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Description
An effective technique for fostering students’ active engagement with a literary text is the reader response activity of double-entry journaling. In this strategy, students divide a notebook page into two columns. They write a quotation from the text they are reading on one side and their response to that quotation on the other. As the students become comfortable with the method, the two columns will record a “conversation” between the text and the reader.
Lisa Espinosa uses double-entry journals to guide her students to consider the issue of “representation” in literature, film, and photography.
Double-Entry Journals in Lisa Espinosa’s Classroom
Espinosa’s seventh-graders respond to a chapter of The Circuit, by Francisco Jiménez, by writing in their double-entry journals. Espinosa instructs them to find quotations that interest them, then copy those quotations (with page citations) in the left column of the journal page. In the right column, the students note how they “connect” with the quotations. Espinosa defines a “connection” as a reason for choosing the quotation — for example, it may mark a significant moment in the text, or remind a student of a personal experience or another text. Espinosa also keeps a double-entry journal as she reads. “Modeling for students is very important,” she says. “It helps kids understand the assignment and feel safe in sharing their ideas and thoughts.”
After all the students have completed their double-entry notes, Espinosa asks them to share their entries. One student points to a passage in which the protagonist stands up to someone. Another reflects that the quotations he chose — about the feelings a migrant student has about leaving school and moving yet again — remind him of when he had to move. Another is reminded of her uncle, who has had to leave his three children in Mexico to come and work in the United States. Espinosa shares her double-entry notes last, mentioning a part where the reader can glimpse whom the protagonist will become when he matures.
Later in the unit, Espinosa uses another version of double-entry journaling. In response to Joseph Bruchac’s The Heart of a Chief, the students take index cards and write an excerpt from the book on one side, then note how they connect to it on the other side. The students then share their notes in a small-group activity called “say the last word.” In this activity, a student shares a quotation and members of the group respond. The student who originally chose the quotation “has the last word”: he or she shares the reason it was chosen.
Tips and Variations for Double-Entry Journals
Benefits of Double-Entry Journals
Double-entry journals are tools that help students read “texts and events” and then reflect on and make meaning of them.
Description
“Two rounds” is a visual literacy strategy that Lisa Espinosa uses to help her students critique and compare images. The students first look at one set of images and list verbs and adjectives those images evoke; they then look at a contrasting set of images and make a similar list. When they share their lists, they interpret the “messages” both sets of images send and explore how the messages were constructed. In Lisa Espinosa’s class, the strategy helps the students recognize the pervasiveness of stereotypes and the danger of allowing “one dominant myth” to tell a group’s story.
Two Rounds in Lisa Espinosa’s Class
Espinosa gives her students two sets of images to analyze. The first includes images of Native Americans set exclusively in the past and taken by photographers outside of the Native American community. The second is comprised of contemporary photographs taken by Native Americans of their own communities and families. Espinosa guides her students to observe the differences between the two sets and speculate on the reasons for these differences.
Espinosa begins with questions designed to uncover stereotypes and their sources. “When you think of Native Americans, what images come to mind?” Espinosa’s students suggest “hunting,” “tepees,” and “buffalo.” When Espinosa asks where they got these ideas, they cite television, movies, magazines, and history books.
Espinosa then gives each table of students a set of “first round” images — historical images that have, over time, become stereotypes. Each student looks at one picture, lists adjectives for the image, then lists verbs for its characters. In the “second round,” Espinosa gives out contemporary photographs taken by Native Americans of their communities. The students again list adjectives and verbs.
When the class shares lists, the contrast is striking: for the Round 1 photos, they list adjectives such as “serious” and “violent.” The verbs include “fighting” and “horseback riding.” The photographs from Round 2 elicit adjectives like “happy,” “fun,” “confident,” and “calm,” and verbs like “jumping,” “laughing,” “working,” “playing,” “dancing,” and “smiling.” Espinosa asks, “What did you notice? What were some differences between Round 1 and Round 2?” Her students immediately respond that Round 1 features “stereotypes of Native Americans — Native Americans from the past.” Espinosa asks, “What is the danger of just seeing images of Native Americans in the past?” A student responds, “Because if we just look at just the Indians in the past, then we’re going to think that all the Indians today are the same or that there are no Indians today.” The class then discusses self-representation, and how they want to “represent” their own neighborhood and family.
Teacher educator Patricia Enciso notes that some might question Espinosa’s deliberate use of stereotypes. “It might seem to reinforce them, but the reality is that children are encountering these kinds of stereotypes all the time. By not naming them, you’re actually validating those stereotypes. Then, in Round 2, when the children see the counterimages to the stereotypes that they saw in Round 1, they can see how what might have once been perceived as benign images become, in their cumulative effect, very negative. In Round 2 they’re seeing very familial, positive images of contemporary, active people. And without the two rounds, the children really wouldn’t be able to see so clearly that it’s important to be in a position where you can represent yourself.”
Tips and Variations for Two Rounds
Benefits of Two Rounds
The strategy supports students’ critical thinking and helps them become active consumers of media.
Description
Teachers like Lisa Espinosa draw on their students’ engagement with images — in photography, books, and film — to build media literacy skills. Espinosa shows her students how to deconstruct images, then gives them cameras with which to create portraits of their communities. Guided by the same set of essential questions they have worked with throughout the unit (“What is representation?”, “How do stereotypes of groups influence how they are represented?”, and “Why is self-representation important?”), the students synthesize what they have learned and create visual messages.
