Cecilie Bodman's CU

Using World Literature to Build Character in a Global Context

Cecilie Bodman

Introduction

For over twenty years I have worked for Albuqueruqe Public Schools as a Special Education Teacher. My current role is working as a Behavior Consultant for APS.   As part of my job I suggest behavioral interventions in which I try to include some form of academics. I define academics as any subject area that is required by the district or state to be included in a student’s education. My curriculum unit actively addresses the students’ needs in the area of social skills as well as the teachers’ mandate to teach academic skills to meet the required standards.

As a consultant I do not teach routinely in the same classroom every day. Instead I visit different schools, where I observe the student during the course of his or her regular day. I meet with people who work with the student in the school setting, and attend Individualized Educational Planning meetings, mental health team meetings, and school support team meetings to gain information about the student and to help formulate a plan to support the student’s behavioral and academics needs. This plan may include recommending a social worker for the family as well as requesting speech and language support and occupational therapy. I work individually with the teacher to develop behavioral plans that will address the student’s needs as well as fit the teacher’s teaching style and state mandates. I do not as a rule support point systems and external rewards. It is my belief that the goal of public education is to teach skills that will support a life-long learner and a person who can regulate his or her own behavior, for the most part, without external control, thus, the motivating forces to create this curriculum unit.

One complaint I hear often as I work with teachers is that they have not been trained how to address the emotional and social needs of their students. Many times these teachers are overwhelmed by the tasks they have been asked to perform in just addressing the state standards much less their students as a human being. Students often come to teachers raw with emotion unable to express or even identify their feelings. The teacher needs to teach academics and doesn’t have the time, energy or many times the desire (“It’s not my job”) to help students work through the events occurring in their lives. If the teacher sends the student away for help, the student misses the academic opportunities occurring in the classroom. The dilemma is how do we teach the students what they need to know and how do we know what that is?

When I worked at a school for the emotionally disturbed, I had students who came to me for math. They needed to know math and they also needed to know and be able to use appropriate social skills. I was working with students who would later kill people. Although I knew this could potentially happen, I was hired to teach math to these students, and my evaluation would be based on how well the students learned math. As I developed strategies to address the students’ emotional needs as well as their math skills, I came to understand that academics could be therapeutic. That is, when the students participate in the academic setting and subject matter, they may develop a sense of ease and purpose. They learn to adjust and become enveloped in the subject allowing them to take their minds off other distracting events in their life. The students may then develop a whole new love of a subject and feel that it is a valuable part of who they are, i.e., “I love math.” In Goethe’s words, “We are defined by who and what we love.”

Through the world literary experience the students are led to self-understanding, as well as understanding of or at least respect for the other, which in itself is a stage moving toward rational and even compassionate problem solving. Moreover, the students may discover that there is a whole new world out there that he or she was not aware of as all the attention had been turned to what was happening at the moment. The student learns that people everywhere are having similar experiences and having to make difficult decisions.

Academic Setting and Target Population

School Setting

The academic setting changes daily as I work for 15 different schools as a matter of course and can be called into any school in APS. I work for two clusters, one in the Northeast Heights and one in the North Valley.   The classroom situations can vary widely depending on the school and teacher. Most teachers are striving to provide a solid educational experience for their students. This can be done in as many ways as there are teachers and the quality of the experience is teacher dependent. APS has a large number of teachers on waiver, which means they may not have experience teaching children or even the subject matter they have been hired to teach. To assist these teachers, I am often called in to help with classroom management and curriculum development.

Many of the students I work with qualify for the free lunch program, which means they are on a fixed low income. The student population in the schools as a group is roughly 50% Hispanic, 35% Anglo, 7% Native American, 1% Asian and 1% other. Almost all the students I work with are male and have been identified as needing special education services.

Audience

I have designed this curriculum for secondary teachers who have students who need direct instruction in social skills including cooperation, responsibility and integrity.

The curriculum is designed for small groups working together in a classroom with the entire class participating. The unit addresses the standards for 8th grade in Reading Analysis, Expressive Language: Speaking and Writing, and Receptive Language: Listening and Viewing (See Appendix 2 for Standards).

