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Community Connections in the Classroom

Graphic novels are a medium that tend to be overlooked or used mostly in early education environments. But, what if there was a way to incorporate this busy style of literature into your secondary education curriculum. As a fan of graphic novels and comics, I quickly became interested in how I could use them in my future classroom as a tool to help further my students' understanding of literary terms and elements. Graphic Novels created a whole new realm of possibilities, and using one of the many possibilities of how to use graphic novels in the classroom, I created a mock unit titled “Classic vs. Graphic Novels.”

This unit allows students to learn the key vocabulary associated with graphic and classic novels, create connections from one medium to the other, analyze two different types of literature in order to identify the significance of the similarities and differences, acknowledge and identify an author’s literary decisions and personal choices and how they affect the plot of the specific novel, understand how each author makes unique decisions and how these choices can affect the reader’s interpretations of a scene or plot, and how the use of visual art in the graphic novel can impact the understanding of the storyline from the original novel. 

In this unit, there is a Stage 3, which discusses my many learning events tailored to “Classic vs. Graphic Novels.” One of the learning events I will be discussing is the preparation for the final fishbowl discussion, where I will have my students prepare evidence to support their thoughts and ideas about the posed questions related to classic and graphic novels. These questions can be seen on a Padlet I created as a mock prototype to see the layout of the discussion board as well as some mock answers my students may give in order to try and prepare to see what the final product for this assessment may be and if I need to make any adjustments. 

To prepare for these questions, they will pull evidence from both novels read during the unit, the classic novel “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury and the graphic novel adaptation, “Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation” by Tim Hamilton. To note, these novels can also be switched with any classic novel that has a graphic novel adaptation. This evidence will include specific quotes, page numbers, and summaries of certain chapters that help aid students’ claims in response to the posed questions. 

In order to create another opportunity for more supporting evidence, I am incorporating a community connection throughout this phase. A community connection is the “act of involving the community in the classroom related to content” that is being taught. This community can be local through families, businesses, organizations, etc. or on a broader scale through social media. As a way to meet Maine’s ISTE Standard 11 (Empowered Professional), this means of community connection through the use social media allows me to meet Standard 11.3, which states, "Educators inspire students to positively contribute to and responsibly participate in the digital world,” and Standard Indicator 3 (a), which says that the teacher will "Create experiences for learners to make positive, socially responsible contributions and exhibit empathetic behavior online that build relationships and community."

By having my students create a public survey in class, which poses questions to the public via any appropriate social media platform my students are comfortable with that relate to the questions I will be asking my students during the fishbowl discussion, they will be able to gather various perspectives on the matter. These can then be used to help further support the evidence that has already been prepared by students. But, it can also allow the opportunity for students to revisit their claims and change them based on some of the different pieces of data they may have gathered. Using some new ideas they may have never thought about, they can then find evidence from the novels to further support this new claim. 

As a juxtaposition to this community connection activity, you could also complete this learning event without having your students create a public social media survey. Although there may be pros to this, there are also cons and it is important to keep them in mind. The cons to having this community connection involved during this specific learning event are that the time they use to create the survey could be used as workshop time to pull evidence directly from the story, some students may abuse the right to use social media in the classroom, and some students may dislike surveys and find them useless and then their engagement is then decreased. However, some pros are that it creates an authentic audience to your students, real people with real responses, which leads to further engagement of your students; students are able to responsibly use social media as an educational tool and not just as a recreational activity; it provides students another means to gather data and pieces of evidence and can be used as a learning opportunity to show the multiple ways to support your claim. 

I think involving any sense of community in your classroom is important, and for this specific unit, “Classic vs. Graphic Novels,” you could involve the community in multiple ways. As a way to not only teach the responsibilities of using social media, which is a very important life skill students can use in and outside of the classroom but having students pose a survey online, creates a positive opportunity for students to see how social media can be used for educational purposes, building a positive relationship not only between social media and the student but also between the student and the online community as well.

