"Romeo, oh Romeo! How do I teach thee Romeo?"

Part I & II: The Need and The Knowledge

As if the fear of teaching a class full of teenagers wouldn’t frighten any new teacher, I have an additional fear of teaching the great, the untouchable, The Bard, William Shakespeare. Looking through the list of novels and plays that must be taught in high school reaffirmed a fear I thought has long since subsided. Throughout my high school years I was fraught with English teachers that would drive Shakespeare’s works into my head with all their might, never once attempting to ease it in, or ask if I would like another bite of what they were serving. They forced "Romeo & Juliet" in between my lips, whether I wanted it “to be or not to be.” They drowned me in scenes from the "Merchant of Venice," but never gave me the satisfaction of a death scene, like the one afforded to Macbeth or Hamlet. I definitely had issues with Shakespeare. My term paper for my senior year was a amateurish attempt to depose the author of his works and poems associated with his name. I delved into books on the topic. Was Shakespeare the true author of the plays, stories and sonnets which bore his name? I had an agenda and was attempting in vain to confirm the rumor through my research. I loathed the greatest author in history. Why did I dislike Shakespeare so much, and how could I change this outcome in my future students?

Where did I attain this dislike? Did I really remember lessons accurately or was I placing undue blame on teachers of a by-gone era? After all, my freshman year was in 1989. I believe that most of what I remember from high school lessons on Shakespeare are accurate but waiver when pressed for exact details. The one detail that I do remember is the difficulty with the language. These characters may have been speaking French, Italian or Japanese for all I cared, I just didn’t get it. With such a barrier as language in my path, I was not allowed to enjoy the storyline, rich characters or different motifs that are present in the works of the great author. Assignments were the archaic type; write a paper on this, or that, three different essay types, arguementative, informational, persuasive. There was absolutely no room for creativity with my teachers. I am a highly creative person that suffocates under the pressures of boredom, generalities and staunch servitude to a way of teaching that is filled with lecture-and-listen mentality.

To say that I have reminisced on those lessons in Shakespeare and have failed to learn from it would be incorrect. Those teachers were not attempting to torture me and other students with Shakespeare, but they failed to give us the tools we needed to succeed. They were simply mimicking what they had seen their teachers do when they were in high school. This is why I fear to teach Shakespeare in my class of the future. I’m afraid I don’t have the tools needed to get them to truly appreciate the great literature. I want to find methods that will break down this barrier in teaching William Shakespeare’s works, especially "Romeo and Juliet." It is one of the required readings for freshman students, and as a new teacher, this might be the likely choice of grade level that I will be given.

I know that my experience with teaching Shakespeare will be a very different one, due to the era of my class and information sharing through the internet. The widespread use of the internet and the ability to access resources on both Shakespeare and teaching the author will prove to be vital in the success of my class. I know there are books out that will help my students who are having difficulty with the language, called “No Fear Shakespeare.” I believe these will be priceless to students who encounter difficulty getting past the language. I imagine that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of lesson plans for teaching Shakespeare that will both alleviate my fears and fortify my lesson plans with creative ways of presenting the materials. I know that with the additional resources provided by organizations, both in print and on the internet, teachers today have a better chance at presenting lessons that all students will find interesting.

I-Search: Adolescent Literature

I grew up being a very avid reader. Just about anything I could get my hands on, I would read and love. It was hard for me to ever imagine NOT liking to read - until I entered high school. My english classes required so much reading - and books that I didn't necessarily enjoy - that I was forced to almost stop reading for pleasure. In not so many words, I was told that the books I was chosing were not "intellectual" enough and that they needed to be set aside for the classics. Granted, I'm a fan of some of the classics and I definitely see a need for them in a classroom setting. However, I don't want my students to fall victim to what I did. So I'm doing my I-search paper on Adolescent Literature in hopes of finding how to maintain a proper balance between what is required literature and what students actually want to be reading. I want to know how to combined those two genres in such a way that students are encouraged and challenged to read from both fields. I want to learn how to foster healthy, intellectual reading and foster reading that may be more relevant to their current lifestyles and that somehow, both will produce lasting effects in the lives of students. I want to learn about when and how to let students choose their own readings and what kind of exercises to incorporate so that there is an academic element to that reading. I want to learn how to compare the classics to the current in hopes of making the less desirable reading seem much more interesting and relevant.



I know that there is a growing trend of incorporating adolescent literature back into the classoom (something that didn't exist when I was in high school). I know that it spurs issues on controversy, censorship, relevance, etc. I know that for every person who thinks it should be a part of the curriculum, there is one who thinks it has no place. And I know that I DO want it to have a place in my classroom - so the question is how can I do it most effectively?

