Topic Choice

I just finished reading an article in the Globe and Mail , Monday March 29th, page L1. The title of the article is "Books in School: Let Students Choose." The general theme of the article is that if you let students choose the books that they want to read, they will actually make good thoughtful choices and read more. Maybe I wasn't so kooky after all. Letting my grade 2/3 class choose their own books for novel study might have meant more work for me, but it was definitely worth it. I just couldn't bear making a group of very different students with very different interests read the same novel and hearing "Miss Graham do we have to read this? It's soooo boring!" over and over again and again and again. Too bad I didn't really listen to myself when it came down to their writing. In my class, students were allowed to choose their own topic but looking back, I see that there were some type of parameter attached. My writer's workshop focused on getting my students to write about something they had experienced or knew. Student's used to complain about how unexciting their lives were, and how they would much prefer to write about something that wasn't real - a story about a superhero, or an amazing hockey player (that just happened to be the student) - but would allow them to escape to far away places. I didn't really listen to them but continued to direct them to their own life and lived experiences. I now recognize that although I didn't think I tried to influence them, I really did. What's my point? I guess I wonder why it is we don't we trust our students to make good decisions or choices regarding what they read and write? Maybe if we just trusted ourselves as teachers we'd realise that we have helped prepare our students to make good and thoughtful choices. We just need to give them the opportunity to show us.

Pokemon and Working With Words

Who ever would have thought that Pokemon could be used to help teach children about words? Think about how Pokemon names are created - each Pokemon has its own distinctive name that is based on its appearance. A great example is Bulbasaur which is a turtle-like creature that has a thing that looks like a plumb tulip bulb growing from its back. Each Pokemon name is descriptive; match the monsters' unique images; have it's own unique spelling; and are created from ordinary words or sounds that most children know. If a teacher takes advantage of a child's knowledge of Pokemon names, then they can use those names to teach their students about the linguistic concept of morphology. Morphemes for those of you who are unsure are the smallest part of language that carry meaning - suffixes, prefixes, real words and roots. Morphology is the study of how speakers create words by mixing and matching morphemes. Pokemon names are a great example of creating new words by mixing and matching words. Take Bulbasaur ( from bulb and the morpheme saur as in dinosaur). Bulbasaur evolves in Ivysaur, which is a similar creature with a bulb that has sprouted into a tulip surrounded by heavy greenery. Ivysaur evolves into Venusaur, which has a meaner face and the greenery is topped by some flowers. Apparently, the name is a reference to the Venus Fly Trap.

If you really look at the Pokemon and their names it all makes sense. My son is very happy that I have finally clued in to how the names are created. That said lets take it one step further - use these names to talk to your students about the different parts or the morphemes (ie. bulb, saur, ivy, and venus). Ask them what other uses or words can they come up with for these morphemes - bulb (tulip bulb, light bulb, bulbous) and what they have in common. In trying to help your students think critically you could ask them to analyze or think about what the creators of the Pokemon were trying to portray (did they have the word in mind before creating the creature?). Something else that works in Pokemon's favour is that a number of the Pokemon evolve into higher levels or more simply there are sets of Pokemon which make it easier for some children to remember them. Finally some people may be upset that you use words that encourage creative spelling but this is a great way to introduce your students to the creative spelling of different products that they can find at home (Kool-Aid, Quik, Ex-Lax, Nyquil).

Now if you're like me, you never expected to find Pokemon names so useful in helping teach children about words. The more I study the different Pokemon names, the more respect I have for this game as a teaching tool and one that I can use in the classroom to motivate and engage a number of my students.

This Pokemon's name is Charmeleon any idea why? Here is a hint - its the fire breathing dragon.


Another idea that you could do in the class is to have some of your 'expert' Pokemon playing students create a list with two columns - one with the names of some of the Pokemon and the other with what the names mean. See if your class can match the names with the meanings. As a creative writing idea, you could have your students create their own Pokemon. They would need to make a name up for it that would be representative of the Pokemon. Your students could use the dictionary or internet to look up the meaning of different words that they could then include in their writing. A similar activity would be to find different words that you and your students agree upon, mix and match them, and then draw a Pokemon based on the word's characteristics. I hope you find these useful.

My Trading Deck

Wendy's Trading Card Deck


I wanted to create different characters that represent some of the topic elements of my blog. They include: topic choice, popular culture, video games, Anima and animation, TV, cartoons and comics, and graphic novels or Manga. I'd like to thank my daughter Isabel who drew my characters based on my description and topic and my son Graeme who developped the offense and defensive moves for each character.