I have found through the years that many secondary students face challenging social issues on a daily bases. This curriculum, “Using World Literature to Build Character in a Global Context,” is a result of my attempt to meet the needs of these students. Some students have been identified as emotionally disturbed, behavioral disordered, learning disabled, and ADHD. Many of the students have problems that may be associated with family challenges like divorce or drug abuse and emotions like anxiety or behaviors like bullying present themselves. Carla Hannaford, in her book Smart Moves (1998), suggests that this type of student may be suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) because so many of the physical brain patterns are similar to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). PTSD may be a more helpful diagnosis then ADHD because we can begin addressing the emotional needs of traumatized students (many times people assume that the behavior comes from a brain chemistry imbalance and then prescription medication is given to address the student’s inability to attend, etc.). If we look at anxiety, depression, and violent behavior as learned strategies and coping mechanisms in the student’s life, I believe strongly that academics can be used as a direct means to reteach appropriate behavior and cognition. There are many ways to be proactive and address tolerance and acceptance of diversity within our schools and communities. One way is through the use of the required curriculum including world literature, which celebrates the diversity of ethnicities, cultures, and experiences, while helping to identify universal or shared values and experiences across the globe.

Background and Context

Why World Literature?

In Sarah Lawall’s “Reading World Literature: Theory, History, and Practice” (1994), she states,” “World Literature’ holds out many promises. For the individual reader, it promises vicarious experience and personal growth as well as excitement of an aesthetic voyage among masterpieces”(1).   World literature allows the reader to experience shared values and become aware of other cultures as well as to possibly develop insight and understanding of universal themes weaving threads through a variety of experiences. By using world texts we demonstrate the importance of empathy and action in response to other’s situations. On another level it is possible that the sharing of world literature with universal themes will bring about a better understanding between nations and lead to better relations among the governments. The student reading the literature will be impacting the world later based on his or her understanding of the literature and culture presented today. Thus, world community becomes more real and meaningful through the use of writing from peoples from around the globe. It is important to select works that reflect the author’s roots and sense of identity to demonstrate the differences as well as the similarities.

In discussing world literature, Thomas Greene in “Misunderstanding Poetry: Teaching Outside the Western Cannon,” recommends that we “look for works that illustrate the radical differences of experience and perception and verbalization in literary production while still revealing the underlying common obsessions of men and women in all cultures-love, heroism, community the supernatural, evil, time, death.” (84).

World Literature as Therapy in the General Education Classroom

Therapy as a descriptive word is being used more frequently in much of the mental health literature. I am referring to it as a form of analysis to describe the process the student goes through to find answers to complex questions. This is not the same as what a psychologist would do. The teacher does not actively look for root causes for a specific student’s problem. Instead the approach is taken as a very general method, allowing for informal dialogue about decision-making and consequences forming the student’s behavior and motivation. World literature is a means to establish and practice decision-making and to promote the understanding of self and other in a global context.

Secondary students are social creatures and are governed by a large extent by their emotions, feelings and attitudes. Events in their lives are extremely important to them, which is why it is important to select world literature that directly relates to their lives. Quality literature can be a bridge to understanding oneself and others as Templeton has noted: “Students need narratives to help make sense of their lives and give meaning to them” (342). Furthermore, according to Temple, Martinez, Yokota, and Naylor (1998), quality world literature can evoke strong feelings, give reference points for understanding one’s own experience, foster empathy and compassion, give motivation for reading and learning, and open an understanding of one’s own culture and that of others. Literature can force students to take a moral position giving them opportunities to evaluate how they handle specific situations in their own lives. In summary, using quality literature can assist in exploring self-identity; influencing positive behaviors and developing critical thinking that can help student deal with their emotions and experiences.

Selection of Texts

In using world literature to help deal with problems, the first step is to select works that the student’s can relate to in a meaningful way. Emphasis is placed on the specific challenge the subject is experiencing rather than the writing technique. Catharsis occurs when the student is empathetic to the subject in the work and there is an opportunity for emotional release expressed appropriately. The student develops insight and formulates possible solutions to impact his or her situation positively. The student’s repertoire of coping skills is enhanced and generalized to other areas of life.

