The Text is the Vehicle:
Using Beloved Literature and Novels to Drive
Student Success in Secondary ELAR Classrooms
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
[email protected]
Quick-Write
How do you
define student
success in ELAR?
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
Quiz!
1. Which of the following characters is the
antagonist in To Kill A Mockingbird? (Harper Lee)
a) Atticus Finch
b) Bob Ewell
c) Boo Radley
d) Tom Robinson
e) None of the Above
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
Quiz!
2. Who murders Montag?
(Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury)
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
Quiz!
3. Identify the following characters as a Soc or
a Greaser:
(The Outsiders, S. E. Hinton)
_____ Robert “Bob” Sheldon
_____ Johnny Cade
_____ Dallas “Dally” Winston
_____ Darrel “Darry” Curtis
_____ Randy Adderson
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
The Answers
1. Which of the following characters is the antagonist in To Kill A
Mockingbird?
a) Atticus Finch
b) Bob Ewell
c) Boo Radley
d) Tom Robinson
e) None of the above
(Harper Lee)
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
The Answers
2. Who murders Montag?
No one!
Using pictures of another man who was killed,
the TV shows Montag being captured and
executed, but Montag escaped in the river in the
dark of night.
(Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury)
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
The Answers
3. Identify the following characters as a Soc or a
Greaser:
_____
S Robert “Bob” Sheldon
_____
G Johnny Cade
_____
G Dallas “Dally” Winston
_____
G Darrel “Darry” Curtis
_____
S Randy Adderson
(The Outsiders, S. E. Hinton)
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
A Survey:
How often do you use each of
the following ELAR skills in
your current career?
(A glossary was provided.)
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
Participants:
• Assistant Principal
• Project Manager
(for a manufacturer in
the commercial construction
industry)
• Teacher Support
(prepare PD, provide in-class
teacher support)
• Assistant Bank Manager
• Teacher (MS math)
• Aquarist II
(quarantine and medical
treatments)
• Case Aide
(food, shelter, medical
needs for families in need)
• PhD Candidate and
Adjunct Faculty (sciences)
• Aquarium Supervisor
& Researcher
• Teacher (MS math)
• Teacher (MS ELAR)
• Architect, Vice President
• Math Tutor (6th-9th grade)
• Teacher & Coach
(CommApps teacher,
MS girls coach)
• Literacy Coach (K-12)
• Writing Consultant (MS)
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
• Instructional Specialist
(3-5 ELAR and SS)
The Results
The skills most identified as being used “never”
or “yearly” included:
• Explain the differences in the setting, characters, and plot
of a play and those in a film based on the same story line
(76%)
• Analyze the influence of mythic, classical and traditional
literature on 20th and 21st century literature (82%)
• Explain how dramatic conventions (monologues,
soliloquies, dramatic irony) enhance a text/message
(76%)
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
Used “never” or “yearly” (cont.):
• Analyze non-linear plot development (flashbacks,
foreshadowing, sub-plots) and compare it to linear plot
development (70%)
• Analyze how authors develop complex yet believable
characters in texts/messages through a range of literary
devices (70%)
• Analyze famous speeches for rhetorical structures and
devices used to convince an audience of the speaker’s
propositions (82%)
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
The skills most identified as being used
“monthly” or “weekly” or “daily” included:
• Make complex inferences and use evidence to
support understanding (94%)
• Synthesize and make logical connections
between ideas and details in several
texts/messages (100%)
• Summarize a text/message (100%)
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
Used “monthly” or “weekly” or “daily” (cont.):
• Interpret factual, qualitative, or technical
information presented in maps, charts,
illustrations, graphs, timelines, tables, and/or
diagrams (94%)
• Distinguish the most important from less
important details that support an
author’s/speaker’s purpose (94%)
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
Participants were also given the opportunity to identify
any other Language Arts or Reading skills frequently
used in their career. The following skills were added:
• Restating problems/purpose
• Conversing and comparing with peers about
concepts
• Ensuring correct grammar and spelling via
email and in conversations with colleagues
and parents
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
Talk it Out
How do you define
student success in ELAR
in relation to students’
future career expectations?
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
3 Quick Questions
1. Did you read every novel assigned in its
entirety in school?
2. IF you did not read all the book/s, how did
you get through ELA?
