Anthropomorphism Day 5: Studio Day

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Purpose:
This 90 minute lesson is the fifth and final day of the Intro to Anthropomorphism Unit. It’s an opportunity to polish off students stories and record their Q&A.

Objective:

Students will be able to demonstrate how anthropomorphism helps us connect to bigger issues by recording a podcast featuring a reading of their story and an author’s Q&A.

Materials:

Required materials are normal text, recommended but not required materials are italicized

Essential Question(s):

How do stories connect the traits of animals and humans to get at deeper ideas?

What makes a fable?

Inquiry Exercise:

(5 Minutes)
Opening journal entry: What has been the most difficult part of this project? Why?

Introduction to New Material:

(3 Minutes)
Today we’re going to be recording. If you need time to work on your story, you can take a large part of the time today to finish up. Before you leave you’ll need to record at least the Q&A with your assigned partner, even if you haven’t finished your story.

Guided Practice:

(15 Minutes)
To show you how this works, I’m going to read my story as I walk you through the recording process and then I’ll take 5 questions from you guys which I’ll answer in my Q&A.

Pull the microphone in close and read your story while recording. Make sure to demonstrate proper mic placement and angle, as well as using a music stand to keep paper rustling from happening. When you’re done reading, have 5 students come up, say their question into the microphone and then answer.

Independent Practice:

(60 Minutes)
Alright, get to it. Write your stories if you need to work on that. Record if you’re ready. Make sure you get your interview done. I’ll be shutting down the booths with about 10 minutes left in class.

Assessment/Closing:

(7 Minutes)
Ladies and gentlemen, you have done a lot of good work this week. Next week, we’ll be taking what we’ve learned this week about allegory and anthropomorphism to the next level as we start diving into our next book. Before you go, I would like you to take a few minutes and write a journal entry detailing how you felt about this week, the project, and what you’ve learned. Please be specific about what you liked or didn’t like.

Return to Intro to Anthropomorphism Unit

Anthropomorphism Day 4: The Devil’s in the Details

modern_mythology___demeter_by_kuroshi-d485xzcModern Mythology: Demeter by Kuroshi

Purpose:
This 90 minute lesson is the fourth day of the Intro to Anthropomorphism Unit. It’s a work day for students to put some time into their stories, do some more research, brainstorm questions, and get support from each other and you.

Objective:

Students will be able to critique their progress on their story idea based on what we’ve discussed about anthropomorphism, allegory and the issue they’ve chosen.

Materials:

Required materials are normal text, recommended but not required materials are italicized

Essential Question(s):

How does anthropomorphism allows use to connect to the world at large?

Inquiry Exercise:

(10 Minutes)
Opening journal entry: What’s your topic? Why is it important to you? How do you hope to address it.

Introduction to New Material:

(5 Minutes)
For those 
of you who feel like you’ve gotten a solid start on your story, great! For those of you feel like you’ve got a bunch to do, today is your chance. You may work alone, with partners, have friends read your story and chat about it, or seek help from me. Either way, by the end of this period, you should be at least half-way through writing your story. If you need assistance, I’ll be coming around to help each of you out.

Independent Practice:

(60 Minutes)
We’ve worked as a class and in groups on these two stories, and you got to watch a cartoon. Pretty good day. We’re going to shift gears just a bit and read my favorite chapter of John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. I want you to read it and annotate it on your own, just like we did as a class and in groups. If you really need to work with a partner, you can work with your tablemate.

When you are done, pull out your journal and rewrite, in your own words, definitions of fable, allegory, anthropomorphism, and moral. I’d also like a sentence or two about how they connect to each other.

Assessment/Closing:

(15 Minutes)
This is my grading rubric. Hand out rubric sheet. I would like you to take the remaining time to think about where you are with your story and what you still need to do. Grade yourself from 1-5 in each of the columns. If we chatted this period, you should have a good idea where I think you were when we did. What you mark down isn’t your grade, but it will give us a good idea of what you still need to do tonight and tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, we’ll have several recording studios set up tomorrow for you to record your story and a Q&A with a classmate. Your classmate will be randomly assigned to ask you questions, so be prepared with good ones. Everyone will need to play interviewer and be interviewed.

Continue to Anthropomorphism Day 5: Studio Day
Return to Intro to Anthropomorphism Unit

 

Anthropomorphism Day 3: The Big Bad Wolf & Villainy

im-not-afraid-of-the-big-bad-wolfI ain’t scared of the Big Bad Wolf by roannebanane

Purpose:
This 90 minute lesson is the third day of the Intro to Anthropomorphism Unit. It uses the Three Little Pigs and Walt Disney’s anti-Nazi propaganda cartoon The Thrifty Pig to introduce ideas of how stories can be changed to change the meaning and reference.

