwood University
Summary of Data from Interest Inventory & Reading LevelsMany of my students read slightly below an 8th grade reading level, while some are on level or above. Discussions with my cooperating teacher have shown that while the majority of the students are below level, the ones that are above level are a few grade levels ahead. Students will do a formal reading level test to further show their actual reading levels, but a few of the students are definitely struggling readers while others excel. Most of the students ask some questions while they read, but do not show evidence of any other types of reading process. When there is reading in the lesson plans, my cooperating teacher reads aloud and periodically stops and asks the students comprehension questions about the text, which helps model reading processes to them and seems to help them understand texts more clearly.I received extremely varied responses to the student interest surveys I gave out. Most of the students said they do not read by choice, but those who did read had a wide range of things they like to read about. Many of the students said they like to read the news, while others said they like to read about myths and fairy tales. With that in mind, I chose to connect issues in myths, fairy tales, and other fiction genres to real-world issues that have been in the news. Using these kinds of texts will allow me to teach reading strategies, conventional elements of fiction, and diversity and social justice lessons while using topics many of the students are interested in.Text Set Reference ListAnonymous. (2014, November 14). The Brahman Girl That Married a Tiger. Retrieved November 02,2016, from Baker, A. (n.d.). Why the Blood Diamond Trade Won't Die. Retrieved November 03, 2016, from CNN Student News - October 19, 2016. (2016, October 19). Retrieved November 03, 2016, from Farmer, N. (2013). The Lord of Opium. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Global Issues Word Cloud [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2016, from shop/global-issues-word-cloud-editable-template Magoon, K. (2014). How It Went Down. New York: Henry Holt and Company. McBirney, J. (2016). Would You Marry a Stranger? Retrieved November 2, 2016, from Newsela. (2014, November 16). All sides say let's stay calm in Michael Brown grand jurydecision. Retrieved November 03, 2016, from Newslea. (2016, February 17). The dangers of lead go back 100 years and are still affectingwater today. Retrieved November 02, 2016, from Schlosser, S. E. (2014, December 13). The Maid of the Mist. Retrieved November 02, 2016, from What is Social Justice? (2014, March 24). Retrieved November 03, 2016, from Williams, M. (2014). Diamond Boy. New York: Little, Brown and Company. Theme/Focus: Connecting Fictionalized Issues to the Real World Issues8-10 LINGUISTIC TEXTSTITLE 1Title & Author: “Would You Marry a Stranger?” by Jessica McBirneyReading level:8th gradeInterest level:Middle & High SchoolGenre:NonfictionSummary: This informational piece gives a few different perspectives on arranged marriage. It makes a point to include positive and negative aspects of the practice, as well as different versions if it in different countries.Rationale: McBirney’s text gives real life information and perspective on arranged marriage, which is mentioned in “The Brahman Girl That Married a Tiger.” It also shows students that people their age in different parts of the world have very different experiences than them.TITLE 2Title & Author: “The Brahman Girl That Married a Tiger”Reading level:7th gradeInterest level:Elementary & upGenre:FolktaleSummary: In this Indian folktale, a girl asks her parents to arrange her marriage to a boy she fancies, but it turns out that he is a tiger in disguise. The distressed girl eventually gets a message to her brothers, who rescue her from the tiger.Rationale: This folktale allows students to read a folktale written about topics that are not in American folktales and expand their worldview. Students will find the subject matter interesting and in empathizing with the girl in the story, they will be ready to extend their empathy to modern day girls in similar situations. TITLE 3Title & Author: The Lord of Opium by Nancy FarmerReading level:5th gradeInterest level:Middle SchoolGenre:Science FictionSummary: This YA text tells the story of a boy who finds out that he is the clone of and successor to the leader of a very large drug cartel. The text covers scientific issues like cloning, drug-related issues, and touches on environmental concerns.Rationale: This text fictionalizes many hotly contested issues in the media and major problems, like drug cartels, and helps students think about who these issues can effect. In conjunction with the CNN Student News segment about heroin in the U.S, students can begin to see the social issues caused by drugs and addiction.TITLE 4Title & Author: “Why the Blood Diamond Trade Won’t Die” by Aryn BakerReading level: 9th gradeInterest level:High SchoolGenre:Factual AccountSummary: This informational article describes the global effort to ban conflict diamonds and whether or not those efforts have succeeded. The author of this article interviewed people in the countries these conflict diamonds come from and provides information