Dr. Louis' Blog

We help students to find the right words. Without us, without education, the poverty of words can result in limited language expression and unrealized potential, and frequent frustration. So, I am always proud of teachers who build their students' vocabulary each day to help them express themselves more effectively. Because words are important!

I work with teachers every day, some of the greatest minds in the world! I'm not talking about celebrities; I'm talking about everyday teachers! And something that I would like us to do regarding "the power of language" is to stop allowing students to address us only as "Miss" or "Mister." In many classrooms all over the nation, instead of students calling us by our names, like Ms. Vaughn or Dr. Pena, students will just say, "Miss" or "Mister." For example, "Miss, where do I put this paper?"

You are an important person in the lives of your students and in the world. You are a TEACHER. You a re valuable. Please do not let your students devalue you and the profession by calling you the same name as what we would call a waitress whom we've never met!

As English teachers, we know the power of language. As historians, you have witnessed the effect of a historical motivating or misspoken word. As math and science teachers, you have seen what one wrong symbol can do to an equation or a chemical reaction, respectively. LANGUAGE IS IMPORTANT. I know you have a tremendous amount of work on your plate, and you're thinking, "Deborah, I have a lot more problems to deal with than this!" But I would like to convince you otherwise. How can you expect students, parents, administrators, and the global community to respect our profession when they don't even call us by our given names?

I remember the first time a student called me "Miss." It was in 1994. My head did a 360, and I turned to the young eleventh grade student and asked, "Why did you call me 'Miss?' My name is Ms. Louis."

"Well, it's easier to call you Miss, and our other teachers let us call them Miss."

"Really?!"

"Uh, huh."

"Well, I will call you Mr. Davis, and you will call me Ms. Louis. I will not answer to 'Miss,' just as I expect that you wouldn't want to answer to 'Hey, you'!"

(This was back when I was calling my eleventh grade students by their last names in order to raise the bar of formality and expectations among a teacher and her students. In the hallway, I called him Mark.)

If I were Aretha Franklin, I'd break out into R-E-S-P-E-C-T right now. As a teacher, I know how hard my colleagues work to better their students' lives, to better our nation's future. If you do not demand respect in your classroom, you will not get it.

I am thankful for the adults in my life who made me grow into the woman I am today. Trust me, it wasn't easy for any of them. So thank you, Mom and Dad. But also, thank you Mrs. Tanner (1st grade); Mrs. Lawrence (2nd grade); Mrs. Hyman (3rd grade); Mrs. Crews (4th grade Math); Mr. Crook (7th grade Social Studies); Mr. Kennemer (9th grade Biology); Mrs. Nickel (11th grade English); Mr. Wilbanks (12th grade Government) and Mrs. Simmons (12th grade English).When I say their names, they live and thrive again. They were important then, and they still are.

We will never rise in our professional status if we do not even have a name.

Keep writing, reading, and teaching!

Warm regards,

Dr. Louis (not "Miss")

Finish Scoring the one-chunk body paragraph and the process from Independent Writing last week. Do not score only the final product; you must score the process to demonstrate to students that the process at this stage in their writing acumen is key. They will not value it if you do not value it -- literally. In fact, the process for me would be 70% and the final paragraph would be 30%. Think summative assessment. Remember, you spent four-and-a-half weeks preparing them for that writing. In my opinion, it should be one of your test grades for this six weeks or quarter.

Dear Dr. D',

I wanted to get your comments on a  prompt that I will use on Friday with my Honors students.  They read a creation myth about good vs. evil and the need for both in order to create balance in the world.  Below is the prompt I plan to use. Prompt: Based on the Iroquois creation myth “The World on the Turtle’s Back” write a one chunk (2+:1) paragraph that discusses the need for good and evil in the world. For the CD (2+) list events from the story that support the need of both good and evil in the world and for the CM(1) explain the importance.

