Frontloading: Creating Contexts for Self-Text-World Connections Hannah Welch NCTE National Convention November 18, 2011

The Roots of My Research 1st Student Teaching Placement: Macbeth -Frontloaded unit with: discussion of ambition, A/D discussion of major themes and issues of play, personal journaling, video clips, songs about ambition -Unit activities: frequent journaling, weekly blogs, connecting to current events, compared King James to King Macbeth, linking story to music -These activities were the focus, not as much the content – no vocab, 1 quiz -Major assessment: character journal, blogs, participation in discussion/class activities -What I Found: Students were highly engaged and the unit ended with a discussion in which students were coming up with connections to athletes and personal experiences without any prompting 2nd Student Teaching Placement: The Crucible -Frontloaded unit with: big posters to brainstorm major topics, A/D discussion, situational activity, Salem Witch Trial PowerPoint, songs about topics -Unit activities: 1 journal, weekly blogs, connecting to current events, using music, QRCs, Reader’s Theatre, vocab -However, the focus shifted-content was held over the connections. We had a quiz for each act, took frequent grades on QRCs, graded on Reader’s Theatre, and culminated with an essay test modeled after Regents Exam -What I Found: Students seemed disengaged with blogs, did not seem invested in the story, asked few questions and did not share any personal connections or have very much reaction during our culminating discussion

The Roots of My Research Inspired by Jago’s “Rethinking What We Ask Students to Do,” I asked myself – what do I want my students to get out of a piece of literature? The answer: an experience! Reading a text should be an opportunity for students to read their own lives, and read the world in which they live! My Lens: Rosenblatt’s Reader Response Theory &Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Learning Theory “I know exactly what I want my students to retain ten years hence: a love for the things that literature can do to them. It’s not details from the books that I care about students being able to recall but the experience of having been moved by a book” (Jago 2004). “Reading is not just a matter of standing safely outside texts, where their power cannot reach us. It is a matter of entering, of passing through the looking glass and seeing ourselves on the other side” (2004).

The Roots of My Research Wilhelm defines frontloading as “a way to prepare, protect, and support students into the acquisition of new content and new ways of doing things” (2001). In simpler terms, it’s a “framework” through which one is able to activate his/her prior knowledge. As Joseph Sanacore writes, the goal of frontloading is to help students “build bridges between what is new and what is known” (1983). And why is it important to frontload and make personal and popular experiences? “A student’s prior knowledge…provides an existing slot into which the student can plug the new information being read…Activating prior knowledge, then, is a major factor of reading comprehension. It is what allows students to create meaning, to connect what they are reading to what they already know. The reading material is thus transformed from words on a page to ideas that can apply to real life” (Eikmeier, 2008).

My Questions How are teachers creating entry points and contexts that will help students connect with a text and better understand it? In particular, what types of frontloading, or “gateway” activities, are they employing to create these contexts and entry points? How successful are these contexts/entry points? What types of contexts are valued most by teachers – is it the personal, historical or factual? And lastly, in hopes that I can translate this information into methods for instruction in the future, in what ways do students relate to and connect with literature on their own, both in school and outside of school?

Conducting My Research McKinley Mount High School -1st ring suburban school -478 students total (08-09) -51% of students receive free or reduced lunch (08-09) -Student population (08-09): 63% White, 29% African- American, 5% Hispanic/Latino, 1% Asian-American Methodology -16 separate class observations -Chose 2 focal students -Interviews with teacher & 2 students -Surveys

Conducting My Research 5th period class makeup: 19 students total 7girls, 12 boys 10 students are White 8 are African-American 1 is bi-racial 8 students are classified as special education Room 334 Mrs. Pebbles’ Room 12 years teaching experience White, female, ~34 years old 5th period English 11 Co-taught class with Mrs. Feist 9 years teaching experience White, female, ~36 years old

Frontloading Activities: The Crucible Green cards group discussion

Green cards group discussion 75% of the class agreed that the green cards helped them think about their topic in relation to their own life 25% agreed that the cards helped them pick out those ideas in the play Jill: Did you think about any of the other groups’ topics? Not really. So just [your group’s card,] reputation? Yes. Jill: Did [your topic] make you think about your own reputation? Kinda yea…but mostly when thinking about the characters, because each of them has a rep.

Frontloading Activities: The Crucible Blue history notes / cards

Blue history notes / cards 75% of the class disagreed that these helped them better understand the Puritan culture and other elements of the play. Mason’s blue card experience: “I could have had a more challenging card – I had Tituba – she wasn’t a slave, she was Native American she was just in Barbados and when Parris came there he brought her back to take care of the household and stuff…the summary I printed out about her didn’t say much about witchcraft or anything, and she wasn’t from Barbados, she was in a village from somewhere” On Taking notes –Did those stick with you at all? “No. It failed.”

