Sara Kwasna: Using Culturally Relevant Literature to Inspire Struggling Writers to tell their Personal Stories

[Sara Kwasna]

I currently teach at Spanish Springs High School and am the only Read-180 teacher at our site.  When I was hired at SSHS almost four years ago, I was brought on as an English teacher, but have not been in the regular English classroom for the past two years.  Next year, I will be returning to teaching Freshmen English as well as Read-180.

 

I am proud of how I have helped build the Read-180 program at our school.  I have had great successes with the program in improving the reading levels and abilities of many students at our school.  One of my students was nationally recognized and won the Read-180 All Star Award last year for her growth and improvements with reading.  However, while Read-180  does include writing, I don't feel as confident in that portion of the program.  Students do not experience the growth and development as writers that they do as readers when enrolled in Read-180. 

 

When I am in the regular English classroom, I think that I do a good job of teaching writing.  I feel that teaching our students to write and communicate well is one of the most valuable skills we can impart.  I would say that the majority of the writing I have my students do is personal.  I believe that the best writing comes from the heart.  If we can teach our students the skills of good writing when they are writing their personal stories, they can later apply those skills to any type of writing that they do.  I also believe that for teenagers, writing about personal experiences offers solace and reflection in a time that is often filled with angst.  My students learn to appreciate good writing and finish the year with a sense of pride and accomplishment when they look back at their portfolios.

 

What I have noticed is that struggling writers often have a hard time telling their personal stories.  I will say that most of the students that I have who struggle with writing either have special needs, are English Language Learners, or have a low socio-economic status.  Does this comprise ALL struggling writers?  No.  However, the majority of the students that I have would fall into one or more of those categories and are also struggling writers. 

 

I find that these students often do not produce writing that is of any signifance to them.  They spend long periods of time "thinking" about what to write about, while other students are scribbling furiously across the page.  Graphic organizers and other brainstorming tools offer little help when they can not latch onto an idea to begin with.  If they do complete the assignment, there is little sense of accomplishment, little sense of pride, and little engagement in the process.  Rather than keep their published writing in a portfolio, these students take their final, graded piece and throw it out with the trash. 

 

Struggling writers often come from backgrounds that are less than ideal.  Many have some of the most moving stories to tell.  Many have experiences that should elicit powerful writing, but often they don't pull from these memories or experiences at all.  Do they not see their stories as extraordinary?  Would they rather forget these experiences than relive them?  Do they not feel that their voice is important enough to be heard?  Perhaps, they have not seen enough models to give validity to their stories.  I believe that we need to present our struggling writers with more culturally relevant literature that they can use as models for their own writing. 

 

Struggling writers are often also our struggling readers or our non-readers.  The literature that they have exposure to is what is presented to them in school.  These are our students who choose not to read on their own.  It is safe to assume that if the only thing that they have read are the classic pieces that the curriculum mandates we teach, then they have not come across culturally relevant literature that they could use as a model for their own writing.

 

This is how I have come to choose my topic for my presentation: Using Culturally Relevant Literature to Inspire Struggling Writers to tell their Personal Stories.

[Karen Pedersen]

Hello Sara:

Great picture of you and your daughter!
I enjoyed reading your reflection. We use the Read 180 program in our school for the special needs students in addition to some students that are really struggling and are just at the benchmarks. Our special education staff love the program and have had great results. Finding ways to inspire your writers to share personal experiences is an excellent topic.
I have come to realize that it is very hard for many students to write about personal experiences. It seems we have a student body of reluctant writers. Our reluctant writers cover all populations of students, and the common threads that bind them are lack of parent/family support and low socioeconomics. Our ELL population does well even as they manipulate their way through grammar and conventions of their new language, and our Native American population out scored most student populations in our school community as evidenced by our AYP data, it was our white students that struggled the most. This year our school was one of two in the state nominated to be a Blue Ribbon School because of the gains our students have made across the board in all subpopulations. But that success does not happen over night.

Our success begins with school wide goals in writing that start when students enter 5th grade. It really takes our 5th graders several months to begin to feel comfortable writing a personal narrative. (Our school is grades 5-8) When 5th graders come to our school they have had tons of experience responding to text, writing "summaries", but when the state of Nevada changed the state writing assessment from grade 4 to grade 5, the teachers in the elementary school really stopped focusing on the writing traits and personal narratives because it wasn't something they were going to be held accountable for for AYP. As a result, 5th graders come with a very dry and programmed way of writing and have no knowledge of the writing process or writing traits. Our 8th grade students also take the writing assessment test and do very well. This year, 73% of our 8th graders passed the Nevada Writing Exam whereas only 45% of our 5th graders passed the exam. Of the 8th grade writers, one of our highest scores was one of our ELL students. For us, inspiring all of our students to express themselves in writing is a continous journey that starts when they enter our school in 5th grade. This journey takes the entire staff focused on writing across the curriculum and our efforts are evident in our 8th grade writing scores.
In reflecting on your topic, I find that students really are engaged when they feel valued and respected, and that is why I really think you have a great topic. There is a rich selection of literature in the multi cultural genre. Have fun!