Objective:

Students will be able to demonstrate how anthropomorphism allows stories to reflect different themes by rewriting the Big Bad Wolf and/or the pigs in the Three Little Pigs as different animals.

Materials:

Required materials are normal text, recommended but not required materials are italicized

Essential Question(s):

How does anthropomorphism allow stories to get at bigger themes?

Inquiry Exercise:

(10 Minutes)
Journal Entry: Rewrite the story of the Three Little Pigs in your own words.

Introduction to New Material:

(15 Minutes)
I just asked you to rewrite the Three Little Pigs. If you’d never heard of it, then you might already have a copy of the story in front of you. We’re going to take a moment to read through the original.

Hand out and read “Three Little Pigs.” Discuss racial stereotypes in this version, how it might be reflective of English culture of the period. Evoke Uncle Remus from Monday, Anansi and Coyote from Tuesday.

How is this different from what you wrote down?

We’re going to take a look at another conversion really quickly.

Play “The Thrifty Pig.” Discuss conversion of the wolf to a Nazi. Ask how it reflected current events of the time. Point out that making something relevant doesn’t always require complete novelty or creativity.

Guided Practice:

(25 Minutes)
Today we’re going to rewrite the Three Little Pigs and change its meaning by adjusting the characters.

First, what does the Wolf represent in the original story? How about in The Thrifty Pig? What do the pigs represent? Why? How do you know?

We need to change the Wolf into a different animal. What animal should we use? What does that represent? How does it change the meaning of the story? What details do we need to have to make this animal work properly?

Let’s do the same with the pigs.

What else could we change about the story to change its meaning? Why does that work?

Independent Practice:

(20 Minutes)
Ok, now you’re going to rewrite the story on your own one more time, adjusting whatever you want. Consider the different meanings we just created when going through this together. What meaning do you want to convey? Why? How can you do it? Ready? Go!

Assessment/Closing:

(20 Minutes)
You guys have done an awesome job with the Three Little Pigs. Tomorrow will be a work day to really key in on our story. There’s a lot of controversial events going on in the world right now. I want you to choose something you’re passionate about or feel strongly about and we’re going to be writing our own fable, myth or allegorical tale using anthropomorphism to address the topic of your choice. Use the rest of this period to research any topics you want.

If writing a wholly original story is too much, think about which fable, myth or fairy tale you might want to adapt. As you do so, remember the questions we asked our guest yesterday, as you’ll need to be able to answer similar questions.

Continue to Anthropomorphism Day 4: The Devil’s in the Details
Return to Intro to Anthropomorphism Unit

Anthropomorphism Day 2: Myth, Morality and Origin

Anansi by Gerald McDermottAnansi by Gerard McDermott

Purpose:
This 90 minute lesson is the second day of the Intro to Anthropomorphism Unit. It covers the Coyote Myths, Anasi Myths, and the ways in which myth use anthropomorphism to reach deeper truths about human nature.

Objective:

Students will be able to compare/contrast anthropomorphism between fable, myth and literature.

Materials:

Required materials are normal text, recommended but not required materials are italicized

Essential Question(s):

How does anthropomorphism allow stories to get at bigger themes?

Inquiry Exercise:

(10 Minutes)
Yesterday, we looked at fables and defined anthropomorphism and allegory. Today, we’ll be hearing two stories from different cultures and taking a closer look at cultural myths and how humans are represented by animals.

Today’s journal entry is a creative piece: You’re walking along and your eyes meet those of an animal. Staring at it, you feel this deep connection in a tense moment. Suddenly, it breaks and disappears, leaving you with this incredible sense of connection. What sort of animal was it? How did the connection feel? About what and why did you feel such a deep connection?

Introduction to New Material:

(15 Minutes)
Every culture has incredible tales involving supernatural creatures and gods in human or animal form. Today, we’ve invited a professional storyteller, one who’s well versed in the African tales of Anansi, the spider and the Native American tales of Coyote of the Navajo. I could easily read these stories to you, but in order to treat the story and culture respectfully, I felt it was important to have an expert who can answer your questions.

Have the storyteller tell one Coyote tale and one Anansi tale. After each story, have a brief Q&A session with the storyteller as described in Guided Practice.

