September 16, 2010

By: Phyllis S. from Philadelphia, PA
Comments: 21

Posted By: Phyllis Santiago
On: 12/29/2008 10:51:08 AM

Happy Holidays!! I just wanted to say thanks to all who attended the City of Neighborhoods last November. Although I am just now getting around to typing up my lesson plans, I have sent significant time researching and planning a week's worth of lessons that will challenge my seniors to think critically about social justices issues in America. If you get a chance, read The Soloist by Steve Lopez. It is a facinating look into the storm of mental illness and homelessness. If you are super busy, the movie release is March 2009 (A Spielberg film.) Phyllis

Posted By: Peter Weiss
On: 12/29/2008 5:56:07 PM

Hey Phyllis. This is Peter from NY. You know, the guy with 2 left hands and good that I am a south paw. I am inspired too. You know I just completed teaching a college course, I've been doing that for years and we had a chance to really consider not social justice per se, but what we are as people. As an English teacher and educator and parent and more, I am always interested in what it is that are the traits of being human. I don't mean from an anthropological standpoint or a sociological one either. I just mean what we share on this earth, even so tenuously as human beings. It is great stuff for Lit classes and my high school kids hate it, but I make them do it cause they have to. It all ties together with CON and social justice and what it is to be part of this world. I had a great time at that workshop and hope the lesson plans I submitted will reflect a chance to adapt CON methodology to English classes in HS. Happy holidays to you too.

Posted By: Anna Bennett
On: 12/31/2008 1:36:26 PM

Phyllis, How did you use The Soloist in your class? I have a 10th grade literacy elective that I teach and I would love to use something like that in my class with these kids. I saw a preview for the movie a few days ago and it looks amazing. What reading level is the book? What lessons did you do around it? Best, Bennett

Posted By: Tiffany DeJaynes
On: 1/1/2009 11:35:44 PM

Haha, I'm with Phyllis, this stuff has been in my head and even in my curriculum but I've let mapping it all out to post on here drag on....and on. Ahhh, perfectionism. I think The Soloist might be a little tough for our 10th graders but I've had awesome luck pairing stuff with CD projects and other music-infused literacy curriculum. I had kids create an album of their favorite music and write about how the songs represented/connected to their lives. They also designed CD covers and created marketing materials for their "Life Album." Probably the highest level of engagement I've had all year. Might be a project you could adapt with this book!

Posted By: Phyllis Santiago
On: 1/2/2009 1:01:24 PM

Hi Bennett! My co-teacher and I got a book for every senior in our building and for every senior teacher. It was selected by our library system as our "One Book, One Philadelphia " so lucky for us, they were free! We actually got to take the kids to meet Steve Lopez (the author) at a teen talk and then we just started reading it together. We devoted almost four weeks to the book and most kids were really into it. We did a good job hyping it up and other teachers helped us just by talking about it in their classes too. Our discussions were interesting and every week they had a lengthy writting assignment along with daily "ticket out" questions to answer or illustrate. We had the students doing parallel research but, next semester, we're doing a huge design project around Skid Row and connecting it to Philly. The students had a great sense of accomplishment from reading this book. Many of them reported that they had a better understanding of mental illness and the homeless population. What more could a teacher ask for?

Posted By: Phyllis Santiago
On: 1/2/2009 1:09:36 PM

Hi Peter: Watching your city every New Year's Eve is always facinating. I to am drawn to having my students study the deeper meaning of who we are and what we are all about as caring people. If they walk out of school with a sense of what it means to be just and fair then I know I've done my job.

Posted By: Phyllis Santiago
On: 1/2/2009 1:12:38 PM

Hi Tiffany: We did a project around the Harelm Rennaisance that included a great splash into Jazz Music, poetry, and African American Lit. We had great fun. The students were happy and so was I!

Posted By: Kathleen Melville
On: 1/2/2009 3:10:06 PM

Phyllis - Thanks for the recommendation. I read Third and Indiana (also by Steve Lopez) many years ago after I saw middle schoolers reading it (voraciously) at Mariana Bracetti (in N. Philly). That book follows a teenage graffiti artist who begins documenting murders in N. Philly with his art. I like how Lopez, a journalist, has dedicated his fiction to parts of our city that are often so poorly covered in the news media. I wonder if studying his fiction on Philly might open up a way to look at the differences between fiction/non-fiction and lead students to analyze/criticize some of the injustice in Philly's news media.

Posted By: Phyllis Santiago
On: 1/5/2009 6:38:05 PM

Another good non ficiton for older teens in the same spirit as 3rd and Indy is Random Family by Adrian LeBlanc (it takes place in the Bronx.) My kids loved it and we learned about drug addicts, gangs, welfare moms, bad schools, prision life, sex and how to break the cycle of all this misery.

Posted By: caroline vanek
On: 1/7/2009 7:49:12 AM

Phyllis, I would love to know about your project around the Harlem Renaissance. We are a project-based school and I am always looking for new ideas. Thanks! Caroline

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