Bringing Pop Culture into Our Classrooms Jon Weldon Concept Schools Jon Weldon Concept Schools

The Bed Intruder

Concept Schools ELA curriculum includes numerous other “texts”: Theme – Mysterious WorldsSecond Unit - Recommended for 2nd Quarter6 th Grade Essential Questions: Where can we find mysterious worlds? Why is it necessary or important to explore other worlds? What can we learn from mysterious worlds? How can books and art bring us closer to other worlds? Texts/ Resources Common Core Standards Activities/ProjectsAssessments/Measures Primary Novel: A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L’Engle Textbook Selections: “The Phantom Tollbooth” Mysterious Worlds, see Selections by Theme, p. xxv Secondary Texts: Night of the Bat (novel), Paul Zindel Skeleton Man (novel), Joseph Brachac Phantom Tollbooth (novel), Norton Juster Various Goosebumps titles, R.L. Stine Art: “The Scream” (Munch), Surrealism Music: Baroque, scary movie soundtracks Movies: Stand By Me, Green Mile, early horror, including Hitchcock Literature 6.1 Literature 6.2 Literature 6.3 Literature 6.4 Literature 6.5 Literature 6.6 Literature 6.7 Literature 6.10 Informational 6.1 Informational 6.2 Informational 6.6 Informational 6.7 Informational 6.9 Informational 6.10 Writing 6.2 Writing 6.5 Writing 6.6 Writing 6.7 Writing 6.8 Writing 6.9 Compare and Contrast Venn Diagram – Phantom Tollbooth book to play Review Write your own scary story – Writer’s Workshop and publish your own book Author’s Study – Horror writers (R.L. Stein, Stephen King, etc.) Art as a springboard for story Album Cover Project Theme Song Essay Author Quest “Writing a Movie” Sound Movie Abstract Representation Character Mandala Interim Assessments Narrative Writing Rubrics Ongoing Writing Portfolios Formative Assessments: Quizzes, Tests Weekly spelling tests covering frequently misspelled words Direct Vocabulary Instruction Unit Requirements 1 long writing piece 1 Oral Presentation 1 21 st Century LIteracies Activity 3 Lessons incorporating non-print texts

Concept ELA Curriculum Theme – Visions and DreamsFourth Unit – Recommended for 4th Quarter 9th Grade Essential Questions: How can I make this a better world? What do I believe? Am I a participant or a bystander? What is the American Dream? Texts/Resources Common Core Standards Activities/ProjectsAssessments/Measures Primary Novel: To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee, or I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou Textbook Selections: "Dream Deferred", “Dreams”, Langston Hughes, "Hope", Emily Dickinson "I Have a Dream," Martin Luther King “First Inaugural Address”, F. D. Roosevelt “Uncle Marcos”, Isabel Allende "I Hear America Singing", Walt Whitman Poetry "I, too, Sing America", and "A Negro Mother", Langston Hughes "There is a Longing," Chief Dan George "Still I Rise", Maya Angelou Hiphop Lyrics "Umi Says," Mos Def "I Can," Nas "At the Helm," Del, the Funky Homosapien Nonfiction My Story, Rosa Parks Film: The Pursuit of Happyness Literature Literature Literature Informational Informational Informational Informational Informational Writing Writing Writing Writing Writing Authentic Task: Create a newspaper dated 1933, Maycomb, AL using real historical events as well as the events in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Include all contents of Newspaper Speech using persuasive techniques Poetry Video Essay: Students choose five different types of poetry that represents how they want to live their life, combine them, read them, and create a video that shows images of them with symbols of their future Advertisement for a unique product line that would improve the future (create an authentic audience by having a student-wide contest) Letter to the Editor with cooperation of local editing staff Scenario Scavenger Hunt: Teacher provides students with a list of scenarios with the purpose of students choosing the best mode of communication for response. When the student uses the correct mode of communication, the next prompt is given. Once the student has achieved all prompts they receive a reward. P.O.I (presentation of issues) D.O.L (quote journals) Independent Reading with logs or journals Literature circles Anticipation Guides K-W-L Chart Simulations Question/Answer Relationships (Blooms Taxonomy) Wikis and Blogs Classroom Forums Nonfiction Writing Rubrics Direct Vocabulary Instruction Formative Assessments: Quizzes, Tests Ongoing Writing Portfolios Interim Assessments Products (personal dictionary, interactive notebook, journals, etc.) Participation Oral Presentations using multi-media Publishing (web pages, authentic tasks with authentic audiences) Interim Assessments Unit Requirements: 1 Authentic Assessment Writing Piece 1 Oral Presentation 1 21 st Century Literacies Activity 3 Lessons incorporating texts other than print

Common Core Standards and Pop Culture Grade 6 – Literature: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7. Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story, drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version of the text, including contrasting what they “see” and “hear” when reading the text to what they perceive when they listen or watch. 9. Compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres (e.g., stories and poems; historical novels and fantasy stories) in terms of their approaches to similar themes and topics Grades 9-10 – Listening and Speaking 2. Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source. Grades 9-10 – Literature: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7. Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” and Breughel’s “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus”). Grades – Literature: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7. Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist.)

