Strategies
Three research-based strategies will form the backbone of this unit: journal writing, cooperative learning, and nonlinguistic representation.
Journal Writing
Each class period will begin with a journal question. The student responds to the question in his /her journal. The journal question will be thought-provoking and thematic in nature. The purpose of the journal question is to provide the student with a safe arena in which to reflect and respond. Erin Gruwell 5 9 found that her students were more apt to open up emotionally if their responses were guaranteed to be kept confidential. As mentioned earlier, I will only read their responses if they give me permission. When I have previously utilized the journal writing strategy, I found that once students found they could trust me, their journal responses lengthened in quantity and deepened in quality. The journal prompts will progress from superficial (get-to-know-you type) to self-reflective. The journal writing strategy is key to beginning and enriching the dialogue between the student and me and within the student's internal dialogue.
Cooperative Learning
Cooperative learning is a broad term referring to the various methods of grouping students. Research has shown grouping students heterogenerously at least once a week has a positive impact upon learning. Cooperative learning promotes positive interdependence, face-to-face promotive interaction, and interpersonal skills. In forming the groups, I need to be cognizant of not grouping strictly by ability but use other criteria as well. I will have fifteen students in each class, therefore I will divide the students into three groups of five. I will use a reading inventory, an attitude inventory, and personal interviews and observations as vehicles to determine the base long-term groups. I will use a variety of innocuous methods (birthday months, hair color, etc…) to form the formal and informal groups necessary in implementing the daily and weekly lesson plans. 6 0
Non-linguistic Representation
A large percentage of today's student population is visual and bodily-kinesthetic. They spend a considerable portion of each day texting, surfing the internet, and playing video games. All these activities are visual and bodily kinesthetic; yet their school instruction is primarily delivered in a linguistic method (primarily at the secondary level). The "dual coding" theory of information storage states that knowledge is stored in two different forms, linguistic and imagery. 6 1 In other words, we process and store information through our words, our senses, and our movement. Trauma is stored through the imagery pathway. To help the students unstick and process new information, I need to address both pathways of information storage.
Non-linguistic representation primarily focuses on the imagery path to information storage and retrieval. Non-linguistic representation can be produced through a variety of activities. Non-linguistic representation will be utilized before, during, and after reading. The before reading non-linguistic representation focal point will be upon self-exploration and opening the internal dialogue. The during reading non-linguistic representation application will concentrate on making the text-to-self connection. The after reading non-linguistic representation activities will focus upon reflection and cementing the text-to-self connection.
Basic Format of the Unit
Every class period will begin with a journal entry designed to stimulate thought about the day's topic. The class meets in a community circle for a discussion stemming from the journal topic. On Mondays there will be a whole-group reading of a children's book aimed at exploring the thematic topic of the week's activities. The children's book acts as a non-threatening 'way in'. After the reading, there will be an activity relating to the topic of the reading. On Tuesday through Friday, after completing the journal entry and related discussion, students will break up into their base groups and follow the rotation chart to their beginning station. At the computer, the students will follow the prescribed computer program. In the small-group station, the students meet with me where we will be reading our novel, Freak the Mighty. At the independent reading station, the students will be completing an activity related to the journal topic and Freak the Mighty. Each piece of text and activity is chosen based upon its ability to further the aim of stimulating thought and self-reflection.
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