Literature, Life-Writing, and Identity

Strategies

Identity-work, especially the four types described above, naturally fits with middle grade reading and writing goals. The reading and writing strategies described below are used throughout the unit to support the academic and identity goals of this unit.

Recursive Writing Process

The recursive writing process allows students to consider, write, and revise their ideas as many times as needed. Versions of the process apply to students at all writing abilities and can be used from early elementary school into college and career settings. The writing process allows students to consider their narratives more than once and, like the narratively-constructed identity that this unit supports, progressive drafts of writing nudge students to consider the ways they interpret or frame their stories. Throughout the process, students will focus on analyzing if what they meant to communicate (intent) is matched with what is actually on the page. The writing process will be supported by mini-lessons of prose, paragraph, and punctuation.

Audio Reflection

Writing can be difficult and sometimes my students need to talk about their ideas and process out loud what they’re trying to do and how they think they’re meeting the goal. In this unit, I’ll ask students to record audio reflections using a handheld audio recorder or a cell phone recording app to talk about their intentions and their writing. One-on-one conferencing might offer similar benefits for student processing and reflection but with twenty-eight students in class, scheduling can be too infrequent. With audio reflection, I can assign students to process, reflect, or evaluate at any stage of the writing process. For example, before writing about self-affirmation acts, students can record their musings on different moments of accomplishment as brainstorming. The recording holds them accountable to complete the work but I’ve also found that I learn a great deal about student thinking when they aren’t inhibited by fear of written error.²⁸

Class Discussion

Since many students enter with below-grade-level reading skills, class discussion will serve as a scaffolding for comprehension and analysis. We’ll use group discussion to examine authors’ intent, characterization, and other literary elements. Later, it will take on a more experimental role as students experiment with giving characters advice and comparing their own experiences. Class discussions will alternate between small groups, pairs, and whole class conversations.