The Photography Project in Lisa Espinosa’s Classroom
Espinosa weaves her photography project throughout her unit, guiding her students to be both critical viewers and thoughtful artists. She begins by showing the students photography by and about three groups: African Americans, Native Americans, and Latino/as. The students choose two photographs each and, guided by a handout – analyze their elements: composition, framing, lighting, angles, and color. They begin to answer Espinosa’s key question: “What is the message of this text?” Espinosa reminds her students that photographs can be analyzed. As the unit progresses, she gives the students great deal of practice in looking critically at the details of a text and then articulating its overall message.
Espinosa gives each student a practice disposable camera with black-and-white film. The students learn how the camera works, how black-and-white images are different from color, and how to compose shots that use framing, angles, and lighting in interesting and effective ways (see handout). They then critique the practice images. As Espinosa comments, “This practice is important, because when they take their pictures, I want them to be thoughtful and reflective about what they’re going to take and how they’re going to do that.”
Before the students take photos of their community, Pilsen in Chicago, Espinosa tells them to photograph the ordinary things in their days, family, and community. The students brainstorm ideas for these images by creating sensory webs of their neighborhood: typical sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and textures. They also brainstorm possible themes, such as family, sports, or “things that need improvement.” Espinosa asks her class, “What do you want to say about your community? What story do you want to tell?” She reminds them that they are “authors” of their own story and that these photographs will be publicly displayed.
In order to broaden the range of subjects in the photographs, Espinosa asks each student to choose one of several themes they’ve identified, then pairs students according to theme. Each pair sets out with one camera, 27 shots, with which to portray their theme. When the students have finished taking their photos, they spread them on their desks to consider which one they will write about and display.
After the students select a photo, they draft and revise essays about themselves, their photograph, how it represents their community, and the message they hope it sends. Espinosa then enlarges each photograph and mounts it, along with a snapshot of the student and a paragraph they have selected from their essay to hang alongside it.
At a culminating photo exhibit in a local coffee shop, parents, teachers, and community members view the pictures, read the accompanying paragraphs, and speak to the students about their projects. “When they see the pictures on display, it’s so validating,” Espinosa comments. “It makes them see, ‘I have something to say and something to add to this conversation.’ My students are making a statement about who they are.” (See Student Work.)
Tips and Variations for the Photography Project
Benefits of the Photography Project
By crafting their own photographs and essays, the students learn not to passively accept media representations. They are empowered to become “authors” of their own messages.
Books
Ayers, William, Jean Ann Hunt, and Therese Quinn, eds. Teaching for Social Justice: A Democracy and Education Reader. New York: New Press, 1998.
This wide-ranging collection of articles and essays discusses topics such as adult literacy, education through social action, and community building.
Bigelow, Bill, et al., eds. Rethinking Our Classrooms: Teaching for Equity and Justice, Volume Two. Milwaukee: Rethinking Schools Publications, 2001.
This volume includes articles from the classroom, curriculum ideas, lesson plans, poetry, and resources related to teaching social justice in the classroom. For further resources, visit www.rethinkingschools.org.
Busching, Beverly, and Slesinger, Betty Ann. It’s Our World Too: Socially Responsive Learners in Middle School Language Arts. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 2002.
This resource for teachers discusses the use of significant social issues to enhance the teaching of literacy and communication skills through inquiry and collaborative learning.
Cho, Eunice Hyunhye, Francisco Arguelles Paz y Puente, Miriam Ching Yoon Louie, and Sasha Khokha. Building a Race and Immigration Dialogue in the Global Economy (BRIDGE): A Popular Education Resource for Immigrant and Refugee Community Organizers. Oakland: National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, 2004.
This collection of exercises and tools for teaching about immigration, race, and migrant workers’ rights includes a variety of activities, discussion questions, and fact sheets.
Livdahl, Barbara Smith, et al. Stories From Response-Centered Classrooms: Speaking, Questioning, and Theorizing From the Center of the Action. New York: Teachers College Press, 1995.
This book presents reflections on teaching with reader-response strategies.
Olson, Laurie, and Ann Jaramillo. Turning the Tides of Exclusion: A Guide for Educators and Advocates for Immigrant Students. Oakland: California Tomorrow, 1999.
This guide, based on California Tomorrow’s 15 years of research and work, seeks to provide schools with strategies and tools to better serve language minority and immigrant students, as well as other young people who may be marginalized in schools.
Susag, Dorothea M. Roots and Branches: A Resource of Native American Literature. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 1998.
Written for those teaching Native American literature and history, this book includes lessons, activities, and an extensive bibliography.
Tovani, Cris, and Keene, Ellin Oliver. I Read It, But I Don’t Get It: Comprehension Strategies for Young Readers. Portland, ME: Stenhouse, 2000.
This resource provides practical strategies for teachers to help students improve their reading comprehension in the classroom.
Periodicals
Harper, Douglas. “Visual Sociology: Expanding Sociological Vision.” The American Sociologist (Spring 1988):54-70. This article discusses the contributions and uses of photography in sociological research.
Moll, L. C., C. Armanti, D. Neff, and N. Gonzalez. “Funds of Knowledge for Teaching: Using a Qualitative Approach to Connect Homes and Classrooms.” Theory Into Practice (Spring 1992):132-41. Dr. Luis Moll and colleagues at the University of Arizona developed the concept of “Funds of Knowledge” — a method of culturally responsive teaching that engages students by drawing upon their home and community resources.