3. Are you teaching about books or are
you using books to prepare your
students for the future?
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
Questioning
Matters
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
Instead of:
How about:
Which of the following
characters is the antagonist
in To Kill A Mockingbird?
a) Atticus Finch
b) Bob Ewell
c) Boo Radley
d) Tom Robinson
e) None of the Above
Identify and summarize
3 situations in which
Bob Ewell proves to be
the antagonist in To Kill
A Mockingbird.
• Summarize a text/message (100%)
• Distinguish the most important from less
important details that support an author’s/
speaker’s purpose (94%)
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
Instead of:
Who murders Montag?
(Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury)
How about:
Why didn’t Bradbury
choose to end the story
with the actual murder
of Montag?
Explain the implications
of Montag’s survival.
• Make complex inferences and use evidence to
support understanding (94%)
• Distinguish the most important from less
important details that support an author’s/
speaker’s purpose (94%)
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
Instead of:
How about:
Identify the following characters
In what ways would the
as a Soc or a Greaser:
story line differ if Ponyboy
(The Outsiders, S. E. Hinton)
had stabbed Bob? Explain
your reasoning using text
_____ Robert “Bob” Sheldon
_____ Johnny Cade
evidence.
_____ Dallas “Dally” Winston
_____ Darrel “Darry” Curtis
_____ Randy Adderson
Would there have been a
trial if it had been a Soc who
stabbed a Greaser? Explain
your answer using text
evidence.
•
Make complex inferences and use evidence to support understanding (94%)
•
Distinguish the most important from less important details
that support an author’s/speaker’s purpose (94%)
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
Do you have
students who
struggle to break the
surface of written texts?
Teach them to dig!
1. Read the excerpt from My First Free Summer by Julia Alvarez.
2. Create 10 “Why?” questions that can be asked of this short
excerpt. No answers are needed.
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
Building a Question Pyramid
Place higher level questions at the top.
Example: Why would the Dominican dictator want the people of his
country to march in parades and be in the newspaper? This question
requires critical thinking! Students will have to think about & fully
understand: dictatorship, propaganda, the purpose of the parades, what
being in the newspaper represents, etc.
Place mid-level questions in the middle.
Why were the kids who went to the Dominican schools
always on holiday? This question requires some critical thinking
because students would have to relate the meaning of “dictator” to the
reason why students were always getting out of school.
Example:
Place lower level questions at the base.
Why did Julia’s mother send her to the American school?
This question is directly answered in the second paragraph, so no
critical thinking is necessary.
Example:
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
• Synthesize and make logical connections between
ideas and details in several texts/messages (100%)
Together, explain why each question is lower level, mid-level, or higher level by discussing
using
My
First
Free
Summer
what
you would
have to
know/understand
in order to answer each question.
In a word or two,
describe each of the
following illustrations:
(Write the first thing that
comes to your mind.)
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
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THINK:
Based on these illustrations and
your notes about the illustrations,
what conclusions can you draw
about Fahrenheit 451?
WRITE:
Explain what most likely happens
in the first 10 pages of
Fahrenheit 451.
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
• Make complex inferences and use evidence to
support understanding (94%)
Using the First 10 Pages
Compare & Contrast
(in pairs, chunk the text and read aloud)
The Novel
My
Predictions
• Interpret factual, qualitative, or technical information
presented in maps, charts, illustrations, graphs,
timelines, tables, and/or diagrams (94%)
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
Using the First 10 Pages
Using Evidence to Support
Understanding
Question 1:
(We do-You do)
How would you describe Montag’s mood as
the story begins?
(Page 4)
Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the text.
Question 2:
How has Montag’s demeanor changed upon
meeting Clarisse?
(Page 6)
Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the text.
• Make complex inferences and use evidence to support
understanding (94%)
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
Skills most used by professionals & students:
• Make complex inferences and use evidence to support
understanding
• Synthesize and make logical connections between ideas and
details in several texts/messages
• Summarize a text/message
• Interpret factual, qualitative, or technical information
presented in maps, charts, illustrations, graphs, timelines,
tables, and/or diagrams
• Distinguish between the most important from less important
details that support an author’s/speaker’s purpose
• Conversing and comparing with peers about concepts
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
Use the text to
drive success!
(even if students didn’t read the book)
Lori A. Elliott, M. Ed.
[email protected]