Smagorinsky, Peter. Teaching English by Design: How to Create and Carry Out Instructional
Units. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2008.
CONTENT: Chapter One-- Students’ Ways of Knowing
Two theories of Communication
Transmission approach:
Knowledge viewed as “stable entity” (p.7)
Top/down model of learning
Teachers transmit knowledge to students
“Regurgitation” results in success (p.8)
Constructivist approach favored by author:
Learners draw on multiple sources for learning: “codes” of values, personal
experience, the “social context of the reading”, cultural background (p.9)
Learning is interaction/transaction of these factors
Transmission approach considers products as final
Constructivist approach should be encouraged; views products as exploratory (p. 10)
Writing process becomes tool for learning and thinking (p. 11)
Growth model emphasizes students rather than subjects
Ways of knowing may be
Paradigmatic
(Rational, scientific; using formal verification and proof)
Narrative (Bruner, 1986, p. 12)
(Verisimilitude; characters and events reflect social and emotional truths)
Gendered (boys and girls experience school differently) (p.15)
Both paradigmatic and narrative models may be transmitted or constructed
Two ways of relating:
Authoritative (competitive, aggressive, autonomous; masculine) (p. 15)
Connected (tentative, nurturing, cohesive, collaborative, situational) (p. 16)
Gardner’s Eight Types of Intelligence (Gardner, 1983) (p. 16)
Schools emphasize linguistic and logical-mathematical (p.16)
This is a narrow view
Others should be included: spatial, musical, kinesthetic, interpersonal,
intrapersonal, and naturalistic
Conclusion:
When schools value transmission,
They value the static approach over the dynamic, constructivist approach
They work on the low end of Bloom’s Taxonomy (p.17)
CONTENT: Chapter Two--Providing Scaffolds for Student Learning
Schools emphasize declarative knowledge based on facts
Since 1970’s, procedural knowledge has become increasingly important;
Focuses on how to do things (Bransford, 1979) (p. 21)
Compatible with constructivist approach to generate and build knowledge
Smagorinsky’s scaffolding approach
1. Teacher introduces a concept through accessible material
2. Students learn the material in small groups
3. Students work independently as they are weaned from teacher/student support (p.22)
Scaffolding for any task:
Introduce, model, create small groups, allow critique/feedback in groups, allow
time for reformulation, ask students to submit product to teacher (p.31)
CONTENT: Chapter Three-- Alternatives to Teacher-Led Discussion
Smagorinsky criticizes IRE pattern: teacher Initiates, student Responds, teacher Elaborates
He recommends various constructivist strategies to promote student discussion
Variety alleviates tedium
Suggested teaching methods are activity-oriented and student-centered (p. 44)
CONTENT: Chapter Four-- Planning the Whole Course
Design the whole year first
Backward design creates coherence, unifies curricular decisions, allows assessment to
align with instruction
Must include overarching concepts such as theme, (recurring idea/question) strategy,
(approach to reading/writing) stance, (perspective toward living and learning)
aesthetic awareness (how to evaluate quality of existing artistic forms) (p. 46-48)
CONTENT: Chapter Five-- Goals for Conventional Writing Assignments
Setting Goals: for each unit of the course, teachers should choose a small set of
“culminating texts”
By the end of the year, students experience many ways of knowing (p. 71)
Challenge: create assessments for students with different needs, backgrounds, skills
Assessments may be conventional or alternative
CONTENT: Chapter Six-- Goals for Unconventional Writing Assignments
Exploratory thinking and writing allows for alternatives and options for students
These are not final draft forms
They demonstrate new products and new learning by students
Assignments may be individual, affective, collaborative, unconventional, creative, genre-based
Challenge: how to evaluate it, so often avoided
Every assignment requires teacher to know and understand the assignment
The teacher must also do the assignment in order to know how to teach it
CONTENT: Chapter Seven-- Responding to Student Writing
Students benefit from responses during writing process, not just to final product (p. 96)
Responses may occur at conception of ideas
Feedback may be corrective, constructive, or supportive
Feedback may occur after completion of initial or early draft
Small group advantages: feedback to work, critical reading helps for own
revision
Group dynamics:
Pairs may exchange papers
Groups may work with assigned roles
Each member of a group reads for a specific quality
Rotate papers, discuss before revision
Feedback after second draft:
Writing conference with teacher
Advantage: individual attention
Disadvantage: time
Two approaches:
Student talks, teacher questions
Teacher directs with evaluation, recommendations
Response to “Final Products”
“Final” for assessment purposes only
Shaugnessey (1977) found errors are developmental; indicate growth (p. 100)
Hillocks (1986) maintained not all errors need to be marked
Focus on writing features taught during unit
Provide encouraging commentary (p. 100)
Rubrics
Important for alternative assessments
Must be based on questions:
What might students learn and how do I know?
