Young Adult Lit/Crit

Writing project

Ok, I've got part II ready for y'all here on the blog. Bear in mind, this is a framed triple-narration, with the main voice of reflection being in normal text, the story of the last day together in italics in present tense, and the stories being told about what happened before being in bold text in the past tense. If you have any questions, just ask. Happy reading,

It’s close to two in the morning, and about a half-mile walk from the docks to my cabin. Pete reaches out for my hand as we walk, but I pretend to stumble and then casually switch my flashlight to my left hand. He puts his hands in his pockets. We walk in silence, until I can’t take any more.

“What?” Pete asks as I stop walking.

“I can’t do this anymore.”

“Do what? Have hot, passionate sex? Because I know I’ve never had a problem…”

“Just stop! For the love of God, Pete, just shut the fuck up! I can’t do this tonight, or ever again, until I get some answers. It hurts too much, dude.”

“Why? What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Iloveyou.” There. I manage somehow to spit out the words that have been lodged in my throat for weeks. I feel the adrenaline coursing, and I can’t hear the crickets over the noise of the blood in my ears. It’s out there now. There’s no going back.

How do you know when you’re in love? When you’re thinking with the big head and not the little one? For me, it was that first night. He looked down at me, sweat-dampened hair mottled all over his forehead, eyes relaxed and mouth shaped in a tiny smile. My smile. He whispered in my ear, telling me I was amazing and that we were going to have an awesome summer. He fell asleep on my shoulder, and I just lay awake praying that the sun would never rise.

But everything changed that morning. We woke up to blinding sunlight filtering in through the screened windows and heavy pounding on the cabin door…

“Cole! Cole! Get up! It’s an emergency – there’s a missing person! Wake up!” The pounding was accompanied by one of our coworkers shouting through the door. Pete sat bolt upright, and I groggily tried to get my bearings.

            “I’ll be right out,” Pete shouted back. Disentangling himself from me, he grabbed his clothes from the floor from last night and started pulling them on.

            “What’s going on?” I asked, grabbing my own clothes.

“There’s a missing person, or something. Come on, hurry up! We gotta get you out of here. No one can see you!”

“Why? It’s not like I’m the first person to ever spend the night in someone else’s cabin.”

“Not with me, you didn’t. This doesn’t happen again – understand? And don’t hang around me, either. No one ever finds out about this, or I swear I’ll fucking kill you, got it? Now go, out the back. Go!”

He practically shoved me out the door. I stand outside for a minute and ask, “When will I get to see you again?”

“I’ll find you when I’m interested. Now get the fuck out of here!”

I trudged back, alone.

“Whoa, dude. Time out. You love me? Since when? I know you’re a homo, but damn. That sucks.”

“What do you mean, “You’re a homo”? Last time I checked, sex with another guy is pretty gay.”

“Damn it, I just explained all that. You’ve been convenient. Sex with you beats the hell out of six weeks with no company other than myself,” Pete mimes a pumping motion with his fist. “There’s never been anything more than that.”

“How can you say that! Do you even believe it! What about last week, out on the ridge? You said…”

“Oh come off it, already! You can’t hold a guy responsible for what he says in bed. We’ll say anything to keep it coming.”

I want to hit him. I want to hit him so hard that he bleeds and cries. Then I want to kiss his tears and make it all better. I want him.

No May Showers Until Thursday!

Dear Teachers,

Yes, I'm reading drafts of the paper. If you have your draft comments, please turn the revised paper (with previous drafts) in this TH night. If you have not yet received comments on your draft, please send as an attachment to me. I welcome the opportunity to give you feedback in the next few days.

I look forward to reading your blogs about book club choices for this week's meeting. As you continue to read YA titles as increasingly discriminating and sophisticated readers of this genre, your discussions of the books you're reading are more and more important to all of us.

We're all looking forward to Jack, Dawn and Matt's seminars as well.

I'll post an agenda for TH night in the next few days. Be in touch. KES

P.S. I hear some of you raided the Ithaca book sale. Groan!! I just couldn't get there this year and I have a feeling I needed to!! Tell us about it.

Reading and more reading

No new news here: I LOVE to READ!

And for this week/next week, I have been reading like crazy.  Besides that, it provides a most needed distraction from my "real" work!

First, I finished PREP, which I found out is not a YA book, but is one that has been published as a crossover novel, between adult and YA.  Not bad, though the book dragged (it's over 400 pages) and I almost started disliking the narrator's whiny (sp?) voice...but, it ended and I have no hard feelings toward Lee Fiora.

