Entry 7: How I could imagine integrating biographies into my unit

Currently my students are reading the novel A Long Walk to Water. I read this book in under three days and absolutely loved it, I couldn't wait to start teaching it. Then I started teaching it, and I am seeing the book through my students' eyes instead of my own and I am thinking, man is this boring! (well not exactly, but I find myself understanding how they can find it boring) Now, this must speak to my teaching....I mean, there are endless strategies and activities I could do to engage my students right? Well, I guess that #1. I do not take advantage of all the tools that I have under my belt. I have learned or been given, or shown so many really neat and useful ideas and activities, but how come they never show up in my teaching? I seem to stick to the same old same old. Ok, #2. I DO try to mix things up and try new things sometimes but even those the kids roll their eyes at or ask in that tone where you know they are really saying "We have to do what?" So I don't know, no matter what I do, the kids will roll their eyes at it...

But anyway, I am getting off-track. In  this unit, I wanted to teach relevant non-fiction and current events along with the text. I wanted to teach my students empathy. I wanted to light a spark in them where they have a desire to read, write, and seek out knowledge about the world around them. Sadly, that is not happening. One thing i would like to try, or at least test out the idea here, safely in my blog, is integrating biographies into this unit. So....How would I do this?

First, I think I would want to start with having my students write personal narratives. Tompkins (2012) says that personal narratives are usually taught first and can be used with younger students because they are writing about a subject they know well: themselves. Now, my students have already read two perosnal narratives when we were learning about the immigrant experience, so I think that would be a good place to start.

Let's say I introduce this assignment in light of our unit, I would say to my kids that their personal narrative needs to focus on (a) a time when they witnessed an inequity and how they felt (b) a time when they caused someone else feel less than or not worthy and how they felt or (c) a time when they did something positive that led to making others happy. I would let them pre-write and draft, and then teach a mini-lesson on descriptive writing, using a mentor text, and then let them write more and revise.

After this personal narrative I would bring in biographies. I would do a gallery walk of prominent, and some not so prominent civil rights leaders, women's rights leaders, modern day "heroes", and others who have fought/still fight for equality and peace, or just people (like Salva, our main character from A Long Walk to Water) who want to make the world a better place one step at a time. In the gallery walk, I will have a quick bio on each individual, just enough to get the kids interested. Then they will do some research and select the individual they would like to research. I would love for them to create a multi-genre biography for their person.

I would then have to set criteria for them for researching their individual. I wouls also have to teach some of the genres so they could feel free to choose the three they would like to use. I know this just unfolded right in front of me as I typed, but I really want to do this!! I think my students would love this, and really learn a lot about the person they choose, and feel connected to them, and maybe this is my way in to building that emapthy. If they can side with their individual, they are likely to adopt the cause the individual fought for as well! :) I am goint o try this, I will keep you updated!