Our objective is to cultivate a culture of community activism while developing and strengthening various forms of [academic] literacies. By developing critical literacy within the classroom, and with the aid of outside resources, we believe our students will have the skills, awareness and ability to create art and knowledge that is relevant and meaningful to their lives and identity. As educators, sustaining the development of critical pedagogy, life-long learners, and agents of change is our ultimate goal.
Introduction
Students dialoging at 'Get Empathy: Building Community,' a workshop part of this year's East Side Stories Conference held at Roosevelt High School.
Grade Eleven: ELA/Literacy and ELD in Action The ELA and ELD vignettes below are based on those in the November 2013 draft of the California ELA/ELD Curriculum Framework. They are intended to provide concrete illustrations of how to implement some of the CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy and the CA ELD Standards so that teachers can discuss the. ELA Application. Lifted is an excellent film for teaching the elements of humor as created through irony, but it is also a great film to observe the dynamics of the archetypal mentor/ pupil relationship in which a mentor teaches a pupil the skills needed to accomplish his/her heroic task. This relationship can be quite complex and full of. Using film creates a level playing field for all students and, hopefully, a much better set of experiences to remember long after they leave Ms. Keigan's high school language arts class. Note:.This class is part of an IBEST 'Team Teaching Model' whereby every student is provided extra support. You will have one instructor who focuses on the class core content, while the second instructor will provide integrated instruction in reading, writing, math and ELA/ESL.
How do we help students develop academic, social and critical literacies all while engaging in meaningful work within the classroom, the school and the community?
Download onyx. Various projects were made possible and/or enhanced through TIIP Grant funding. Here is a list of projects our teachers, students, and community members undertook:
Voices of Change(Interdisciplinary Unit):
Voices of Change is a interdisciplinary unit where students engaged in a problem-posing project that asked students to think about issues in their community that need to be addressed, and to investigate solutions. The unit's essential question was, 'What needs to change to generate more justice and equity in Boyle Heights?' In their English class, students used the essential question to learn to develop counter-arguments, analogies, and persuasive speech.
In their math class, Ms. Perez helped students learn how to interpret, analyze, and create graphs driven by their own data collection in their community.
Mr. Dean supported students to write a persuasive report on their selected community problem. In the writing piece, students included quotes from the community interviewees and government philosophers they studied in history, as well as quotes taken from texts they read in their English class.
In Mr. Lopez' class students wrote narratives of problems they have lived, with the support of 826LA and published student narratives in a book titled 'Like a Shadow.' Students celebrated the culmination of their work in a book release party and reading at Boyle Heights community bookstore Libros Schmibros.
Critical Media Studies Course (Elective course)
Through the help of the grant Mr. Lopez's Critical Media Studies course was able to place media making technology in the hands of students. Students were successful in creating documentary videos on social issues they found most meaningful in their community of Boyle Heights. In the course students engaged in the analysis and production of media, in the process of media production students went out into the community to interview youth, social and cultural activists, artist, and members of Boyle Heights. Students edited their own videos, and presented their work at East Side Stories conference in a workshop titled 'Telling Lies to Your Vision: How Critical Youth Media Production Speaks to Truth and Empowers Young People.' Youth produced videos were shared on YouTube, to amplify the voice and findings of youth and to counter corporate mainstream media.
Art Club(Extracurricular club)
The TIIP grant has enhanced and improved the scope and reach of RHS's Art Club by providing community youth a space of expression and opportunities to engage in empowering art projects. The after school art program is crucial in building youth identity through human artistic expression and community building. Political and socially grounded student clubs, such as the Art Club, create spaces that counter youth marginalization. Young people who participate find a liberating experience and grow empowered as community artists. Students have learned to work with various art mediums, and have painted several murals at Roosevelt High with professional community artists, creating a positive school environment of youth, identity, cultural history, and power. Students from the club, and Mr. Lopez's Urban Ecology came together to paint a mural on 'Food Justice' with the help fromCornerstone Theater Companyand support form TIIP grant. The Art Club has developed critical youth artists become learners and teachers who use the production of public art to educate community members, build unity, and raise consciousness.
Mono Lake Student Leadership Retreat(Student Event)
In early Fall 2012, a group of students was selected to participate in our small school's first youth leadership retreat, which took place in Mono Lake, California. Students were selected based on their involvement in school clubs and organizations, with an emphasis on youth and community activism. During the week-long retreat, students participated in various community building activities: they went on hikes, they learned about environmental activism, and essentially developed their identity as peer leaders. Our objective was to prepare selected students to return to school as leaders, who could encourage their classmates to become involved in the various groups and organizations. The experience far exceeded our expectations.
