I can't remember all the questions I was supposed to answer in this, but here's hoping I'm comprehensive enough to answer them without realizing it! Here is the plan:
I am going to design a unit plan that will focus on language as identity. Doing a very basic google search turned up this: http://www.ncsu.edu/linguistics/filsoncurriculum.php To quote Andy Dwyer, "Awesomesauce!" Obviously there will be more poking around, find out what's being taught and what I would want to do.
I want this unit to get high school students thinking about language and how it is used. Some of the things we've done in this class could be brought into a high school setting. I think looking at pieces of dialect literature would be able to help students get an idea of how language is a part of an identity. By looking at these pieces of literature, the students could infer where the author (or speaker) is from, their race, possibly their social class. I think there could be some writing involved. I really enjoyed the activity we did in class earlier this year about writing in a dialectal style. I think that's something students could do at the high school level. It may be a formative assessment to see if students are getting the idea that 1) dialects have rules and 2) dialects can relate to identity.
I was also thinking of having the students look at their own language. Take note of what they say to their peers, to their parents, to other authority figures, and see if there are differences.
Because I like the idea of having a companion novel, I was thinking I'd teach Huckleberry Finn. In a different unit I'm designing, I am reading the novel first and then taking a look at some of it's themes in the following week. I'm thinking a similar format might come into play here, where the class would read Huckleberry Finn, paying attention to how language is used as an identity, and then over the next week or so having them explore that idea more in depth.
I've chosen this topic because I think that it is something that not a lot of people think about. We use different language in different situations without thinking about it. I feel it might be interesting to high school students to take a look at this phenomenon. It would give them an idea of how powerful language can be. I think this could also very easily tie into the question that some others are wrestling with of "how do you accept dialects while teaching Standard English?"
There are several different ways to go with a unit like this, but I was thinking of focusing more on how language can define race and class. If students wanted, they could focus on how language defines other aspects of their life such as gender, age, or social group.
It was suggested in my group that a website might be an interesting way to format this project. I think it could be an interesting way to put the information out there, but I'm not sure if it's the direction I'll take. Perhaps it will depend on how quickly the research goes!
Your feedback in the comments is always appreciated. I'll do my best to reply.
Write me a letter
And post it on my refrigerator door,
Alan
I have to admit that I saw a slight discrepancy with regards to your idea of identifying an author's background and culture according to the voice used int their writing. Twain is a wonderful example. He is able to encompass such a variety of of voices within his works, that if one was asked to determine his cultural background it could be misleading. I do agree with you that it is important to incorporate language in the classroom, in fact out of all projects I have read so far our's seem to have the most in common.
ReplyDeleteAlan, your project and mine sound almost identical! I am curious how much research you are planning to do and what kind. To be honest, I wasn't planning to do much research, because I did not think it would be relevant to my goal for my unit. I personally want students to come up with the answers to the questions. I more want to develop a unit that raises questions then to give students examples of ways to think about language. From that, I hope for them to come to their own conclusions. However, I do believe that research of the right kind used in the right way could definitely strengthen my unit. So I guess I am just wondering how you are planning to use it, if you don't mind, so that I can get another and maybe better way to think about my project. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOh man, do you think Dr. Branch will red this? I don't think I'll end up doing a lot of research either. But here's a rough sketch of what I'm planning.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of having a novel as an entry point, so I was going to teach Huckleberry Finn. Obviously, as a class we'd discuss the race issues and whatnot in the book, but I want students to look at how language is used to signify a character's race or background. After the reading (thinking 2 weeks in class for reading) I'd spend another week, week and a half discussing language as identity. I'd explore some different venaculars, have the students examine their own language. I think something fun would be a writing exercise like we did where I have them write a character or scene in a dialect because I think writing can enhance our understanding of literature (and vice versa).
So, I don't know how much research I'll actually do. Really, at this point in the semester, I've read way to many journal articles and have downloaded even more than that. I think my final submission will be about a four page paper and then a daily lesson plan for the unit, so enough research to make sense of what I'm trying to accomplish, but not so much that my unit is leading kids to my answer, if that makes sense.
I have a weird schedule, but if you want to meet up, drop me a line and we can make it work!
Alan,
ReplyDeleteI am writing to you on here, but will also send you an email through D2L. Sorry for the short notice and all, but as you do, I also have had a crazy schedule. I was just wondering how your unit plan is coming. What obstacles are you running into? If you don't mind, could you email me a copy of it just so I can compare notes? I would be willing to send you mine as well, although it is not done yet.