By having students read works from other cultures (and sometimes their own ethnic group), they will see a much larger picture that includes people who have experienced many of the same or similar conflicts and have similar needs. Students may see that others share the need for ritual in our lives and see how change is required in order to grow, and how to recognize that pain is part of the human experience, and how duality exists in every culture. World literature provides a unique venue to share common themes of (trust, beauty, justice, responsibility). Recently we are seeing a general high regard and accessibility for writers from other cultures in our schools and textbooks. World literature for children and young adults has gained appreciation because we are ready to become part of the global consciousness. Reading world literature is a way to assess that new knowledge and integrate it into our lives.

Carefully selected work from world literature increases student motivation and engagement in the learning process and can directly impact moral development. All of the themes contained in Kohlberg’s Moral Development Stages can be found predominately throughout world literature. The topics are interesting to secondary students because they are so tightly woven into the student’s concerns for becoming an adult and the responsibilities that go along with the new role.

Kohlberg defines moral development as the level of internalization of principals that regulate one’s conduct in human relations (The Psychology of Moral Development: The Nature and Validity of Moral Stages, 1984). From his studies of many cultures, he identified what he believes to be universal stages that all humans pass through sequentially, although a large majority of adults in our culture do not reach the fifth stage which includes responsibility, rights of others, and human dignity. Inadequate moral development keeps individuals from self-actualization and contributing their innovations and creativity to the world. Kohlberg believes firmly that we can use direct instruction to teach moral development, but that creating a moral climate allowing for interactions with the child within that teaching environment can have more significance. Kohlberg discovered students need the opportunity to discuss and debate different points of view on a theme.

Kohlberg’s Moral Stages:
1. Punishment and obedience
2. Instructional Exchange
3. Interpersonal conformity
4. Law and Order
5. Prior Rights
6. Universal Ethical Principals

It is important that educators know that teaching these skills are part of their job. APS has published the document, Profile of the Graduate (see Appendix 1), which includes Kohlberg’s Moral Development integrated throughout the scope and sequence. This document describes the skills a student graduating from APS will process when he or she graduates. Teachers are required to address these skills within the classroom setting and so are responsible to teach character and social skills. The Profile is closely tied to the ability to function as a self-actualized, contributing citizen in our community. These skills include the ability to demonstrate citizenship by contributing to the community, develop a personal values system, and accept responsibility for actions.

Abraham Maslow (1971) defines what a happy, self-actualized person acts like and values. Selecting specific works of world literature and studying the history and context in which the work was created will underscore some of the positive traits Maslow identified.

Aware and perceptive of the environment, themselves and others
Accepting of self, others and the natural world
Autonomous and self-directed
Intrinsically motivated
Holding universal values
Deep empathy
Democratic behaviors

These universal themes and feelings are pervasive throughout world literature and the student is encouraged to discover the many ways these values show up in a variety of situations.

Maslow also believed that there is a hierarchy in which certain needs need to be met before a person can become self-actualized. As teachers this is important because when we are trying to teach a student who is hungry or scared and not feeling loved, the chance that we will impart the learning of the subject matter to the student is very difficult and probably impossible. In these times it becomes the teacher’s role to help the student work through the underlying emotions before addressing the academic mandates (since it becomes impossible to teach the student; it is a vicious cycle).

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:
Self-actualization
Feel worthy
Love and be loved
Safe and Secure

Goals/Objectives

My goals are to have the student be able to read a work of world literature and appreciate another person’s feelings, motives, and situation. By selecting an appropriate work for a student, I hope that the student will be able to disassociate from the pain and fear in his or her life and be able to relate to certain character behavior in the text. Through questioning strategies, the student is guided to an understanding of the events in his or her life and how it has led to his or her perception and behavior. Using world literature helps to take the focus off the student directly and allows for impersonal discussion in a truly global perspective.    As a student explores the selected character’s life and discovers how he or she deals with conflict and frustration, moral themes begin to emerge. Reading literature demands that the student make value judgments and arrives at recommendations on how the character should behave. For example, in Takenishi Hiroko’s “The Rite,” the lead character, Aki, realizes the need for a burial ritual in order for her to move forward in her life. Aki has unsatisfying relationships and feels a general uneasiness about her life. The student may be able to relate to this situation and be able to better articulate what he or she needs to resolve past issues that may be holding him or her back. The student is gently guided to develop communication skills and understanding of his or her needs.