What conventions are necessary for this assignment?
What level of detail is necessary?
What degree of cohesion should student achieve?
To what degree has student met each point in the assignment? (p. 102)
Benefits of rubrics:
Help create consistency of evaluation
Help when fatigue sets in, attention slips
Help when grade challenged by student or parent
Alfie Kohn (2006) dislikes rubrics (p. 105); turn teachers into “grading machines”
Good rubrics lead to richer reading and should allow for flexibility (p. 106)
CONTENT: Chapter Eight-- Designing the Conceptual Unit
Conceptual Unit is period of time devoted to one topic of study
Four to six weeks of fifty minutes
Two to three weeks of ninety minutes
Texts are both read and produced
Variety of perspectives yield greater understanding of concepts
Students interpret, synthesize topic in social context (p. 111)
CONTENT: Chapter Nine: Basic Units of Design
How Does Teacher Identify Unit Topics? (not a sequential process)
Curricular Overarching Concept:
What larger conversation suggests themes to build around ?
(Applebee, 1996, p. 130)
Ex: protest, success, cultural conflict, etc.
Student Factors to consider
Influences
Decision to teach students or subject (personal matter)
Culture and community: what factors do students bring to school (p. 131-132)
Developmental levels
Simple to complex
Concrete to abstract
Personal to impersonal or multipersonal
Spontaneous activity to thought activity
Conception of objects to conceptions of properties
Literal to symbolic
Absolute to relative (p. 133)
Interests
Must be appropriate
What they want to learn about
Needs
Deeper psychological issues
Developmental and circumstantial
Teacher Factors to Consider (p. 135-138)
Interests: teach according to interests if they are also student interests
Knowledge: teach what one knows or teach to learn about something new
Selection of materials
Traditional canon versus liberal canon
Homogeneous versus heterogeneous classes (tracking versus differentiation)
Literary value
Variety of textual forms (short story, novel, play, film, drama, dance, art, etc.)
Appropriateness for age, school, community
Variety of authorship
Men, women; various races, traditions, cultures; canon, non-canon works
CONTENT: Chapter Ten--Your Unit Rationale
Teacher should write persuasive essay that explains why something is being taught
Should consider community, students, topics, concepts, texts
Creates defense if challenged
Examples of Rationales
Psychology or human development
Cultural significance
Literary significance
Civic awareness
Current social problems
Preparation for future needs
Alignment with professional teaching standards
What to Include in a Rationale:
Concepts
Reasons
Types of Justification
For each justification:
Claims for relevance
Within each claim: warrants that explain ways the evidence supports the claim
Counterarguments
Rebuttal
Rationale for each text that students will read
The better prepared for challenges, the more likely teacher will teach the way s/he wants (p. 146- 147)
CONTENT: Chapter 11-- Outlining a Unit
Whole Course Considerations
Theme: topics, issues to be covered
Stance: position taken about student learning
Strategy
Conceptual Unit Components
Theme
Materials
Unit goals
In-process texts and activities (reading response logs, student-led discussions)
Culminating Texts and Activities (extended definition essay, multimedia project)
Rubrics for assessment
Teacher must teach students how to meet responsibility to be successful (p. 156)
INSTRUCTION/PROCESS: Chapter Two: Providing Scaffolds for Student Learning
Smagorinsky provides various writing models that use a constructivist approach
Double-column response log
Includes open-ended questions, personal response/evaluation, interpretation;
includes option to “X” anything teacher is asked not to read and a
disclaimer that threats of violence or abuse cannot remain confidential
Scaffolding needed: definition of reading log, expectations, modeling
Comparison/Contrast Essay
Scaffolding needed; students begin in small groups
Steps: brainstorm topics and categories to compare/contrast, evaluate each
category, list examples for each category; draft thesis, body, conclusion;
get peer feedback
INSTRUCTION/PROCESS: Chapter Three-- Alternatives to Teacher-Led Discussion
Student-Generated Whole-Class Discussion
Fishbowl (p.33)
Informal Writing (p. 33)
Talk show Format (p. 34)
Text-Rendering (p. 35)
Task-Oriented Small Group Activities
Graphic or materials production (p. 35)
Board game (.35)
Body Biography (p. 36)
Homebody (p. 37)
Coat of Arms (p. 38)
Mandela (p. 39)
Movie based on text (p. 39)
Political Cartoon (p. 39)
Web Quest (p. 39)
Four-Square Activity (p. 39)
Memory Box (p. 39)
Collaborative Writing
Found Poem (p. 40)
Parody of an author (p. 40)
Narrative written from different character perspectives (p. 41)
Sequel to literary work (p. 41)
Student-created study guides (p. 41)
Performances (p. 42)
Oral interpretation of literature (p. 42)