Then, I dove right into Jeff Stone's first book, TIGER, which is a part of a five-book series entitled THE FIVE ANCESTORS.  If any of you remember the article Prof. Stearns gave us on his books, this is the first book he has written.  Though it is definitely written toward a younger audience (the narrators are between 11 and 13 years old), I was captured by the prose and the great contrast the author placed between the relatively old setting and the mostly-modern language.  His descriptions are awesome, to say the least.  CHECK this one out!

Then, because I promised I wouldn't bash the girly girl books anymore without first reading one of them, I picked up the first GOSSIP GIRLS book.  Alright, it WAS exactly as I thought: narrated by an anonymous girl in the clique at a private girls' school for the rich.  BUT, it was just what some girls need, this book and other like it.  Remember reading trashy romance novels by old authors like Dannielle Steele?  Well, this is the next generations' trash with a high-tech, super advertising flair...not that I would automatically think of these books for girls in my classroom, but no, I would NOT deny them their right to disappear, escaping into the unreal world of the gossips.  And besides, I cannot NOT say that I didn't enjoy it myself...

Finally, I read McCormick's short novel CUT, which was disappointing considering my past experience with a friend who had the same addiction (but worse than the novel Callie depicts her own tryst with the obsession).  It was a short read and an interesting slant on the topic...not as real as it could have been...but then it never really is.

See y'all later.

Dawn ;)

Facilitating Discussion

The second video of the PBS video series “Making Meaning in Literature” focuses on the following topics: Facilitating Discussion, Seminar Discussion, and Dramatic Tableaux. The video is narrated by Dr. Judith Langer, a professor at the University of Albany and director/author of CELA. Dr. Langer presents the latest literacy research findings while providing viewers with several examples of model teachers who promote success among their students.

Facilitating Discussion

The first segment opens in Tanya Shnabl’s 6^th grade Sherburne-Earlville classroom in upstate New York where she is reading Margaret Hadik’s Among the Hidden aloud to the class. Periodically, she stops to pose students with a provocative question about the book. Students readily share their responses. Ms.Shnabl contends that students need the opportunity to think in multiple levels and discussion about a book enables them to do so. I feel like a fly on the wall as I observe Ms. Shnabl’s strategy for facilitating discussion in action. The students are instructed to break into groups and record two questions about the reading that they would like answered. As a teacher, Shnabl is interested in learning what the students are interested in learning. Shnabl initially models how to ask the questions, but she ultimately wants students to lead in the discussions. Students then take turns asking and answering the questions. Shnabl attempts to get students to think on deeper level about the big picture: “If this happens in a story, what are the life lessons that we need to learn?” In order to clarify what was said or to present an alternative view, Shnabl paraphrases or restates students’ responses. She is not looking for any right answer, but instead, a horizon of possibilities. Through these discussions, students can relate to the characters and explore their own morals. Ms. Shnabl hopes that the discussions will not only enable students to develop the skills necessary for a future in a diverse world, but also to help them discover their voice.

Seminar Discussion

The second segment focuses on Dorothy Franklin, a 7^th grade Language Arts teacher in Chicago, whose greatest challenge is to alter her students’ negative attitudes about reading and writing. Franklin suggests that seminars may be the solution for accomplishing this.

The segment opens with Franklin reading aloud “Passing,” a letter about oppression, written from a son to his mother. Because the students can relate to the characters in the letter, Franklin uses it as a tool for facilitating discussion in her classroom. Franklin periodically stops reading to ask “What just happened,” and to get a sense of students’ reactions to the letter. Oftentimes, Franklin rereads passages or provides the background information students lack. The most important rule is for participants to understand that they have a voice and deserve to be heard. Franklin is proud of the students for being respectful, impressed at how deeply into the text students delve, and pleased at how students encourage one another to discuss.

Dramatic Tableaux

Dr. Jan Currence suggests that the manner in which a teacher approaches and introduces a story is important in determining whether or not students will become involved in it. In order for the story to be meaningful to them, students need to make a connection with the characters. Currence accomplishes this through dramatic tableaux. Tableaux is a strategy in which students work together to make a connection with the characters by “freeze framing” key events in the plot, which may affect characters and move the plot along. Currence also reports that students who have not previously participated in the classroom become involved when dramatic tableaux are used. Additionally, dramatic tableaux provide the opportunity for students to be able to show intelligences other than writing.