All the love, 

Ms. Kellsie Britton

[msbrittonsblog]

Here’s the “lollipop moment” video I hyperlinked in my first blog (”Lollipop Moments: Teacher Edition”)!

Check it out and share your gratitude with others!

All the Love, 

Ms. Kellsie Britton

[msbrittonsblog]

Helpful Resources: Teacher Edition

They always tell you never to start anything with a quote, so instead, I’ll start with the idea that every single day, you always learn something new, even when something doesn't match exactly what you wanted, you can actually learn quite a bit from it. Or, if you don’t receive as much as you were looking for, sometimes less is better. 

After receiving two out of three emails back from my old high school teachers, I was able to look into some of the resources that they gave to me in preparation for becoming a teacher. Some I already was very familiar with such as Kahoot and Quizlet, but I challenged myself to find something new about them that I never once knew before. Some resources were Latin oriented because my old Latin teachers still want me to pursue a career involving Latin as I took it for four years in high school, and I was also a Teacher's Aide for my last two years. Even though they were Latin specific, I tried to see if I could spin it for my concentration, which I will later discuss. I also wanted to look into a book called “Boy’s Life” by Robert R. McCammon, which was recommended to me by my practicum mentor teacher, Mr. Smith. He swears by this book and thinks it is the best book to teach your students, and that it is definitely underappreciated as a resource to use in the classroom as it is his favorite book. Mr. Smith shared with me his story about encountering this book, and I thought it was only fair to dedicate some of my time in order to look into it so maybe one day I can teach it to my students. 

The first resource I started looking into was one given to me by D-Whit, also known as Ms. Whitmore, my old advisor, who was also a Latin teacher. This was a website called “Maine Classics,” where a group of Latin teachers and classics professors run a site dedicated to “spreading the teaching of the classics in Maine.” At first, I thought I wasn’t going to be able to use a lot of the resources found on this site, but I then came across a newsletter called “Clamor.” Each newsletter discusses upcoming events, paraphrases what happened at recent conferences, and also in the March 2018 issue, they stated the top essays that won the recent competition based on a given prompt. The prompt stated was, “to compose a writing based on a quote from Lucretius and how he might respond to a recent report from NASA about three planets 39 light years away that may contain life.” This is where my interest was sparked. Yes, I wasn’t going to be a Latin teacher any time soon, but Latin and English have a wonderful relationship, and the prompt stated in this newsletter was quite engaging and innovative. I think Latin interests a lot of students in school, whether they want to take it or not because the culture is so interesting, and the fact that Latin is referred to as the “dead language,” really peaks people's interests. This site, because it is created by professionals in Latin and the classics, the information provided is very relevant to the subject. I think that as an English concentration, I could spin a lot of Latin prompts into one for English, as long as the Latin itself isn’t too complicated, and as long as I have a translation ready. I could also do prompts similar to this based on the characters of the book I plan on teaching, such as “How would Dr. Frankenstein react towards the recent news outbreak about the Corona Virus?” The prompt is relevant to recent events, and the students must really understand the character and their development throughout the story in order to provide their response. I think that I personally am going to keep track of these newsletters because I feel that doing lessons that cross into other subjects may potentially increase engagement and interest in students. 

The other resources I have looked into were Kahoot and Quizlet. I have used both of these resources before and thought they were both very successful in how they were used. Kahoot, a lot of the time has been used as a fun way to refresh students’ minds on a certain topic being taught. The winner can also be given a prize i.e. the satisfaction of winning, some cool stickers, etc. I did learn that Kahoot can be played at home as they have premade vocabulary sets for many different subjects (English, history, math, science, etc.) as well. Another cool thing about Kahoot is that they have accessibility options that allow those who are “text-to-speech technology users, Braille users, and other users with sensory, cognitive, or other disabilities,” to have the opportunity to use Kahoot and have all the options easily available to them. 