Holojeu (video games)
















Offense: Gamerama
- any video game weapon could appear in his hands and he could use that to fight his enemies
- he slows down after exerting all the energy.

Defense: Illusion
- projects holligraphs from his eyes of multimple images of himself. This will throw off the enemy.


Popcular (Pop Culture)













Offense and Defense: Soundphoon
- She makes a typhoon of sound waves around her so most attacks will bounce off the soundphoon and attack something else.

- She can shoot the soundphoon so it will swallow the enemy.



Anima (Animation)














Offense: Transformation
- Anima transforms into a bear (muscle), owl (flight), cheetah (speed), and spider (capture).


Defense: Deep Forest
- A large forest comes out of the ground so Anima can hide in it (camoflauge).


Technotoon (Cartoons and Comics)












Offense: Toon
- He goes toon form and goes crazy and runs at the enemy and will not stop until he has defeated the enemy.


Defense: Techno

- He goes all techno form and is able to heal and block most attacks.



Topicoman (Topic Choice)














Offense: Topic Blast;
- The mouth on his stomach will open. Tons of topics shoot out and it closes after the topics come out. It then shoots beans. These beans create an energy ball that the stomach can fire.


Defense: Topic Wall:
- Topics come out of his stomach to create a strong wall that makes any attacks bounce back at the enemy.


Graphonic (Graphic novels and Manga)














Offense and Defense: Picture Change
- A picture pops up and he jumps into it becoming the picture. The picture flips around and although he is on the other side he looks like his opponent. The opponent gets confused and Graphonic can then attack the opponent.

Why Use Popular Culture in the Classroom?

While I was on March Break, I was sitting around with some friends discussing my blog. When I explained that its purpose was to encourage teachers to the use of popular culture in the classroom by tapping into our students lives and interests outside of school, things like: music, current TV shows, Pokemon and all the forms it includes, comics and cartoons. This started a bit of a debate. My friend feels that if students are allowed to bring the 'unofficial world' into the classroom on a regular basis, they will end up using it as a crutch. Suffice it to say, we agreed to disagree. Interestingly however, she did agree that using pop culture in the classroom is a great way of enticing the reluctant reader or writer to engage with the literacy process. I'm not sure why it's good for one type of student and not the other, in my eyes each student benefits by its addition.

I have often wondered and I guess walked along the path that questions why children are so engaged in: video games, music, trading card games, Pokemon etc. As a parent whose son loves t play his DS, I admit to wondering about the damage the DS was having on his learning. After many fights with him about leaving is DS behind, or stopping playing it, I decided to find out more about Pokemon, other video games and what they involve. Thanks to the power of Google, I came upon several articles on literacy and Pokemon, and video games and literacy. If you are interested in seeing what they have to say please see the link to the pages What the Experts Say. They say hindsight is 20/20 - guess I have to agree because as I look back, it was Pokemon (the DS game, the trading cards and books) that got my son excited about reading.

Go-Go's

If I walk around my school's playground Iam constantly seeing groups of grade one and two students battling with their Go-Go's. I am new to this type of figurine. They are approximately 2 centimetres tall and come in a variety of shapes and colours. When I first heard the name I immediately thought back to the girl singing group! Similar to Pokemon, go-Go's are named based on their appearance. The excitement that goes along with the battles is infectious. I see students bring out signs that they have made to cheer on their classmates as they go into battle. Some students to help solve my confusion have offered to write out a how-to-play guide so that I will understand the rules. This is a great example of bringing a child's unofficial world into the classroom. Why can't I develop a writing unit that is inspired by these action figures? Speaking with a colleague in class one day she told me how based on an informal discussion with her grade one male students, she developed such a unit. this unit included a detailed written description of each character, a study of their habitat and then the creation of the city that they lived in. this is the type of freedom that needs to be encouraged in the classroom - a curriculum that is created based on the needs and interests of the students.

