Genre and Voice: Transformations of Authority

Carolyn Fortuna and Joe Piazza

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Franklin High School

Home base: B107

 

Workshop Goals

 

• Examine how recontextualization --- a process that extracts text, signs, or meaning from its original context and molds it into another context --- has applicability to the secondary English subject area public school classroom.
  
• Expand student authority over writing by breaking expectations and genre restrictions.
  
• Immerse self in writing experiences that merge choice, authorial voice, and academic transformations.
  
• Consider how shifts in authority can open up compositional voice.
  

 

Morning Agenda

 

8:00     Welcome, housekeeping, and continental breakfast (Room B107) [Joe and Carolyn]

 

8:15     Introductions: Icebreaker about our Favorite Composers and Texts [Carolyn]

 

8:30     Writing selves, identity, and genre (Joe)

1. Define genre expectations in a classroom
   
2. Discuss Burke's Trout and how expectation governs experience
   
3. Problems with students in writing research essays
   
4. Expand student authority over writing by breaking expectations and genre restrictions
   
5. Percy's "The Loss of the Creature"
   

Preview of second morning session (Carolyn)

"Author Presents: Author Files"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1h4rm57UIg

    

9:30
Break

 

9:45 Writers' Retreat (B107, B209, B210) [Carolyn, Joe, Marissa = Facilitators]

1. Facilitators lead writing in five minute increments
   
2. Each participant generates at least four different short writing pieces
   
3. Each participant shares one short writing piece with assigned group
   

 

10:45 Facilitators share the writing prompts they chose; participants discuss their responses to the prompts, the sharing session, and the possible applicability to their students (B107) [Carolyn, Joe, Marissa]; opportunity to post to the Wiki [Thanks, MJ.]

 

11:00-12:00 Break for Lunch/ Exercise/ Meditation

 

 

 

 

 

Afternoon Agenda

 

12:00 Welcome back from lunch (B107) [Joe]: View "Crows" sequence from Kurusawa's film, Dreams

 

The role of the layman and expert

1. Introduce 10 on 1 with paintings
   
2. Share ideas or interpretations about paintings
   
3. Introduce research into interpretation and examine how the info alters your original perception
   
4. Revisit Kusasawa
   

 

1:00     Discuss how transformations can occur when we personalize a text and release authority

 

Spin the Wheel! "Transformations of genre"

 

Small group writing activities (B107, B209, B210) [Carolyn, Joe, Marissa = Facilitators]

 

1:45     Break

 

2:00     Recontextualization Slam (B107): Small groups share their collaborative, transformational writing pieces

 

2:30    Final thoughts: Reflections about the ways that teachers can release authority to students and what the consequences of that release can be to students as thinkers and evaluators

 

2:45    PDD District Evaluations [Marissa]

 

Writer's Retreat Assignments

 

 

B209	B211	B107
Joe	Marissa	Carolyn F.
Lucille	Carolyn B.	Cathy
Ron	John	Lori Y.
Jen	Colleen W.	Dawn
Erin	Janet	MJ
Helen	Lori C.	Jamie
Ellen M.	Carol	Kate
Gale	Colleen M.	Brian