YALITTOCZEKINSIDER

David Toczek YA Literature Michael Sherry April 21, 2011 __Online Journal Exchange__ // Tangerine // by Edward Bloor ** __Rationale: __ ** When I looked at the surveys of the nine students in my group for the Online Journal Exchange, the first thing I noticed was the wide range of lexile reading levels that I would have to figure in to my selection for the right books as candidates to read. This proved challenging, since many of the books I had been thinking of to offer my students in the first place, I discovered were far above and beyond these students’ lexiles. The lexiles in my group ranged from 240 to 1200 and one student’s lexile was even actually listed as N/A. This great disparity in students’ reading ability was of a great concern for me when I began to readjust my strategy and started looking for new texts to choose. In one sense I could be dumbing the reading down for some students, but at the same time, providing something potentially unable to be comprehended by another student.  The books I finally ended up choosing all fell somewhere in this range of lexiles with // The Giver //by Lois Lowry at 760L, // Feed // by M.T. Anderson at 770L, // The Perks of Being a Wallflower // by Stephen Chbosky at 720L, and // Tangerine // by Edward Bloor coming in at 680L. I felt like these lexile levels were high enough to stimulate the students with higher lexile levels, but still manageable for students with lower lexile levels as well. This would be the interesting thing to me, to see how students outside of the lexile level of this book would handle the more adult themes, events, and ideas raised by the text.  Another key factor in trying to select these texts was the many varying interests of the students revealed to me solely through the brief surveys they responded to about reading, writing, and other interests. One thing I found that most of my students had in common was an interest or involvement in sports. This is probably the reason that they in fact did decide on // Tangerine //, since one of the key elements of the story is Paul’s involvement with soccer and Paul’s brother Erik’s involvement in football. Some of the other commonalities I found amongst my students’ surveys, besides sports, were a liking of poetry, music (whether it’s listening or playing), song lyrics, short stories, texting, emailing, and hanging out with friends. I got the feeling that many of these students did not have a deep relationship with reading because they have only read what they’ve been given in school. But from the surveys alone, most of the students do seem open to a wide range of material to read which I think will help in creating lesson plans that could be effective in engaging these students. Since many of the students enjoy poetry, music, and multimedia, maybe a project that offers students a choice of how to present what they think about a particular topic will bring about more thoughtful and insightful work from students. Maybe one student feels particularly inclined to poetic language or song, while another may be better at portraying their thoughts through pictures or video. The other texts I chose, I really decided to put on the list because I hadn’t read them myself and I had heard good things about each one. Many of the students in my group mentioned on their surveys that they really didn’t do that much reading outside of what they were required to read for school, and if they did, the texts were simpler and shorter things, like magazines, song lyrics or websites. I felt like reading a book that none of them or I had read yet, would add to the collaborative experience with these students in discovering a new text for the first time. I always like the experience of reading a book for the first time, especially if you are collaboratively reading along with someone else who may notice aspects of the book or certain ideas present in the text that you may simply read over by yourself. My main purpose in these lessons is to help develop students into thoughtful and inspired readers who not only take the initiative to read themselves, but also question what they read delve deeper, beyond just the words on the page. There is no wrong way to read something. Reading is intricate at the very least and it is not just simple enough as reading a book to finish it and be done with it. Reading is an experience that must involve an effort from the reader that is equal to or even more complex in thought and openness to understanding than the writer put into the work them self. Reading with strong comprehension, attention to detail, and an awareness of the text’s place within real world settings is an invaluable ability which can span far beyond just English Language Arts. ** Themes for Lesson Plans Present in // Tangerine //: ** · __Sight/Viewpoint __- One of the main themes in the book is the ability to see. Whether it’s Paul’s perceived inability to see correctly or the way that Paul’s parents view Erik opposed to how Paul sees his brother. We often see things and take them as they are, but when you look harder you gain a different perspective on it. Getting older means beginning to see the world as it really is, rather than from the naive point of view of childhood. Young adulthood is the beginning of this pivotal process in a person’s life. Becoming comfortable in your own skin is something that everyone goes through and something I think young adults can really understand. Looking at a text, a story, an idea or a theme from a different point of view, contrasting with your own, and forming new thoughts are all vital in English Language Arts classes not only in reading but also in communication and discussion. · __Hiding the truth __-lying to escape trouble-Family problems- All of these are things I think that can tie into the above theme. · __Ignoring problems __-looking past differences-learning to live with a situation instead of doing something about it, like the muck fires in the book · __Sports in schools __- A lot of the story deals with the political aspects of sports in school like favorable treatment for athletes/siblings. Paul finally finds his place in Tangerine on the soccer team. The idea of a team and what it means to be part of a team. (Really like this idea since most of the students I have are involved in multiple sports) ** __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Lesson Plan Ideas __ ** ** __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Big Question: How does looking at something from a different point of view change the way you see or understand it? __ ** ** __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Lesson 1: __ ** ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Objectives: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> To analyze the role sports play in school-life, the idea of what it is to be part of a team, and how these things relate to how we communicate and collaborate with one another. ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Materials: **// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Tangerine  //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> by Edward Bloor, knowledge/experience of sports in school, paper, markers ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Activities: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Students will work in groups to draw on own experiences playing sports or knowledge of sports teams to determine what makes a good team player. __Questions for discussion:__ What does it mean to be part of a team? In sports? In other aspects of everyday life? What kinds of teams do you belong to? <span style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Students will work in groups to analyze how sports/athletes often take priority in school. __Questions for discussion:__ How does this occur? Why do you think so? What are the benefits of sports? What are the drawbacks? Why do you think there is such a strong focus on school sports and the pressures that come along with that on student athletes? <span style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Students in groups, will draw comparisons from their own to experiences with sports to the way sports is portrayed in // Tangerine // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> ** Assessment: ** Students, in groups, will create brief presentations of the idea of sports in school addressing the questions provided for group discussion. Students will display an understanding through the formation of their own opinion of whether or not they believe the things sports promote or bring about are valuable skills/traits outside of sports or not. This will be done in a group, which also displays the idea of working as a team in action. Students will argue for sports as a viable entity in school or suggest a way to change the way school sports are organized. This lesson builds up to the Big Question in that it takes a well-established entity which most of my students seem to have what they believe to be, a strong understanding of, and forces them to look at from various different points of view. Perhaps these different looks at something so familiar will alter certain ideas students may have, or help other students become aware of things they didn’t know, or even reinforce things they may already believe. But it will most definitely force them to consider things differently than the way it may be being presented to them. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> ** __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Lesson 2: __ ** ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Objectives: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">To explore the reasons people sometimes lie or hide secrets. Contrast the way Paul views his brother Erik and the events in Tangerine differently from the rest of his family, even though his parents consider him unable “to see.” ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Materials: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> // Tangerine // by Edward Bloor, blank split-figure handout, writing tools, own reflection and experiences, journal ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Activities: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Students will be asked to write down characteristic/traits about themselves and then write down characteristics/traits that they believe other people would consider them to have. Students can share with another student or even a small group. <span style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Students will compare and contrast the images Paul’s parents have of Erik to how Paul views his brother. Students will be provided a figure split in half and students will add characteristics/events/actions to the two opposing sides: one side that fits Paul’s image of his brother and the other side with traits that express how Paul’s parent’s view Erik <span style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Students will share drawings with group and discuss how the conflicting views of Erik come to light throughout the story <span style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Students will draw upon their own experiences to reflect upon a time when they discovered someone or something that was not what they appeared to be. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Assessment: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Students will create a number of brief journal entries or another form of drawing or poetry chronicling an experience where they discovered someone or something was not what they thought it was. By doing this, students will have to use critical thinking to analyze something from a different point of view. In relation to the Big Question, students will come to understand that their own view of the world may be very different from another which can open all kinds of doors of perception. This enhances the idea of young adults coming into their own and becoming an individual. This activity will help students understand what makes them an individual and hopefully embrace the diversity in each and every student. __Questions to keep in mind:__ Describe the person or thing before your view changed. Describe the change. How did it make you feel? How did you discover this? How does it change your view or feelings toward that person or thing? Why might people put on disguises in certain situations? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">