Topic Questions

As we read and reviewed Literary Practices as Social Acts, we considered the following questions. We not only used these questions to guide us through the reading; we used these questions to guide our own literacy practices in the classroom.

Social Status, Class, and Power

How are students perceived by their teacher and peers based on social status, class, and power?

What is the connection between social class and social status in the classroom?

Topic Questions

Gender and Leadership

Is there a correlation between gender and leadership in the classroom?

Is there a pattern in the social roles that boys and girls take on?

Topic Questions

Teacher's Vision of Literacy

What do we value as literacy teachers?

How do our literacy values lead us to possible blind spots?

Topic Questions

Ranking Students

Who are we privileging with the literacy structures we set up in our classrooms?

Who are the insiders? Who are the outsiders?

Video clip of Read Aloud/ literature discussion

Here's the link to the video I posted on Vimeo

http://vimeo.com/mdamiano/mothershouse

Password: CT5037

This is a clip from the time of day that we call read aloud. It seems further away from Julia's read aloud time - possibly more towards what she would term literature discussion??

Regardless of the name of the instructional activity, it does highlight social expectations and norms for interacting in my classroom. Read aloud was (and is) a ritualized practice used to establish classroom community and culture from the start of the year. I have a no-hand raising classroom, but you will see some of the children using hand signals (such as linking their fingers to show they have a connection, or holding their hands up to ask a question). At the start of the year kids used these hand signals as I read to show that they were actively thinking during this time. It also became a way to signal to their classmates that they had something to say when we moved towards a community based on peer discussions and "unrestricted" talk.

The clip shows the kids discussing the book In Our Mothers's House by Patricia Polacco. While we do have an ongoing conversation as we read, this clip occurred at a stopping point on the first day of reading. After a reading only a few pages (with discussion between) I asked the kids to jot down what they were thinking, then discuss. There are comments that demonstrate their continued attempts to make meaning from the story, and also determine the author's intent.

(And yes, that is most of my entire class - only one girl was absent that day)

After meeting on Monday and discussing the possible ways to present our views and own teaching, I have included the main ideas that we elaborated on. I hope this helps as we finalize our presentation.

Lens to Look Through in our own Classrooms

o What meanings do students and the classroom teacher give to the
reading and discussion of literature and how are these meanings related to social

and interpretive expectations within the classroom?

Social expectations are defined as those related to the beliefs, values, and norms for interaction promoted within the classroom.
Interpretive expectations are defined as those related to the reading, understanding, and discussion of literature.

• Ethos – routines and rituals
• Favor things over others – Social Settings
• Be aware and reflective – Who am I privileging with this practice?

(Most practices are geared toward a certain group of students.)

o How do conceptions of what it means to read and discuss literature shape peer-led

literature discussions?

• Insiders and Outsiders (Successful vs. Unsuccessful)

o In what ways do contexts beyond the classroom shape peer-led literature

discussions?

Talk was often used as a way of achieving social and interpretive power. In helping students work together collaboratively, students started with three poker chips. They placed a chip in the center of the circle whenever they contributed to the discussion.

Big Topics:

• Social Status, Class, and Power
• Gender and Leadership
• Teacher’s Vision of Literacy (blind spots) –
Give students the opportunities to show their own view and strengths
• Ranking Students – Who are we privileging? Whose weakness shows?

Animal Farm connection

I was thinking more about how the role of the teacher is always present in Julia's (and maybe others') classroom. The clipboard (p.97) is symbolic of the teacher's role and one of the alpha girls (MacKenzie or Brooke) often take it during class.

This example-- and the other examples of the girls leading group discussions-- show that one powerful leader is replaced by another, and the same cycle continues. Think of Animal Farm-- doesn't Napoleon essentially do what Farmer Jones did? Control the animals without really serving them as best he could? Even though the leadership person changes, the issues around power and status don't. I haven't read Animal Farm in years, so if you can, jump in and help draw this out...