Teaching the Connection between Science & Literature

Science seeks to provide humans with the definition of man; literature seeks to provide man with the definition of the human experience. As a result, these two subjects have more in common than people give credit. 

(Not convinced? Look up: Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Mary Shelley, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Neil Gaiman, Michael Crichton, even Poe’s Tell Tale Heart) 

I’m currently teaching to my students a unit on Science fiction and persuasive essay writing 

around controversial non-fiction science topics. Their topics have ranged from genetically modified plants, genetic tendencies and homosexuality, nuclear energy, along with society’s correlation with racism in convicting U.S. defendants. All my students picked their own science topics, and all of them ending up really loving what they were writing. 

I think there are couple reasons for this: 1) We are fascinated with our bodies – what makes them tick, how do they interact with the environment, etc., 2) The topics my students chose, directly affected them. One student wrote about air pollution because she asthma. Another advocated for adoption over abortion because her family got her from China. 

My point being, literature engages our senses often because we feel we can 1) relate with a 

character, 2) relate to a conflict or setting, or 3) learn something from the themes the story told. When reading about science, I try to do the same thing. 

I started learning about Marine Biology because I grew up in Florida and love to swim. Taking care of own saltwater fish tank was exciting because I was in awe of the mystery of the ocean and the strange creatures therein. This was only heightened when my school gave me the opportunity to swim with manatees, clean up estuaries, and play with crabs on the beach as a part of my “education.” 

Likewise, I started forming a real interest in Biology (mainly diseases and genes) around the time I found out my nephew was diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome. Before he joined our family, I didn’t know anything it, let along physical, speech, or occupational therapy. 

Plus after starting to my watch my dad’s medical condition progress, Anatomy and Physiology seemed like a natural choice to study my senior year. 

So with this much APPRECIATION for Science, how did I end up an English teacher? Well I think a lot of students are held up by “terms.” Conversing in the field of language arts requires some important vocabulary, but not nearly as broad in scope as science disciplines. Secondly, like I’ve expressed before, literature and science aren’t that far removed… and if my math/science geeks walk out of my classroom at the end of this year believing and seeing how they relate, I will count my point made.

Teaching ELA: Reflecting on Culture

What is the role of culture?

• Culture is everything you believe or do to identify with people who are like you and what also distinguishes you from people who differ from you.
• Aspects, such as race, citizenship, dialect/ language, dress, customs/ traditions, habits, beliefs, class, education, and other experiences make up our view of self and perceived culture.

What are the effects of culture?

• Culture can help people feel safe or give a sense of belonging when included in a group. It can keep people working together.
• It’s generally easier to start from an inner perspective or cultural origins when interacting with others, but reflection questions can help expand our view to include others’ values.
• It takes dedication, education, and desire to learn to look beyond self-interest and lead by holding each other accountable for group values.
• We have the need to assess perspectives and beliefs so as not to silence other voices around. This is especially true in our position as educator in society.

What is the importance of culturally responsive teaching?

To benefit from language diversity by using one’s first language as a resource

To access. value an connect with our students background knowledge

To build off our collective strengths as a class by listening to our diversity of perspectives and experiences

To learn from one another so that we are more aware and mindful to respect others’ values

To break down the barriers between “us” and “them “to create a “we” consciousness of collective learning

To have norms and expectations present in the classroom (give the illusion of student brainstorm – ownership) to create an positive climate or open space where students feel comfortable enough to be themselves and share their thinking with each other

To have empathy and flexibility to change and adapt to needs of group

To have inspirational motivation to see what the community can accomplish together

To have intellectual stimulation

To be aware of linguicism  - ideologies and structures that are used to legitimate, effectuate, and reproduce an unequal division of power

To understand how language is learned, to be sensitive to the acquisition process