I-Search: To Kill A Mockingbird

For this assignment, I chose to focus on Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. This book is widely adopted into the classroom and its popularity as well as its controversy has sparked my interest. My genuine need for knowing more about this novel is to gain a greater idea of why To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that has had an impact on our educational system for years. Lee’s novel has never been out of print since its release, which conveys that its effect on our students and ourselves is quite extraordinary. Through To Kill a Mockingbird, I wish to know more about the impact that a piece of literature can have. I hope to be able to use different activities to engage my students and allow them to enjoy reading, even if it is difficult, controversial, or enjoyable. In addition, I hope to learn how to create a conceptual unit with a novel being the main text as the focus to teach other literary devices and concepts. How do I create a conceptual unit that incorporates activities and other ideas of learning from a single novel? Where should my focus be in content area? What direction do I take the novel? How do I address the issue of using a controversial text within my classroom? These are all questions that I hope to have a better understanding of once I complete the I-Search.

It has been a while since I have read Harper Lee’s novel, but I know that when I read it in high school, I enjoyed it. I know that this is a novel that has held controversy to its name. Supplemental texts are held next to it if a student or parent wishes that it not be read. Yet, this same text has never been out of print and teachers are still using it in their classrooms. Lee’s novel is widely focused on its theme of racial issues; however, there are many other motifs that can be lifted from the text. Not only would many literary concepts and devices be able to come from such a text, but moments from history and other literary works can be used alongside To Kill a Mockingbird. I imagine students having different opinions, personal connections, and interpretations of the reading, which can open my classroom to discussions that expand their thinking. Also, I imagine being able to use To Kill a Mockingbird to grab the attention of my students and learn from them, as they are able to learn from me.

I-Search for integrated grammar instruction

I chose to research teaching grammar in the context of writing. In the past year or so, I have become increasingly convinced that grammar should not be taught from a textbook as a supplement to the literature or writing curriculum of a classroom. In the same way, writing should not just be a means to express ideas about literature. In order to teach “Communication Arts” effectively, all areas of expression should be integrated. Students need to learn grammar skills in order for their writing to be effective. Instead of having class units about grammar, shouldn’t we integrate grammar lessons into the revision process? Ideally, students would immediately see the pertinence of their new skills and be able to apply them to their own writing. Also, starting lessons after you have seen the errors in students’ writings equips you with specific problems to address.

I imagine there is a large controversy on the best way to teach grammar in high school. Some teachers I talk to like the classical grammar instruction, with worksheets on identifying clauses and diagramming sentences. They think this is the only way to give students the solid foundation in writing skills they will need in order to develop more advanced skills, such as voice and style. Some want to eliminate grammar instruction altogether, saying it imposes upon students arbitrary standards that were made to be broken. Most of my teachers in high school tried a mix of both, but usually abandoned formal instruction halfway through the first semester because they were required to teach Hamlet and they hadn't gotten to it yet. In my research I hope to find practical ways to apply grammar instruction to student writing in the form of mini-lessons or revision workshops.

I-Search Part 1 and 2 from Emily

Part 1:

I never read a whole lot of novels when I was young and in school. I read what I was supposed to so I would receive a good grade, but I hardly ever read for pleasure. There were a couple of books that I read that I simple read because I wanted to; these however, didn’t number more than five or ten books. Because of this, I plan to look into different aspects of Young Adult Literature; mainly its genres. By looking at these I will be able to have an understanding of the different genres that are out there and hopefully will be able to cater to my students better. If a student doesn’t know what they like to read I can ask what it is that they are interested in and figure out what genre they like, or at least what genre to start looking in. Since I don’t have a personal plethora of knowledge of this genre of Literature, studying it here will better prepare me for teaching young adults.

Part 2:

I know that within this genre of Literature there are many sub-genres, with each having a wide variety of authors and works for each. I know that there are books that overlap genres; as well as that male students will usually only read about male characters, where females will read stories that the main protagonist is male or female. I assume that it will be an easy read for me, but may be a difficult read for at least some of my students. Also, I assume, and image, that there is a Young Adult Literature book out there for every person, they just haven’t taken the time or the initiative to find it.

I-Search paper parts 1 and 2

Part I:
My genuine need for knowing more about the topic Of Mice and Men is that it is a book that I will most likely teach in secondary English. I remember reading the book when I was in high school (probably 10th grade), but I don’t remember much about it. That being said, I feel the need to become more familiar with this piece of literature for several reasons; I want to understand the central message and theme of this book on more than just a surface level, I want to be able to help my students interpret the meaning and messages in the story, I want to find out how those interpretations affect our feelings about the book, I want to understand what has been seen as so controversial about this book, and I want to become enthusiastic about this book so that I can pass on the enthusiasm to my students. On top of that, I need to learn how to successfully teach this book so that the unit is both interesting and insightful for my students. I don’t want them to go through this book with apprehension or dread, but instead I want them to be excited, hopefully even passionate, about exploring a classic piece of literature. And I know that any research I can do on this book will help me with creative and fun lesson plans for the unit.