Guided Practice:

(15 Minutes)
For the remainder of today, we’ll be looking at these myths and trying to decipher why and how they work. Where does their meaning come from? To do so, we’re going to try to become experts just like our storyteller guest. Let’s turn to our expert and see what he has to say about the myth we just heard. Encourage students to ask some of the following questions:

  • Why was the story told like that?
  • Where does Anansi/Coyote come from?
  • Was the story inspired by true events?
  • What does the story tell us about the culture it comes from?
  • What do you think this myth is trying to tell us?
  • How does the story use anthropomorphism?

Today, we’re going to breaking into groups again and doing a jigsaw. For those of you who don’t remember or haven’t done a jigsaw before, each group will have a different Coyote or Anansi myth to read, think about and report on back to the group. In addition to a summary, I want you to think about what we discussed: fables, myth, allegory, anthropomorphism.

As we move forward and look at myths, consider our Q&As we just had and some of the answers you heard. You’ll want to be able to answer the same or similar questions about your myth.

Independent Practice:

(45 Minutes)
Groups will take 30-35 minutes reading their myth, discussing it, and getting ready to present. If the *STORYTELLER* wants to float around and assist, great. Key questions: What current event might you be able to relate this to? What about in the community or your life? Does it reflect something you feel in yourself?

As groups present, follow up with the question about how these myths are the same or different from the stories we looked at yesterday and the chapter of the Grapes of Wrath.

Assessment/Closing:

(10 Minutes)
Thank you for staying so focused. I hope you enjoyed our guest today. Seriously.

You should have heard me mention it yesterday, but we’ve finally gotten to our big project for the week: each of you will be writing a short story that draws a parallel to something important. We’ve looked at a bunch of myths and stories, discussed their historical and cultural implications, seen how allegory and anthropomorphism allows us to talk about things without directly accusing people. Tomorrow, we’ll have a chance to start working on our stories if you haven’t already. If you’d like to work with a friend, you can, but I expect a more in depth story and interview if you do.

On Friday, whether or not the story is done, we’ll be recording interviews. You’ll have the chance to interview a classmate about their story, record it, and have them explain how their story uses allegory and anthropomorphism to address their issue or event. Over the weekend, you will finish your story and record a reading of it, possibly with your classmates voicing different characters. Remember the recording will need to be a minimum of 2 minutes long per person.

Take this last section of time to hop on a chromebook and do a little research on an event you’d like to see reflected. Consider the different views and our discussion of respect from Monday in relation to the Uncle Remus story. When you have a topic or two you’re interested in, you can use this time to start writing or chat with me about how you’re going to do it. Tomorrow, I’ll show you my story and you may ask me about it so you have a better example, and we’ll have tomorrow to work on our stories, our questions, and prepare for friday’s recording session.

Continue to Anthropomorphism Day 3: Big Bad Wolf & Villainy
Return to Intro to Anthropomorphism Unit

Anthropomorphism Day 1: Fables and Folktales

Anthropomorphism has been popular since Aesop's time as a way to make human traits universal and easier to digest. Stories like the Uncle Remus stories have further this with racial and ethnic identities.

Purpose:
This 90 minute lesson is the first day of the Intro to Anthropomorphism Unit. It covers the Toirtoise and the Hare, Br’er Rabbit, Chapter 3 of The Grapes of Wrath, and the definition of anthropomorphism.

Objective:

Students will be able to define and identify allegory, fable, moral and anthropomorphism by reading and annotating “The Tortoise & the Hare,” “Mr. Rabbit Meets His Match,” and Grapes of Wrath Chapter 3, co-creating a definition after each.

Materials:

Required materials are normal text, recommended but not required materials are italicized

Essential Question(s):

How do stories connect the traits of animals and humans to get at deeper ideas?

What makes a fable?

Inquiry Exercise:

(15 Minutes)
Opening journal entry: What is a fable? How is this different from a myth, a folktale, or just a story?

Small group discussion of their answers. Key in on moral, key in on animals, key in on universality. Hopefully tie to human nature.

  • What is the purpose of a fable?
  • Why do fables use animals to tell their story?
  • Do you connect to fables?

Introduction to New Material:

(5 Minutes)
Today we’re going to be looking at 4 texts. We’ll be starting with one of Aesop’s fables, “The Tortoise and the Hare.” We’ve already begun discussing what a fable is and what it does. We’re going to be looking at how fables create the meaning they do and how we connect to them. In other words, what makes a fable effective.

We’ll be introducing two key terms today that will relate to the short pieces we read: anthropomorphism and allegory. I know that first one seems daunting, so let me break it down for you really quickly: the prefix, anthro, relates to humans or people; the root, morph, you probably recognize as a way of saying to change. The second one is a literary term you may have run across. You’ll have the opportunity at the end of class to look up actual definitions, but for now, we’ll be building our own definitions in the same way we constructed our class norms at the beginning of the year.

