Wichita State University: Electronic Journals Hosted by University Libraries
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Teacher Read-Alouds: More Than Just Story Time
Get PDFRead-alouds not only reinforce story time traditions but also hold significant educational value when used strategically. Reading aloud benefits all students, no matter the grade or achievement level. This article explores a number of research-based academic benefits of reading aloud in K-12 classrooms. The author shares practical tips for prioritizing read-aloud time, selecting appropriate text, modeling various reading strategies, making read-alouds interactive, and promoting vocabulary and language development. The author provides a list of current, award-winning K-12 picture books and chapter books to elevate classroom read-aloud experiences
Art Overcomes a Dehumanizing Experience
Get PDFPunching the Air (2020) by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam is an apt metaphor for 16-year-old Amal Shahid\u27s struggle to find his voice and survive the gentrification and racial injustice in his neighborhood, a school system that does not address his creativity, and a corrupt, racially-biased criminal justice system. In these environments he is judged by assumptions because of his rac
From Tribal War to Color War: A Message of Survival and Belonging in How Dare the Sun Rise
Get PDFStudying a memoir provides middle and secondary school English students the opportunity for reflection on reality and analysis of literary elements in the same way a novel does. The genre, then, should be accessible to students. Selected for the New York Public Library\u27s "Top Ten Books of 2017 for Teens" and the Junior Library Guild, How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child (2017) by Sandra Uwiringiyimana (with Abigail Pesta) is more than a memoir; it\u27s a story about race in America from the perspective of an African immigrant who fled the 2004 Gatumba massacre in Burundi. In just one night, over 150 Congolese refugees from the Banyamulenge tribe were killed by the National Forces of Liberation of Burundi, while another 106 were left wounded. These men, women, and children were killed solely based on their ethnicity and have yet to receive the justice that they and their surviving family members deserve
"A Pair of Ragged Claws": Poetry and Pedagogy in Prison
Get PDFAlex Tretbar, a Wichitan and graduate of the University of Kansas, reflects on his incarceration in Oregon and the role of literature in helping him and others who live in prison make sense of their experience. During his imprisonment, Tretbar acquired a job as a GED tutor and eventually took on a role as leader of a poetry and fiction study group. He shares experiences common to teachers of poetry both in and out of prison and demonstrates the power of poetry to help people learn about language, connect with each other, and appreciate how poetry can teach us about ourselves. Moreover, poetry and pedagogy have their own unique relevance in prison. Tretbar forms several important connections with other imprisoned men through their poetry group and explores how the power of poetry can help teachers and students confront the personal, political, and artistic issues we all face. Eventually, Tretbar\u27s poetry group is shut down by a prison-wide COVID-19 lockdown just as its members were receiving instruction from visiting poets and educators. Steven Maack, one of Tretbar\u27s high school English teachers, introduces Tretbar\u27s reflection and provides an update in an afterword
Fixing the Blank Page Fear: Essay and Story Starter Practice
Get PDFWhen her students frequently experienced fear of the blank page, this high school teacher created low-stakes practice tasks to facilitate the writing of first-draft introductions. This article details the process of the Essay and Story Starter Practice that allows students to experiment with various introduction strategies in order to move past writer\u27s block. Additionally, the author discusses how to transition this activity to a virtual classroom setting
Disability Represented in Children\u27s Literature
Get PDFChildren search for representations of themselves in the literature they read. However, disabilities are not always portrayed accurately or positively in children\u27s literature. Disabilities should be included in children\u27s literature because children will be exposed to disabilities in their lifetime, whether personally, at home, or at school. Moreover, it is imperative that children read works where disabilities are positively portrayed. Therefore, this paper describes five children\u27s books and explains how they positively portray disabilities and some of the authors\u27 personal experiences with disabilities. These books include Moses Goes to a Concert by Isaac Millman, Why Does Izzy Cover Her Ears? Dealing with Sensory Overload by Jennifer Veenendall, The Seeing Stick by Jane Yolen, Red: A Crayon\u27s Story by Michael Hill, and We\u27ll Paint the Octopus Red by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen. These books bring advocacy and awareness to disabilities in a positive, child-friendly way. They do not portray disabilities as something that needs to be fixed, but rather bring appreciation to the lives the characters live