Karen Pedersen

[Allie Eckert]

Hi Sara!
I think that your topic is absolutely awesome and relevant! In fact, it's so great, I wish that I would have thought of it! I too have noticed that many of my students struggle when writing if they cannot relate to the topic. Like you, I believe that writing has to come from the heart if it is going to be authentic. As you mentioned, many of the writing assignments completed in my class are self relfective and cause the students to really think about who they are, and where they are going in life.

One of the ways that I feel has helped to motivate my students to self reflect is to read culturally relevant literature. I'm not sure if you already have some books in mind, but if you don't I have some that I have used in my classroom that the students love, and have really proved to help their writing and their ability to reflect. The first of these books is called Close- Up and it is written by Szabinka Dudevszky. A colleague of mine actually discovered this book, and after reading it over the summer, I completely fell in love with both the stories as well as the writing style. This book is a collection of short stories about how students who have for one reason or another had to leave home. Many of these stories contain very mature themes, however it really illustrates many of the issues that the students face each and every day. Another great book is called Who Am I WIthout Him? which is written by Sharon G. Flake. (one of my all-time favorite young adult authors.) This is also a collection of short stories, however this collection is writted about girls and the "boys" in their lives. I have only used a few of the stories from this book, however they are very relevant, have a TON of voice and personality, and really help the kids understand that they are not going through all of this on their own. While my students are lower level readers than yours, these books can easily be used in upper level classrooms. I also use a ton of Sharon Flake, Sharon Draper, and Walter Dean Myers. A couple of my all time favorites- Bang! by Sharon Flake, the Skin I'm In by Sharon Flake, Monster by Walter Dean Myers, Durango Street by Frank Bonham.

I really think that your subject is great, and I can't wait to see your presentation!! Hope this helps! Good luck!

[Jennifer Reynolds]

Sara-

I think using the personal narrative genre to motivate struggling writers is a great decision. Even looking at movies that have come out recently, personal narrative is a common theme. I was really bummed when it was announced that all writing exams are now expository because I think that students ability to use personal narrative is essential to communication with others and promotes tolerance.

You posed a few questions on why students who have such powerful stories to tell cannot find their voices. I think that they know their voices, but I have found that often they don't know where to begin or what images to draw from to create a piece of writing. I think that using culturally relevant stories as models will be very successful, but you might need a graphic organizer or some kind of activity to move them from reading examples to their own examples. If it is done as a group brainstorm/activity, they might have a little more direction. With some students who are all over the place, I have them start idea development with a drawing to create their images and then verbalize those images.

You could also use music, poetry, or films as narrative resources.

Hope this helps,
Jenny Reynolds

[Melissa LiCon]

Hi Sara:

I love your idea. Our students often have not read much culturally relevant literature unless they are already the kind of avid, reading-at-grade-level-or-beyond kind of student who has already tapped into a wide range of contemporary, young adult literature. That kind of student does not represent the majority of our students. And while we're at it, young, good-looking vampires in love do not comprise a cultural group, last time I checked! You are probably getting lots of book suggestions for your topic already, but here's one more. I just bought my husband, who is part Apache, Sherman Alexie's newest novel titled The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. It's wonderful - we've been taking turns reading it aloud. I have another suggestion you may be interested in trying. In addition to asking students to write about what they are reading, you might try also asking them to respond to culturally relevant contemporary paintings, such as those by artists like Fritz Scholder. This is great practice for making inferences about the intended message or theme of the piece, just like in responding to literature. It's also a wonderful way to scaffold less confident readers. Looking at a powerful piece of art levels the playing field - we all have an equal opportunity to imagine what the artist is trying to communicate to us, regardless of our reading level. Sometimes having students compare/contrast, then respond in writing, to a piece of writing and a companion painting you've chosen, provides a really engaging jumping off point. Something to consider anyway. Another advantage - finding images of great paintings is easy online nowadays, and it doesn't cost you a penny!

[Sandra Madura]

Sara,

I can tell that your are an involved and dedicated teacher. As I was rereading your response, the short stories of Gary Soto came to mind. Perhaps his stories might touch those of Latino/Latina decent in particular, but hopefully will appeal to many. Finding just he right literature is our constant challenge. Often our textbooks seek the middle, and in doing so, don't address the cultural needs of most of the students we teach. Kathy Short and Kathryn Au have written much on this topic.

I am looking forward to fleshing out the details of your presentation.
Sandy