on how diamond mining can affect a country’s people.Rationale: This article presents yet another social justice issue many students probably would not already be aware of. Some of the people profiled in the article are close in age to the students, which helps them put themselves in the miners’ shoes. This article also pairs with the novel Diamond Boy to show both fictionalized and real accounts of the same issue.TITLE 5Title & Author: How It Went Down by Kekla MagoonReading level:4th gradeInterest level:Middle School & upGenre:Realistic FictionSummary: How It Went Down tells the story of Tariq, a black 16 year old who is shot by an older white man. Because of the shooting, the surrounding community is thrown into an uproar and many racial issues are explored.Rationale: This YA novel has very obvious connections to social justice issues that have been prevalent in American news for the last few years. Students are likely already aware of incidents similar to the one in the novel, so reading it would help them understand parts of these issues besides what they see in the news or online.TITLE 6Title & Author: Diamond Boy by Michael WilliamsReading level:5th-6th gradeInterest level:High SchoolGenre:Survival FictionSummary: A young boy and his family move to Zimbabwe to work in the diamond mines, but are eventually forced to leave and become refugees. The boy travels to South Africa to try and find a better life than the one he was living.Rationale: This YA novel connects to the Time article about blood diamonds and gives a relatable face to the issues faced by diamond miners and refugees. Students may not see these as social justice issues, but the injustices in this novel can reframe that idea.TITLE 7Title & Author: “The Dangers of Lead”Reading level:7th grade, can be adjustedInterest level:Middle School & upGenre:News ArticleSummary: This article discusses the dangers of lead in water supplies, including historical and modern instances. It also calls attention to the leaded water problems in Flint, Michigan.Rationale: Many students are not aware of the water crisis in Flint or its social justice implications. Flint is a mainly black community that has been living with essential poisoned water for a huge amount of time with little promise for a permanent fix. This article brings attention to yet another issue on American soil and draws interest into water availability issues worldwide.TITLE 8Title & Author: “The Maid of the Mist”Reading level:8th gradeInterest level:Elementary & upGenre:FolktaleSummary: This Native American folktale warns against the dangers of poisoned water. The wife of the god of thunder saves her former people by warning against being near a river that has been poisoned by a mythical snake. Rationale: The snake in the story can be read as a symbol for man-made pollution. Pollution is a social justice issue because it can cause issues with water, as well as the land, and these issues often affect people who don’t have the economic means or other resources to escape or avoid them. This tale pairs with the article about lead poisoning. TITLE 9Title & Author: “All Sides Say Let’s Stay Calm”Reading level:6th grade, but can be adjustedInterest level:Middle & upGenre:News articleSummary: This article details the reactions to the grand jury decision about the 2014 death of Michael Brown. It also discusses the circumstances of Mike Brown’s death, reactions to the subsequent protests, another details of the case. Rationale: This article is a nonfiction pair for How It Went Down. This gives students a real world example of the social justice issues discussed in the novel and gives an opportunity to compare and contrast the fictional shooting with a real one.3-5 NONLINGUISTIC TEXTS (2-3 audio and/or video)TITLE 1Title & Creator: CNN Student News 10/19Genre: News ShowSummary: This segment of CNN Student News discusses the heroin problems that are becoming more and more prevalent in the United States. It tells how the drug is spreading, and about its dangers.Rationale: This video connects to the novel The Lord of Opium. Drugs are an issue in many parts of the world, and dealing with addiction is a social justice issue that is often ignored. When students can connect the novel to things that are actually happening, they can compare and contrast the portrayal of drugs and their various dangers.TITLE 2Title & Creator: “What is Social Justice?”Genre: Informational videoSummary: This video helps define the tricky term Social Justice. Social justice can mean a lot of things, but this video gives students a working definition to begin from while they form their own opinions. Rationale: this video would be shown at the beginning of the unit to set the stage for the things that will be discussed and make sure that every student has a similar base definition for social justice. TITLE 3Title & Creator: Global Issues Word CloudGenre: InfographicSummary: This word cloud puts social justice and other world issues on a map so students can visualize what kinds of problems are going on all over the world. Rationale: The word cloud allows students to compare and contrast what issues are common around the world and what issues only pertain to certain areas. ................
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