Multigenre Responses to Literature

“Writing without boundaries” is a good way to describe multigenre writing.  I think multigenre writing assignments have great appeal, because there is a multitude of writing options for students.  In Writing Without Boundaries: What’s Possible When Students Combine Genres, Youngs and Barone describe the biography and persuasive writing lesson called the Balloon Speech which sounds like a highly engaging assignment.  Not only would students have practice with research and persuasive writing for this project, but also with public speaking and debate skills.  Students also create timelines as well as research and discover genres typical for that time period.  Instead of the teacher introducing different genres to the class, the students are discovering genres in the process of creating timelines.   Higher order thinking skills are utilized as the students analyze and then list genres that would be best for communicating information about their historical figure.  In fact, the majority of this assignment calls for higher order thinking, from researching the time period and historical figure, to analyzing genres and generating persuasive writing.  This multigenre project is much more involved than merely writing facts for a biography.  With this assignment, the class has the opportunity to learn about the contributions of multiple historical figures and time periods, as opposed to one person.  Allowing room for choice is so appealing; choice of the historical person you may wish to research and, it seems, the almost endless choice of genres.  I thought it was interesting to make this assignment an event for family and friends to attend.  Not only do they get to hear the students’ speeches, but they are involved in the activity by voting for the most persuasive, influential person.

In the article, Multigenre Responses to Literature, Gillespie gives several pointers on facilitating a multigenre project with students.  One recommendation focused on the importance of teacher modeling.  Gillespie includes what Jester (2003) said, “As a teacher of writing, I consider writing to be one of the most important things I can do for my kids.  I need to put myself in their place on a continual basis so that I more fully understand what I am asking them to do.”  Modeling for students is probably much more important than some teachers realize.  I know I need to remember to model more often to ensure that my students have a higher success rate whether I am instructing them in reading, writing, or math.

I like the idea of having the class brainstorm ideas for different genres.  This activity involves the students in generating their own ideas, which may include a brand new idea, just like the suicide note that Gillespie had never considered.  It was interesting that the students enjoyed using a multigenre approach to study the book, A Single Shard, even though most of the students did not even enjoy the book.  When the students began writing, it was noted in the article that some of the writing was personal.  I see multigenre writing being personal in a couple of ways, (1) connecting and comparing the writing to a personal experience and, (2) when given a choice, students select genres that fit their learning style (visual learner, etc.).  I think that having students write reflections on each multigenre piece is a good indication of the student’s thought process, plus the student has to validate their choice of genre.

In the article, Gillespie stated, “I think students responded positively because the assignment enabled them to compose pieces that tapped their personal interests and encouraged creativity.”  Gillespie also noted, “My experience was that no one was threatened or intimidated; rather, they felt empowered because they chose how to respond to what they read and motivated because they had classmates for an audience.”  I believe the most intriguing part of multigenre responses to literature is that students are highly engaged in lessons of this nature, some genuinely excited about sharing their creative work in class, and finally that students are “learning”.

Multigenre Writing

Moulton describes several different approaches to the traditional research paper in the article, The multigenre paper: Increasing interest, motivation, and functionality in research.  Some of the approaches that were described included (1) allowing students to research a topic of personal interest and then presenting the research in a personal narrative, (2) using traditional research methods but presenting research in the form of a newspaper, and (3) a multigenre project that included different genres of writing to present different parts of the research.

The alternatives to the traditional research paper personally sound much more interesting, and the article states that using multigenres to present research was in fact more interesting and motivating for students.  Moulton states that the multigenre project was new and sort of an experiment and wondered if enough research would be conducted on the part of the students.  As it turned out, “the students used a wide variety of resources to gather their material, digging as deeply into their subjects as I could have hoped.  The learning logs and endnotes also showed that they had thought deeply about the information they found” (Moulton, 1999). 

The reflections from students were all in favor of completing a multigenre project versus a traditional research paper.  I think that because the students were able to select their own topic for research, and present it in so many different genres,  it made the project much more interesting.  It allowed students to take ownership and be as creative as they wanted.  Some of the students indicated that they had spent more time on the multigenre project, they had put much more thought into the project, and had written more in this project than in other research projects. 

Some of the reflections made by students included comments like, “it allowed for creativity”, “it never occurred to me that writing could be so much fun”, “a great deal of work, but thoughtful work”, “freedom that was invigorating”, and “refreshing and exciting.”

In this study by Moulton, it appears that the multigenre project is a viable option to the traditional research paper.  The instructor saw that enough research was still taking place, and students were actually giving more thought to their projects.  Students enjoyed being able to write in different genres which, in turn, increased their interest and motivation in the research project.

Whereas Moulton’s work was conducted with high school and college students, Anson and Baird’s multigenre project was conducted with 6th graders.  In the article, Exploring the Past through Multigenre Writing, they found that some of the sixth graders had difficulty keeping up with gathered information and organizing information.  Because of their difficulties, Anson and Baird had students practice notetaking and completing a KWHL orgainizer.