East Side Stories Conference 2012-13(Annual Event)
The Politics and Pedagogy Collective is a group of educators throughout the east side who meet regularly to discuss and develop ways to help build a platform for students and community members.
East Side Stories: A Grassroots Vision for Education & Community from Producciones Cimarrón on Vimeo.
Elearning daysmrs. parkers 6th grade l.a. class. This conference also received press coverage in the Boyle Heights Beat and on the Good blog (the social network for social good).
TIIP Team Lopez
The Roosevelt High School TIIP team members have been working closely together since Roosevelt's transition from a complex-wide school to seven small schools. We have all worked together in the writing of our small school narrative. We have participated in numerous Professional Development workshops including LAEP's Interdisciplinary/Humanitas retreat. Currently, the teachers are teamed in grade level, in interdisciplinary teams in our small school, and work together on regular basis to develop units between history and English teachers. Our teachers do not limit their collaboration to academic/curriculum collaboration. Our teachers also work closely together to support and incorporate individual endeavors of other teachers. Poetry Slam, Journalism, Art Club, and the Dreamers' (AB540) Club, all guided by the teacher's in this grant, have collaborated on larger school and community projects. All of these individual clubs depend on the support of other teachers within our small school.
Pictured from left to right: Mr. Dean, Ms. Perez, Mr. Lopez and Ms. Dueñas at T4SJ Conference in San Francisco
Professional Development
Literature Of Film Classms. Schroll's Ela Classes
Our team attended various conferences, both individually and as a team. We had the opportunity to learn from fellow educators, but it also presented us with the opportunity to network, connect and in some cases even present the work our youth is doing. At the 2012 AERA conference Mr. Lopez presented the community activist work students are doing in his class. The following is a list of conferences we attended:
Additionally, teachers attended workshops to develop tech specific skills, such as Echo Park's Film Center series, where teachers learned how to shoot and edit documentaries using Final Cut Pro.
Youth Resistance Cultures in Boyle Heights from Maestro Lopez on Vimeo.
Students were also able to create and edit their own documentaries in the classroom with the resources from the courses as well as cameras and desktops obtained with TIIP funds.
School Information
Communications, New Media and Technology at Roosevelt High School
The School of Communications, New Media and Technology's mission is to prepare all students for college, career and civic engagement. The small school has a social justice and community approach, with the goal of connecting student learning to college and careers in its thematic emphasis, using an approach known as Linked Learning. CNMT's mission is guided and informed through research, educational theory, and critical pedagogy.
- CNMT Roosevelt High School, 456 South Mathews Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033
- Tel: (323) 780-4557 Fax: (323) 269-5473
- in Creative Writing, Literature, Short Films
I love using short films in my classroom. I bet you already have a collection that you like to you. I'm not different. I use short films for a bunch of different reasons: to introduce a new idea, or to explain something we all found complicated. Sometimes to inspire discussion and debate, or to get stuck into some creative writing. Short films are fabulous for both literature and writing.
So, here are my top 5 favorite films for high school ELA. I've split them so you have:
- 2 for teaching literature,
- 2 for teaching writing, and
- 1 for debate
The Tiger Who Came to Tea – introducing critical theory
I love using this short reading of the children's classic, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, with my older literature classes. In fact, I used to only use with my senior students who are studying literature and needing to apply different critical theories. Over the last few years, I have been using it as a debate prompt with my younger students as well.
The first question I ask is 'what does this text tell us about society?'.
At this point, I introduce critical theory. Gender and feminist theory and also Marxist theory. *Warning* – this discussion does result in some criticism of Judith Kerr's text. It's great to consider the narratives that shape our understanding of the world as children, but it's not always a comfortable discussion.
We discuss:
- What did you notice about society?
- What does this text show about men, about women, about children?
- What does this text show about work and social class?
- What is the relevance of the tiger arriving and eating all the food?
- Why a tiger?
- What groups in society might the tiger represent?
At this point, I might draw a comparison between this text and invading forces: the Nazis in Poland, Judith Kerr has spoken of this being the inspiration for her story. The discussion is often lively.
An interesting counterpoint to this story is the another children's story – Where the Wild Things Are. Here we develop our discussion to include colonization, imperialism, and how other races and ‘the foreigner' can be represented in literature.
Again the discussion is often lively.