Let Student's Incorporate Popular Culture into Their Writing

Here are some things that I have observed about boys and writing in my classroom and at home:

1. Boys like to write about what matters to them.


2. Boys like to write about things they feel they are experts in.


3. Boys like to write with others. They like to discuss what they are writing.


4. Boys like to hear their writing read aloud.


5. Boys enjoy it when their teacher shows genuine interest in their writing.


6. Boys like things like music, sports, Pokemon and/or Anime, cartoons, video games, and DS.


7. Popular culture is part of their daily lives.
   

One way to capitalize on this interest in popular culture is to incorporate it into your language program. Something that I have used and seen in other classrooms is a 'free writing' journal. Students can write about anything they want to in these journals at a set time each day. The students are encouraged to write freely. If you think about it, most classrooms dedicate time for students to read independently but very few provide students with the opportunity to write independently and freely. By letting students write, doodle, and draw about anything they want - their outside interests and influences - they can then transform their knowledge and learning into school writing. It lets them write as experts. I know I feel more confident writing about things I know and care about so we shouldn't be surprised if our students do too. As a teacher you can choose to collect the journals periodically or you can let the students ask you to read them. Use their journals as a way t respond to or provide feedback to the students about their writing. Don't mark these journals. Instead use them and your feedback as a way of showing your students that you are genuinely interested in what they write and care about making them even better writers by providing them with whatever support they need.

A free writing journal will:

• Give the student to explore, and take risks while trying different things with writing.


• Let the student develop their own personal interests through their writing.


• Enjoy and experience having someone read and enjoy their writing (teacher).


• Experience genuine response from an interested reader.


• Let's the student connect his home life with his school life.


• Gives the teacher a window to see and learn about the student's hobbies and interests. It also gives the teacher the opportunity to share some of their own interests with the student through feedback and written comments.

Video Games - Positive or Negative Influence?

The amount of negative press that children playing video games have received in the past decade has made me as a mother first and teacher second question the usefulness of them. The reality however, is that no matter how much we as parents and teachers try and ignore it, video games and the electronic devices attached to the games play a significant role in our children's lives.

I find myself counting the number of children I see with DS's in stores, restaurants, on airplanes, in cars, or sitting around the playground and unlike what many people believe, it is not only boys playing on them. What strikes me is the intensity that the children are playing these games with. Each child is actively engaged in solving a puzzle, conquering a new world, or in the case of the Pokemon video or DS game(s) capturing different Pokemon, befriend them and 'level them up'. With the reality of this sinking in, I find myself dialoguing with my own kids and students about what makes these games so enticing to them. I get a few answers: they're exciting, challenging, provide an escape, require strategy and following a story. One aspect that is very important especially to my son is the social aspect that is associated with gaming. There is most definitely a comradeship that develops among children when playing the same DS/video game. Each child uses a language common to the game and that allows them to exclude the 'commoners' or those that do not speak the same language. As several researchers that I have read have noted - if allowed students (in particular boys) will include aspects of these video games in their creative writing. Since reading some of this research, I no pay more attention to the types of stories my son and other boys write during their writing blocks at school. At times I see role play with their story's main character taking on similar traits as themselves and Ash (the famous Pokemon trainer) or other mythical creature from a video game. There is a sense of power that pervades their stories - almost as if the boys are escaping the control of the classroom and the teacher. In these stories they are able to be anything they want, they can create anything they want, and they can socialize while they do it. "Hey Dude, take a look at this. I have him flying through the air, using his penetrating sound wave to attack the opponent". (Overheard in a grade 2 classroom)

Recognizing the importance that video and DS games play in our children's lives and opening my class to them has enabled me to encourage otherwise reluctant writers to write in class. My son, who hated writing, has come alive as a writer since his teacher game him the freedom to write about anything including Pokemon. Surprisingly, Pokemon (as one example) can fit many different writing genres - non-realistic fiction, biography, procedural, and essay forms. For example students can create new Pokemon and write stories or develop new games with them; write about the life of a Pokemon; write a how-to-lay guide; or write about the Pokemon's habitat. If you haven't already let your student's unofficial world into your classroom, maybe you should.

Pokemon and writing

I've watched my son go from watching Pokemon cartoons and movies, to playing the trading card game, to collecting the pokemon plushies and playing the many Gameboy games. Many friends told me it was only a phase and that he would quickly lose interest in it. Well it has now been three years and I don't see any sign of his interest waining. Although he has many different interests it wasn't until a teacher recognized the power of Pokemon and my sons devotion to it that I finally understood what a wonderful tool Pokemon and other popular gaming texts are for teachers. My son a very reluctant writer would constantly complain when asked to write about what he did on the weekend. "It's so boring. Why do I have to write about something that has already happened? Why can't I write about something exciting?" I realized I didn't have an answer - so when he and my other students started asking to use some of these non-realistic fictional characters I said yes. What I learnt was that an excited and motivated student will gladly sit down and write - even my son when given the chance to choose their own topic. For many of them Pokemon was the motivator.