Similar to Kahoot, Quizlet also has premade flashcard sets. This site is used “To help students (and their teachers) practice and master whatever they are learning. Quizlet provides engaging, customizable activities with contributions from people everywhere.” I personally have used this site previously, and it is able to be accessed via an app on your phone (iPad, tablet, etc.) and also your laptop/desktop. I think this is a great option for at-home preparation for any type of memorization. It creates flashcards and offers different games/activities as well such as “learn”, where they increase levels with multiple choice and writing definitions; “write”, where you write definitions that fit the word or vice versa; “spell”, where Quizlet speaks the word/definition out loud and you have to type what you hear; “test”, where they create a mock test that you can choose what sections you would like, whether that be multiple-choice, matching, and/or writing definitions; “match”, a game where you match the word/definition to the correct one; and then the final game being “gravity”, a timed game where you have to drag the correct word to fit the correct definition listed below. I think this respects the multiple different learning types that students and even teachers have because they aren’t stuck using the standard flashcards. Quizlet provides options. And, allowing your students that option to find what best learning strategy works best for them, will help them not only in the future but also in your classroom. 

For my final resource, I looked in the book “Boy’s Life” by Robert R. McCammon like discussed at the beginning of my blog post. My mentor teacher swore by this text, and looking into it (really only reading the first chapter, prologue, and summary so far), I definitely agree. Just reading the book description, I was hooked. Being a huge nerd for books about murder and the supernatural, this book has it all as it is about a boy and his father who see something no one should have seen, and now they are haunted by the traumatic sight until they find out the secrets their town has within. Through reading this book you get to investigate the mysterious murder along with the characters of the novel and “learn more about the meaning of both life and death.” Seen in the description, the opportunities for lessons on symbolism alone seem to be endless as a “green feather” is brought up due to it “leading [the boy] deeper into the mystery.” So far, this description has hooked at least one reader, two if you count Mr. Smith. This book’s genre (murder mystery and supernatural fiction) also seems to be popular amongst the age demographic seen in high school. I personally have not seen many books in this genre taught in English classes because I have really only learned from classic literature myself. Even though the supernatural aspects of the novel may not be real, as a reader, you can still learn a lot from the author’s choices. You can connect supernatural themes into something seen in today’s time if you analyze deep enough. And, if I were to teach this novel, I could turn this lesson into one focusing on reading comprehension and literary analysis in order to have students make connections to plots that may not seem relevant to real-life to something that is. Students are creative, and sometimes it takes something outside of the box to lure in students’ interests. This creativity, I think, could shine with the proper outlines and objectives, especially if you use materials that possibly no teacher has ever been willing to teach before because it is outside of the set curriculum/norm. 

The variety of teaching opportunities that this novel provides is quite large. The first chapter itself practically uses a simile or metaphor every paragraph as the main character really likes to describe things through comparison. The time that this book is set in is also 1964, which was around the time of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. This opens up the chance to collaborate with your colleagues in the social studies concentration because you could do a lesson together (time period recaps, research project, connecting common themes from the book to current/past events, etc.). So far, I am really hooked by the book and I am very interested in reading the whole thing in order to see what I can do with it in the future. I already have many ideas, and this is just from reading the first chapter! 

Sometimes something that may not seem as useful as another thing, it truly is if you dig a little deeper. This connects to all the resources I have received so far from my old high school teachers and now my current mentor teacher. I am continuously learning from my fellow colleagues and mentors, and I do not think that this will ever stop. To conclude this long discussion of teaching resources, I would like to say that each resource has provided me with a helpful tool/tidbit that I will someday be able to use in my own classroom. Whether that be a Kahoot filled with literay terms or quotes, a Quizlet containing a unit/lesson’s taught vocabulary, a newsletter that gives me an idea for a writing prompt, or a book that can have any type of literary/reading analysis learning objectives I can think of. Anything can have at least one take away. 