How do dramatic tableaux work?

Students volunteer to play the parts of characters. They are instructed to use only body language and facial expressions to communicate the event because verbalization is not allowed. Only two props are allowed in the freeze frame. The rest of the class must observe the freeze frame and guess which scene the players are presenting. Currence asks questions prompting students to describe the freeze frame in the context of the plot. Someone in the audience then touches one player and he/she is allowed to speak their dialogue. After the scene is presented, students are asked to reflect on the scenes and provide feed back of their experience. Teachers need to understand how students feel about the activity so modifications can be made where necessary.
The students in Currence’s classroom vote in favor of dramatic tableaux as future classroom exercises.
If you'd like more information, go to: www.learner.org/envisioningliterature

Nancy

What are you reading?

DATELINE:
NYS Association of Teacher Educators Conference
Saratoga Springs, NY

Thursday, April 27

Dear Teachers,

Let's stay in touch virtually today/tonight by sharing what and why we're reading our current book club selection. Stay with me here! The semester is just moving into its full flowering!

Lit circle participants might weigh in as well w/their critiques of their choices. What about the Wanket essay about CATCHER IN THE RYE? Did you like it? Respond to my post "V. C. Andrews" below.

I will miss you tonight. Know I'd rather be spending it with you. KES

P.S. If you haven't yet given me a draft of your paper, do send it as an attachment in the next few days.

V. C. Andrews

"I was trapped in a system that put me
on the road toward an uninteresting
destination." --Maureen Wanket

Thought I'd jump start the discussion of the WANKET article (from TEACHER) w/my own musings. I have to admit that while I balked at the traditional reading list Mr. O'Leary gives to the author, I have to admit his banning V.C. Andrews from any one of his students' lists warmed my heart. Back in the day, I did the same thing! But now, of course, my students would be critiquing these novels from various theoretical perspectives--that is, deconstructing them.

This essay is telling for us after a semester in 619. So many of our themes resonating here: the power of as Wanket says, "ownership" over one book to shape a life (in this case an Eng. teacher/writer's life), one fine construction of "reader response," the alienation from school/curriculum that informs so many of our kids day to day experiences in classrooms, the influence of a teacher and a teacher's encouraging words in an adolescent's life.

I'll leave it to you to say what else? The juxtaposition of this piece with the other essay -- root it out and read it -- was no accident.

Notice the things I'm asking you to read are getting shorter and shorter. I'm honoring that at the end of the semester everyone's a little ragged. But stay with that one last book club "find." And your lit circle selection.

I'm reading paper drafts so hearing from you bloggers would be a nice distraction. You know what to do. Let me know you've read Wanket and me. My track record of eliciting responses on the blog is pretty depressing compared with Nick's and several others of you. I still have time to make it up don't I! KES

teenink

I don't know if anyone in this class is familiar with this site, but I just found it and it seems really promising: http://teenink.com/     There are links for teachers and samples of teen writing/music/art.  Enjoy!

                                                                                                                                                         Nat

This may be weird, since I'm not actually in this class, but for those of you who don't know me, my name is Natalie and I'm the one who sent the post about the Ithaca library sale.  I'm also taking a YA lit class with Jane Richards, but based on what I'm reading on this blog, I'm terribly jealous of this class!  Our blog is pretty unsuccessful...  I just wanted to say that reading your posts is giving me reading ideas and for those of you participating in the summer book club, I look forward to conversing with you!

                                                                                                                               Nat

PAAAAAAAAARRRRRTY

Hi All,                                                                                                    

My girlfriend (Rachel) and I are planning a par-tay!

When: Saturday, May 6th... 5-ish to 10-ish.

Where: 4355 Locust Avenue (directions later, but it's essentially up the hill from the Comfort Inn just off 81).

What: We're thinking b-b-q and music and drinks and conversation and, gasp, dancing.  Maybe, if things get hyphie or off da hook, we might play a little four-square.  Children, significant others, friends are welcome.

Who: A very select list of folks (i.e. Basically everyone Rachel and I have managed to meet this year!).

Why: Life is short and we need to celebrate at every opportunity.

Right?

Chris

What I Want My Words to Do to You

Hey there!  Last week, a few people asked where they might find the D.V.D. I was showing at the end of my seminar.  For the rock bottom price of $24.98 you can get your very own copy of What I Want My Words to Do to You.

Enjoy!

Jacqueline