Kindly collect this unit’s annotation guide and a copy of “The Tortoise and the Hare.” You’ll notice the annotation guide has two new symbols on it: a smiley face and two side by side triangles. The smiley face will be used when you find something you think relates to human nature, while the two triangles (I like to think of them as fangs) will be used when you find something related to animal nature.

Guided Practice:

(15-20 Minutes)
Students will read, briefly the tortoise and the hare, annotating as we go. Annotations will be matched on the dot projector with a brief discussion of what annotations were made by the teacher and what annotations were made by students and why. The story will then be read a second time (since it’s so short) to see if we missed anything or see anything new.

(10-15 Minutes)
Alright, now that we have the story annotated, we’re going to split into small groups to come up with our definitions.
Groups will be divided by a poll of prior knowledge of the term, trying to make sure every group has someone who thinks they know what anthropomorphism and allegory mean. Groups will be provided large sheets with which to list ideas and create a word web, with a space for a rough definition at the bottom. This practice should be established withe the class prior to this, otherwise, it will take an entire class to introduce them to co-definition. If it’s been established beforehand, it shouldn’t be hard to let them work in groups before coming back together and sharing their definitions to come up with a class definition.

(15 Minutes)
I’m going to leave this definition up on the projector/board. Turn the page to “Mr. Rabbit Meets His Match.” In your group, I want you to work together to read this story and and figure out what happens, how it’s different or the same from the previous one. We’ll come back together to discuss what we find and how it relates to our two terms after. Do the same annotation we did before.

After students have completed annotating and reading, which may take time due to the language, we’ll talk about how they felt about the piece, some historical racial connotations will be provided, and, once a group points out the tortoise cheated, we’ll show the classic Bugs Bunny cartoon “Tortoise Beats Hare” (10 minutes) to make sure everyone gets it.

Is this a fable? Are these allegories? What human traits to the animals show? Are they positive or negative or both? How do you know? Does this change our definition of anthropomorphism?

Independent Practice:

(20 Minutes)
We’ve worked as a class and in groups on these two stories, and you got to watch a cartoon. Pretty good day. We’re going to shift gears just a bit and read my favorite chapter of John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. I want you to read it and annotate it on your own, just like we did as a class and in groups. If you really need to work with a partner, you can work with your tablemate.

When you are done, pull out your journal and rewrite, in your own words, definitions of fable, allegory, anthropomorphism, and moral. I’d also like a sentence or two about how they connect to each other.

Assessment/Closing:

(5 Minutes)

We’ll be spending this week, and some of the upcoming weeks, examining allegory, anthropomorphism, fable and myth, building on what we did today. If you didn’t finish annotating Chapter 3 of the Grapes of Wrath, please do for homework. I will post photos of our class definitions to the Terms page on our website if you need them. Check in with your tablemates before you leave, as you’re responsible for helping your community members and you know our expectations of support. Support is a pre-established class norm that makes tablemates responsible for assisting assigned partners, informing them of missed information, and working together to make up for deficiencies.

This week, we’ll be writing a story using anthropomorphism and allegory to address something important to you. On Friday, whether or not the story is done, we’ll be recording interviews. You’ll have the chance to interview a classmate about their story, record it, and have them explain how their story uses allegory and anthropomorphism to address their issue or event. If you haven’t finished it by then, you will finish your story over the weekend and record a reading of it, possibly with your classmates voicing different characters. The recording will need to be a minimum of 2 minutes long per person and we’ll attach the Q&A to the end.

Tomorrow, we’ll have a special guest coming in to help us for the day. Think about what we talked about today and be ready to ask our guest questions in relation to those topics.

Continue to Anthropomorphism Day 2: Myth, Morality and Origin
Return to Intro to Anthropomorphism Unit

Intro to Anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphism is often used to address difficult ideasHummer Print by OrangeWillow

Purpose:
This 1 Week Unit is intended to introduce students to the idea of anthropomorphism, how it can be used to address difficult topics, and to put them into action right off the bat by attempting to address a difficult issue of their choice in a short story. This unit is intended as an introductory week leading into Watership Down by Richard Adams, The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Welles, Animal Farm by George Orwell, Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne/The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff, The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, or Maus by Art Spiegelman. 
(Estimated Running Time: 5 90-minute classes)

Objective:

Students will be able to produce a podcast of a short story featuring anthropomorphism that deals with a current event and a question and answer session explaining its meaning, relevance, and inspiration.

Materials:

Required materials are normal text, recommended but not required materials are italicized

Essential Question(s):

How do stories connect the traits of animals and humans to get at deeper ideas?