Student-Led Small Group Discussions
Single-session discussions: Jigsaw (p. 42-43)
Ranking in Two Stages: first on one set of values, then on another (p. 43)
Discussion Web (p. 43)
Long Term Discussions
Book Club (p. 43)
Literature circles (p. 43)
INSTRUCTION/PROCESS: Chapter Six: Goals for Unconventional Writing Assignments
Exploratory thinking and writing allows for alternatives and options for students
These are not final draft forms
They demonstrate new products and new learning by students
Assignments may be individual, affective, collaborative, unconventional, creative, genre-based
Such individual assignments may include:
A course-long portfolio with exploratory pieces, exhibits, and reflections (p. 83)
Unit portfolios following a similar structure as the course portfolio above
Journals
Three types
May include personal journals, reading logs, dialogue journals (p. 84-87)
Drafts with evidence of writing process: outlines, drafts, notes, feedback from
others, recommendations, the formal final (p. 87)
Asking questions: after instruction in asking good questions, students lead class
discussion for full period (p. 88)
Personal narrative essay that includes topic, nature of conflict, how student and
other viewed conflict, resolution, what was learned (p. 90)
Affective and/or collaborative assignments (“connected knowing” p. 90) may include:
Affective responses through journals, student-generated discussions, narratives
Process-oriented writing
Multi-media or multi-genre performances
Interpretive text such as collage, painting, music, or drama
Unconventional genres require the teacher to identify the traits of the assignment, specify
them, and teach students how to produce them (p. 92)
These include:
Book or film review
Guide book to the school
Letter to the editor
Children’s book
Covers for CD’s
Creative writing may include:
Poetry, fiction, drama
Writing related to unit concept (i.e.: conflict with authority)
Genres may include:
Mimic or parody of author studied
Retelling of a story in the genre or style of another
INSTRUCTION/PROCESS: Chapter Eight-- Designing the Conceptual Unit
Conceptual Unit is period of time devoted to one topic of study
Four to six weeks of fifty minutes
Two to three weeks of ninety minutes
Texts are both read and produced
Variety of perspectives yield greater understanding of concepts
Students interpret, synthesize topic in social context (p. 111)
Parts that make up the whole:
Literature, non-fiction texts, artistic texts
Texts produced by students
Components of Conceptual Unit (p. 112-113)
Rationale: justification of topic, materials, activities, assessments
Inventory of students: interests, goals, prior knowledge of concepts, previous reading, use
of language and writing, skills that teacher can build upon
Goals: “destination”-- learning that results from experiences during unit (p. 113)
Assessment: based on ability to produce culminating text
Authentic if culminating text is worthwhile for students
Constructivist knowledge harder to assess than transmission approach
Rubric distinguishes levels of performance (p. 114)
Lessons:
Pieces of larger unit
May include discussion, writing activity as tool, assessment
Integrated and sequenced; related to one another
Activities:
Provide hands-on experience
Create interaction with others, manipulation and production of ideas, texts
Develop inductive strategies for learning
Discussion:
Open-ended, authentic, democratic
Led by teacher or students
Texts: what students read or produce
Literature, art, dance, film, any artifact with potential for meaning (p. 116)
Tangible (poem, sculpture, film) or fleeting (song, expression)
Tools: any instrument through which student acts on environment
May be language-based
May be non-verbal artistic devices (p. 117)
Composing: act in which people make things that have meaning or use for them (p. 117)
Requires use of appropriate tools
Knowledge of conventions and effects of breaking them
Process of planning, drafting, feedback, reflection, revising
Use of prior knowledge
Creation of new learning through composing (p.117)
Seven Types of Units: (p. 118-122)
Theme
Period
Movement
Region
Genre
Works by a single author
Learning a key strategy
Benefits:
Allows teacher to plan ahead
Reduces stress because next step is clear
Creates continuity in daily, weekly learning for students
Offers relevance to students
Stimulates teacher because answers always change and vary (p. 122)
Drawbacks of Units:
May pigeon-hole a book into one approach
May help kids focus but may also limit other approaches
Journals or student-led discussions may reduce these concerns (p. 122-123)
Rationale for Conceptual Units (p. 123-125)
Allows students to explore topic over time
Avoids fragmentation; provides community and integration (Applebee, 1996) (p. 123)
Leads to human growth and happiness through overarching concepts
(Csiksentmihalyi and Larson, 1994) (p. 123)
Allows for interaction with arts and letters
Promotes understanding of social conditions for personal growth