From the readings presented in the curriculum:

�        The student will use the skills of interpretation, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation in the reading of the world literature

�        The student will be able to define a character’s values, feelings, motives, and behaviors (increase understanding of human behavior and motivation)

�        The student will be able to relate some of the writing’s meaning to his or her life in a way that shows empathy for the character and the student

�        The student will be able to apply the insightful learning to his or her life situations though preplanning and assessment of situations as they occur (develop a course of action)

(See Appendix 2 for Standards for Language Arts, Listening, Speaking, Writing)

Practical

What will the students be reading?

The world literature I have selected comes from Laguna Pueblo, Japan, and China.   The themes of these writings are about change as growth, the need for ritual and the importance of knowing and being true to your values. I found there is a nice continuity between the cultures and the different cultures have a way of being connected yet keeping the ethnic differences. I selected works that cannot be mistaken for another identity and then works that have been written as they could’ve occurred anywhere in the world.

Suggested Readings:
Humaweepi-Laguna Novel
“The Rite”-Japanese Short Story
“All”- Chinese Poem
“Also All”-Chinese Poem

Humaweepi is about a young Laguna Man who is trying to make sense of his place in the world. He has been living with his uncle in the outskirts of the Laguna Pueblo raising sheep. Humaweepi feels like an outsider and does not realize that he is being trained to be a warrior priest. This is a story about living with isolation and claiming your destiny.

“The Rite” is a story about a young woman dealing with the aftermath of Hiroshima. She was there when the bomb was dropped and has haunting images of event. Aki, the main character, has lost a number of close school friends, they were vaporized and her world never quite reaches fulfillment with the lingering unresolved rite. This is a story about discovering what you need to feel complete after a crisis.

Implementation

The lessons are designed around the Great Books Discussion method and require that the students read the material twice. There are many ways to have the students do this and the teacher can modify all the lesson plans to fit his or her specific needs and confines. I have selected to read the material aloud to the students by either the teacher or students who are willing to volunteer. It is important that no one read aloud who does not choose to. The students then read the selected amount of material again, highlighting parts of the reading they liked or did not understand. The students can do this step individually or with a partner, taking care to pair students with individual needs and personality taken into consideration. This way, if a student needs help reading he can be teamed with a competent reader as they read the material a second time.

The next phase of the process is for the students to write open-ended questions that do not have a right or wrong answer but that can be supported by the material being read. For example, why did the author have the priest live on the outskirts of town?    At the beginning it is wise to teach the whole group how to write these questions. This can be one of the hardest concepts for the students to get and it is also the most important skill in this phase.

The last phase of the reading process is to discuss the material being read in large or small group depending on the discussion skills of the students. The basic rules are that everyone needs to participate and be respectful of others opinion. ‘Three Before Me’ is another rule to keep students from dominating the discussion and also helps ensure that every one has an opportunity to share opinions.    The rule means that once I have spoken three other people need to speak before I can speak again.

Most of the activities need to be broken down into 15 to 30 minute segments to keep the students interested and moving from activity. Reading will usually take between 20 and 30 minutes. Writing will usually take between 5 and 15 minutes. The longer more involved projects can take hours but need to be divided again into shorter, more manageable, sessions. It will depend on the students’ attention span and motivation.

The activities are broken down into lessons but will not necessarily take one period per day. Some activities may overlap and some students may need more time. The unit is designed to last about three weeks so the teacher may delete some activities and adjust the time frame to suit the school requirements.

Assignments:

Reading: The student will read the works of literature aloud and again silently, highlighting parts the student liked, did not understand or any words he or she does not know.

Writing: The student will write three open-ended questions for each of the discussion sessions.

The student will write to prompts in a journal, short creative and persuasive essays on various topics, and poetry in the form of haiku.

Presentation: The student will present his or her portfolio that includes writing, art, and other forms of response to the selected world literature.

Assessment: The students will be assessed in many different ways including the use of teacher made rubrics, student developed rubrics, state and district standards, self-assessment, and peer assessment. The students are given participation points for actively engaging in the group discussions.