Frontloading Activities: The Crucible Puritan background -First day of reading -Mrs. Pebbles read through all of Miller’s “authorial interruption” – roughly 6 full pages -25 full minutes of teacher talk, with a few questions/pauses scattered throughout Jill: Did [this] help you? “Not really.” Were you zoned in? “Not really…I was totally zoned out”

Frontloading Activities: The Crucible Teacher Talk: Contextual Comments “Those people in Southern Pennsylvania…very similar” -referring to Puritan lifestyle “Calling a Puritan a Quaker would be like calling a McKinley Mount Eagle a RFK Bear [their school rival]” “If [Sarah Osburn] is put to the test to know her Ten Commandments. But a couple things happen…she’s put on the spot in front of these authority figures. Think about taking a standardized test – you could have a good day, you could have a bad day, is it really giving you the whole picture of who you are? No.” “Do any of your grandmothers have more of that soothing, nurturing effect? Think of Rebecca Nurse that way.” -during last minute of class as students were packing up “Back then if you had any unexplained moles, birthmarks, freckles, that would have been a sign of a devil…do any of you have any moles, sunspots even?” -while students are watching film

Focus Points - Other Elements of the Unit -Study guides (2 for each act) -Quizzes on content and vocab (1 for each act) -Vocab -Watched film (at the end of each act)

Students May Be Engaged…But Are They Making Connections? Only 50% of the class stated that they felt they were able to relate to the characters, issues and/or themes in The Crucible. Jill “I love it. It’s a great book. I don’t know like…it just leads on to the next…like you’re not gonna know what’s gonna happen” Do you think you’ve ever had experiences like any of the characters? “No, not really.” Student Survey: “I can relate to the type of religious dedication, but not to the situations.” Mason Do you see pieces of yourself in the characters? Or, things that you’ve done that you’re doing maybe not to the same extreme? “Lying a little bit, I guess” Do you think we could make any connections to sports or pop culture? “I don’t know what can relate to [The Crucible]” Mason, on relating “That is hard. There’s so many different things going on, people are lying…you don’t know who’s who and what they’re about…it’s a little far fetched”

Teacher Talk Does the ethnic or racial diversity in your class play into your planning? What do you want students to takeaway from The Crucible? And how do you draw this out? Do you think students are able to make connections to this play on their own? “That the decision between right and wrong and doing the right thing isn’t always the easy thing, but it is the right thing – that – it’s a test of character, integrity, honesty.” Q: How do you work this into the unit? “I usually include this in a short answer question that’s open ended…”

Might these Connections = Comprehension? Mason shares his experience with Of Mice and Men, which he read in 9th grade…over 2 years ago! Students remember the stories, characters and themes because they were able to connect with them and think about them in relation to their lives and their world! From survey: “The best novel I read in school was A Raisin in the Sun. I liked this book because it really showed the way a family comes together at the end of the day, no matter what they’re going through. I could really relate to that, because my mom has cancer, and no matter how hard it is, we are all there for each other. I also really liked A Child Called It, it shows that no matter what you’re going through in life, there’s always someone out there going through something worse. From survey: “The best novel was Of Mice and Men; it held a very good lesson – “sacrifice something to help a friend out.” It’s all about friendship.

Students Want to Connect! 100% of students stated that they prefer to read books in which they feel that they are able to relate the story/characters to their life and their experiences. Talking about her freshmen year in English, Jill tells me that after three books she didn’t get to… “I was like, I gotta get hooked to at least one book!” Students recognize the need for frontloading, too, to help them connect and get interested. Jill told me: “I like reading but it has to be..like I gotta get into the book first.” When students can relate to certain parts of the story, that’s what really resonates with them.

We Need to Create Contexts for Our Students to Make Connections! I asked Jill if she’s ever had an English class where she was encouraged to make personal connections and she answered: “No. It’s always about the test.” It’s clear that students need a gentle nudge to help them see how a text can relate to their lives or be important – that’s why frontloading is SO important. As Wilhelm states, “some students fail to use what they already know to link it with what they are about to learn” (2001). That’s where the teacher comes in. We NEED to help students tap in to what they have to bring to the text so to help them not only comprehend the text, but also to comprehend their lives and their world! As teachers, we need to reassess how our unit lends itself to our goals – if we want our students to takeaway a lesson about right and wrong, then we should have students examine that issue in their lives and in their world. It seems that teachers are valuing the study of the text and the factual information. With all the constraints & curriculum demands made on us, we need to be sure to prioritize our planning based on what we value! In order to do this, we have to learn our students – their worlds, their interests, their jobs, their music, their TV, their media, their lives.

What makes you want to read the things that you do? Mason: It’s just what I’m interested in . …because there’s nothing quite as interesting as one’s self, interests and world. It’s Time to Let the Self Shine…

Reference List Eikmeier, G.M. (2008). D’oh! Using The Simpsons to Improve Student Response to Literature. English Journal, 97(4), 77-80. Jago, C. (2004). Rethinking What We Ask Students to Do. In With Rigor for All (59-70). Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann. Sanacore, J. (1983). Improving Reading Through Prior Knowledge and Writing. Journal of Reading, 26(8), 714-720. Wilhelm, J.D. et.al. (2001). Frontloading: Teaching Before Reading. In J. Wilhelm et.al. (Eds.), Strategic Reading (91-120). Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann.