May19

InquiryLiteracy / ELAStudent Engagementby Jen McCarty Plucker

Maximize Time by Braiding Learning Goals

Working with English/Language Arts teachers on developing highly engaging and intentional inquiry units of study, one of the concerns I hear most often is, “We don’t have TIME to allow for student discovery and inquiry.” Educators absolutely want to provide the conditions for students to construct their own understandings, to explore their own questions, and to approach learning with curiosity. Unfortunately, many also feel immense pressure to “cover” all the standards legislated, intervene for students who haven’t yet mastered previous grade level standards, enrich for students who are ready for more, meet the social and emotional needs, and of course build strong and authentic relationships. Naturally, educators can feel overwhelmed.

One way to meet the demands of 21st-century ELA education and accomplish helping students master all the standards is to braid all learning goals together in inquiry units of study. At the elementary level, this can include bundling content area standards with ELA and SEL goals. To see an amazing example of this from my friends in Pennsylvania, please enjoy this free edWeb webinar: Integrating Social-Emotional Learning into Your Instructional Programs.

For today’s example, let’s look at a secondary book club unit where English/Language Arts standards, Learning for Justice standards, and a few goals from CASEL’s framework for social and emotional learning are bundled together.

Let’s begin with the overarching question: How can literature serve as a vehicle for social change? This question allows us to provide choice for students and help them explore more specific areas for social change through literature.

Next, we select some books for students to choose from and provide a more specific essential questions each student group can explore. When choosing book club books, we want to be sure a range of reading levels are provided so students are able to access their choice independently. Providing an audio version as well can be a helpful scaffold if necessary. Be sure to solicit the help of your media specialist who KNOWS BOOKS.

What are the factors that create an imbalance of power within a culture?

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Seventh-grader Jerome is mistakenly shot by a white police officer, and as a ghost, observes the turmoil in his community as a result of his death. He then meets the ghost of Emmett Till, who helps Jerome understand how systemic racism led to his death, but also understand how far the effects of his death really go by introducing him to the grieving daughter of the police officer who struggles with her father’s actions.*

Can breaking the law or rules ever be justified?

You’re Welcome Universe by Whitney Gardner

When Julia tries to use her artistic talents to cover up a slur about her best friend painted on the gymnasium walls at her deaf school, she ends up expelled. Her two moms send her to the mainstream school in her suburb, where being the only deaf kid in her class makes her feel like an outcast. As she tries to ease her angst by painting graffiti around her town, she finds herself in a turf war with another artist. Expressing herself through her art might land her in even hotter water if she’s not careful, but her graffiti is the only part of her identity that makes sense to her now—so it’s a risk she’s willing to take.*

How are prejudice and bias created? How do we overcome them?

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

Explores the fateful 2013 interaction between Sasha and Richard, two teens from Oakland, California, who never would have met if not for the 57 bus which they both were taking home from school one day. Richard, an African American boy, had a lighter; Sasha, a white agender teen, wore a skirt. A dare to use the lighter changed the teens’ lives forever.*

What happens when people stay silent about injustices happening around them?

Internment by Samira Ahmed

Set in the near-future United States, Muslim Americans are being taken to internment camps which followed book burnings, curfews, and mandatory viewing of the new president’s national security addresses. Seventeen-year-old Layla Amin watches with contempt at the complicity of the community and her own parents who accept their current plight. She makes friends both within and outside the camp intent on starting a revolution that will end the violence and Islamophobia.*

What is the role of government to support and protect its citizens?

Drowned City by Don Brown

Author and illustrator Brown traces the impact and effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans from August of 2005 up through 2012, by which time “only 80 percent of New Orleans’ residents had returned.” Through sequential panels, Brown chronicles the frightening events experienced by residents, such as the rising water, the countless hours waiting in contaminated buildings for help to arrive, and the lack of supplies. Brown also subtly highlights the injustices faced by the mostly African American citizens who endured the brunt of the tragedy. *

Who should have the power to elect leaders and change laws?

