Multiple Literacies in one Baltimore Classroom

Inspired by new freedoms in the curriculum and by discussions in a Methods of Teaching English course, I’ve begun to ask my students to read a whole lot more than stories from their scribbled-upon text books. It’s been a joy to see not only increased student engagement, but also higher performance levels from my students. Take, for example, the examination of Baltimore’s culture within the context of Jerry Spinelli’s Maniac Magee that my students recently embraced.

Over the course of three class periods, I asked my students to combine four different literacies and to synthesize what they learned into a group presentation about Baltimore’s own culture. Throughout the three days I not only wanted students to gain a thorough understanding of the idea that an address provides Maniac Magee with a sense of belonging, but also to develop their own ideas about home, belonging and identity. I asked them to think about what their address means to and says about them.

1. Traditional Print Literacy: During a unit on Jerry Spinelli’s amusing and provocative Maniac Magee, my classes spent one day on a traditional reading comprehension-based lesson. Students responded to their reading in a creative journal format by writing like the main character of the novel to demonstrate their perceptions of the events of the four chapters in question.
2. Visual Literacy: The next day, students practiced visual literacy as they evaluated what different images – pictures, maps and diagrams – communicated about addresses and belonging and whether or not these are positive messages.
3. Digital Video, Digital Image and Spoken Literacy: On the third day, students again examined the idea of belonging, this time in relation to culture, through internet movie clips and digital images that provided the backdrop for interactive discussion among and led by the students.

In order to help you understand how I have begun to incorporate multiple literacies into a seventh grade language arts classroom, I invite you to preview the multiple facets of my project by browsing the items below. Lesson plans, materials, and sample student responses can all be accessed here. I suggest starting with the chapter summaries (written by my students in their “Maniac Journals”), viewing the images students saw during their second-day gallery walk, watching one of the brief movie clips, and finally reading one of the students’ evaluations of belonging in Baltimore.

DAY 1: Traditional Print Literacy: Student interpretations of chapters 9-12 of Maniac Magee – quoted from two students’ “Maniac Journals”

“Man, those Cobras can get you into a lot of trouble, but to me they’re not even all that. Well, not to me. First of all, that big kid – John – was just mad that he couldn’t strike me out. That’s why he and his sissy crew chased me to East End. And this is how you know they’re just punks: I crossed Hector Street and they didn’t cross to chase after me.” ~DB

“Today was half horrible and half terrific. That Mars Bar kid messed up Amanda’s book. I couldn’t return the book like that, so I went to look for 728 Sycamore Street [Amanda’s address]. Then I heard Mars Bar. He tried to pick on me and take the book, and I was scared. [But] Amanda fussed Mars Bar out! Then Amanda took me to her house. She introduced me to the family. Then it was time for me to leave. Mr. Beale was going to drive me home. He noticed I picked a black family’s house so he knew I didn’t have a home. So, he said I could stay at their house. I finally had a home!” ~KM

DAY 2: Visual Literacy: Images Posted Around the Room to View and Respond to

These are a few of the images that students looked at, took notes on and responded to as they walked around the room in a “gallery walk” to add to their repertoire of knowledge about belonging, addresses and Baltimore. More maps and images were provided to students, but were to large to post here.

Map of Northeast Baltimore
Rome wasn't build in a day. Neither was Baltimore. It was built one brick, one block and one generation at a time. The result is a remarkable patchwork of unique neighborhoods, each with its own personality and charm. Friendly. Mature. Woodsy. Artsy. Kind of like people.

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What do you consider home?

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Is this person home?

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This is a pyramid often used to represent what people need.

Think about where a HOUSE with an ADDRESS would fit on this pyramid.

Are they basic needs at the bottom of the pyramid or something that has to do with Safety, Belonging, Esteem or even Self-actualization?

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Rondavel Home in South Africa

Rural Home in Nepal

Guatemalan Home Ready for Sale

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DAY 3: Digital Video Literacy: Movie Clips and PowerPoint Slides to View

Here are a couple of the movie clips that students viewed, took notes about and used as the basis of their group discussions of cultures. Next, you will find images from the brief PowerPoint presentation that accompanied the video clips.

Big Ideas (Cornell Notes)

►Culture is a total way of life.

►There are many aspects of Culture.

►Baltimore has a culture.

►Slogans try to express Baltimore’s culture.

►Who I am is related to my culture and where I live.

Synthesis: Students Concluded the Three Days of “Cultural Immersion” With These Types of Responses:

Poem by TR

My address is something I adore
And when I hear it I can’t ignore
The memories galore that we
Have shared and more
My address is like [a] secret agent.

Code that is the key to your/my
Identity and represents the beauty
Of the flowers that are fruity
On a hot summer’s day.

My address doesn’t define me, but
It sure tells where I live
I’m here to tell you since I was
A baby in a crib I’ve been here
With my address.

Paragraph by DP

My house means a lot to me. I don’t tell many people where I live because that is my own private place of peace. Everyone does not need to know were I live. I love my home because I can do everything I need to do in my room. This is what my house means to me.

Poem by BM

Life at 2537 is full of children and fun,
Let’s start with the life of 2537 and follow along
We’ve just begun.
At 2537, we have friends from around the neighborhood,
And other people just jealous and misunderstood.

Life at 2537 is full of rule and chore,
I can’t take it anymore.
We clean the top to bottom, front from back, and left to right.

Life at 2537 is full of girls then boys,
It’s like me and my brother don’t have any toys.
Life at 2537 has smarty and hotty,
Those hotties are spoiled rotty.

Life at 2537 has too [many] middle schoolers
With basic plans
No one in a marching band.
So this [is the] end of the life of 2537,
I hope you enjoyed it.

Paragraph by DB

An address to me means a home, a place to go and just chill, to eat home-cooked meals with your family and friends, do fun things and have parties and birthdays, invite some friends over and play games. An address is full of golden memories and some not so golden. But, either way, an address doesn’t define who you are; it just tells where you’re going. No matter what address you have, you still have a family with love and care.

Next Steps:
I continue to search for more ways to draw on students’ skills with computers, audio experiences and videos. I wish they were doing more interacting with multiple literacies and less watching my usage of different varieties of literacy. The final project for this unit will have a fairly flexible rubric so that students can meet all requirements through a variety of demonstrations of their own literacies and skills. I look forward to their creativity!