My students all have learning, and/or other (emotional, neurological, and/or physical) disabilities. Most of them have a disability that impacts their ability to read, and many of them come from homes where reading isn't encouraged or modeled. Our high school is one of the most diverse high schools in Fairfax County. Approximately 30% of the students have either special needs, are English language learners, or both.
I would like to help my students with reading disabilities access literature in ways that they are able to learn.
Fortunately, these kids have access to a great program called Learning Ally. They are able to find most books we use in class (as well as others they might be curious about) in audio format, usually with online text which highlights sentences as they progress through the chapters. Also, my students respond to graphic novels, because the pictures help with comprehension.
My Project
This is the last year (12th grade) most of my students will participate in formal learning. I would like to send them off into the real world with two things. First, I'd like them to have a deeper understanding of the kinds of English literature that exist. These students with reading difficulties are not aware of most classic stories because the classes they've been in are focused on teaching basic reading and writing skills. Second, I want them all to realize that whether or not they are good at writing, they have a voice and can therefore express and support their thoughts. Most importantly, I want them to know that what they think matters.
The students will use the class sets of both Beowulf and Macbeth (on-level, required texts) during whole-class units.
The writing guide (which has been highly recommended) will provide concrete exercises for them to learn to think critically and write clearly. With the single copies of various other graphic novels, the students will have the opportunity to choose a book and present it to the class. My hope is that this will spark conversations about the classics and that they will become more interested in reading.
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