What are your literacies? What does a textual day in your life look like? What kinds of “texts” do you regularly read? What kinds of “texts” do your students regularly read?

Analysis of a Textual Day in Your Life IdentitiesTextsValuesSocial NetworksLiteracy Learning Athlete, runner Movie watcher, amateur film critic Sports sections in newspapers, ESPN Chicago Tribune – entertainment section, Late Night Talk Shows (Letterman, Leno, etc), Download torrents or NetFlix, TNT, USA, TBS Health, outdoors, relieve stress, competition Entertainment, cultural awareness, film history Runners, hikers, outdoor enthusiasts Friends and family, movie critics, other downloaders Skimming and scanning (for fast times, people I know); strategies to prevent injuries; map usage; directions Critical awareness (what types of movies will I like), summarizing, reflection (what did I like), reading schedules

How do you view pop culture? “I wish that teachers listened to the music we like and would learn some of the dances through watching the videos. It would be really cool for a teacher to ask me how to do a dance or learn about a song. We could get to know teachers some, and teachers could get to know us some.” -Interview with a 7 th grade student

“I don’t look to using popular culture for its own sake. I have to see some connection to the standards, and I also have to be able to achieve some connection to it myself. Essentially, it’s as much about my popular culture if not more than the students.” -Interview with a high school English teacher

3 Ways of View Pop Culture 1. Mass Culture Assumed that audience passively accepts the text and meanings intended by producer (writer) Low culture For pleasure

News Clip – Woman Wakes up to find Intruder in Her Bed

2. Folk Culture Texts have no inherently produced meaning Important part of people’s lives Focus on how the audience (not producer) uses the text Examples: jeans, cellphones, birth of hiphop

3. Everyday Culture Assumed that both producers (writer) and audiences (reader) have the power to create meaning Important part of people’s lives, for learning identities and beliefs Focus on both producer’s intended meaning and audience’s created meaning

Shepard Fairey

3 Ways of Viewing Pop Culture 1.Mass Culture 2.Folk Culture 3.Everyday Culture –Allows the most potential as meanings are constantly creating according to social and cultural contexts –Multimodal in nature

Multimodality So much of pop culture is multimodal Ron Clarke Academy’s “Vote However You Like” Not just the text on a page This then gets into what we mean by “new literacies” Anything can be multimodal now with videos and software so easy and prevalent performative and visual modes play a larger role in creating meaning

Inanimate Alice tmlhttp://inanimatealice.com/episode1/index.h tml Lots of resources at the site:

Advantages of Multimodal Texts Distributes meaning across linguistic, visual, aural, and performative modes at the same time touches on our multiple ways of learning – Gardner’s multiple intelligences and learning styles empowers students by allowing them chances to comprehend texts based on their own experiences NOT about catering to a shortened attention span or lowering our standards Intertextuality – focuses students’ attention on how texts work off or inform each other

Very important for instruction to give students opportunities to negotiate a producer’s (writer’s) assigned meaning with one that is personally acceptable to them

4 Primary Ways of Integrating Pop Culture into Your Classroom

1. Connections Connect “irrelevant” content to students’ personal lives For example: “Mysterious Worlds” Unit in 6 th grade includes scary movie soundtracks: 1.Show clips of some scary movies. Discuss how the music affects your viewing of the scene 2.Draw attention to plot development 3.Create a scary soundtrack to parts of A Wrinkle in Time or other novel your class is reading 4.Then do the Sound Movie activity on page 44.

Jaws – the skier scene

Psycho – the shower scene

2. Cultural Capital (Allegiances) Recognizes the value of a cultural experience Values the power of knowledge about particular popular texts within different groups Encourage students to bring texts that are normally ignored For example: Using blogs and social networks for discussion (Nings)

Example: Create a Soundtrack Credit to Ms. Jack at HSA Denison Middle Album Cover, list of songs and lyrics Also an example of this in the curriculum guide on page 48 – The Album Cover Project

3. Critical Awareness Should naturally be a part of the curriculum to develop critical awareness Deepens students understanding of self and others Questions how texts are produced and consumed: –What is represented in the text? –Who is the intended audience? –Why do audiences like this text? –Who benefits from using this text? –Who is left out or silenced in this text?

Movies and Films Ms. Carter’s lesson Should never show a movie for a whole class period Better to choose a clip or two and just show that

Hiphop Poetry Unit Combines first 3 models: –Connections –Cultural Capital –Critical Awareness 1.Connect to the canon 2.Compare to other poems 3.Students create their own poems/rhymes

A word about hiphop/rap 1.Be careful. 2.Be respectful. 3.Show lyrics both on paper and as music. 4.Many different types. Be certain of the type you want. 5.Multimodal. Think about what mode you want to focus on.

4. Recontextualized Incorporates parts of the other models Provides opportunities for students to build new knowledge and to transform pop culture texts for new purposes How can instruction both value students’ enjoyment and transform meaning and understanding?

“The Bed Intruder” at the BET Awards

Various Internet Resources – movie reviews – many lesson plans – convert video files Photo Story gitalphotography/PhotoStory/default.mspx

Conclusion – the 3 R’s of Pop Culture Pedagogy 1.Reflective 2.Responsible 3.Respectful