Literacy Project Examples for 2017 Students

Today, I am assigning the literacy program project. This project's goal is to help inspire reading, either through a poster campaign, a twitter campaign, or a video commercial. However, before students can begin their projects, they must write a proposal and get them approved, just like in a real job.

The proposals should answer questions like:

• Video commercial: Why have you chosen this option for yourself? Why is this a good way to reach the students? What will the video be of? What will happen? What will it look like? What type of information will it include? Are there characters? Will there be text? Do you have a special plan for colors? For sounds? For editing techniques? How and where will this video be seen?
•  Poster campaign: Why have you chosen this option for yourself? Why is this a good way to reach the students? What will your posters look like? Will they all be the same or will it be a series of posters? What information will the posters include? Will it have images? Text? How many posters will be made? Where will they be posted? Will they all appear at the same time?
• Twitter campaign: Why have you chosen this option for yourself? Why is this a good way to reach the students? How many tweets will there be? What will the tweets say? Will there be a hash tag (and what will it be and why)? Will there be any links to images, websites or videos? Why those sources? When will these tweets be posted and why at those days and times?

Here are some examples of finished projects and their owner's proposals. Not every student got 100%, but it might be helpful to get you started.

RYAN: Poster Campaign

Ryan's Proposal: Click Here

ALEX: Twitter Campaign

Reading is cool! Retweet if you agree! Don't believe me? Take a look at some of these really life celebrities enjoying books! #ReadingIsCool

— Alex Toma (@alextoma1234) September 14, 2015

Alex's Proposal: Click Here

TEDDY: Video Commercial


Teddy's Proposal: Click Here

I can't wait to read all of this year's proposals on the student blogs on Thursday!

Third Time's The Charm

I am excited to be teaching my third ever semester of the Contemporary Literature elective here at U of D Jesuit High School for the 2017-2018 academic school year. To start off the first unit on Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore (Robin Sloane), I am asking my students to reflect on the following questions below. It's only fair that I answer them, too, right?

1. What have your previous experiences with English classes been like?
2. Do you like to read? Why or why not?
3. What do you hope to get out of this Contemporary Literature class?

I always loved my English classes. Surprise, right? My favorite part was reading books that I enjoyed and getting to discuss them with others. Of course, there were times that I did not always enjoy the books being assigned. I'll admit that some classes, even in college, had required reading that I only pretended to read. And boy was I good at it. Yet, there were other classes in college that I got to choose, and those books were amazing. I chose a Modernism course simple because it had my favorite novel on the syllabus (Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises). I also even got to take a course all about fantasy. What I love about English classes is when you find just the right book for the right students and it creates a type of connection because of the shared reading experience. I believe the titles in this Contemporary Literature course will have the same effect (I hope).

I love to read. My first memories of enjoying reading are with my mother. During time off from school, she would take my sisters and I to libraries for us to pick out books based on their colorful covers. She would also pick out some and read them to us when we got home. We actually couldn't wait to sit and listen to her tell these stories. I remember my favorite being Matilda by Roald Dahl. And what a great book to get started in a love of reading! “So Matilda’s strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea. These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message: You are not alone.” We definitely grew closer as a family huddled around that living room chair waiting for adventure after adventure.

I hope to have another successful semester here in Contemporary Literature. We have a smaller class, which is great because everyone gets to participate and share their thoughts. I run the class like an intimate book club, so we usually tend to get close as a group in this class. Mix in some fun projects and a possible field trip, and you have yourself a bonded class of students. I'm also hoping to expose students to some great works of literature that they will enjoy. And just maybe there might be a soul in the classroom who has given up on literature that I can inspire to keep reading for fun in his spare time or after high school. That's the dream.

Mr. Davidson's 2017 Summer Reading: