I do believe we need a "hook" ...

In an age where students need instant gratification, English teachers struggle to sit a student down with a book for more than 10 minutes. If we are to appeal to the students of today, we need to grab their attention somehow. What we need is a hook. An alternative text hook. Something that exists in their realities, but that we can help give them meaning and value. Their realities of communication and learning are very different from our own (Richardson, p.5). I have had these “realities” for the greater part of my life and therefore I consider myself more savvy than a generation before me, so this does not necessarily apply fully. However, this still does not mean that youth of today do not learn and communicate differently. That is to say, that I would be comfortable including technology or a cultural phenomena as a part of my “hook” for students.

Like anything included in a curriculum classroom, this hook will have:

Criteria:

1. Passion or Interest – a hook will never “fly” if the teacher does not express some interest in the subject

As seen in my presentation, I have a special interest in Japanese Animation. I could utilize that passion and bring it into the classroom. It is always more exciting if the teacher enjoys what they are teaching. By demonstrating genuine interest, students realize that there might be some worth in participating in lessons.

2. Ask yourself, how can I relate curriculum material to the “realities” of youth today? - make sure you know where the hook is leading the students.

For example, using the idea of Johnson's Sleeper Curve (2005), who's to say that we cannot use that to our advantage in the classroom and explore or analyze the complexities of a TV series, or an episode of The Simpsons that references all things “pop” culture. We can turn those analyses around and use them to show these same complexities in Shakespeare. In this case, the complexities of “pop culture” are an excellent tool to use in relation to Shakespeare's complexities.

Rules

1. No "taking" the identities of students – they have their own subcultures and take great pride in their “individuality”. It is fine to use a little of their subculture to get their attention. However, if we use the subculture too much, it is like us taking what is most enjoyable to the students and making it “uncool” because it is now a part of their school experience. Be aware of overusing their "realities" too much.

2. The Curriculum is Boss – I am not suggesting we use an all-alternative-text approach, but I am suggesting that we use alternative texts as a stepping stone to curriculum material. Once we have jumped to the first stone, we can easily jump to the next with the support from the first stone. The hook will support, or lead to, curriculum material.

Some Ideas:

~ A hook could be as simple as assigning a written assignment that demonstrates student's understanding of a novel. Write an Instant Message conversation between two characters. They must explore what those characters are feeling towards one another or what they are sharing about themselves.

Something like this could easily add to character analyses.

~ How about taking a modern twist on a classic scene? Students can either act or write up a screen play in which they will portray some Classic novel in the setting of today's age. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the content by accurately “translating” content, such as conversation, in our modern language or cultural context.

This activity explores scenes with a deeper level of understanding of the material because students must analyze and interpret the content by dissecting the scene bit by bit.

Citations:

Gasser, U., and Palfrey, J. Learners (Chapter 11). From Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digival Natives. New York: Basic Books.

Johnson, S. (2005). Everything good is bad for you. New York: Riverhead Books.

Richardson, W. The read/write web (Chapter 1). From Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Corwin Press.