Excerpt from MA Reflection Essay

            I entered the MA in Secondary English Education program at the University of Colorado Denver in the Fall of 2009 through the Initial Professional Teacher Education (IPTE) program.  Before moving to Denver for graduate school, I received a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of North Florida and wrote conversational English curriculum for collegiate summer camps while living abroad. My interest around current issues in education grew while working at a small classical charter school in Colorado Springs. As a result of these experiences, IPTE’s focus on urban education and community partnerships interested me. Most of my best memories from the program have less to do with sitting in on-campus classes and more with teaching/ field experience at my site school, Denver Center for International Studies (DCIS). However, that internship would not have been impossible if it hadn’t been for the university’s collaboration with local schools. It was that partnership with authentic school environments that most motivated me in the program.
              Because I wanted to teach as soon as possible, I decided upon the 12-month track of the IPTE program, which translated into a hectic schedule of five classes in the Fall with an additional four in the Spring, on top of the internships in both of those semesters. The beginning half of the program consisted of many influential foundational classes, the first being Exploring Diversity in Content Pedagogy. This course’s emphasis on Understanding Backwards Design (UBD) provided a referential framework from which I plugged instructional strategies and content learned concurrently in other classes. Even in Denver Public Schools ELA training this summer, professional development coaches reference UBD and require teachers to use its form.
            In my first semester internship with DCIS, I implemented lessons created as a result of coursework in Secondary Adolescent Literacy with Dr. Susanne Arnold. I learned how to analyze books for readability, along with how to implement pre-reading, write-to-learn and reading comprehension strategies. Unsure of what to expect from a class addressing literacy needs of all content area teachers, I was pleasantly surprised to learn strategies applicable across various types of texts. It helped me to break down misperceived barriers between who teaches language and who teaches content and to show that all teachers instruct students in both areas.  As an English language arts teacher, I can support the exposure of other content areas in the texts I select for students to read and process. That lesson became particularly applicable at DCIS where social sciences have a large emphasis.
             In tandem, I also wrote some of my best papers in Negotiating the Classroom Culture with Adolescents. I found the textbooks and class activities easy to understand regarding student management theory and now reference educational philosophers whenever I can find someone else with an appreciation for Gardner, Driekurs, and Gordon. They’ve become my go-to guys for thinking about the classroom environment. DCIS allows teachers a lot of freedom in setting up classroom structures and expectations and it’s been good to think about different ways of implementing more democratic educational moments in my teaching, whether that’s providing student choice in creating and evaluating curriculum.
            I found Theory and Methods of Teaching Secondary English with Professor Rich Argys beneficial to my basis for writing content specific curriculum. He provided students with knowledge about professional affiliation resources, and I joined and attended the Colorado Language Arts Society (CLAS) conference to ‘steal from’ and connect with other local teachers’ expertise. The Body of Evidence Unit Plan posed a satisfactory challenge in scale and scope, reiterating strategies from Dr. Arnold and the ‘how-to’ method of UBD.
             All my Internships and Site Seminar credits took place at DCIS under the guidance of Leslie Prock as site professor, and Marjorie Larner as site instructor. Both of these ladies encouraged me with unfailing confidence in my abilities to teach well. I was first placed in a 7^th and 8^th grade language arts classroom with Dr. Karen Fernandez. I can remember how nervous I felt the first day about how to interact with 12 and 13 year old students, and yet Karen let me try whatever idea I wanted. For a mentor, I couldn’t have asked for someone more open, flexible, or supportive of my ideas. I also had the chance to observe and work with 11^th grade British Literature students and Dr. Susan Marion before deciding to I enjoyed middle school students more than I originally predicted.
            Moving into the second semester of my 12-month IPTE experience, I prepared for my full-time internship with 7^th and 8^th grade students at DCIS. Exploring Diversity in Content and Pedagogy II met every so often to discus our final clinical experience. I also continued learning instructional strategies for language arts through taking Adolescent Literature with Professor Argys. It built on my previous content theory class by adding more experiential study of YAL books, 24 titles of our choice along with instruction on how to implement student lists, book talks and literature circles in the classroom. Since then, already in my first year of teaching I’ve used those structures to create a culture of reading importance.
            At the end of May I ecstatically accepted the opportunity to continue at my internship site school, DCIS, through employment as a UCD Contract Teacher for 8^th Grade English language arts. I continued my coursework during the summer with Denver Writing Project and immediately implemented lessons of poetry, model/ genre texts, and various engaging writing prompts when school started the following year. Because nine hours of course-work was compensated under the UCD Contract Teacher position, I took a class during the fall and spring semesters of my first year of teaching. Critical Issues in American Education was offered online and fit with my busy schedule, while Research for Teachers required some more time management as I conducted research in my classroom around student engagement and evaluated the data. Similar to Integrating Media in eLearning Environments, I found the research and tech skills especially practical to the 21^st century classroom in improving and defending one’s teaching practice, something teachers will have to do more and more in the coming years. Choosing Language & Literacy Across Curriculum with Dr. Nancy Shanklin as my last class was also a wise decision because it brought back to mind Dr. Arnold’s class which had such a profound impact on me at the start of the program. My overall take-away from these two literacy classes is as an accountable teacher desiring growth, it’s important to know the research and rationale behind the strategies one uses with students.
             In reflecting on my MA studies experience, I feel that the mix of courses that I took offered both a locally specific view and larger national contextual view of education, as well as pragmatic approaches to teaching. However, there were moments when I felt the teaching of ‘best practices’ was not modeled but rather lectured on in length when college students also have diverse needs as learners. Still, as a result of my time spent in the program at UCD I’ve gained knowledge and confidence in the areas of planning curricula, delivering effective instruction, creating an educational and social climate, providing for student advocacy, continuing in developing myself professionally, and being an agent for change in my immediate surrounding environment and beyond. I’ve set professional goals for myself outside of the master’s program and will continue to develop my understanding of political and social changes coming down the line in education. Already I’m participating in piloting the new evaluative LEAP framework for teachers and adopting the new common core standards into my classroom planning of literacy lessons. Because of all the impending changes in the field, I think the university’s IPTE program will be required to continually adapt and instruct new teachers about more of the politics and implications of their practice so as to really prepare them for the realities ahead. 

Wanting the Best, Dealing with A Test

They are sending their kids there next year? Really? Why?! 

Nothing against (insert parent name here),  but yes against (insert parent name here), considering I’ve been to that school several times before to tutor high school students in literacy, only to work with a 10th grade student reading on a 3rd grade level. I remember feeling shocked over the achievement gap then, and now I feel even more scared that two of my lower-literacy leveled students are going to transfer there next year! 

The news makes me feel so helpless and angry because their parents want to change schools, and the students want to try something else but somehow I feel like our school is the best place they could be (especially when compared with insert poor performing school here) because teachers actually care about them where they are! Ugh. I don’t understand the appeal of attending a bigger public high school, that has scored low-performing year-after-year… a place where there are more likely to run up against gangs and more overwhelmed teachers who don’t know them at all. I want to know WHY?! And this is where self-righteous-attitudes surface…

As a teacher, I sometimes think I’m better than parents. Sure, in some cases it could be argued yes or no, but the point is – I’m not their parent. I don’t know what’s best (even though I feel like I do and should have a say in these students’ academic careers). 

Still I fear for these two students and really do want them to succeed – to read – to love what I love… and yet it does take a community (not just me) to support a child. Just because I personally interact with around 130 students a day in my classroom doesn’t mean I can be a ‘Superman’ to them all… that’s a tough truth to face when often teaching’s inspiration is “to make a difference,” and no doubt I do… but at the same time, it’s not just me who has the potential to screw up a kid… thus, I can’t be the only one to save him either. 

Destiny is bigger than that. Sovereignty doesn’t answers questions of race, class, gender, 

orientation, or cultural influence. 

So I could ask ‘why’ until I’m a hyperventilating mess of tears (which I’ve done) but the frustration doesn’t answer anything, other than – Life happens. We choose somethings, but we don’t choose everything. We are pre-determined characters thrown into worlds created. May we each respond with out best for every student, every day. 

Mid-Semester Chaos

It must be at the 5 week point, mid-way of every quarter that I feel like TOO many of my students 

are failing because they aren’t turning in their work or aren’t taking the content seriously. I feel like 

my classes are out-of-controllably-loud and don’t respect me either. Sure they “like” me, but they 

do the rudest things, such as interrupting me on the phone or when I’m talking with another 

student, or even giving directions. This can only mean thing… In what ways am I allowing these 

behaviors happen and how can stop them from happening? 

It’s not enough to threaten, but what can I really do to them? I already keep them after class (before 

lunch)? I could start keeping and dock a semester long participation grade… I could have them 

write “Reflections” on their behavior in class… I don’t know; I could try it all I guess! 

And the grades! Ugh, the grades… I hope they’re scaring the students as much as they’re scaring 

me. No I don’t feel like I give too much homework, but to hear the complaints, one would think I 

do. There are so many things already that I would do differently next year… and some complaints 

are legit, such as me changing the directions or not providing explicit-enough directions the first time (often because I just created the assignment the day before, because unlike seasoned teachers, 

I don’t have a backlog of resources to pull from and have to create mostly everything)! 

So if one calculates the time I’m researching, creating, calculating the calendar, grading and 

updating scores, it’s no wonder I always feel behind! 