We completed guided practice and they are currently working on writing a paragraph as a group.  Later this week I will be having them write individually.  Any feedback on the prompt or process is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Monica 

‍

‍Dear Monica,

Thank you for reaching out to me. I love to collaborate with teachers on prompts, and yours is a good one. It's fun to work as colleagues. Sometimes, being a teacher can be a lonely profession.

Prompts are important to our students; if we don't make ourselves clear about our expectations, students cannot succeed. Also, we're so busy and deadline-oriented that sometimes we hurry through a prompt, and the results are disastrous. I've done it -- written a prompt during passing period or in a matter of minutes, and the results were quite ugly! So, I especially appreciate your asking your question many days before you give the students the prompt. That's a master teacher move!

So, here is my mini-lesson on prompts: Decoding prompts is a skill that all students should learn. I am always concerned when students say, "I don't know how to start." The definition of "prompt" is

1) to move or induce to action;

2) to occasion or incite; inspire; or

3) to assist (a person speaking) by suggesting something to be said.

To that end, I instruct teachers to write prompts with three distinctive parts: background sentences (1-3), a trigger sentence, and the task. What you have written is the task. So, I'd like to see you give one or two background sentences about why the heck they have to read this story in the first place. How will their lives benefit or be more enriched by knowing this creation myth? Or, give them some insight into how creation myths tend to have some recurring patterns. In other words, start your prompt with a sentence or two that either 1) sparks their interest; 2) shocks their daily routine; 3) provides them with a mini-lesson on an element of literature; 4) begins with a thematic statement; or 5) sets the literary period that helps them to decipher characteristics of that literary period as they read the passage.

Example of background sentences for your prompt: Creation myths are found in cultures around the world. They are stories that we agree to tell about ourselves or another culture but frame them in different ways.  That’s what myth does; it tells us about ourselves or who we choose to say we are. What is fascinating about myths is that even cultures that live across the world from each other seem to have stories that bind us all together as human beings, concepts such as good and evil. Then, write the trigger sentence. I always wondered why the AP prompts had sentences such as "Read the passage carefully." I thought to myself, "What else would they say -- "Read the passage haphazardly?" Then, I realized that this type of sentence was a trigger sentence. When students learn how to decode prompts, they understand that the purpose of a trigger sentence is to point out that everything above this trigger sentence is designed to engage their thinking; everything below the trigger sentence is designed to guide their task for writing. Example of a trigger sentence for your prompt: Read carefully the Iroquois creation myth titled “The World on the Turtle’s Back."

‍Finally, the task. I like yours. Let me play with it a little. Because you are dealing with both good and evil, both of which are important concepts, I recommend that your task divides the two concepts into one body paragraph with two chunks or, because the concepts are deep ones, two one- to two-chunk paragraphs. Since you are asking them to discuss the need for both good and evil in the world, you want to give both ideas their just deserts. Your call. You know your students.

Example of a task for your prompt: Then, in a well-developed paragraph (two chunks; 1:2+), discuss the need for good and evil in the world. For the CDs (2+) list events from the story that support the need for both good and evil in the world. For the CM (1) in each chunk, provide your insight into the importance of good as well as the importance of evil. For your concluding sentence, reflect on the paradox of the need for both.

‍If you go with a two-chunk paragraph, it might look something like this: TS - Who or what am I writing about? Include "good" and "evil" in this sentence.CD - good - from the storyCD - good - from the storyCD - good - from the story, etc. (2+ sentences)CM - importance of good Transition to CD - evilCD - evilCD - evilCM - why we need evil in the worldCS - importance of both and maybe the paradox of that phenomenonMonica - One other Question: are you having them embed quotations from the text? If so, make sure you teach them the TLCD (Transition/Lead-in/Concrete Detail).

Keep reading and writing!

Best regards,

Dr. D'

I like to begin teaching archetypes with the fairy tale. One of my favorite fairy tales is "Sleeping Beauty." At the beginning of this popular fairy tale, the reader is introduced to the King and the Queen.