Part II:
I don’t know much about this topic because although I remember that I did read the book, I remember very few details from/about it. Now that I am older and have more of an appreciation for such literature, I imagine that this is a beautifully written story about much more than just friendship. There are probably some very dark issues looming in this book, but these are the parts of the book that I think students will be most interested in. I assume that there are some controversial issues woven into this book because during my initial stages of research for the I-Search paper there were countless articles pertaining to the fact that it has been banned in several areas of the country. Controversy aside, I imagine that this book is one that my students will be able to relate to on some level, and I truly feel that if the students are open to being affected by a story such as this one, they will see that classic works can and do have a place in their lives.

Media Literacy in the Classroom

I decided to focus on Media Literacy in the classroom for my I-Search paper. This is a topic I am interested in because of my broadcast background and because I believe that in today’s society high school students often have an easier time finding connection, to works of literature or other classroom lessons, when some type of media literacy is used in the teaching of that lesson. I am also interested in writing about this topic, because it is something I know little about, in terms of its use in the classroom, and something I am eager to learn about.

I think that it is important to write about this idea, because it is something that every teacher can use. I also think that it is important to me, on a personal level, to write about it because as a teacher, I will need to find the best ways in integrating media literacy in my lesson plans and I can help find that, not only through the research I will do for this paper, but also through the writing process in which I will go through as I write my I-Search. Learning how to integrate media literacy into my classroom and exploring all the types and uses of media literacy available make up the main purpose in writing on this topic.

I know that media literacy is on the rise. It is important for our students because they are immersed in the media in so many aspects of their lives. There are many types of media literacy, movies, magazine, the news, television shows, etc., that can be used. Activities using media literacy can help teachers reach students who might not find connection or interest in the particular lesson that is being taught.

Parts I and II: Why Hamlet?

I chose to do my I-Search paper on teaching Hamlet to a high school class. I chose this topic because I know that most schools require English teachers to teach at least one Shakespeare play throughout the year. My favorite play is Romeo and Juliet, but I feel that Hamlet invites a stronger sense of analysis between scenes and I feel that this will broaden students' ideas and create a better class discussion. Although I studied this play in both high school and college, I feel that there is a lot more that I can learn about it. I feel that I need to know more about the scenes and analysis of this play because I would love to teach it in my class one day. I think that there is a possibility for many interesting projects and paper topics involved in the analysis of this play. One key thing that I thought was very interesting throughout the play was the ghost scene. This scene is particularly interesting to me and I would love to see what students think about it through discussion and final projects. Also, I feel that my research will help me learn more about the characters and how to relate to them to my students. This play contains a very diverse group of characters that I feel many students can relate to, so I would like to take this topic to the next level with my students by connecting it to personal experiences.

I feel like I need to write about this idea because it will be very helpful in my future classroom. The research I do now will help my broaden ideas for lessons and units. Also, I feel that the area of Shakespeare is very interesting. I love the language, the bawdy hidden jokes, the hidden meanings, and the complex ideas present throughout Shakespeare's writing. Also, throughout my research, I hope to find answers to my own personal questions about Shakespeare and Hamlet especially. I hope to find not only new information and ways to understand the literature, but also many new ways to teach it in my classroom. I want to find new interesting projects for the end of the unit, as well as ways to get my students involved throughout the reading, other than just picking people to read the lines. I need to know many things about this topic before I begin teaching it. Not only about the play, genre, history, and writer, but also about the things involved in the writing that most people don't recognize. In order for a teacher to teach something, they genuines need to know what their topic entails and I feel that that is where my research begins.

As I mentioned, I have studied this play in both high school and college, but never studied it in as much depth as I would have liked to. I know about the language of the play, as well as Shakespeare's life, but there is so much about these topics, that I could never be a master in it. I have also learned some of the analysis about specific parts of the play and characters, but not about every aspect. As a high school student, I thought that Shakespeare was boring and hard to understand, but I want to teach my students that it is the exact opposite of that. I want to teach them that Shakespeare can be entertaining, as well as informative about the 1600's. I would love to give them examples of how to connect it to their lives and how they can create a modern version of it. I feel that recent movies and stories that are modern versions of Shakespearean plays are not always true to the plays, so I want to be sure that students understand this connection also.

Overall, through this paper and research, I want to broaden my ideas on the information and ways to teach Shakespeare in a high school class. With the connections to modern day life, analysis of the various characters and scenes, and lifestyle of the 1600's, Shakespeare is a wonderful playwright that creates interesting works that all students should have the chance to study in high school and I would like to make this a meaningful experience for them.