Copy Shop – introducing concepts in literature (literature)
Copy Shop is an unusual silent film by Virgil Widrich, 2001. It received an Oscar nomination for a short action film. The film is 12 minutes long and ‘tells' the story of a man who accidentally photocopies himself until ‘he' takes over his town.
Just this concept alone is intriguing enough for students!
I often begin this lesson by asking students to mind-map all of their thoughts on the topics of:
- identity,
- gender,
- relationships,
- reality, and
- society
These thoughts can be as generic or as specific at you decide. I generally put these topics on the board and then pose the question 'write down everything that comes into your mind'.
After watching the film, sometimes twice, I ask students to add ideas to their mind-maps based on the film. For identity and society – we discuss how we are shaped as individuals, how society shapes us into a particular mould. For gender and relationships – students often notice that the single female is replaced by the male, that the relationships show companionship, then threat. For reality – we discuss to what extent we can trust our senses, what we see.
The final step is to debate some of the big ideas in literature:
- Our individual understanding of reality cannot be trusted
- Masculinity and femininity are entirely constructed by society
- Society is at its roots chaotic and disordered
- Technology controls humanity
- Capitalism and consumerism has made humanity self-destructive
I could go on!
Picture Perfect – the Jubilee Project (writing)
The final step is to debate some of the big ideas in literature:
- Our individual understanding of reality cannot be trusted
- Masculinity and femininity are entirely constructed by society
- Society is at its roots chaotic and disordered
- Technology controls humanity
- Capitalism and consumerism has made humanity self-destructive
I could go on!
Picture Perfect – the Jubilee Project (writing)
I use this short and sad story for a variety of different reasons with my classes: writing flashbacks, relationships, realistic dialogue, incidents, and memory writing.
It's a poignant tale and dedicated to survivors of Leukaemia, a sensitive one to use with classes but often generates excellent sympathetic debate and great emotionally intelligent writing.
Lock Up – by BloodyCuts (Writing)
*Warning* – this short film is the epitome of suspense and then a moment of terror. Your class will scream. Please, please, please watch through till the very end before you decide to use it! Don't look away at the end, otherwise you might miss ‘it'! To be absolutely clear – you get a glimpse, the most fleeting glimpse of ‘it'.
Ok, you survived! Here's how I use this film: to build tension, to create a character who has no idea what is about to happen next.
This short film is fantastic for writing a realistic moment of suspense – rather than one that is filled of creaky staircases and slamming doors. Write a character who has literally no idea what is about to happen to them!
You need to be speedy with the pause button here. I watch with kids up to the bit where the man collects his keys. Then pause. We write this opening section as descriptive narrative.
Then we watch – pause – write until the very end. As the students haven't seen the whole thing – when they first see the figure – they are shocked, their character can be shocked. So their writing is often much more authentic, than if we had planned it in advance.
It's great for writing genuine expressions of a character's experience of cluelessness to horror.
Literature Of Film Class Ms. Schroll's Ela Classes 2020
Fireflies – the Jubilee Project (debate)
Another one from the guys at the Jubilee Project, I do love them, and to be honest you could use any of their films effectively in the classroom.
But Fireflies is something special.
I pose a bunch of questions when using this film, sometimes before, sometimes after, sometimes both!
- What is friendship?
- What is normal?
- How can we truly know one another?
- Can we know ourselves?
- Does everyone have to be the same?
- Why are children more accepting?
- Can society change?
- Do we need to let children teach adults how to behave?
More short films for your classroom enjoyment…
The stories we wear
This short film is actually an extended advertisment for the outdoor clothing company Patagonia. Sean Villanueva O'Driscoll is on the road talking about climbing and about his very patched and repaired jacket. It's such a beautiful film and would be great as a writing prompt. Here it is 'The Stories We Wear by Patagonia'.
Life lessons from a 100-year-old
These British 100-year-olds talk about their lives, their experiences, and they dispense advice about how to be happy. Sit back and prepare to get emotional! Find it here 'life lesson from a 100-year-old'
Jekyll and Hyde characters song
As this is a classic English Literature GCSE text, I cannot resist this Jekyll and Hyde song. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde…when a good man releases his evil side…Mr Hyde and Dr Jekyll…who are the characters when the dust settles? 🙂
Enjoy all the chuckles here 'Jekyll and Hyde characters song'
Alma
Alma is such a great short cartoon, it's absolutely perfect for creative writing. It is silent, sinister, and completely mesmerizing. Watch Alma here
I promise to keep adding to these as I find them, but do drop your favorites in the comments below!
Literature Of Film Class Ms. Schroll's Ela Classes 1
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