To begin, a teacher might ask his/her students the following question: what comes to mind when I say the word “King?” Teachers will hear responses such as ruler, power, control, wise, lawmaker. Because the King is the dominating, ruling principle, the image represents the Self, that part of us that rules our thoughts and actions. Then, teachers may extend that thought process by explaining that within each of us resides the King archetype.

Here is some dialogue with your students to consider: "When we rule over our thought processes, when we take control over our lives, when we make wise decisions, when our rational side controls our thoughts and action, we are tapping into our King archetype."

"When you are making an important decision in your life, the King archetype is triggered. You are ruling your own kingdom! So, when you are posed with a decision to make, you subconsciously engage the King archetype and ask, 'Is my decision based on what is good for others including myself?'"

"The King sets the standards for his Kingdom. So might the individual. In an individual’s case, the Kingdom represents the mind and its progressive movement forward."A discussion of consequences may ensue. You might say, "Decisions we make have consequences, not just for ourselves but for those around us."

"What kind of ruler are you? Are you a tyrant toward yourself and others? Or are you a benevolent ruler toward yourself and others?"

The King and the Queen represent archetypal images found in the collective unconscious of an individual’s psyche. They are important decision-makers, and students who are on the path of developing into an individual might think of the King as one path toward removing themselves from the chains of peer pressure. This type of discussion provides students with an understanding of how the archetypes mingle in our daily lives.(The Queen plays a different role from the King, and her influence in our conscious and unconscious is fodder for an upcoming blog.) To introduce depth psychology to the young in a way that produces thought-provoking results is to consider the images. The King is one of those images.

Some texts that might interest you, the teacher: Edinger, Edward F. Ego and Archetype:  Individuation and the Religious Function of the Psyche. Boston: Shambhala, 1992.Jung, C.G. The Collected Works of C. G.  Jung. Trans. R. F. C. Hull. Vol. 9, Part I. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1969.Louis, Deborah E. Aproaches to Teaching Archetypal and Mythocultural Literature in a Technological World. Dissertation. April 2013.Von Franz, Marie-Louise. The Feminine in Fairy Tales. Rev. ed. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1993.

Now that school is underway, and you've taken time to introduce to students the functions of sentences in an academic paragraph, the time has come to gradually release the responsibility to them. For this week, you are going to have the students do paired writing and independent writing.

I want you to think of an assignment that could be divided into two body paragraphs. So develop two different prompts on one topic or article or literary work. Please make your decision on a student-friendly and easily accessible topic or text. Remember, they are just learning how to think about how to write academic essays. For the first prompt, divide the students into pairs and assign roles:

1. Before class begins, create the pairs. Don't just say, "Talk to the person next to you." Make this an actual get up and move activity. You should have some understanding by the fifth week of who should not be together and who will benefit from being together. You're the expert. Do not haphazardly make pairing decisions. This preparation on your part will help to make the activity work.
2. Start as a class. They are not in pairs, yet. Give the students the Prompt. Decode the prompt with them. Even color-code the prompt for CDs, CMs. 
3. Then, give the students the Gathering CDs graphic organizer. Tell them to get out their red pens. As you read the article or brainstorm the topic, pause and let them write the CDs. Again, they are not yet in pairs. You are leading this whole group session. 
4. When you finish the article or discussing a non text-based topic or issue, and they have listed CDs on their individual sheets, assign the pairs. 
5. Their task: Reread the prompt and decide as a pair which CD or CDs is the best. 
6. Different Types of Writing (Day 1)

1. Response to Literature: Have them gather their CMs and determine TS, CM1, and CM2; they both complete their own sheets; have them move their information to the Tchart.
2. Argumentation: Have them create a thesis "for" and a thesis "against;" have one student list the reasons "for" (at least three in blue); the other lists the reasons "against" (at least three in blue).
3. Expository: Move their CDs to the Tchart; together, they determine a working TS; have one work on the CMs for the first CD; have the other student work on the CMs for the second CD. Then, they both create their revised TS, their CM, and their CS.
4. Narrative: Paired writing for personal narrative doesn't work well for me, but it does for fictional narrative. If you are working with personal narrative, I would go straight to independent writing. With fictional narrative, however, have the students determine their Topic (p. 69) and their concrete example; then, create the character.