Oh and how the kids ‘pick’ on that weakness… “What’s my grade? Is that make-up work in yet? When are we getting back our book reports? When is this whole paper due? When are we going to the computer lab? Are we going to be graded on this?”… Again, all LEGIT questions, but my mind starts to swirl faster than my body 

as I retrieve this paper, look up that score, rummage for that draft, and report back to take the floor 

and give directives. The first 5 minutes of class can feel like a maddening dance with my as the Joker in a jingle-bell hat vying for attention. 

“Waiting for Superman” & First Quarter Teaching

Last night some coworkers and I went and saw “Waiting for Superman” with an audience of other 

underpaid and unappreciated teachers who are concerned about the education of America’s youth. 

And as a result, well… we had mixed views on the movie: 

Yes, the following of individual student’s stories was powerful (taking time to look at any 

individual student will always leave you feeling that way). Yes, we are behind globally in 

education and tomorrow’s tech companies will be recruiting more foreigners than Americas 

because our youth won’t be qualified. Yes, teacher unions don’t really want EVERY teacher to have 

an autonomous voice regarding reform policy and legislative possibilities. Yes, 1 in 5 charter 

schools are super effective… 

But no, they aren’t silver bullets either. No, teacher effectiveness wasn’t defined. No, the movie 

didn’t say how student growth or performance would be evaluated. No, it didn’t look at successful 

neighborhood schools but only ones with an application/ lottery = admissions process. No, it 

didn’t address teacher induction programs/ training. If even Geoffrey Canada was a bad teacher 

his 1st and 2nd years of teaching, then how and in what way can novice teachers hope to be 

effective teachers from the get-go? In short… the movie is worth seeing in theatre because with 

each ticket you get a $15 DonorsChoose gift certificate to use on any project you decide best. Our 

group is going to get DODGE BALLS for our school (since we don’t have P.E. classes and little 

team-based equipment). 

So again… the evening wasn’t a total waste, though I’m still not sure how or where educational

reform is going in this country. Will I join a union next year (since I’m not even eligible this year, 

nor are Teach for America participants)? Probably not because one can get liability insurance 

anywhere… and I’m still not exactly sure what the union does other than that… Some teachers 

want the possibility of earning six-figures or the freedom to work through their lunch break if that 

best helps their students… Hrm. Dunno. Shesh, I don’t really want to be political. I just want to be 

a good teacher and focus on that. 

*** In other thoughts on finishing first-quarter… I feel like my students when… 

• It’s Friday morning and I’m elated to sleep-in tomorrow morning 
• I haven’t started my graduate 8-page research paper due tomorrow and am instead writing this 
• journal 
• I have over an hour of homework every night (and believe me, I always do) 
• Oh, and if I had to guess, here are some of the common, constant, and controversial questions of all teachers: See Below:

Do we make excuses for our students? Does education set them up to fail by not enforcing 

organization (notebook checks, certain required materials)… and what if the students/ school 

don’t have the supplies? 

Is it right for students fail over homework? What about class-work that isn’t finished in class (and 

therefore becomes homework), should students be able to hold onto those papers an extra day to 

turn them in? And if students can’t hold on papers, how are they going to study or hold onto 

papers that are important to them? It’s as if organization is just as much a make or break point as 

timeliness of assignments. 

We say “High Expectations,” but what does that mean? Is that like trying to define “teacher 

effectiveness”? Is the subjective-ness of education its strength or weakness? ‘Democratic education’ 

might have something to say about that… 

Why do the same parents that purposefully chose a hard school for their students, then turn 

around and ask for exceptions on those expectations? How do can I be effective when there are 34 

kids all are varying levels? Does differentiation have to be chaos? And if not, what am I doing 

wrong that causes it to feel that way? 

As a result, I work to fight against – 

Apathy (un-energized empathy), it’s what you begin to feel when certain students start to piss 

you off. When students show even the least amount of appreciation, let along civility, it’s amazing 

how much harder I’m willing to work for them… but when students start like A-holes, well I want 

be a B-witch right on back. Obviously, as the professional I don’t, but I do count to ten, practice 

deep breathing, and then smile silently. I tell myself, it’s not the students that are dislikable, but the 

attitudes they’ve picked up from somewhere. How I would love to wipe off smirks, and force 

students to rescind their negative disrespectful twit comments. But no, I can’t FORCE them to do 

anything. I’m annoyed, but how do I turn my annoyance into productive, reflective, “your momma 

wouldn’t like that” guilt-trips?

