We’re Just Playing

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike P. Cook ◽  
Matthew Gremo ◽  
Ryan Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
Short Story ◽  
English Language Arts ◽  
English Language ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
Role Playing Game

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to explored the use of a tabletop role-playing game in middle school ELA classrooms to examine students’ (n=36) abilities to interact with and make meaning from a traditional classroom text (Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game”). Background.Gaming continues to soar in popularity, both inside and outside of schools. As such, it is important to continue looking for pedagogically beneficial ways to incorporate gaming into classroom spaces, specifically English Language Arts and Literacy classrooms. Aim. In this article, we describe the game used for this study was modified from the Pathfinder system and designed to pair with Connell’s short story. We also discuss our qualitative approach to data analysis, and the three themes that emerged. First, students made gaming decisions based on their knowledge of the story. Second, students experienced the narrative through the lens of their characters. And third, students engaged in meaningful collaboration throughout gameplay. Conclusion. The findings support ongoing calls to look for pedagogically beneficial ways to incorporate gaming into ELA and Literacy classroom spaces.

Youths’ Literacy Disidentifications in a Secondary Classroom: Contesting Transphobia through Humor in Role-Playing

2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Ryan Schey
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
English Language Arts ◽  
English Language ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Normative Values ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Secondary Classroom

Background Recent decades have seen an increased number of literacy education researchers attending to LGBTQ people and texts in secondary schools, frequently documenting tensions that emerge, such as conflict. However, this research tends to be limited in scope with respect to time, texts, and identities. Moreover, it shows that students tend to face challenges and constraints when attempting to challenge homophobia and transphobia. Focus of Study In this study, I sought to extend previous scholarship by exploring how students used reading and writing to work within, on, and against normative values and practices in a secondary classroom as they enacted queer activism, efforts I conceptualize as literacy disidentifications. Setting This study took place at a public urban comprehensive high school that I call Harrison High School, which was in a midsized Midwestern U.S. city. In this manuscript, I focus on one course, a sophomore humanities class that combined English language arts and social studies. Research Design I conducted a yearlong literacy ethnography at Harrison, acting as a participant observer throughout the high school but focusing on literacy learning contexts, including English language arts classrooms and a GSA (Genders and Sexualities Alliance) club. Data Collection and Analysis During my participant observation experiences, I constructed field notes. In addition, I made audio and video recordings of classroom lessons, collected documents, and conducted interviews with teachers, students, and administrators. I analyzed these data through an inductive and comparative grounded theory approach. Findings Drawing on sociocultural perspectives of literacy and language along with queer theories, I conceptualize literacy disidentifications and explore this heuristic through the actions of Imani, a queer youth of color who encountered a schooling context where her activism was frequently shut down. To legitimize and sustain her queer activism, she blended humor with other literacy practices, such as role-playing and signification, which resulted in critiquing, yet not necessarily transforming, transphobia. Conclusions These findings suggest that educators working to cultivate queer-affirming schools can: sanction conflict and teach youth how to navigate conflict in compassionate and humanizing ways; recognize, rather than squelch, youths’ queer activism; teach LGBTQ-inclusive curricula, especially curricular texts that foreground the lives and perspectives of trans people; and broaden the range of youth literacy practices valued in classroom lessons.

Infusing Career Development to Strengthen Middle School English Language Arts Curricula

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard T. Lapan ◽  
Amanda M. Marcotte ◽  
Robert Storey ◽  
Patricia Carbone ◽  
Sharon Loehr-Lapan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Career Development ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
English Language Arts ◽  
English Language ◽  
Middle School English

Reading Comprehension and Co-Teaching Practices in Middle School English Language Arts Classrooms

2018 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 384-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jade Wexler ◽  
Devin M. Kearns ◽  
Christopher J. Lemons ◽  
Marisa Mitchell ◽  
Erin Clancy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Special Education ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
English Language Arts ◽  
English Language ◽  
Literacy Activities ◽  
Class Instruction ◽  
Whole Class

This study reports practices implemented in over 2,000 minutes by 16 middle school special education and general education co-teaching pairs in English language arts classes. We report the extent to which teachers integrated literacy activities that support reading comprehension, the co-teaching models used, and the frequency with which each teacher led instruction. We also report the types of grouping structures teachers used and the extent to which teachers interacted with students with disabilities. Finally, we report the types of text used. Observations revealed that more than half of time spent on literacy activities involved reading aloud or silently with no co-occurring literacy instruction that supports reading comprehension. Students with disabilities spent a majority of their time in whole-class instruction or working independently with little teacher interaction. Special education teachers spent most of their time supporting whole-class instruction led by the content-area teacher. Implications and directions for future research are provided.

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