• Different Types of Writing (Day 2)

1. Response to Literature: WOW charts and WOTS chart. Have each one take one of the words and WOW it: one on the left side of the page; the other on the right side of the page. You must help them by making sure 1) the synonym in "Box 2" has the same tone as needed for the CD selected; 2) the clouds have phrases; and 3) the clouds are not simply definitions. (Rest up for this day; you won't be sitting.)
2. Argumentation: They select one reason (on the pro side or the con side) and identify which CDs they are going to use; they go to the Tchart and complete the Tchart. If you are expecting counter argument and refutation, tell them to wait until the end to complete that section.
3. Expository: Go to the shaping sheet. Tell them, "Do not copy; move and improve as a team the material, using other ideas." Give them your three editing rules. Remember mine?
4. Fictional Narrative: setting, back story, conflict

• Different Types of Writing (Day 3)

1. Response to Literature: Shaping Sheet and Final Draft (See 7.3 above for Shaping Sheet.)
2. Argumentation: Shaping Sheet and Final Draft (See 7.3 above for Shaping Sheet.)
3. Expository: Shaping Sheet (cont'd) and Final Draft (See 7.3 above for Shaping Sheet.)
4. Narrative: beginning, middle, end paragraphs and resolution -- Final Draft (They might need a 4th day.)

• Day 4-5 (Independent Writing)

1. Give them the second half of the prompt and have them perform all steps today and tomorrow.
2. All steps are done in class: Test Grade

Now, you are ready to WRITE WITH THE STUDENTS. You are going to lead this dynamic endeavor. Rest up, because this is hard but rewarding work. Decide which prompt you would like to use. Last week, I divided the S&S into the four modes of discourse. This week, however, you are going to stay with that mode and determine the prompt you will use. Some ideas -- if you were using one of our models, simply work through the second half of the passage with a collaborative approach. If you used one of your own models, try to stay with the same article or issue. Write a different paragraph, but if you can stay with the same subject of the first piece, you will have an easier and more expeditious time of it, because the students will be familiar with the subject at hand.

Some ideas to consider:

• Do not let one or two students manipulate the conversation. If you have technology that randomly selects students, use it. Call on volunteers and non-volunteers. If you do not have the technology, give the students tickets and have drawings for offering their thoughts. Make sure you know which students have which numbers.
• Reward the students. I always rewarded my students with beads. 

• I went to a craft store and purchased cords, cutting them about 8-10 inches in length. I then went to old antique shops (e.g., Lynn Arts in Arlington, Texas) and purchased boxes of beads: glass beads, wooden beads (for the boys); all differently shaped beads.
• I gave each student two glass beads and showed them how to create a bracelet.

• Take the end of one cord and slide it into both beads. Then, take the other end of the cord and slide it through the opposite end of both beads.
• Tie the ends. Then, untie one end when you are adding beads.
• Slide both ends of the cord into the beads. Tie knots at the end.
• When students volunteered answers or said something astounding or asked a particularly wonderful question, I would tell them to go to the beads and select 1, 2, or 3. They would add them to their bracelets. When their bracelet was full, they would create another bracelet or necklace or ankle bracelet or ring. They loved it!

Day 1: Decode the prompt. Work through the Gathering CDs, calling on volunteers and non-volunteers.

Day 2 -3: Tchart and Commentary

Day 4-5: Shaping Sheet. You notice that this is a two-day writing workshop. Here, I would like to see your class dialogue about diction, and I would like you to work on types of sentences: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. For ESL students, one of the areas of focus should be checking on words that need "ed" at the end. I'm finding that the past tense verb is problematic.

Type up their final draft and give it to them to place in their notebooks. Now they have two models!