Fits with Schema Theory
Uses prior knowledge to understand what’s new
Helps students understand own experiences and literary conventions
simultaneously (p. 125)
Allows reader to “construct meaning of text”
Supported by Transactional Theory of Learning (Rosenblatt, 1978, p.125)
Conclusion: Conceptual Units
Provide archetypal experiences
Allow for use of prior knowledge
Encourage students to reflect on texts and construct new knowledge
Develop relationships with literature, classmates
Enrich individuals and the class community (p. 127)
INSTRUCTION/PROCESS: Chapter Twelve-- Setting up the Construction Zone
Construction zone becomes a metaphor for the classroom
(based in Newman, Griffin, and Cole, 1989, p. 157)
Texts:
Reading synthesizes prior knowledge and new knowledge
Writing creates new texts reflecting new knowledge
Tools: spoken and written language
Tool kit: music, movement, dance, drama, art, computers
Teacher roles:
Facilitator, informer, co-worker, researcher
Builder of community relationships;
Must be aware of school, community, state structures
Language: must be “malleable and flexible” (p. 159)
Teaching English and Problems with Teaching English
Isolated grammar instruction does not move speech toward textbook norms
(Weaver, 1996; Hillocks, 1986)
NCTE: “deterrent to the improvement of students’ speaking and writing” (p. 160)
Persistence of Traditional Grammar Instruction
Teacher thinks it’s essential
State, district, school curricula specify instruction
Early career teachers follow grammar text because teacher prep emphasizes
literature
Poor working conditions leave little time to develop other curricula
Institutional mandates and standardized test mandates create pressure (p. 160)
Disagreements within faculty create various positions
Speakers and writers must use pristine English (Safire, 1984, Johnson, p. 158)
Correct language is a code of power to access economy (Delpit, 1995, p. 161)
Standard English is discriminatory (Smitherman, 2006, p. 161)
Errors carry different degrees of status; “egregious” errors should be eliminated
(Noguchi, 1991, p. 161)
Deviations are developmental and show writer is taking risks (Shuaghnessy, 1977, p.161)
All language is situational; “communicative competence” is key (Hymes, 1974, p.161)
Such confusion leads to instruction via grammar textbook
Why grammar instruction is so tricky
Many sets of rules; APA and MLA disagreements
Students rarely hear textbook English spoken
“Errors” can be signs of growth
What’s important is to know how to speak for different listeners
Must know code of propriety for audience
Delpit (1995) argues speakers need language for work environment (p. 163)
All errors are not created equal
Errors that offend are status errors
Teachers must teach rules that affect status when addressing purist audience (p. 164)
Why teach grammar?
We need to understand what students try to say
Rambling syntax is ineffective
Deviations will limit student success
Students need it for standardized tests (p. 164)
Principles Guiding Grammar Instruction
Don’t teach grammar in isolation
Treat grammar as tool, not content
Poole (1954) guidelines (p. 165)
Postpone grammar instruction until useful
Teach a few concepts slowly and thoroughly
Emphasize grammar that results in better sentence structure
Teach what is correct in specific situations
Limit language instruction to brief examples
Target language issues that affect status
Use corrective and generative sentence combining to help students learn to
formulate new sentence structures
Use correct terminology for text purposes
Focus on recurring errors when reading and correcting papers
Use a different color rather than red for correcting papers
Contexts of Teaching to Consider (p. 169)
School and community values
Time considerations: school calendar, field trips, assemblies, interruptions
Setting Up Shop (p. 170-172)
Getting Started with Students
Find ways to get to know them
Personal experience writing
“Owner’s Manual”: student writes about self
Parent/Guardian introduction
Survey
Response to a piece of literature
Expect diversity
Racial, economic variety
Variation in levels of fluency, reading habits
Variations in computer access
Good preparation helps ward off surprises (p. 172)
INSTRUCTION/PROCESS: Chapter Thirteen-- Introductory Activities
Introductory gateway activities provide teacher with instructional scaffold
Develop schematic knowledge to help students understand unit’s key concepts and
problems
Include activities that mimic what characters encounter in stories
Four types of writing (p. 175)
Writing about personal experiences that mimic what characters encounter in stories
Informal journal entries
Interviews
Personal narratives that mimic what characters encounter in stories:
Provide prompt; allow free writing
Follow-up with small groups sharing, doing skits based on writing,
working in groups to define qualities of narrative writing
Letters
Opinionnaire, Survey, or anticipation guide based on controversial statements (p. 178)