The lessons have been designed to take into account the variety of learning styles with an emphasis on student writing in journals, essays, poems, and research papers. Hands on activities are encouraged and utilized through the art and creative assignments allowing for original thought. Group discussion is required fostering a community feeling within the classroom and developing acceptance for all types of opinions.

Lesson One: Brainstorm with the students about what they know about Laguna Pueblo, its people, art, history, and etc. (20 minutes) The teacher will give a brief introduction to Laguna Pueblo and Leslie Silko and introduce the story, Humaweepi, the Warrior Priest. (20 minutes)

Standards addressed: Grade 8: Strand V #i

Lesson Two: The teacher will start reading the story aloud to the students for about 20 minutes. The students will have their own copies of the story that they can write on and read along with the teacher. The students will go back in groups of two and review what was read. They will highlight any parts they like, don’t understand and any words they don’t know. (15 minutes) The students will come back into large group and discuss questions or insights about the reading.

Standards addressed: Grade 8: Strand II #2,3,5,6

Lesson Three: The students will continue with the reading for about 30 minutes. The teacher will then give the directions on how to write open-ended questions that the students will then write and discuss in large group. (20 minutes) The teacher will need to revisit the instructions on how to write the open ended questions a number of times during the reading and discussion sessions throughout this entire unit.

Standards addressed: Grade 8 Strand II #12, 13

Lesson Four: The teacher and any students who volunteer to read will again read aloud

to the large group. At the end of the first section of the book the teacher will ask questions about similar experiences the students may have. How have you felt isolation in your life? The students will answer this prompt in their journals.   Continue with this format until the story is read completely.

Standards addressed: Grade 8: Strand II #5, 6

Lesson Five: Allow the students to brainstorm how they will present their reaction to the story “Humaweepi.” The students may come up with very creative solutions. The teacher may give guidance by suggesting different formats including formal essay response, writing a creative short story, writing a poem, responding with drawing or painting, writing a play, etc. The reaction will take some time to produce and can be given in short time frames of about 15 minutes a period.

Standards addressed: Grade 8: Strand III #5,6

Lesson Six: The students read the poems “All” and “Also All” while being allowed to highlight as needed. The students may read aloud and then again silently to ensure understanding. The teacher leads a class discussion on the theme of the poems, and encourages students to compare and contrast the feeling in the poetry. The students are encouraged to start thinking about what they will write in response to the poems tomorrow.

Standards addressed: Grade 8: Strand II #9,11

Lesson Seven: The students are asked to write a poem in response to “All” and “Also All.” (10 to 15 minutes) The teacher has the students respond to the other students’ poetry by having volunteers share his or her poem with the class. (10 to 15 minutes). The teacher then has the students pass their poem to the right and the student responds in writing to the poem they have just received. (10 to 15 minutes). Continue to share with the large group as time and attention permit.

Standards addressed: Grade 8: Strand III 5, 6

Lesson Eight: Brainstorm with the students about what they know about rites, such as rites of passages, rites for marriages. Question why humans have rites, what needs they fill in our lives. Ask the students to share some rites the have in their lives. The teacher might talk about WWII, Japan, and the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima as this will come up in the reading of the story. (15 minutes). Start reading the story aloud and have students think about any open-ended questions they may have about the story. (30 minutes).

Standards addressed: Grade 8: Strand V #5, 6

Lesson Nine, Ten and Eleven: Continue to read and discuss the story using the students’ questions. Have students write in their journal for about the last five minutes of class. The story may take up to two hours in reading time so the teacher may require some reading at home, about 30 minutes an evening, to ensure the students stay engaged and the story doesn’t become laborious. The story can be emotionally charged for some students. Allow plenty of time for discussion and clarification about the events and images.

Standards addressed: Grade 8: Strand V #1, 6

Lesson Twelve: The teacher will have the students respond to the story “The Rite”. The students will brainstorm possible ways they can do the response. The response needs to be different then what they did for Humaweepi and needs to help round out and develop the students’ portfolios.

Standards addressed: Grade 8: Strand IV # 4, 5

Lesson Thirteen: The students share the response they have completed for “The Rite” with the class and any appropriate audiences. This may take a number of classes to complete. Limit the presentation time to about 10 minutes.

