From the Known to the New Scafolding for Deeper Reading with Media/Pop Culture

1. “Tis the good reader that makes the good book.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson From the Known to the NewScafolding for Deeper Reading with Media/Pop Culture Presented by: Katie Rotchford Boise State Writing Project Teacher Consultant English/ESL Teacher, Mountain View High School rotchford.katie@meridianschools.org

2. Identify the Central Theme/Message • Instructions: • Read the poem to yourself silently. • Write a paragraph identifying the central theme of this poem. Be sure to include several pieces of textual evidence to support your claim. • Instructions: • Watch the video clip and as you watch see if you can identify a social criticism the screenwriters make through the use of humor. Jot down some ideas if you need to • Turn to a neighbor and share your ideas. Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

3. On Teaching Reading • What do you need to be a successful reader? • “If we simply assign reading without teaching students how to read, we’ll get poor reading… When it comes to reading challenging text, not enough attention has been paid to understanding the steps we can take to provide effective scaffolding for our struggling readers.” (Gallagher, 2004) • Less than 60% of teachers of English (grades 6 – 12) value teaching the process of reading (Applebee, 1990) • It becomes important to ask ourselves: “Am I assigning challenging reading, or am I teaching challenging reading?” Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

4. Importance of self belief • “Some kids are born good readers and some kids aren’t. I’ve always been a bad reader and I always will be. It’s too late for me.” – 8th grade student (Tovani, 2000) • Students have long ago learned to access and deeply read “texts” in pop culture – they make connections, ask questions, infer and synthesize – but they are often unaware of the sophisticated reading moves they are making. • In order to become proficient readers, students “must be aware of their own comprehension.” (Keene and Zimmerman, 1997) • “The most important lessons in English this year were the lessons on what a good reader does… I hadn’t realized that they do all that work. I realized that I do a lot of what a good reader does.” – J.L., 9th grade MVHS student Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

5. WhyMedia and Pop-Culture? • Newkirk argues our “media environment provides cultural props that children can use to improvise their way into literacy.” (2009) • Pop culture texts allows us to utilize a student’s reading expertise and help students become metacognitive about the “reader” moves they are already expert at using • Using these alternative “texts” allows teachers to scaffold procedural knowledge for teaching analytical reading • With more difficult text, students approximate reader moves they learned by “reading” media and pop-culture texts Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

6. Using Pop Culture • Choose texts that do two kinds of work: frontload conceptual knowledge and begin scaffolding procedural knowledge • Begin by setting a purpose for the “reading” – relates to conceptual knowledge • “A reader’s purpose affects everything about reading. It determines what’s important in the text, what is remembered, and what comprehension strategy a reader uses to enhance meaning.” (Tovani, 2000) • This will guide even unconscious acts of reading Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

7. Five kinds of knowledge(Hillocks, 2006 and Adapted from Wilhelm, 2010) Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

8. Reading Visual Media • Step 1: Introduce text • Step 2: Give a purpose for reading • What makes this commercial humorous? • Step 3: First Draft “read” of the video (watch it) Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

9. Television Commercial Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

10. First Draft Reading • First Draft reading: Getting the basics (the who, what, where, when, and how) – surface level comprehension (Gallagher, 2000) • Beyond First Draft reading – sophisticated inferences • Agree it’s funny? • What makes it funny? • Synthesis Spider • Name how we know what we know Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

11. Second-Draft Reading • We know and have named the main message of the commercial, but how do we know it? • “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something – anything – down on paper. A friend of mine says that the first draft is the down draft – you just get it down. The second draft is the up draft – you fix it up. You try to say what you have to say more accurately. And the third draft is the dental draft, where you check every tooth to see if it’s loose or cramped, or decayed, or even, God help us, healthy.” (Lamott, 1994). • Second draft reading: Moving beyond the surface level comprehension to inference, analysis and synthesis (Gallagher, 2000) • Step 4: “Second-draft” read to find the “clues” (or key details) that helped you to name the main message of the commercial • Step 5: Model naming how these clues helped us to identify the main message of the commercial Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

12. Role of Positive Feedback and NAMING • Step 6: Ask students to contribute to the naming of clues and connections • Step 7: Invite students to participate in a third, fourth, draft reading • On-going Step: When they participate provide immediate, specific positive feedback. NAME the “reader” moves students are making. NAME students as readers • Validate your feedback by defining this participation as deeper level reading Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