Around Six or Seven Weeks (who knows?) of Teaching

Students bustle to and from class in the hallway outside my door. 

Some days I feel like a failure and other days, well, famously fantastic! Working with 

adolescents can sometimes make one feel like having their invariable mood swings. I ‘worry’ about 

so many things, like whether I offended my shy student for half-listening while dealing with other 

pressing concerns. Fortunately, she was warm towards me the next day, a fact I can only thank 

TEEN-RESILENCY for. I do believe kids forgive adults for not being perfect, but it certainly helps if 

they feel like adults are trying their best. “Kindness covers a multitude of sins,” hmm… or is that 

“a soft answer turns away wrath?” Eh, they go hand-in-hand. 

What a week! 

When a student says, “I hate this class,” do they say that for the same reasons I’m thinking? Hate 

is a strong word, but most teenagers seem to like STRONG words (especially those famous 

absolutes of no one, always, and never). Do the 34 students crammed around table groupings in 

our small room bother them? Or is it the ten talkers who shout-out, get up/ walk around, throw 

things, and interrupt the overall learning of the class with their impervious distractions? As the 

teacher, how do I allow such behaviors continue? What am I doing (or not doing) to maintain order for the 

students who want to get the most out of 8th grade English? How do I instill consistency when I only see 

students every other day? Does research suggest teenagers forget information overnight, or was that only my 

brain? 

Of course, the “I hate this class” statement might have nothing to do with the dynamics and 

everything to do with the content rigor. Currently 1/6th of my students are failing and mainly 

because they are missing multiple assignments. How can I give students a score for something they 

haven’t done? Which brings me back to the nature of grades – Do they measure a student’s 

preparation/ planning, organization, ability to follow directions, and engagement, or focus only on 

Language Arts standards like reading comprehension and writing protocols. YES. It’s nearly 

impossible to separate the two, and certainly in the work world we don’t. A boss can’t evaluate the 

quality of your project if you don’t possess the self-management skills to complete it (let alone on 

time). 

Still somehow, I see it as my awesome (fearful) responsibility to ensure students get their @#$* 

together. The ranges of student abilities challenges me enough and I’m unsure how to support 

students that don’t verbalize/ recognize their struggles in the class. Going through the grade book, 

I make a list of students and their missing assignments, wondering WHY – Did they not understand 

the directions? Did they not know how to do the assignment? Did they forget? Did something unrelated 

happen to them outside of class? The list of possibilities goes on… 

I think about schools that require students with missing assignments for the day to stay after school 

and make them up. Such a change would certainly place academics more at the forefront of school 

values.  I kind of wish my school had something similar – some may argue that it’s good to let kids 

fail in 8th grade before high school grades matter for college admittance, but the thing is, if they 

don’t learn good management skills in Jr. High, how are they going to suddenly change for high 

school? By not pushing accountability with a pro-active solution addressing the problem, the 

pattern will continue.

TIME isn’t only a student issue, but a teacher one as well. I better understand why teachers have 

summers off now; during school months they can average 10-14 hour work days depending on 

clubs, sports, parent-meetings/ student-conferences, returning email, planning, grading/ giving 

feedback, and inputting/ assessing data. It all adds up and I walk out of school befuddled as to 

where the time went. Choosing to take an online grad-level class this semester in addition to 

everything else was probably not the best decision (understatement inserted here). 

And how do I STOP thinking about my students when I’m not at school? 

Is it strange that I feel like they’re “mine”? Is it because I’m a female without local family, or does 

it have to do with the larger message from society placing students’ final failures and success on 

teachers? Could any other profession, would any other profession, accept such a charge? I don’t 

know. I kind of want to interview a police officer and ask whether he/ she is able to block out 

work-related ‘cases, faces, and places’ when away. 

Do teachers CRAVE busyness? I think I do to some extent… if I’m not researching, planning, 

writing, or thinking, then what am I supposed to be doing? Work is life. Life is work. Living in the 

in between moments, how does one really do that? I fear the un-planned, un-busied, quiet 

moments of the mind and soul. Because stress is better than depression, “I don’t have time,” feels 

like an easier response. 

One thing’s for sure, and I’ve probably said it before, I was made to teach… even if it’s messy, 

even if I’m clueless, overwhelmed, emotional when alone, and obsessive-compulsive trying to 

maintain structures/ organization… I love, love, love what I get to do every day!