We need books, chosen by students, for independent and whole-class reading; forensic lab books and a microscope kit for hands-on crime scene investigations; and murder mystery role-playing games to engage students in persuasive writing.
This high school class has worked together to create a new English class, How to Tell a Crime Story, a multimedia exploration of storytelling & writing, including podcasts, novels, nonfiction, documentaries, & tv series! Students Ciana, Xynaijah, Jerimiah, Alana, and their classmates developed a high school class personalized to their interests.
At our school, students take dual-credit college courses when they demonstrate the academic skills and habits of mind needed to be successful. The students in this new class are not ready yet because they struggle with coming to school (missing an average of 2 days/week), have failed multiple classes in the past/are credit deficient, and some have been involved with the juvenile justice system in the past. As a result, these students do not yet have the skills needed to move to a college English class next semester. With past classes, this decision has felt like a punishment and led to pervasive disengagement by those already below grade level and at risk. I asked students for input on how I could increase their engagement & they asked for a voice in how they will develop the necessary skills, including independent research, critical thinking, teamwork, college-level reading, & argumentative writing.
Students in this class are students who are not yet reading & writing at the level needed for college-level English classes and/or who have not yet demonstrated personal accountability, grit, or work habits needed to be successful in college. In the past, similar cohorts of students have been simply pushed into the upper-level class, where they experience disengagement, stop attending school, and do not successfully complete the class, placing them credit-deficient for graduation.
To combat this, I have worked with students to design an alternative English course that will bring in students' outside interest in television shows such as Criminal Minds, CSI, and Making a Murderer to provide students with the critical thinking, reading, writing, research, and teamwork skills needed to be successful in upper-level courses.
In addition, students will learn about and discuss the implications of law on society as well as what their constitutional rights are so that they can avoid future incarceration.
In Their Own Words
Our goal is to find a real-world and more interesting way to learn the English skills we don't have yet. Our class shares a deep interest in Criminal Justice and would like to explore this field as a career choice. We also want to learn about the US legal system and about legal issues we may face in this future. To this point, we have not yet had a way in which to develop the reading writing, critical thinking skills that interests us. We know that when we are not interested in the material that we stop succeeding, coming to class, and may even act in ways that get us in trouble. - Athena
This is the first time that a teacher has asked us what we want to learn and how we want to learn it. I know that since we began discussing this class, I have felt empowered to ask questions and bring up topics that I have always been interested in learning more about; legal topics that are of personal concern to myself, my family, and friends. I also am considering going into law, and want to know if this career interests me enough to pursue a degree in it. In addition, this class will allow us to self-direct and personalize our learning to what we each want to study law, forensics, and criminology. This is an opportunity I don't want to waste, and I plan to keep my classmates focused on their plan of study as well. - Alex
I know that I'm not ready yet for college classes. However, I want to build the skills that I need to be successful. In the past, I've struggled to stay motivated when the topics aren't of interest to me or the work seems irrelevant to my life. While I know that this class will require challenging reading, writing, and critical thinking, I'm excited to learn more about criminal profiling, since it is something that I like to study in my free time. When I heard that I couldn't take college classes I was disappointed, but my other classmates are jealous that we get to study these topics! - Xy
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Pamela Santerre and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