13. Defining Text • What does the word “text” mean to you? • Merriam Webster Dictionary Definition: TEXT: 1 a (1): the original words and form of a written or printed work • My definition of text: “Anything that was created for the purposes of conveying meaning.” This would include : • Novels, short stories, poems, etc. • Comic strips and Graphic novels • Song lyrics • Musical scores • Visual art • Television shows and movies • Advertisements (television and print) • Internet content (webisodes, blogs, etc.) • Video games Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

14. Defining Reading • Reading – is the act of making meaning of text • Heuristic for Making Meaning • Identify the Subject • Look for Key Details • Make Connections Between Key Details • Hypothesize about the Main Idea/Lesson/Theme of the text (Wilhelm, presentation 2009) • Within this frame, students believe they are reading, are capable of reading, and your feedback in meaningful and believable • “When I would read a book, I wouldn’t be able to understand it. It would just be a big slur of words going through one ear and out the other ear. Being a better reader has changed the way I see books. In the future, I know that I will be reading a lot more books.” -9th grade MVHS student Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

15. Television Commercial Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

16. Formative Assessment and the Common Core Standards • These activities are great tools to allow you to evaluate where students are as readers and if they are progressing • Reflects Common Core Standards: Students practice identifying Key Details and the function of those Key Details, identify elements of Craft and Structure, make supported arguments about central ideas and theme, and provides multiple genres of text (both visual and media) • Also becomes visible proofto students of what they know and how they know it (Declarative and Procedural Knowledge of Substance) – Important as the move toward more difficult texts • “The SKCM chart is very useful. This helps a lot to find the main idea in the book you’re reading. It also helps you understand it more. This has helped me understand more books.” – 9th grade ELL MVHS student Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

17. Reading within Teaching Models (Wilhelm, 2009) Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

18. Teaching/Learning Centered Reading • The transaction between the reader and the text is the at the heart of any literary experience (Rosenblatt, 1938). • Allows students to have a “quiet conversation” about books with their learning community – examining and evaluating their different responses to a shared text (Rosenblatt, 1938) • Students create of culture of creating meaning together • Students are allowed to take some ownership for their interpretations and gain more autonomy and control over their learning. Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

19. Vygotskian Perspective: Student/Teacher Interactions (adapted from Wilhelm, 2001) Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

20. Picking the next text • Pick activities that do two kinds of work (scaffold for content by defining purpose, and scaffold for procedure by modeling) • Creating a ladder of text to help students move through the ZPD, by scaffolding in more difficult text (start small… move to big): • T.V. Commercials to Movies • Visual art to Graphic Novels • Song lyrics to short stories to novels • This is a recursive process through out the year, repeating with each type of pop culture/media texts for each unit Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

21. Adding Difficulty • When a text becomes too obscure for students immediately identify the main idea/theme, reverse the order, but using the “Heuristic for Making Meaning” (adapted from Wilhelm, 2009) • Heuristic for Making Meaning: • First Draft Reading • Identify the who or the what (… the subject) • Identify key details (important elements) • Second Draft Reading • Hypothesize about the connection between key details • Analyze these connections and look for patterns (Main Idea, Lesson, Theme) • Subject, Key Details, Connection between Key Details, Main Idea/Theme/Lesson: S.K.C.M. Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

22. “Guernica” by P. Picasso Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

23. S.K.C.M. Activity • First Draft Read (surface level comprehension) • Subject: • Key Details: • Second Draft Reading (inference, analysis, synthesis) • Connection between key details: • Main Idea/Theme/Lesson: • Create Synthesis Spider from this activity Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

24. Moving to Difficult Text • With each different type of text, the rules change slightly - TELL students this! • Begin by modeling with each type of text to help students move through the ZPD • Use of grouping to help students move through ZPD • Gradually release responsibility • Recursive process – give students multiple opportunities with each kind of text Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

25. Song Lyrics • “Pablo Picasso” by Citizen Cope The woman that I loveIs forty feet tallShe's a movie starShe's all in the papersAnd everywhere I goPeople hand me quartersAnd they pat me on the backThey treat me like I’m famousI'll never leave her side'Cause today can be dangerousAnd when the night arrivesThe light hit her featuresAnd the cars drive byJust so they could see herAnd she never bats an eyeWhen someone takes her picture Mr.Officer if you've come to take herThen that means one of usGonna end up in a stretcherGonna end up in the papers, going end up in the papers, yeahIf i had a pistolI'd brandish it and wave itShe's the only one alive that knows that I'm not crazyShe's gonna testify on my behalfDown at the NavySo I can get some peaceAnd provide for my babiesI got a stick and a bottleI'll pretend I got a razorHelicopters and cameras all shottin' for the stationThey say that a wild man defending his ladyBut for some odd reason they keep calling you a painting Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