You might wonder or question what Pokemon and other similar games have to teach a child about literacy. I know I did. The reality is that if you walk around your school games like Pokemon, Go-Go's, Beyblades etc. are being played by a number of our students. I think it does us and them a disservice if we ask our students to leave these games in the playground. I remember having a student ask if they could read their Pokemon cards during independent reading. Initially I resisted and told the student to put the cards away but the more I observed my own son playing with these cards, the more I have come to realise that these cards have great value in teaching literacy. You may ask how so hear are some observations I have made.



If we look specifically at the Pokemon trading card game, you see that in order to be successful, a child needs to know and understand the value of the cards as the goal of the game is to trade cards with other players. To do this they need to be able to read the cards, understand and analyse the information on the cards. This game involves social interaction and provides a venue for players to design and redesign their own cards. Looking at it from an educational point of view it supports learning in many different way:

• Players need to be actively involved in the game, making quick decisions about the value of the cards and their strategy.


• Children love designing and creating their own cards and characters. This redesigning/designing requires the children to understand how the cards were originally designed.


• Children have to understand the interrelation within and across many different sign systems (images, words, actions, symbols, artifacts etc.)


• Children can extend their participation by role playing different pokemon.


• As different versions and new cards/pokemon come out the children must adapt to the new and changed conditions in order to be successful.


• While designing Pokemon cards, the meaning of the signs/symbols are situated in the child's experience as a participant, which is based on who the other participants are and on their trading decks.


• Children understands texts as a genre (family of related texts) and understands any one such text in relation to the others in the family. A child who designs his/her own cards needs to know and understand where they can get information (i.e. magazines, trade books, handbooks, game guides).


• Meaning and understanding is built through a variety of modes i.e. text, images, symbols, sound etc.


• Repeated exposure and practice with a child's group of friends or affinity group helps build a child's knowledge and skill of the game.


• A child through playing the trading card game becomes more than just a participant, they become a teacher, expert, and producer.

Several things that I learned by observing my son and students in my classes - I now recognize how important it is for me to understand popular culture texts such as Pokemon if I am to really know and understand my students. These type of texts are the kinds of things that many kids read, have access to, and participate with and in. They are a form of literacy that does not deal only with the 'privileged' but with all shapes and sizes of children. They provide teachers and parents with a way of understanding what interests and motivates their children, and therefore provides a valuable source of information that can be used to motivate a child's writing.

Some ideas of how to use Pokemon (or similar popular culture texts) in your writing program:

1. Free journal writing and creative writing.


2. How-To-Play guides or procedural writing about the pokemon.


3. Designing new trading cards.


4. Writing a story based on a video game.


5. Creating their own game and characters.


6. Analyzing what the different Pokemon names mean - seeing what words they originated from.


7. Writing a script, designing the set and performing.


8. Writing a comparison between different trading card games - i.e. Pokemon, digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh!


9. Analyzing the slogans used on the different packaging used and the messages that go with it. For example you could listen to the Pokemon theme "Gotta catch 'em all" and talk about what it means. This can help students develop their critical thinking skills.

All the above invite the writer to be an active participant in their writing - they are the expert, they choose their topic, and most importantly they have control over their writing. We as teachers are their to provide support and guidance as we help our students develop their critical literacy skills and writing while using popular culture and Pokemon.

What is Pokemon?

If you are like me and either teach young children (in particular boys) or have a boy of your own, then you are probably very much aware of Pokemon and the phenomenon that surrounds it. But for those of you who have been able to avoid it, then here is some background for you. Pokemon came to North America from Japan and includes a variety of different formats - T.V., books, video and Gameboy games, films, plushies, trading cards and board games. Its name is the Japanese pronunciation of Pocket Monster. For many, Pokemon was their first interaction with Anime. If you take a moment to look at it, you realise that Pokemon provides parents and more importantly teachers with a wealth of raw material. Pokemon live in Pokemon balls and come out when called on by their human trainers. Currently there are over 400 Pokemons and the list continues to grow. Each one has its own distinctive traits and characteristics. Each name is descriptive in that it matches the characters unique images. For example: Bulbasaur is a turtle-like creature that looks like it has a fat tulip bulb growing from it's back. Hence its name - bulb and saur (as in dinosaur).


A number of other Japanese popular culture gaming texts have since followed: Digimon, Dragonball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Beyblades and most recently Go-Go's. With each of these popular gaming texts is an associated discourse which the participants use when playing the games and communicating with each other.


To ignore the presence of such a powerful phenomenon means that teachers are missing an opportunity to tap into and learn about a game that covers a number of literacy domains and crosses a variety of platforms that can be used to deliver our language curriculum.

