I chose this cartoon because I thought it was funny. With all the new literacies and technology that's now available to teachers and kids, textbooks are becoming outdated. Kids are now learning by each other through fanfiction and other sites.
As I was reading this chapter I was thinking about some of the 'pop culture' during my day. There were movies and books that were the craze and many didn't end the way I wanted or I wanted a different twist to the story. I think it would have been cool to have had Fanfiction back then...writing about something that was interesting to us. Jenkins states in this chapter that "some of the best writing instruction takes place outside the classroom." Tiana and Jandalf are 2 girls that balance each other and strengthen each others' weakpoints. They have a passion for writing and work collaboratively creating fanfiction that portrays their "real selves" while fashioning their characters to new and emerging identities of themselves. The girls didn't just write narratives, they were engaged with all other literacy practices, such as: role-playing, out of character discussions, character journals, artwork, plotting of story line, etc.
I thought it was interesting that Tiana had drawn on her childhood pain to develop her character. Her writing was a way to confront painful experiences and heal. I think writing can be a way to heal at any age and you don't have to be the best writer. It reminds me of a kindergarten boy in my class that had a traumatic experience of getting his face burnt. He spoke very little and didn't smile much at all. One day we were writing informational stories about polar habitats and out of the blue he asked if he could write about getting burnt. He was ready to talk about it and so that's what he wrote about all week. He even wanted to share it with the class. So, writing can be very powerful, even to a 5 year old.
Wow! I am inspired by the 5 year old's story! Writing was such an awesome outlet for this little boy. I think that sometimes educators are focused too much on 'hitting the standards' and don't leave time to let kids express themselves. Experienced teachers can incorporate these new digital literacies as well as check off the standards. I am glad that our school has Writer's Workshop for our student to attend daily.
ReplyDeleteThat's amazing that a 5 year old could write about an experience like that! I did not get the chance to use journals in social studies, however, I gave students bellringer prompts that allowed them to talk about their experiences. They were 8th graders and even the ones who were "too cool for school" wanted to share their experiences with the class during our discussions. I think this goes to show that students can express their experiences through writing and for many students, it's enjoyable.
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