26. Literary (or “challenging”) Text • The rules change again when you move from visual types of text, to songs, to literary text • Always set a purpose before reading so students know where to start • Introduce Rules of Notice as a way to help identify key details (Rabinowitz, 1987) • Model “reading” using Think-Aloud Strategies (Tovani, 2000 and Wilhelm, 2001) • After coding text, plug information into graphic organizer • Depending on difficulty begin with SKCM or Synthesis Spider Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

27. Efficacy with Difficult Literature • Student’s have developed confidence in their abilities to read deeply • Student’s have developed motivation to read deeply • Student’s are able to name themselves as readers and the “reader” moves they make • Student’s are able to use this thinking strategy beyond the classroom, growing into discerning adults Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

28. Expansion/Extension • In what ways could you use pop culture, media, art texts might you be able to use in your classroom? • In what ways can you model this thinking process in your classroom? • Ideas others gave me for expansion/extension: • English: Graphic organizers become pre-writes for literary analysis; Preparation for Picture Maps, Theme Drawings, Drama Activities • Social Studies: SKCM used identify with pictures the 5 themes of Geography, Photograph and Period Art to demonstrate events in history • Science: Photographs and Diagrams to explore geology, cellular biology • Visual Art: explore how meaning is created in visual form Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

29. Teaching thinking • We live in a world where “the media culture is so powerful that children have no power to resist or challenge or even consciously be aware of the ‘message[s]’” presented to them (Newkirk, 2009). • By teaching students to analyze and synthesize pop-culture media content, we are creating individuals who are able to critically examine messages being disseminated through the media. • “The most important lesson I learned this year was looking into detail. We were able to really get into stories and notice things most people wouldn’t. A lot of the movies or books we read, I’d already read and seen. But this time I noticed things I hadn’t before. For me that was really big because it totally changed how I had viewed it previously.” – 9th grade MVHS student • “Of all that I’ve learned this year, I think the most important thing I’ve learned is that deeper meaning is everywhere, you just have to know how to find it.” – 9th grade MVHS student Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

30. Big IMPORTANT Thanks… • Because I am not certain that I have had original idea to present to you but rather a synthesis of ideas, readings, and conversations with people vastly more intelligent than me…. This is just what I have done with it, and I would like to say thank you to: • The experts: CrisTovani, Kelley Gallagher, Jeff Wilhelm, Peggy Jo Wilhelm, Erica Boas – all of whom I am grateful for and have taught me the true meaning of Newton’s quote: “If I have seen further than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.” • My colleagues: Anna Daley, Colin Kohlmeier – tremendous thinking partners! • My mom and pop – who are both educators and who tolerate my hour long conversations on pedagogy and remind me why I love this profession Katie Rotchford,Teacher Consultant - Boise State Writing Project

31. Works Cited Applebee, A.N. (1990). Literature instruction in American schools. Report Series 1.4. Albany, NY: Center for the Learning and Teaching of Literature.  Gallagher, Kelly. (2004) Deeper Reading: Comprehending Challenging Texts 4-12. Portland, MA: Stenhouse Publishers. Hillocks, George Jr. (2006) Narrative Writing: Using a New Model for Teaching. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann. Keene, Ellin Oliver and Susan Zimmermann. (1997) Mosaic of Thought: Teaching Comprehension in a Reader’s Workshop. Portsmouth, NH. Heinemann. Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some instructions on Writing and Life. New York, NY: Anchor Newkirk, Thomas. (2009) Holding on to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann. Rabinowitz, Peter. (1987). Before Reading. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press Rosenblatt, L.S. (1938). Literature as Exploration. New York, NY: D. Appleton-Century Co. Tovani, Cris. (2000) I Read it, But I Don’t Get It: Comprehension strategies for Adolescent Readers. Portland, MA: Stenhouse Publishers. Wilhelm, Jeffrey D. (2007) Engaging Readers & Writers with Inquiry. Scholastic: New York. Wilhelm, Jeffrey D. (2001) Improving Comprehension with Think-Aloud Strategies. Scholastic: New York. Wilhelm, Jeffrey D. (2010) Inquiring Minds Learn to Read and Write: Using Inquiry Strategies to Promote Students Reading, Writing and Discussion. Wilhelm, Jeffrey D., Peggy Jo Wilhelm and Erika Boas. (2009) Inquiring Minds Learn to Read and Write. Scholastic: Markham, Ontario.