  • Anthropomorphism allows humans to discuss difficult topics by creating psychic distance from difficult topics and emphasizing human/animal traits.
  • Anthropomorphism creates a dialog about empathy, humanity, dehumanization, and morality.
  • Anthropomorphism can be used to have conversations that can challenge the powers that be in a safer way than direct confrontation.
  • Anthropomorphism allows us to feel empathy for social groups we might not otherwise be willing to consider.

Lessons:

Day 1: Fables & Folktales
Day 2: Myth, Morality, and Origin
Day 3: The Big Bad Wolf and Villainy
Day 4: The Devil’s in the Details
Day 5: Studio Day

What’s Next:

  • Watership Down by Richard Adams
  • The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
  • The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
  • Maus by Art Spiegelman
  • Animal Farm by George Orwell
  • Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne/The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

Sentence Starters, Video Games, and Perspective

Elegy for a Dead World is a game in which players finish sentence starters to explore and write their own science fiction story. It can help students learn how to write and what sort of descriptions can forward a story in different ways.

Purpose:
This 25 minute lesson uses the game Elegy for a Dead World to help teach students how to write a story and what sort of perspective they can bring that will change a story.
(Estimated Running Time: 23-25 Minutes)

Objective:

Students will be able to write a short science fiction story using sentence starters and the game Elegy for a Dead World.

Materials:

Required materials are normal text, recommended but not required materials are italicized

Essential Question(s):

How do things change when we view or interact with them?

  • No matter how thoroughly we present information, people can take it different ways.
  • Writing is a selection process where we decide what details are most important.
  • If the goal of writing is to communicate, we need to be able to choose exactly what and how we wish to communicate our ideas.
  • The reader/viewer plays a part in what information is communicated.
  • We often cannot choose who views something or how.
  • When we are the reader, it’s important to recognize what the author/creator might have wanted and what perspective we bring to the reading that may change things.

Inquiry Exercise:

(5 Minutes)
Imagine you’re an alien from another world and you’ve come to earth for the very first time. You find yourself in your real bedroom and as you’re looking around you find an unfamiliar object. What do you find and what do you think it is? What is it really? Take three minutes to write about your object.

Introduction to New Material:

(1 Minute)
Today we’re going to be working on sentence starters and playing a game. Before we can play, though, I’m going to walk you through what sort of sentence starters to expect and we’ll try a few before you jump into the game.

Guided Practice:

(5 Minutes)
How would you finish this sentence? Display a sentence starter from Elegy for a Dead World.

Take a moment to finish it and then we’ll read a few and talk about what we like, what we don’t and why. Students should brainstorm their own end. Those that feel comfortable can share and we’ll discuss them with the following questions to give them an idea of how to finish a sentence:

  • Which ones did you really like? Why?
  • What do the good sentences have in common?
  • What do you think this person brought to this sentence?
  • What sentence surprised you most? Why?
  • What do you think could make this sentence stronger?
  • What more would you like to know about this sentence?

Individual Practice:

(10 Minutes)
Fire up Elegy for a Dead World and go to town. At the end, there’s an option to print your story. Normally, it would take at least a half-hour to play through this game and get a story, so, since this is a mini-lesson, we’ll take turns filling in the sentences. How we finish the sentences changes where the game goes, so when you have the chance to play on your own, consider what’s different each play through.

If you choose to extend this to a full lesson, have students play individually, discussing the differences in where the game goes. Additionally, collecting their stories at the end can give you a good idea of how they’re writing. Playing through again a few weeks down the line can give you a comparison for growth.

Assessment/Closing:

(2 Minutes)
Hopefully you’ve seen how our perspective can change the way we read and write things. Thinking about how visitors to our writing read things when we’re not clear, we can take this further and realize exactly how technology, imagery and iconography can change the meaning of our reading and writing.

Syntax and Semantics Through Serenity and Genre

The film Serenity is a amalgam of genres and provides the perfect opportunity to discuss the syntax and semantics of genre conventions.

Purpose:
This 25 minute lesson teaches the syntax and semantics through an examination of genre and the way it works for the film Serenity.
(Estimated Running Time: 28 Minutes)

Objective:

Students will be able to define syntax and semantics by identifying the syntax and semantics of a genre of their choice in a short journal entry.

Materials:

Required materials are normal text, recommended but not required materials are italicized

Essential Question(s):

How do syntax and semantic change the way we read something?