Along with more guidance, Anson and Baird realized that some of the sixth graders needed guidelines to follow, including a schedule of due dates and a rubric for projects.

The teachers and students had a two hour block to work on reading, research and projects.  I liked that they gave a few minutes at the end of class for students to share anything they found that was interesting.  By the show of hands raised in the room, it was obvious that students were engaged in their projects and were excited to share with others.

Even though this particular multigenre project seemed difficult for some students, the teachers reported that their students had learned alot about multigenre writing.  There was a high completion rate as well, with 99 projects being turned in out of 100 total students.  The article states, “multigenre writing helped most of their students grow as researchers, thinkers, and writers while they developed a fundamental understanding of the different purposes for which text can be used.  Amy Anson and Jacoy Baird agree that they have not found another model that creates such enthusiasm and energy for writing among their students.”

Finally, Multigenre Projects: Getting Started in the Classroom is a wonderful guide for creating a multigenre project with our students.  I like the idea of having so many genres to pick from, whether you choose to include a diary or journal entry, create a newspaper, wanted poster or birth certificate, etc., the format can be a very flexible way to organize and present a research project.  It also gives students the freedom to choose to be creative by including a drawing, scrapbooking, etc.  The bottom line is that students are excited about doing a multigenre project!  I think this is successful teaching and learning when students are engaged, and are using higher order thinking skills in creating their own, unique multigenres.

Memoir

I thoroughly enjoyed our introduction to memoir.  Memoir is appealing to me because it is about a specific memory and there are so many varieties.  A memoir can be a memory lasting a couple of hours, a couple of days or maybe a longer time span.  A memoir can be written in a variety of genres, such as a letter, diary entries, notes or captions for pictures taken long ago.  When I compare biographies to memoir, I know that my students would rather read a memoir, because it is a slice of life written with emotion.  That description alone makes memoir much more interesting.  Biographies tend to be cut and dry, a life story written without emotion, and are often quite boring for students to read.  Whereas a memoir is shorter than an autobiography or biography, and the focus is on a certain time or a specific event in life and is written with honest, passionate feelings.

Part of the appeal of memoir were all the examples that were shared in class.  The “marination” grabs our attention, just as it would for our students.  In the article by Amy Arnberg, A Study of Memoir, marination in the genre is suggested.  Arnberg felt like in order for her to be able to teach memoir, she first wrote her own memoir.  This makes so much sense to me.  The unit of study she carried out lasted throughout an entire school year.

Lucy Caulkins states that there are external events in a memoir that move the story forward.  Then internal responses occur that the events evoke.  You see the external events in My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, as the older brother nags his little sister about always being better at everything.  The emotional response is revealed in the little sister’s thoughts or internal responses to the disgust of her mistreatment.  In the end we see how he truly cares for his little sister when he makes sure she gets home from the carnival safe and sound.  I sure could relate to this story with my own children.  My son is 3 1/2 years older than my daughter, and sometimes he can drive her absolutely batty.  He can be quite picky at times and sometimes she picks back, but other times he is too much for her to tolerate.  One day she came to me venting about her brother and we talked until she felt better.  Then I pointed out that she and her brother do have alot of fun together, too.  What is it about older siblings?  I was the youngest of  3, and I certainly got my fair share of being picked on.  Hmmm, sounds like the makings of a memoir.

I Am Poem

               

 

 

 

I Am Abraham Lincoln

 

I am Abraham Lincoln.

I live on land traveled by foot, horse and wagon.

I wonder about this world I live in.

I hear my teacher teaching reading, writing and ciphering.

I see the 2 mile walk from the schoolhouse with a dirt floor back to home.

I want to tell you a funny story.

I am Abraham Lincoln.

I question my mother’s death when I was 9 years old.

I feel sad and lonely without her by my side.

I touch the fire shovel to write my numbers to add, subtract and multiply.

I worry that I will not stop growing now that I’m over 6 feet tall.

I cry when I think about the day I shot my first and only wild turkey.

I understand that I do not want to be a hunter ever again.

I am Abraham Lincoln.

I say the things I want to know are in books.

I believe my best friend is someone who’ll give me a book I haven’t read.

I dream about peace between the North and the South.

I try to do my best as this nation’s sixteenth president.

I hope to end the Civil War and bestow freedom throughout the country.

I was once one of the best storytellers for miles around.

But now I am one of the finest speakers in American History.

I am Abraham Lincoln.

Found Poem and Concrete Poems

Petal by petal

Spring begins

in the garden.

New growth, new beginnings…

birds and blooms

wildflowers bold and beautiful

rising to the occasion.

Green plants establishing roots

                                   Life on the Earth!

