#4 Blog Text Set: The Power of Words

    The students in my hypothetical classroom will be 10th graders, who come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and mirror those of a typical MPS classroom. 

    In this text set, I have included a range of texts that vary in difficulty and form. Through the exploration of this text set, students will understand how words can promote empowerment, self-discovery, artistic expression, and empathy/connection. Most often, students question the importance of learning, more specifically, they aren't presented with the value of reading. This text set will provide students with the understanding of the power of words. Most importantly, students will be equipped to motivate, inspire, question, and explore various ideas through words.

#1: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Sherman Alexie

Description and Purpose: This novel by Sherman Alexie is a semi-autobiography that explores the life of a Native American Teenager named Junior. Junior is called to leave the high school on his reservation for an an all-white one in search of a better education. Junior is forced to navigate issues relating to identity exploration, culture, and belonging. 

This text is incredibly impactful, as it is written in such a personal, raw, and humorous way that is easy to identity with in some capacity. Therefore, students can read this book and understand the ways in which it is more than just story. It's an influential read that has universal themes of identity, poverty, racism, and more that call to readers to empathize, understand, and grow from.

Complexity/Accessibility: This text is written in a diary-like format, including fun illustrations throughout. The lexile level is about 600, which is suitable for middle to early high school students. There are some mature themes involving death, alcoholism, and systemic racism, which should be considered by teachers. 

Vocabulary Terms:

- Reservation

- Impediments

- Powwow

- Cerebral

- Repressed

- Wake

Learning Activity: Considering that this text would be explored as a whole, the students would need to demonstrate their learning of the themes through a final narrative essay reflecting the diary-like style presented in the text. 

#2: "I Have a Dream" Speech by Martin Luther King Jr.

Description and Purpose: The infamous "I Have a Dream" Speech by Martin Luther King Jr. demonstrates an iconic way that one's words have power and influence in conveying a message. With the dissection and understanding of the impactful words MLK spoke, students will be able to successfully understand how one's  words can influence a generation and beyond.  

Complexity/Accessibility: This speech has a lexile score of about 1120L, which makes it suitable for middle to high school level students. It would require the explanation of abstract concept and historical context to fully understand. The text structure of this speech is persuasive. The organization of it is clear, but still requires that understanding of historical content, moral aspirations, and future aspirations.  

Vocabulary Terms:

- Segregation

- Freedom

- Justice

- Emancipation

- Dream

- Brotherhood

Learning Activity: Students can write out their own dreams for their own lives, their community, or the world in a style mimicking MLK's.

#3 Song: "Alright" Kendrick Lamar (Clean Version)

Description and Purpose: "Alright" is a song from Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album, To Pimp a Butterfly. This song acted as a powerful social commentary exploring themes of resilience, hope, empowerment and more during times of increased police violence. Moreover, Kendrick directly speaks on issues of police brutality, systemic racism, and the general struggle of Black Americans in an artistic way. This song transcends music, becoming an anthem for the Black Lives Matter demonstrations. The infamous lyric, "We gon' be alright," acted as a mantra for many, uniting individuals in collective resilience. 

Complexity/Accessibility: This song connects with themes of struggle, hope, and perseverance to ongoing issues that many students may have either experienced or witnessed.

Vocabulary Terms:

- Pride

- Injustice

- Resilience

- Black Lives Matter (BLM)

- Mantra

Learning Activities: This song would be broken down by sections, calling for different groups of students to analyze various parts of the songs. Once students have identified and connected their chunks, we come together to share our findings, with the end goal of exploring the ways in which this song was successful in unifying individuals during times of struggle. Students could deepen their understanding with a written prompt such as, "How does understanding the impact of a mantra or empowerment change the meaning of the song?" 

#4: "All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury

Description and Purpose: "All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury is a story set on Venus, a planet full of continuous rain every seven years. With the sun only appearing every seven years for two hours. Margot, is a young girl, who remembers the Sun, and expresses that to her peers who have yet to experience it. In a result of jealousy, her peers lock her in a closet, and forget about her, causing her to miss the sun. This story is full of powerful language and imagery that evoke emotion. Through the analyzation of Bradbury's use of sensory details, students could understand the way that writers create powerful narratives that can linger in a reader's mind, communicating an idea.

Complexity/Accessibility: This short story is suitable for middle schools students as it is at a Lexile level of 850L. The text is made up of vivid imagery, emotion, figurative language, and more that enhance the reading. Moreover, the story is straightforward, making it accessible for students to understand and able to digest. 

Vocabulary Terms:

- Periphery

- Compound

- Resilient

- Faint

- Exuberant

- Tumultuously

Learning Activities: Students draw a picture of what they think the planet looked like as they listen to the short story being read. 

#5: "The Road not Taken" by Robert Frost

Description and Purpose: 

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost is a short poem about choices and possible consequences of choices. The poem focuses on the narrator who is caught between the choice of two paths they come across in the woods. Having to choose one, the narrator chooses the less-traveled path, and finds that this decision was much more impactful than initially anticipated. Essentially, this poem explores themes of decision-making, individuality, and uncertainty. This poem is yet another example of how words have the power to evoke deep emotion, meaning, and motivate reflection. 

Complexity/Accessibility: This short story has the lexile level of 1400L, making it suitable for high school students. The poem are relatively simple, requiring some reflective analysis. There is a clear narrative present, with four stanzas representing the author's intentions. The relatability of decision-making can appeal to teenagers who are on the brink of making significant decisions.

Vocabulary Terms:

- Diverged

- Undergrowth

- Trodden

- Hence

- Wanted wear

Learning Activities: Assign a reflective journal with a prompt asking them to describe a major decision they made in their life and how it can relate to the short story and how the narrator made their decision.  

#6: "Dear Future Generations: Sorry" by Prince Ea

Description and Purpose: This spoken word poem titled, "Dear Future Generations: Sorry" by Prince Ea is a thought-provoking piece that brings light to environmental issues and the impact that we have had and can have to aid in change. This poem is impactful as it directly prompts for reflection and the questioning of all of our choices. Wit the motivational words used, this piece could demonstrate to students the way that words can further inspire and promote change. 

Complexity/Accessibility: This piece is a powerful spoken word poem with an accessible language style, aiming to raise awareness about environmental responsibility. It is appropriate for 10th-grade students, as it invites them to reflect critically on their role in the world and their responsibility to future generations. The poem's tone, language, and emotional appeal provides a great segway into analysis and reflective writing tasks.

Vocabulary Terms:

- Legacy

- Generation

- Consequence

- Sustainability

- Indifference

- Devastation

Learning Activities: Hold a simple turn and talk regarding three things that students feel as they watch, two things they learned, and one questions they have.  

   

Works Cited

Bradbury, Ray. "All Summer in a Day." The Golden Apples of the Sun, Doubleday, 1953, pp. 121-130.

Ea, Prince. "Dear Future Generations: Sorry." YouTube, 21 Mar. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kY0I_TeN80.

Frost, Robert. "The Road Not Taken." Mountain Interval, Henry Holt and Company, 1916.

King, Martin Luther Jr. "I Have a Dream." American Rhetoric, 28 Aug. 1963, www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm.

Lamar, Kendrick. "Alright." To Pimp a Butterfly, Aftermath, Interscope, 2015. Clean version.

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. 1st ed., Little, Brown, 2007.