Follow-up with individual, small group, or whole class discussion
Scenarios or Case Studies that mimic what characters encounter in stories
Describe problematic example
Conduct brief small group/whole class discussions
Rank different characters according to various qualities
Writing about related problems that mimic what characters encounter in stories
Present problem; have students write advice or solutions
Follow-up with small groups that share, report to class; finish with whole class
discussion
Introductory activities prepare students for literature they’ll encounter during unit and course
Teacher may need to provide knowledge students may not have (p. 183)
INSTRUCTION/PROCESS: Chapter Fourteen: Down and Dirty: Daily Planning
Smagorinsky provides sample lessons for units (p. 184-222)
The following teaching activities are mentioned:
Web quest (p. 186)
Jigsaw (p. 187)
Discussion (p. 188)
Vocabulary games (p. 189)
Storyboard for music video based on song (p. 190)
Double-column reading log (p. 192)
Found poem (p. 40, 195)
Body Biography (p. 36-37, 196-197)
Extended definition essay (p. 12, 56-59, 76-78, 150, 155-56, 187, 197-209)
Feedback on essays (p. 205)
Rubric for extended definition essay (p. 206)
Novels (p. 209-215)
Small group discussions
Student-led discussions
Rubrics for discussions
Extended definition essay (p. 216-217)
Course evaluation (p. 221)
Summary: (p. 223)
Constructivist principles
Use writing and talking for exploratory purposes
Use responses to generate questions for class discussion
Treat writing as process involving several drafts and feedback
View writing as a social act between readers and the teacher
Encourage publication in various ways
Develop reflective habits about learning
ASSESSMENT: Chapter One-- Students’ Ways of Knowing
Assessments
Should be designed according to classroom learning
Not all need to be tests
Not all knowledge can be tested equally
Schools often measure memory, fact, recall, conventional knowledge
Teachers too often teach to the test
Assessments using constructivist approach create opportunities for new learning (p. 10)
ASSESSMENTS: Chapter Four: Planning the Whole Course
Teachers should ask “What will students do at the end of the course to synthesize their
understanding of the year’s work?” (p.53)
Possibilities created at the beginning of the course include:
Process Portfolio (p. 56)
Extended Definition of Good Literature (p. 56)
Analytical Essay about Good Literature (p. 56-59)
Multimedia Project (p. 60)
Analytic Essay as Final Exam (p. 60-61)
A possibility created at the end of the course:
Assessment created by student according to teacher guidelines (p. 61-63)
Teachers may also create projects to share their learning for self-assessment purposes:
Portfolio
Multimedia project
Teaching log
Other systematic teacher reflection on teaching and learning includes inquiries into
students’ cultural resources: (p. 65-66)
Ethnographic studies
Frame Experiments
Studies of Classroom Relationships
Electronic Conversations with professional organizations
ASSESSMENT: Chapter Five: Goals for Conventional Writing Assignments
Setting Goals: for each unit of the course, teachers should choose a small set of
“culminating texts”
By the end of the year, students experience many ways of knowing (p. 71)
Challenge: create assessments for students with different needs, backgrounds, skills
Assessments may be conventional or alternative
Elements of assessments:
Description of general task
Set of parameters for producing ext
How it will be evaluated
Teacher goals
What the teacher needs to teach students how to do
Criteria to guide assessment (p. 76)
Possible assessments to use during a course of study:
Extended definition essay (p. 76-77)
Literary analysis (p. 79)
Argumentation (p. 80-81)
Research report (p. 81-82)
ASSESSMENT: Chapter Seven-- Responding to Student Writing
Response to “Final Products”
“Final” for assessment purposes only
Shaugnessey (1977) found errors developmental; indicate growth (p. 100)
Hillocks (1986) maintained not all errors need to be marked
Focus on writing features taught during unit
Provide encouraging commentary (p. 100)
Rubrics
Important for alternative assessments
Must be based on questions:
What might students learn and how do I know?
What conventions are necessary for this assignment?
What level of detail is necessary?
What degree of cohesion should student achieve?
To what degree has student met each point in the assignment? (p. 102)
Benefits of rubrics:
Help create consistency of evaluation
Help when fatigue sets in, attention slips
Help when grade challenged by student or parent
Alfie Kohn (2006) dislikes rubrics (p. 105); turn teachers into “grading machines”
Good rubrics lead to richer reading and should allow for flexibility (p. 106)
TECHNOLOGY:
Smagorinsky refers to the use of computers, all forms of media, and the use of fine arts as
tools for both students and teachers to use as they construct learning and thinking