                                                           Splendid scenes

                                                              of picture perfect elegance

                                                              breathtaking marvels of life

                                                              Welcome Spring time!

Concrete Poem (also written as an I Am Poem)

I am your eyeglasses

used to clear your vision

that curl around your ears

and rest upon your nose.

Sometimes I ride atop your head

as you search frantically

for my whereabouts.

I am useful, yet stylish.

I am your eyeglasses.

 

Another Concrete Poem

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly Reading Response 6

The Kucan article had beneficial information on using literary models and incorporating first-person writing assignments (I Poems).  I love to read an interesting lesson plan that I could actually use with my students!  The Kucan article states that students can relate well to novels written as first-person narratives.  A significant characteristic of I Poems is that they are written from the first-person point-of-view.  In the article Pearson and Fielding noted that “students understand and remember ideas better when they have to transform those ideas from one form to another”, and in this case, it involves converting ideas from  reading into writing.  I agree that writing about what was read can lead to a deeper understanding of the text.  Having students research details about the Kansas prairie or the Maine coast is a clever approach to building background knowledge prior to reading Sarah, Plain and Tall.  Details about the setting included anything  specific and interesting about the landscape, plants and animals that live there.  I could see that having students compose an I Poem would help in comprehension of the setting, character (written from their point of view) and plot.  At the conclusion of the article, Kucan summarizes up what poets do:  Poets pay attention. They notice.  They take time to look and listen.  They sift experience.  They turn things over again and again.  When they have something to say, they choose their words carefully.  They are precise and concise. 

The poetry assignments for this week were engaging and entertaining.  I thoroughly enjoyed creating a Found Poem.  An assignment such as this can become all-consuming, but in a good way.  I will be curious to see everyone’s creation in class tomorrow, so I hope we get to share.  I was surprised at the amount of effort it took to create a Concrete Poem.  The tricky part is coming up with the right words to fill your intended shape (especially when you’re typing it in Word).  I enjoyed playing around with many different words for this poem.  I thought the I-Poem assignment was interesting.  I am anxious to have my students use the template for writing their own I-Poem.  The task, I believe, will be one where they learn facts about a subject or a person in history while completing the assignment, but they won’t be aware of how much they are learning during the process.  I predict that the I-Poem assignment will be highly engaging for students, just like reading board games can be or lessons on the computer.

In the book, I Am the Mummy Heb-Nefert, Eve Bunting poetically uses words to paint a vivid picture of the life of a pharoah’s wife.  The way the story is written makes it easy to form pictures in your mind and imagine what life was like for Heb-Nefert.  There is alot of information in this book about customs and daily life, what she and her husband used to do, and how her body was prepared after her death.  I liked that her story is told from her point-of-view who, as she put it, was once beautiful and now a mummy on display in a museum.  This book was enjoyable to read, and I bet students would say it was more enjoyable compared to reading a biography.

In Dirty Laundry Pile, I thought the poems written from the point-of-view of all sorts of objects were whimsical.  I have learned that you can not only write a poem about an ordinary object, like a paperclip, but you can also give the paperclip its own voice in a poem.

In Atlantic, students can learn facts about the Atlantic Ocean as well as other oceans in an entertaining format (compared to the encyclopedia, etc.).  Like the poems in Dirty Laundry Pile, Atlantic is written from the ocean’s viewpoint.  The same can be said for Mohave by Diane Siebert, which is written from the desert’s point-of-view.

Weekly Reading Response 5

Chapter 9 is about enjoying words, rich words, and immersing students in beautiful language.  I love children’s literature!  One of my favorite things was having my children with me to snuggle up to read a good children’s book.  This was our bedtime routine, but often times it occured any time of the day.  So very early in my childrens’ lives, they were exposed or “immersed” in language.

Journals are also mentioned in Chapter 9 for recording words or phrases that you want to remember.  Good ol’ sticky notes are handy for recording words, too.  It is mentioned that words can have “texture”.  It’s interesting to think of words as having texture.  Here is my bumpy-sounding word:  rat-a-tat-tat.

For Silver Seeds, one word comes to mind for this book…well, maybe two:  CREATIVE and CLEVER!  This book is full of clever poems that not only describe the word, but each poem has words that create a sentence.  And the sentences come together to create a story.  How creative!

The acrostic poems in African Acrostics are unique in the way the title and the vertical word go together. The acrostic poems I have seen written by students have usually been their name, with one or two words beside each letter of the name.  There is an acrostic poem at the back of African Acrostics that begins and ends with vertical words (Cats Rule).  It’s obvious that these poems took some thought.

In Flicker Flash, I like how the concrete poems incorporate rhyme and shape to describe all kinds of light.  I bet the rhyme and shape of each poem, along with the colorful graphics, would be appealing to many children (adults, too).

Here’s my first acrostic poem:

How wonderful to be with you 

Under a moonlit sky

Grabbed gently and held

Safely in your arms.