All the love, 

Ms. Kellsie Britton 

[msbrittonsblog]

Lollipop Moments: Teacher Edition

Have you ever heard of a “lollipop moment?” Well, has anyone ever done something to or for you that was so kind, so compassionate, or something so big or small that has impacted your life greatly? That is a “lollipop moment.” Drew Dudley, the man behind the idea of the “lollipop moment,” explains how when someone does something that you are grateful for, tell them. Tell them that you really appreciated what they did and how it has impacted your life. You never know what someone is going through, and even just a slight ounce of direct gratitude could help them tremendously. It’s a way to spread kindness, love, and intimacy. So, after taking a note from this book, I reached out to three of my old teaches who really impacted my life, who inspired me to be the future educator I soon will be. 

When thinking about some of my old teachers to reach out to, I instantly chose to contact my foreign language teachers from high school and middle school. I reached out via Facebook Messenger to my old high school advisor, Diane Whitmore (D-Whit), who was also a Latin teacher, and Sarah Davis (Madame Davis), who was my French teacher throughout middle school. I then emailed my old high school Latin teacher, Erin Taylor (Ms. Taylor), who I had for all four years and was also her TA for two of them. 

All three teachers replied with enthusiasm and were very appreciative of my messages to them. Madame Davis was particularly touched by my reaching out because she explained that along with being a teacher, you have many moments of doubt that involve you wondering if you are inspiring your students like you want to, and it’s was rewarding to know that you at least touched one student in your career. She also expressed her gratitude through a Facebook post explaining how she received kind words from me that day. 

It was reassuring to hear from all of them that they were on board with my decision to major in Secondary Education. And although I knew that Ms. Taylor wanted me to go into Latin (my original course of concentration), she was still very supportive of my choice of pursuing English as my concentration. 

Both Ms. Taylor and D-Whit responded via email with in-depth information while Madame Davis responded on Messenger with some brief tips. 

A common theme with their advice was to laugh as much as you can with the students, to be prompt with returning work, be clear with your students, choose your battles, and to have fun. As a person who literally laughs at any small thing, I will definitely be taking their advice. 

For resources, Ms. Taylor suggested Quizlet, a Four Corners Ice Breaker activity, Google Forms, and Facebook groups that are created around your concentration area and state. Ms. Whitmore recommended Google Classroom and the other various Google apps, Quizlet as well, Youtube (with an abundance of previewing first), and Kahoot. 

Madame Davis, although she did not recommend any resources as of yet, she did give me some very memorable advice: 

Tip #1:  Be kind to yourself and remember it's difficult but so worthwhile to teach.  

Tip #2:  Laugh with the kids as much as possible!  

Tip #3:  Tell them and show them you care.

In all, the resources they recommended (as useful as they are), was far overpowered by their sage and wise advice. Ms. Taylor, in her email response, stated, 

“I want students to know why they're doing what they're doing, what I am looking for in their answers, what their answers are supposed to be, and what I or they might change as a result of their answers.  I think that does a lot for lowering the anxiety around learning (and it is hard to learn when you're stressed out by the class!)”

I couldn’t agree more with this because being a recent high school student and a current college student, I remember how high my anxiety was and still is to this day due to the constant confusion and wondering about how impactful an assignment is on my grade. 

Ms. Whitmore then came in with a funny and reassuring piece of information that “It's o.k. to laugh if a student does something ludicrous like fall out of his chair (it's always a boy ...) but get right back to business.” D-Whit stated in her email that the best advice she ever got when she was new to teaching was “to emulate the best teachers [she] had had” if she ever got stuck.  

I learned a lot from all three of these teachers when I was a student of theirs. And now, I am learning even more as I am on my own journey becoming a teacher, an educator, like them. Just like they did when I was in middle school and high school, they gave me the reassurance that I needed about becoming a teacher. They reminded me of the qualities I have that will soon make me a wonderful and compassionate educator. 

Their responses have taught me that you never stop learning, especially from your old teachers, and that one simple ounce of gratitude can impact that person’s life so that they know what they are doing is worth it. I was able to show three teachers that their choice in being an educator was worth it to at least one student, to me, and that they have impacted far more students than they once thought previously. 

All the love, 

Ms. Kellsie Britton