Standards addressed: Grade 8: Strand IV #4, 5

Lesson Fourteen: The teacher will have the students start a research project that is motivated from the stories or poems that were included in the unit. Suggest themes that have reoccurred during the discussions and any themes that the teacher knows are happening in current events or at the school. Allow time in the media center and use this topic to address the standards of research.

Standards addressed: Grade 8: Strand III #5, 6

Lesson Fifteen: Hold a last class discussion about what the students learned about themselves and others including other cultures’ values. How have they changed with this new knowledge? How has the exploration of world literature impacted their slives? What do they want to learn about now?

Standards addressed: Grade 8: Strand V #5, 6

Documentation

Resources for Teachers and the Unit

Biddle, Arthur W., ed. Global Voices, Contemporary Literature from the Non-Western World. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1995.

Campbell, D. The Mozart Effect: Taping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock the Creative Spirit. New York, NY: Avon Books, 1997.

Goleman, D. Emotional Intelligence. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1995.

Hannaford, Carla. Smart Moves; Why Learning is not All in Your Head. North Carolina: Great Ocean Publishers, 1995.

Kohlberg, L. The Psychology of Moral Development: The Nature and Validity of Moral Stages. New York: Harper and Row, 1984.

Kreidler, William J., Lisa Furlong. Adventures in Peacemaking. Massachutes: Project Adventure, 1995.

Lawall, Sarah,ed. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 2002.

Lawall, Sarah, ed. Reading World Literature: Theory, History, Practice. Austin: University of            Texas, 1994.

Lickona, Thomas. Educating for Character: How Our Schools Can Teach Respect and Responsibility. New York: Bantam Books, 1991.

Moore, T. Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 1992.

Williams, M. & Shellenberger, S.   “How Does Your Engine Run?” Albuquerque, NM: Therapy Works, Inc., 1996.

Huffman, Henry A. Developing a Character Education Program: One School Districts Experience. Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1994.

Selekman, Matthew D. Solution Focused Therapy with Children: Harnessing Family Strengths for Systemic Change. New York: The Guilford Press, 1997.

Readings for the Students:

Humaweepi- Laguna novel

“The Rite”-Japanese short story

“All”- Chinese poem

“Also All”- Chinese poem

Resources for Readings for the Students:

Biddle, Arthur W., ed. Global Voices, Contemporary Literature from the Non-Western World. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1995. (All, Bei Dao, and Also All, Shu Ting)

Silko, Leslie Marmon. Humaweepi, the Warrior Priest. In The Man to Send Rain Clouds. New York: Random House, 1975.

Paul Davis, et al., eds. Western Literature in a World Context. Volume 2. The Enlightenment through the Present. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995.   (Takenishi, Hiroko, “The Rite.”)

Works cited

Kohlberg, L. The Psychology of Moral Development: The Nature and Validity of Moral Stages. New York: Harper and Row, 1984.

Lawall, Sarah, ed. Reading World Literature: Theory, History, Practice. Austin: University of            Texas, 1994.

Maslow, A. The Farther Reaches Of Human Nature. New York: Viking, 1971.

Temple, C., Martinez, M., Yokota, J., & Naylor, A. Children's books in children's hands: An introduction to their literature. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998.

Templeton, S. Teaching Integrated Language Arts. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991.

APPENDIX 1

APS Profile of the Graduate

                                                       Human Relations

          Interpersonal Skills

          Uses interpersonal techniques that foster collaboration with individuals and groups; participates and facilitates working cooperatively in diverse groups; applies problem solving techniques by identifying and selecting appropriate alternatives to resolve issues; exercises individual freedoms while demonstrating respect for property and the rights of others.

          Social Responsibilities

          Exercises individual freedoms while exhibiting social responsibility to family, community, and society; demonstrates citizenship by contributing to the community; exercises rights and responsibilities guaranteed by the constitution and law; acknowledges and respects individual and group differences.

                                                     Personal Effectiveness

          Knowledge of Self

          Exhibits a positive self-concept; identifies and builds upon personal strengths and qualities; practices self-discipline; maintains a positive attitude.

