Rationale
I am a library media specialist in an urban middle school with a large number of students on free and reduced lunches. I will be teaching this unit to seventh grade students who almost exclusively read just a little below grade level, but do not usually retain much of what they read, nor do they appear to enjoy reading. In fact, they frequently express active dislike for reading. This unit would also be appropriate for eighth or ninth grade students who fit the preceding description and who also could benefit from instruction and practice in higher order thinking skills. Because I do not teach these students full time, I decided to teach the skills and objectives using one high interest mystery novel. The teaching will take place in the media center.
These students are from lower socioeconomic environments where reading is not valued and where they do not have many forms of reading material in their homes. They have not usually been read to as children and seldom see their parents read. These attitudes and values have been passed on to my students, most of whom have rarely completed an entire book and would not choose to do so if left to their own devices. Their chosen means of entertainment is generally viewing movies or programs on television channels such as HBO and Showtime, listening to rap music or playing video games.
Within these broad generalizations, of course, the students are not all alike. Their reading levels, interests and modes of learning vary. Some are visual, some are auditory, some have Individualized Learning Plans (Exceptional Education Students) or need special accommodations of some type, while others just do not enjoy coming to school and sitting still for traditional education. Some appear compliant, yet are tuned out. However, there are still those who want to learn and are open to new experiences. In designing my unit, I planned activities to appeal to a variety of learning styles and to provide for differentiation of instruction.
One complaint I hear frequently from the teachers in my school and in education literature is the inability of students to think creatively, make inferences, and reason logically. Norton Tener gave the results of a Boston College study for the National Science Foundation which found that currently required standardized tests did indeed require teachers to teach more rote memorization and lower level thinking skills at the expense of learning to apply knowledge (1). This is exactly what teachers are saying. Students are missing a crucial component of what they need to be effective life long learners. I also believe that these skills are essential for citizens in a democracy.
Each year we worry that our students will not pass our state mandated tests (Standards of Learning or SOL). I believe, and most research proves, that the more students read, the better they become at using the reading skills they need to do well on all content area tests and to function well in the real world. Vocabulary, fluency, conceptualization, and comprehension all improve with pleasure reading.
Mystery stories and novels are a perfect vehicle for encouraging students to read for pleasure and also to practice second order thinking skills. Although they do watch television shows such as the CSI series and Law and Order, few of my students have developed an interest in reading mysteries. I believe this is because they have not been exposed to how interesting and stimulating it can be to enter into the print world where information is not so instantaneous. A crime is committed in slower time, and gives students a chance to enter the print world on their own terms but without feeling rushed or bullied. Still, this exercise does require imaginative thinking, and unfortunately today's students are more used to being entertained visually, with no imagination or effort required. I will use a mystery novel as a hook to get my students engaged in an engrossing plot involving a young person who is faced with a life altering event that the students will find relevant to their lives. This should serve to get them motivated to read the book in order to find out what choices the protagonist makes. I have designed activities to help them begin to use second order thinking skills that will place them in the minds of the novel's characters and that also relate to decisions my students make daily.
This is also a good opportunity to teach and reinforce the elements of a story. Mysteries provide excellent examples of conflict as well as the other elements, and I will provide a graphic organizer that we will complete as we read. Applying knowledge of the elements of a book is using a higher order thinking skill and should result in better retention of this required knowledge. In my experience, students have generally had difficulty with recognition of story elements. I will teach these elements with the intention of increasing their comprehension and understanding of all literature .
I also hope to capitalize on the interest that I think will be generated by the release of the new Nancy Drew movie. While I am not sure that many of my inner city students will actually go see the movie, I believe the publicity alone will raise some curiosity about mysteries and crime solving. I have ordered several copies of the book based on the screenplay as well as some of the older Nancy Drew books for my school media center that may encourage more mystery reading.
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