  • Semantics is how the words/meanings/visuals function within a genre.
  • Semantics is needed to create meaning.
  • Syntax is the grammar and structure that separates each genre.
  • Syntax is needed is needed to separate and make understanding easier.
  • In combination, the two work together to create or break expectation and narrative.
  • Both exist outside of language.
  • Both can be applied to difficult issues to see how misconceptions are created and perpetuated.

Inquiry Exercise:

(2 Minutes)
What elements do you expect to see in a western? How about a science fiction story? Write their answers in list form on a whiteboard or large post-its. We’ll need this list later.

Introduction to New Material:

(3 Minutes)
Genres function a lot like language. We’re going to watch a quick video and then we’re going to look more closely at the ideas of syntax and semantics:

Watch the video from 1:02 to 2:04. Pause to identify syntax and semantics of genre.

The video just defined them for us. Let’s write that down.

Semantics: “The visual markers of established film types. These are the icons and images we associate with each distinct genre.”
Syntax: “The grammar and the structure that makes each one distinct. These are the thematic and narrative conventions we associate with the genre in question.”

Alright. We have our list of things we expect in each genre. We’ve just defined syntax and semantics. Now we’re going to see if we can connect the definition to our list.

Guided Practice:

(10 Minutes)
Go down the list and label each item syntax or semantics. Converse about why is fits each one. Ask if other genres use that item or convention.

Once the list is complete, ask them for specific examples that weren’t listed to expand the list.

Continue the video to 10:06 so they can see the long list of conventions covered and the ways in which Serenity uses or break away from them.

Individual Practice:

(10 Minutes)
So you can see that the semantics of a genre is the iconography and what, in any given moment, would let you recognize the genre. The syntax, meanwhile, are the elements of the plot, the tropes, and the pieces of narrative that set that genre apart.

For the next five minutes I’d like you to choose another genre: horror, romance, vampire stories, coming of age stories, adventures, whatever you like. You can work with a partner or alone. Brainstorm the syntax and semantics of the genre and create a few sentences that identifies each in your journal. If you’re working with a partner, you both need to have it written in your journal and you need to list your partner.

Assessment/Closing:

(3 Minutes)
We had a chance to look at the syntax and semantics of genre today. These ideas, the way something can be broken down into it’s parts, allows us to see the actual meaning beneath the words and structure. It also allows us to play with the meaning, words and structure.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at semantics and syntax related to language and the specifically the language of racism in regards to the arguments about Syrian refugees and the way they mirror the same arguments against Jews in the 1940s and other minorities and refugees in years past.

Toulmin Model of Assessment

The Toulmin model allows for judges to realize how assessment is rationalized and given gravity. It allows educators to openly discuss their understanding and codify their decision making process in a way that includes and addresses students.Image taken from “Alligators of the Mind” by Mr. Eure.

Purpose:
This 20 minute lesson has teachers define the Toulmin model of evaluation and apply it to a theoretical final product. It’s based on “Reading the Data: Making Supportable Claims From Classroom Assessment” by Stephen Adkison and Stephen Tchudi. (PDF)
(Estimated Running Time: 18-24 Minutes)

Objective:

Teachers will be able to list benefits of Evaluation as Pedagogy by developing definitions for the steps of the Toulmin Model and applying them to evaluating a theoretical final product around a current event.

Materials:

Required materials are normal text, recommended but not required materials are italicized

  • Pens and paper!

Essential Question(s):

Why and how are properly trained teachers more effective than standardized tests at evaluating students?

  • Teachers are more effective than standardized tests at evaluating students.
  • Standardized tests are limited in their scope.
  • Teachers have the ability to adjust to the needs of the student.
  • Teachers can recognize their privilege and positionality while tests do not.
  • Standardized tests only hold value when viewed through the lens of a skilled evaluator.
  • Evaluating students is essential to education.
  • Teachers are already trained through experience to evaluate more than scores.
  • A student’s performance goes beyond their scores.
  • Teachers who aren’t properly trained may not be better than standardized tests.
  • Even an experienced teacher may need to be trained to evaluate more effectively.

Inquiry Exercise:

(2-3 Minutes)
What was your SAT, ACT, or GRE score? What does that mean? How do you know when you’re successful in school?

Introduction to New Material:

(2 Minutes)
My reading this week presented the stories of three students and then analyzed how their teacher assessed each scenario and student. It presented a model of evaluation known as the Toulmin Model which aids in creating, maintaining, and evaluating an assessment rubric.

The Toulmin model attempts to adjust for different forms of data, from standardized tests to behavioral and environmental data. It takes this data and applies five steps: Warrants, Backings, Claims/Conclusions, Qualifiers and Rebuttals. Today, we’re going to build definitions for each of these five statements and see if we come to the same conclusions that the Toulmin Model is based on.