          Health Enhancing Behaviors

          Exhibits the ability to cope effectively with personal challenges; frustrations, and stressors; makes choices to promote good health.

         Self-Motivation

          Displays perseverance; sets high standards; accepts new or changed responsibilities.

          Character Development

          Develops a personal values system; accepts responsibility for own actions; chooses ethical courses of action.

APPENDIX 2

Grade 8: Strand II

Strand II: Reading Analysis

6-8 Benchmark: The student examines literature from a variety of authors, cultures, and genre and makes connections among a variety of literary works.

GRADE 8

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Literary Analysis

Analyzes the author’s use of a variety of techniques (e.g., appeal of characters, logic and credibility of plots and setting, use of figurative language, and emotional impact) to convey meaning. (I A.3)

Analyzes the purpose and effectiveness of the selection by evaluating author bias, message, and underlying assumptions. (I D.1)

Analyzes the inferences and conclusions from fiction and non-fictional contexts, events, characters, settings, and themes. (I C.2, I D.1)

Literary Elements

Identifies significant literary devices (e.g., metaphor, symbolism, dialect, irony) to understand the author’s meaning and perspective. (III B.3)

Identifies and explores the underlying assumptions of the author and describes alternative points of view.

Identifies conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution of conflict in of a variety of literary works. (III B.1)

Identifies the defining characteristics of classic literature and themes. (III B.4)

Evaluates the effectiveness of the use of dialect in a variety of texts.

Describes how tone and meaning are conveyed in poetry and expository writing through word choice, figurative language, sentence structure, line length, punctuation, rhythm, repetition, and rhyme. (III B.2)

Literary Applications

Examines classic and contemporary literature of a variety of genre from various cultures. (III A.1)

Analyzes how the use of significant literary devices (e.g., symbolism, dialect) affect the meaning of the text and provide clues to the author’s perspective. (III A.3)

Analyzes personal perspective towards texts and the influence of society, culture, and historical issues on the reader. (I D.2, III A.2)

Explains how themes in literature are a reflection of human issues and experiences. (I C.1)

Grade 8 :

Strand III: Expressive Language: Writing

6-8 Benchmark: The student develops and demonstrates proficiency and competence in writing strategies and conventions across content areas to describe, narrate, express, explain, persuade, and analyze critically for a variety of purposes and audiences.

Grade: 8

Writing Strategies

Demonstrates competence in using the writing process to create a final product with emphasis on the following:

�        prepares an outline based upon a chosen organization, including an introduction, transitions, previews, summaries, a logically developed body; and an effective conclusion. (II B.6)

�        writes using specific rhetorical strategies (e.g., appeals to logic, emotion, ethics)

�        edits written work to remove extraneous details and inconsistencies.

�        revises written work to make it clear.

Demonstrates competence in using elements of effective writing (e.g., idea, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions).

Demonstrates competence in using a variety of technology (e.g., word processors, overhead projectors, multi-media) to present information appropriate for the intended purpose and audience. (II B)

Writing Conventions

Demonstrates competence in using writing conventions (e.g., grammar, spelling, mechanics, capitalization) with emphasis on the following:

�        uses correct and varied sentence types and sentence openings. (II B.1)

�        revises writing for word choice, appropriate organization, consistent point of view, and transitions between paragraphs, passages, and ideas. (II B)

�        compares items for emphasis. (II B.7)

�        evaluates the use of dialects in standard and non-standard English. (II B.5)

�        identifies and uses parallelism to present ideas in a series. (II B.2)

�        uses subordination, coordination, apposition, and other devices to indicate relationship between ideas. (II B.4)

Writing Applications

Demonstrates competence in applying appropriate types of writing (e.g., descriptive, narrative, expressive, expository, persuasive, and analytical) for the purpose and audience:

�        describes the significance of the subject to the author. (II C.1)

�        writes a personal account that establishes a point of view and sharpens focus, describes remembered responses, selects details that best illuminate the topic, and connects events to self and society. (I A.1)

�        compares, contrasts, and evaluates details, main ideas, themes, and actions in response to something that has been read or viewed. (I A.3)

�        supports a thesis citing evidence from the text. (I A.2)

�        creates written arguments to persuade by establishing context; creating a persona, developing interest; developing a controlling idea that makes a clear and knowledgeable judgment; arranging details, reasons, and examples effectively; and anticipating and addressing reader/listener concerns.