Background Information and Purpose

Have you noticed that over the past decade the media spotlight has been focused on the phenomenon of the poor, under-achieving male student? The notion that girls outperform boys in both reading and writing seems to have become embedded in the popular consciousness. So many (perhaps too) many people have chosen to focus on the results reported in many standardized tests that highlight this under performance. Countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States have spent a substantial amount of money and time researching and searching for the answer to this phenomenon. (Blair & Sanford, 2003; Booth et al., 2005; Millard, 1997). But based on my own personal and professional experience as a mother and teacher, I find myself questioning whether this under performance in literacy is purely gender related or whether there are many other factors are at play and that need to be looked at when trying to engage boys and girls in writing. I know in my own classes I have had boys who love to write and whom are quite talented and girls that won't write for one reason or another.


The purpose of my blog is to provide an alternative lens for parents and teachers to look through. Parents and teachers need to recognize the importance of the lives our children live both inside and out of the classroom. Popular culture influences everyone in some manner. Recognizing and taping into this influence is one way of gaining our children's interest, engagement and excitement for in-school writing activities. A number of my posts and ideas will be targeted towards getting boys engaged in writing but realistically are applicable to all students. For a closer look at some of the research on boys and literacy and what some of the experts say, please visit the links on the side of my blog.

Letting a Child Choose their Topic

In my seven odd years as a teacher, I have been witness to several heated discussions on letting students choose their own topics for writing. My own classroom experience has shown me that allowing children to decide what they want to write can be a strong motivator. Donald Graves who is an authority on children and writing and who I have read many times, believes that "writers can only write about what they know" As teachers I think we need to recognize that feeding students topics, sentence starters and/or themes that we want them to write about not only takes away their creative freedom, it risks developing students who are dependent upon others for their ideas. In many cases the topics that we ask our students to write about are about things that interest us not them. I remember asking students to write about things they did in the summer. A few students said "that their summers were boring, we didn't do anything". I asked if they had gone to Center Island (assuming that everyone in Toronto knew about Center Island). Both said that they had never heard of it! It was at that moment that I realised that what happens in my world does not happen in everyone else's. That experience changed my approach to letting students choose their own topics. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we need to completely step away from helping our students choose a topic - our role as a teacher and parent is to guide, support and nurture their minds, hearts and souls, but we need to help them see that they do have things to write about (real life or fiction) - sometimes they just need to be encouraged. I feel quite strongly that we need to acknowledge the lives our students live both in and out of school. Taking time to learn about our students lives at home, their interests, and their hobbies can only help our understanding of what drives them in the classroom. Uninterested, struggling and unengaged students need to be able to tap into the things or activities that provide them with the feeling of success. As teachers we are constantly told to set students up for success, not failure. What better way then tapping into the things that really interest them and then letting them write about them?" The answer: "one that permits students to draw on their ideas and interpretations. By allowing students frequently to choose their own topics, we enable them to use a richer knowledge base that may increase the likelihood of their producing more sophisticated writing." I don't think I could say it any better!

Unlocking the power of a child's unofficial world

What is a child's unofficial world and why am I interested in it? My understanding is that the unofficial world of a student includes anything that takes place outside of school. This can include their families, their hobbies, their friends, T.V., music, books, video games, board games. The list could go on and on. The main focus for me looking at a child's unofficial world is to determine how a teacher and a mother like me can use it (ie. interest in: video games, T.V., comics, anime, and Pokemon) to motivate my students (in particular boys) and son to write. I think that teachers and parents need to understand how important it is for a child's learning to value as much (or maybe more) what our children do outside the classroom as what they do inside of it.

In the past decade the media has zeroed in on how poorly boys are performing relative to girls in literacy (reading and writing). Governments in Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Canada and the United States have spent considerable amounts of money funding research in the hope of explaining this phenomenon. What a lot of the research suggests is that for boys to be successfully engaged in literacy, the material needs to be:

• of personal interest to the boy;
• include active aspects vs. passive ones;
• provide built-in success for each boy;
• be fun; and
• have some relevance to the boy's life
  

If you have a son or have a number of boys in your classrooms then the above suggestions shouldn't be a surprise. As teachers I know we are continually be told to know our students. If I ignore what my students do outside of the classroom and limit them to the traditional curriculum resources that I have in my classroom then aren't I doing the opposite of getting to know them? Learning should be fun especially when you're young after all we want our children to want to continue to learn about new things, take chances and feel that their knowledge from outside and inside the class is of value. Inviting our children to bring their unofficial worlds into the official world of school seems to me like a brilliant idea.

If you are interested in reading some of this research you can be access it by clicking on the link entitled "research".