Engaging in Authentic Meaning Making
Urban Literacy
Research
Actions From
Insights
According to my research
on urban literacy, a
hallmark of highachieving urban schools is
teachers who are willing
to take the time to work
with families
“communicate high
expectations for students’
success” (Risko &
Walker-Dalhouse,
2008).
I reached out to Jaylen’s
mom several times in
person and through
email. She gave me
great insight into
Jaylen’s background
and connected me to
Jaylen’s teachers; this
connection was very
valuable.
These two statements stuck
out to me in Jaylen’s Burke
Interview. She views
reading as a precise process
of saying words without
messing them up. Though
she rates herself as a terrific
reader she would also say
she is unwilling to read
anything that is “hard” or
might make her stumble
over words. For Jaylen,
reading had little to do
with…
The Strategy Lessons
Armed with information
from research and
conversations with Jaylen
and her mom, I planned
the lessons. I chose texts
that Jaylen wanted to read.
We did lessons with old
school techniques and
technology, independent
lessons and group lessons,
and lessons that integrated
art, music and writing.
Discussing Cabin Fever
Jaylen discusses what she
likes about the Diary of a
Wimpy Kid, and what she
remembers about this story:
Cabin Fever.
Creating her
own comic…
Her story was:
• A positive memory
• Full of detail
• Gave insight into how she
views herself as a reader
My Comic Example…
Jaylen’s Comic
Jaylen did a
great job
with her
comic. She
was able to
summarize
the story into
4 main parts
and use
pictures to
tell the rest.
Jaylen’s Beastly Diary
This activity connected
the Diary of a Wimpy Kid
to Jaylen’s new book,
Beastly. She has seen the
Beastly movie, so she is
writing a diary entry
answering questions
about the movie and
about how the storyline
connects to her life. We
called it her Prologue.
Jaylen’s Beastly Diary Prologue
In this reading session,
Jaylen ran across several
words she did not know. We
decided that our next session
would focus on identifying
and understanding these
words. Listen to her
encounter with the word
“corsage”…
Jaylen is working through
a list of words that she was
unfamiliar with in Beastly.
She tends to skip these
words without taking the
time to find their
meaning.
On to
Beastly
Part 2…
Reading Beastly…
Questions, Predictions and
Inferences
I wonder…
O “Where the witch came
from?”
O “Why Kyle is so popular
if he’s such a jerk?”
O “How he will become
human again?”
The Inciting Incident
Visual Prompt 1
We used these prompts in a
discussion about how inciting
incidents lead to character change.
Visual Prompt 2
The Inciting Incident
After the Inciting Incident
Jaylen excels in…
comprehension
Making
connections
Jaylen needs to grow
in… Questioning
Skills
Challenging
Herself
Focus and
Perseverance
Final Thoughts…
Jaylen has all of the potential in the world to be an
excellent student and an avid reader. Her biggest
obstacle is not her skills; it’s her mindset. The next
step is to help her see her potential and tap into
what motivates her. If someone can unlock that,
there is no limit to what Jaylen can do.