Uses information for specific tasks by: (I B.1)

�        analyzing and evaluating information to extend ideas,

�        analyzing and evaluating themes and central ideas in relation to personal and societal issues, and

creating a research product in both written and presentation form. (See also: Strand IV: Expressive Language: Speaking, and Strand VI: Research)

Strand IV: Expressive Language: Speaking

Content Standard: The student speaks effectively for different audiences and purposes (e.g., to describe, narrate, express, explain, persuade, and analyze) using appropriate speaking strategies and conventions. (See also Strand III: Expressive Language: Writing, and Strand VI: Research)

6-8 Benchmark: The student develops and demonstrates proficiency and competence in speaking strategies and in appropriate speaking conventions to describe, narrate, express, explain, persuade, and analyze for a variety of purposes and audiences.

Grade 8

Speaking Strategies

Demonstrates competence with speaking strategies in the following ways:

�        prepares an outline for a speech based upon a chosen organization, including an introduction, transitions, previews, summaries, a logically developed body, and an effective conclusion. (II B) (See also: Strand III: Expressive Language: Writing)

�        revises a speech for word choice, appropriate organization, consistent point of view, and transitions between paragraphs, passages, and ideas. (II B)

Speaking Conventions

Demonstrates competence with speaking and language conventions (e.g., grammar, standard English, diction) with emphasis on the following:

�        uses correct and varied sentence structures and sentence openings. (II B.1)

�        identifies and uses parallelism to present ideas in a series. (II B.2)

�        juxtaposes contrasting ideas for emphasis. (II B.3)

�        uses subordination, coordination, opposition, and other devices to indicate relationship between ideas. (II B.4)

�        evaluates the effectiveness of the use of dialects. (II B.5)

�        identifies formal and informal speaking contexts and explain when slang, jargon, and different language styles are appropriate. (II A.3)

Speaking Applications

Demonstrates competence with appropriate types of speaking (e.g., descriptive, narrative, expressive, expository, persuasive, and analytical) for a variety of purposes and audiences:

�        develops and presents arguments that persuade in the following ways: (II A.2)

o       engages the audience by establishing a context, creating a personal connection, and developing interest;

o       develops an idea that makes a clear and knowledgeable judgment;

o       arranges details, reasons, and examples persuasively; and

o       anticipates and addresses reader/listener concerns and counter-arguments.

Uses information for specific tasks by: (I B.1)

�        analyzing and evaluating information to extend ideas,

�        analyzing and evaluating themes and central ideas in relation to personal and societal issues, and

�        creating a research product in both written and presentation form. (See also: Strand III: Expressive Language: Writing, and Strand VI: Research)

Presents similar content for a variety of purposes and to different audiences, showing appropriate change in delivery. (II A.1, I C.1)

Strand V: Receptive Language: Listening and Viewing

Performance Standards

Grade 8

Listening/Viewing Strategies

Develops and uses constructive criteria to evaluate the quality of communication:

�        uses knowledge of language structure and literary or media techniques to assess meaning;

�        draws conclusions based on evidence, reason, or relevant information;

�        considers the implications, consequences, or impact of those conclusions;

�        determines purpose through exploring bias, intended messages, emotional factors, or persuasive techniques;

�        identifies and explores the underlying assumptions of the author/speaker, remaining open to different interpretations; and

�        recognizes the point of view of the author/speaker by considering alternative points of view.

Analyzes an auditory/visual selection to identify conflict, rising action, climax, and resolution of conflict.

Evaluates the effectiveness of the use of dialect in an auditory/visual presentation.

Analyzes a variety of media, showing how it reflects and shapes cultures, values, beliefs, and attitudes.

Listening/Viewing Applications

Determines the purpose of a variety of auditory/visual texts by determining their bias, intended messages, emotional manipulation, and persuasive techniques.

Participates in group discussions and/or activities: (I A.2)

�        shares personal reactions to questions raised;

�        gives reasons and cites examples from texts to support opinions;

�        clarifies, illustrates, or expands on a response; and

�        asks classmates for similar expansions.