Interpreting Texts, Making Meaning: Starting Small

Strategies

Because Heart of Darkness is a relatively short work, and I will only have one class set of books, the majority of reading will take place in the classroom. This is approximately a four-week unit, so there will be adequate time to complete the reading in class. Any supplemental texts will be provided as photocopies. We will listen to some of the passages on audio book (especially those that could be more difficult for students to follow), as that will support my auditory learners, as well as students who struggle with reading comprehension. During reading, I will stop frequently to check for understanding, provide clarification and introduce and guide activities.

I want to help students connect with the reading in a way that makes it more engaging for them by giving them small inroads to interpretation that help them identify with the author, characters and themes before we begin reading the text; so to model the process of interpretation I will begin the unit by reading a short graphic novel version of the story, Heart of Darkness by David Zane Mairowitz. The text is simplified, but it follows the storyline, so it will give students a good introduction to the main elements of the novella. I will project the pages using a digital presenter/projector and read students the story in an interactive manner, stopping to ask interpretive questions, make predictions and analyze the evocative illustrations. I will also use this as an opportunity to have students begin thinking about the essential questions for the unit. After that, I will use the song "3AM" by Eminem for the same purpose. The song is about a slow descent into homicidal madness, so it is connected thematically to the book. I will play the song and then take students through the process of interpreting the lyrics and ask them to make connections between the theme of the song and the graphic novel (the lyrics will be projected on the Smartboard where students can read them). This will help students further connect to the theme in a meaningful way, especially students to whom literary analysis is a new skill, and further prepare them to begin interpreting the text.

Because several of my students struggle with vocabulary, I will incorporate vocabulary development throughout the unit, using Robert Marzano's approach, Building Academic Vocabulary. At the beginning of each week, students will receive a list of key vocabulary words from the reading and will be asked for their understanding of each word. For each word that students are unfamiliar with, they will explain the meaning into their own words, draw a picture they connect with the meaning, and make a list of synonyms for or associations they have with the word. Later in the week, we will play word games to reinforce their understanding of the vocabulary as they encounter it in the story, as understanding the vocabulary is key for interpretation.

I want students to draw connections between the book and their lives and experience as well as the world around them, so they will use post-it notes to mark their personal text-to-text, text-to-self and text-to-world connections as they read. I will model this strategy for them at the beginning of our reading, after introduce them to the concept of the novella as a frame story, by making a text-to-self connection as we read "The sea-reach of the Thames stretched before us like the beginning of an interminable waterway", ³⁴ explaining how I have stood on the banks of the Thames on a gloomy day before, so I can imagine the scene being described. Making text connections will increase their engagement with and retention of the text as they demonstrate the higher level of thought required to make these connections.

As students will be engaging in discussion of big ideas and interpreting theme throughout the unit, they will be participating in a format called Guided Graded Discussion to allow them to think "deeply and critically" ³⁵ about the text. This is important for all my students, but especially for my ELL students, who must have opportunities to practice expressing their opinions about what they have read in a "meaningful" way that capitalizes on the "social nature of literacy learning." ³⁶ This format allows students to both respond to the ideas of others and present their own opinions. It often requires higher-level thinking and usually leads to more discussion. This strategy will be used at least twice during the course of the unit, in addition to regular, daily classroom discussion.

To support students' understanding and interpretation of the theme of the nature of evil, they will complete a series of six four-square journals, each related to the theme and how it is revealed and developed throughout the novella. In each one they will choose a passage related to the theme, identify how the theme is revealed (through the character of Kurtz, etc.), draw a visual they associate with the passage, and write a response to the passage that explains how the theme is developed in the chosen passage. I will choose a passage and model the first journal during the second day of reading, then students will choose appropriate passages to write the remainder of the journals about as they encounter them in their reading. This will require them to make connections between different sections of the text and read closely to determine where the theme is represented, as well as how it can be interpreted.

Near the end of the unit, students will complete a Digital Storytelling project using Photostory software, which they have access to in the classroom laptop lab. They will synthesize information to create a digital story centered on their conclusions about one of the essential questions we have discussed throughout the unit. Digital technology has been shown to improve English proficiency, ³⁷ and the software is engaging and fun for students to work with while promoting active learning and improving comprehension. ³⁸

Finally, to expose students to another interpretation of the book, I will show the movie Apocalypse Now during class at the end of the unit, and students will compare and contrast the novella with the film, looking particularly at the similarities and differences in how the main characters are portrayed in each. I also want them to draw conclusions about how the theme of the nature of evil is approached in both. Watching the movie will help the visual learners in my class and give all my students additional text connections.

I will use formative and summative assessments to allow students to demonstrate their learning throughout the unit, including an in-class essay modeled after an AP exam essay. There will be a full exam at the end that will be focused on written responses and allow students to convey their interpretation of the text. Students will also complete a final digital storytelling project so they can demonstrate their understanding of the big ideas in the work by creating a digital story centered on their conclusions about one of the essential questions.