Guided Practice:

(10-12 Minutes)
Take out a sheet of paper and a pen. Mark down Warrants, Backings, Claims/Conclusions, Qualifiers and Rebuttals, leaving enough space for notes in between each.

Let’s begin with Warrants. What does warrant mean? Lead students toward defining it as a “grant of permission” or “reason for action.” Why would we need warrants in assessment? Lead students toward the idea that a teacher is a “trusted expert,” and that warrants show us that we’re qualified.

Ok, so now that we’ve acknowledged that we are warranted to evaluate, let’s define Backings. What does it mean to back someone or something? Lead students toward the idea of support. Why would we need backing for our warrants? There’s good chance this will already have been discussed when delving into warrants, making this a simple matter of connecting back.

Now we need to define Claims and Conclusions. This is the heart of the evaluation process. What is a claim? Lead students toward hypothesis or theory. What is a conclusion? How are claims and conclusions related? I don’t think there’s any doubt that evaluation is a series of claims and conclusions, but there will likely be a longer, meandering conversation about whether data is able to draw a conclusion or make a claim.

The Toulmin Model might seem a little backwards to you at this point. We started by defining warrants and why we’re qualified, proving it, and then making claims and conclusions. Now, we need to define qualifiers. What is a qualifier? Lead them in the direction of evidence. Draw a comparison between the relationship if Warrants and Backings and the relationship of Conclusions and Qualifiers. Are qualifiers alone enough? What sort of places could we find qualifiers? Make sure to lead students to thinking about cultural contexts, race, and the power of the system here.

Finally, and this is my favorite, we need to define Rebuttals. What is a rebuttal? Lead students toward the idea of counter-arguments. Did you ever argue with a teacher over a grade? What was the outcome? Lead students to recognize their position of power as the teacher and that to do justice to their students, they need to look for the things they missed.

Individual Practice:

(3-5 Minutes)
Take a few minutes and read over your notes and codify your thoughts. Now that we have a definition, I want to see how you apply these definitions. Imagine you’ve taught a lesson around the Mizzou protests that resulted in the president and chancellor stepping down. Consider choosing a more contemporary current event or topic when you teach this. Write a sentence each explaining what your Warrants, Backings, Claims and Conclusions, and an example of one or two rebuttals might be when evaluating your students’ final products. You can imagine any final product you wish. Finally, what trainings would you need to make you a better judge on this topic and product and how would this differ from a standardized test on the same subject?

Assessment/Closing:

(1-2 Minutes)
The biggest benefit in my mind to the Toulmin Model is the idea of Rebuttals. We have to seriously consider how we’ve positioned ourselves as judges. We need to take into account the factors we may have missed in our fallibility. And, most importantly, we need to recognize that even if we accurately and effectively prove to ourselves and our students that we have and effectively evaluate the work, there may be more that we’ve missed.

Emerging Bilinguals and Bow-Ties

Learning in a different language can be a challenge when not given enough time. Bow-ties are a formal language many don't speak, and learning to tie one can mimic the needs of emerging bilinguals.

Purpose:
This 20 minute lesson shows teachers how to tie a bow-tie and addresses emerging bilinguals and dual language learners by drawing a comparison to the language of formal wear. It’s based on “Disciplinary Literacy for English Language Learners” by Almanza de Schonewise and Klinger. (PDF)
(Estimated Running Time: 15-20 Minutes)

Objective:

Teachers will be able to define bow tie, Windsor knot, four-in-hand knot, and half-Windsor knot, Sheltered English Instruction, and Collaborative Strategic Reading.
Teachers will be able to identify elements of Sheltered English Instruction in the lesson.
Teachers will be able to demonstrate how to tie one or more of the four knots.
Teacherss will be able to critique Emerging Bilingual strategies on the basis that the strategies listed in the article are primarily designed for equal or majority English speaking classrooms.

Materials:

Required materials are normal text, recommended but not required materials are italicized

  • Bow-ties
  • Neck-ties
  • Image guide to tying a bow-tie (PNG)
  • Video of tying a bow-tie
  • Instructions on how to tie a bow-tie

Essential Question(s):

What do does “success” mean in regards to EBs?