The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert

Marva Sheridan is excited to vote in her first election; Duke Crenshaw just wants to get voting over so that he can get to his band’s first paying gig. When Marva sees Duke turned away from their polling place, she’s determined to see his vote counted. They cut school, rush from precinct to precinct, and wait in endless lines just to get Duke registered to vote. Over the course of one day, the two strangers find they have more in common than just a passion for democracy.*

*annotations from Mackin.com

Now, we can braid some learning goals together.

ELA Goals from Core Standards. Remember to braid reading, writing, speaking/collaborating, and language goals together as well.

Cite the textual evidence and make relevant connections that most strongly support an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
Utilize an inquiry-based research process.
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources.
Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners.
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases.

Cite the textual evidence and make relevant connections that most strongly support an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Social Justice Goals from Learning for Justice:

Learn about other people’s histories and lived experiences and ask questions respectfully, listen carefully and nonjudgmentally.
Recognize and describe unfairness and injustice in many forms including attitudes, behaviors, practices, and laws.
Gain awareness that biased words and behaviors, and unjust practices, laws, and institutions limit the rights and freedoms of people based on their identity groups.

Social-Emotional Learning Goals from CASEL SEL Framework:

Understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts,
Feel compassion for others,
Understand broader historical and social norms for behavior in different settings,
Identify diverse social norms, including unjust ones,
Understand the influences of organizations and systems.

This is just the beginning for teachers planning an inquiry unit of study. Next, we must intentionally build daily lesson plans that foster these conditions where students can explore complex topics through rich texts, collegial collaborative conversations, and inquiry. A helpful tool I have found for facilitating inquiry is using the workshop framework Cris Tovani introduced me to in her book So What Do They Really Know? She recommends beginning with an opening, moving into a short mini lesson, providing the bulk of the class time for guided practice and then finishing with a short debrief or sharing session. Here is an example related to this unit of study.

(5 min) Opening

On the board, students would see this prompt: Reflect in your Reader’s Response Notebook on your essential question based on what you have read so far.

(10 min) Mini Lesson

As the instructor, I would facilitate an interactive read aloud of a picture book like The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi where students can as a large group explore the umbrella question of “Can literature serve as a vehicle for social change?” This book is about a new student, Unhei, who having just moved from Korea feels she should choose a new name, an American name. Her classmates decide to help her by setting up a glass jar where students can put possibilities for Unhei to choose. While Unhei practices names like Suzy and Laura, she also shares with a classmate her real name and its special meaning. Picture books like this give all students an opportunity to explore social justice and social movements. I particularly like picture books with older students because they are short, and provide access to striving readers, English learners, and students who are neurodiverse. My experience has been that some of the most rich and inclusive conversations occur in my classroom when using poetry, picture books, photographs, and other short texts. In 15 minutes, we might not finish the text which is ok. It provides great anticipation when students know we will return to the text the next day.

(30 min) Guided Practice

During guided practice students would regroup with their book club and revisit what they had read so far in their book relating the conversation back to the umbrella question, their specific essential question and always returning to the text to practice the ELA standard for “citing textual evidence.” I would use this time to listen in on discussions, take observation data, confer one on one with students who need additional support, and dip into discussion groups who need some help propelling their conversation forward.

(5 min) Debrief

Finally, I would ask students to take out a sticky note and write about where their discussion got stuck. If they were able to get unstuck, to describe how they did so. Students would leave the sticky notes on the door as they leave and I would use my time between classes to read and reflect in preparation for tomorrow. No points necessary. Students don’t need to be graded on everything they do in class. (If you are asking, “how do you grade inquiry”—Another blog. . .another time!)

If you are looking for more examples for inquiry and braiding standards, please see our most recent edWeb webinar Inquiry Learning Step by Step with Michelle Luhtala which aired May 19th, 2021.

AboutJen McCarty Plucker

Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D., lead literacy consultant for Mackin Learning has more than 20 years experience in public education. First, as a middle school English and speech teacher, then as a high school English, speech, and literacy intervention teacher. She spent 5 years at the district leadership level integrating inquiry, project based learning, and rich classroom libraries across secondary English, social studies, and science. She is most energized when seeing learners of all ages engaged...totally in their zone.