Indiana Reading Journal Volume 44 Issue 1 Volume 45 Issue 1 | Page 11

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Let's Go Fly a Kite:

STEM, Literacy & Dragons in Secondary English Classroom

Dr. Joy Dewing

Kokomo High School

email: [email protected]

One Friday morning, I was surprised when over 25% of my students were absent from class. This affected the day’s lesson, of course, so I decided to find out what was causing the high number of absences. I learned that these students were on a field trip that day with the area Career Center. I was teaching English 11, which is a course for students who mostly score average and below on grades and standardized tests. Just over half of the students in the course had failed their 10th grade ECA test, a state required test for graduation, and would have to retake it during their junior year. I knew many were reluctant readers, but I hadn’t realized so many were involved in Career Center classes. As I talked to the students during the following weeks, I learned that at the Career Center they were taking classes in welding, collision repair, culinary arts, nursing, cosmetology, and medical fields. Many of the students would graduate high school with certificates allowing them to begin their careers right away. I learned that many of them enjoyed the practicality of their Career Center classes – they could see a purpose in them – and they enjoyed the hands-on nature of the classes.

I began to wonder if there was a way to make my class more hands-on, and to teach students skills that they would view as practical. As an English teacher, I want my students to learn to love literature and become life-long readers. But early in my career I discovered that many of my urban students don’t love reading the way I do, and strategies for finding their next meal, is more important than strategies for finding the author’s purpose. With guidance from Nancie Atwell, I developed a classroom library and a workshop approach to teaching English. With help from Cris Tovani, Kylene Beers, Harvey Daniels, Stephanie Harvey, and Anne Goudvis, I began teaching students reading strategies that they could use independently. I’ve worked to integrate reading strategies, a classroom library, and independent reading time into my classroom for more than a decade, and have watched my students become stronger readers and writers as a result. But, still, an English class typically is not very “hands-on” and many students don’t see much practicality in studying literature. As I learned from my Career Center students, my students are changing, and to be an effective teacher, I must continue to change my teaching practices. Additionally, during the past five years, I’ve watched the focus in my school corporation shift from Literacy to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).