Big Ideas:

  • Emerging Bilinguals can be academically successful.
  • Success for Emerging Bilinguals is defined in academic terms.
  • Success for Emerging Bilinguals emphasizes English.
  • Success for Emerging Bilinguals is often considered indoctrination to US academia.
  • Success for Emerging Bilinguals can sometimes ignore cultural needs or differences.
  • Because success for Emerging Bilinguals is in English academia, even good Emerging Bilingual programs may ignore a student’s capabilities in their other language.
  • Emerging Bilingual programs are reliant on English instruction and English classmates.
  • Emerging Bilinguals need vocabulary to be successful, as grammar is often innately learned.
  • Emerging Bilinguals need time to process to be successful, since they lack automaticity.
  • Emerging Bilinguals need support in both languages outside the classroom to be successful.
  • Emerging Bilinguals need a sense of self-worth that is not maligned by their slower learning curve.
  • Academia and Administration define the needs of Emerging Bilinguals instead of the Emerging Bilinguals themselves.

Inquiry Exercise:

(2-3 Minutes)
What is an Emerging Bilingual or Dual Language Learner? How is language and dialect different? Can we consider students with dialectical differences similar to emerging bilinguals?

Introduction to New Material:

(5-7 Minutes)
In their article, Almanza de Schonewise and Klinger discuss many of the issues facing the education of Emerging Bilinguals. In the latter third, they outline three techniques and give vague overviews of their application to help EBs: Sheltered English Instruction, Vocabulary Instruction and Collaborative Strategic Reading. The first and last of these describe specific methodologies that can be applied in a classroom, while vocabulary instruction merely encourages differentiation and lists a few techniques to do so.

In Sheltered English Instruction, the intention is to slow down and provide EBs with more space to succeed. In Collaborative Strategic Reading, EBs are partnered up, preferably with a successful English speaker, in order to better success and be supported. These two ideas are not mutually exclusive.

Because my French isn’t good enough to be comfortable putting you at a disadvantage, we’re going to use my class privilege and discuss language and skill within upper class gentrification. More specifically, I’m going to teach you how to tie a bow-tie using some of the methodologies of Sheltered English Instruction.

There are dozens of different types of knots . The Boy Scouts offer badges in knot tying, and most are used in camping, climbing and sailing, all leisure activities for those people in privilege. In addition, there are four common types of neck-tie knots: Windsor, Half-Windsor, Four-in-Hand Knot, and a Bow-Tie Knot. Each has its own level of social statement when with the upper-crusters.

The Four-in-Hand Knot is your basic neck-tie knot worn by most business men; it’s simple and straight forward, though it occasionally ends up a little lopsided.

The Windsor Knot is the king of neck-tie knots, requiring extra loops that prevent the lop-sidedness and create a perfectly triangular knot. At boarding school, we were required to wear ties three days a week, and those that could tie a good Windsor were often treated with more respect.

The Half-Windsor also creates a more triangular knot and is less lop-sided, but doesn’t use as much tie in the knot; for people who couldn’t afford extremely nice, thin, silk ties, this allowed thicker, cheaper materials to mimic the slightly fancier Windsor knot without puffing out.

I do have some neck ties here for you to play with, but we’re going to concentrate on the ultimate formal neckwear: the bow-tie.

Guided Practice:

(3 Minutes)
In front of you, you have a bow tie. You also have a visual diagram, a list of instructions, and my tablet with two or three videos showing you how to tie it. In Sheltered English Instruction, they emphasize choosing less material, hence why we’re only using bow-ties, and delving into it in greater depth to allow more processing time. I will walk you through tying a bow-tie once right now. After, in your independent practice, I want you to use a video to help you tie it, the picture to help you tie it, and the instructions to help you tie it.

Demonstrate and explain how to tie a bow-tie, have them tie it along with you.

How many of you had tied a tie before? How many of you know how to tie more than 3 types of knots? If you knew 3 or less, you can think of this exercise as mimicking the experience of being an emerging bilingual in the classroom. How does that change how you feel about the repetition of tying a bow-tie?

Individual Practice:

(3-5 Minutes)
Ok, so now, you will tie your bow-tie without my help 3 times, using each of the guides provided. Don’t worry if you don’t get it right; it’s difficult. While you’re doing this, reflect on which aid, including our group tying, worked best for you. Also consider whether you think your best knot happened because of the materials or because you were given the time to practice.

Assessment/Closing:

(2 Minutes)
Knots have a certain language of their own. Additionally, neck ties and bow-ties speak specifically to a class difference and an expectation of etiquette. When working with EBs, we can give them vocabulary, effectively dressing them in a tuxedo, and they can functionally pass in their English classrooms, but we’re doing them a disservice not being patient and letting them gain a deeper understanding, i.e. knowing what each knot will say to people already indoctrinated to this other culture. As you think about the techniques you’ll use to deal with EBs, make sure you consider whether you’re providing them the tools for social mobility or if you’re merely playing dress-up.